Hydra Melody

Exclusive Premiere: Hydra Melody — "Oceans" - GuitarWorld.com

As I walked in to Jack’s Patio bar, I felt a sudden rush of nostalgia. Most of my late teens through late twenties consisted of nights there, watching friends perform and me singing along at the top of my lungs. Familiar faces graced the small venue; from old friends to the same bartenders as before. I stood in the back of the room and gazed upon old promotional posters on the wall. I had recognized maybe two bands from about twenty posters. I wasn’t too sure if that made me sad because the bands I once followed were gone or if it was the sudden feeling of being “old” and out of touch. Most of the bands I would support have long since split up, which is something tragic but pretty common to any local music scene. However, there is one San Antonio group that I’ve watched begin as an after school garage band and today have grown to mature, headlining artists. They are one of the few San Antonio bands that have broken out of the small scene and the very reason why I had come back through my old stomping grounds.

Hydra Melody is a band with deep roots. Jordan Berlanga (vocals/guitar/keys), Matt Gomez (drums) and Manuel Prince (percussion/congas/keys) were classmates at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Helotes. Where, their time in the school drum-line sparked an idea. Years and line-up changes later, Jason Harari (bass/vocals) and Taylor Ferguson (lead guitar/keys) completed the band and perfected Hydra Melody’s unique sound, giving them an opportunitie to tour with legends' Third Eye Blind, perform at well-known music festivals and just recently complete an album in Nashville, Tennessee.

There was no doubt that I wanted these five men to be my first DubHub story. I began my interview with Harari, which is actually the first time we have met since he joined the band. Decked out in a blazer, scarf, and key necklaces, Harari looked like someone from New York or LA. Berlanga was my second interview, dressed in a t-shirt and grey hoodie, and someone I have known since our high school days. Although the two band mates couldn’t be more different in styles, their visions were the same. Art, music, family, and pride for their home town are the core of both men and Hydra Melody.

“I think a lot of people make that mistake. It’s like, Well, I gotta be in Chicago or I gotta be in LA. That’s where all the art is. That’s where all the artists are and the studios.", Harari said as he described the common thought in every Alamo city struggling artist. “But if you’re not already successful and haven’t found a way to make that feasible then you spend your entire week working just to survive so you can be in the city and zero time on your craft. So I think San Antonio has something unique to offer.”

It’s with pride that I watch these five men perform again after all these years. Once, I was asked what makes Hydra Melody different from other San Antonio-based bands. The answer, to me, was clear as day: Hydra Melody doesn’t “try” to put on a rock show. I have seen so many young bands play “rockstar” with annoyingly over the top movements as fifteen-year-old girls swoon in front of the stage. With Hydra Melody, you can see that they are lost in their music, almost as if they’re just jamming in the studio, engulfed in intricate rhythms and combos. There are no personas, no egos, no role playing, just heart and soul for their art. It’s without a doubt that their journey has only begun and it’s a privilege to watch it from the sidelines as they help put San Antonio back on the music map. Hydra Melody will be performing October 10, 2014 at Sam’s Burger Joint. Visit hydramelody.com for more info. - WOAI

Exclusive Premiere: Hydra Melody — "Oceans" - GuitarWorld.com

Song Premiere: Hydra Melody, “Belmar Princess” - AltPress.com

Song Premiere: Hydra Melody, “Belmar Princess” - AltPress.com

Official press release for Land The Big Gig 2013. - Journal Sentinel

Finalists in Summerfest’s ‘Land the Big Gig’ contest will perform a free concert at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday, June 25, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free Summerfest tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis after the concert. The three bands will play on UWM’s Spaights Plaza, which is located north of the UWM Union at 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. - UWM News

Finalists in Summerfest’s ‘Land the Big Gig’ contest will perform a free concert at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday, June 25, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free Summerfest tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis after the concert. The three bands will play on UWM’s Spaights Plaza, which is located north of the UWM Union at 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. - UWM News

Photos from Summerfest 2013 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Photos from Summerfest 2013 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Land the Big Gig 2013 finalists Hydra Melody interviewed at the #SFLive Lounge! - Summerfest

We did an interview to promote Land The Big Gig on Daytime @ 9. - FOX-29 San Antonio

We did an interview to promote Land The Big Gig on Daytime @ 9. - FOX-29 San Antonio

2013 Rocklobster Fest Featuring MUTEMATH - San Antonio Express News

2013 Rocklobster Fest Featuring MUTEMATH - San Antonio Express News

Show at White Rabbit on February 16th - San Antonio Express News

Show at White Rabbit on February 16th - San Antonio Express News

SXSW 2013 - Hellbound Music

SXSW 2013 - Hellbound Music

SXSW 2013 - Idobi Radio

SXSW 2013 - Idobi Radio

SXSW 2013 - Push To Fire

SXSW 2013 - Push To Fire

SXSW 2013 - Highlight Magazine

SXSW 2013 - Highlight Magazine

SXSW 2013 Interview - Infectious Magazine

SXSW 2013 Interview - Infectious Magazine

SXSW Interview - Download Magazine

SXSW Interview - Download Magazine

Hydra Melody @ SXSW - Jivewired.com

Hydra Melody @ SXSW - Jivewired.com

When San Antonio's hard-rocking Hydra Melody pulls off the near-endless road to spend a few days at home, the band doesn't hang out doing yard work. Instead, Hydra Melody is known to team with like-minded musical aggregations to throw what amounts to big, public parties. That's what HM will do at Josabi's when it joins forces with the rocking 50 Dollar Dynasty, American Flags and The Uprising and irreverent hip-hop purveyor Carlton Zeus. - San Antonio Express News

Hydra Melody was recipient of 2 San Antonio Music Awards for 2011 & 2012, Band of the Year and Indie Band of the Year. - The Falls - San Antonio, TX

Summerfest 2013 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Summerfest 2013 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Featured in Pop Vulture Magazine in October 2012 - Pop Vulture Magazine

Hydra Melody was featured on the MTVu site in October 2012 - MTVu.com

Doing press for Rocklobster Fest w/ Minus The Bear - Fox-29 Daytime@9

Doing press for Rocklobster Fest w/ Minus The Bear - Fox-29 Daytime@9

Doing press for Rocklobster Fest w/ Minus The Bear - KENS-5 Great Day SA

Live Performance on Great Day SA - KENS-5 Great Day SA

Interview -Hydra Melody @ Launch Music Conference
by steph on Apr.17, 2010, under Daily Fix
We talked with Jordan from Hydra Melody to get their take on coming to Lancaster, PA all the way from San Antonio, TX to play the Launch Music Conference and to learn more about this rising band. They said their manger, Chad Richardson from CPR Artist Management, found out about Launch online and once they knew they were playing the conference, they went ahead and booked shows around it. This is their 1st time touring the east coast. They’ve spent time in the south and on the West Coast, where they played in one of their favorite venues thus far, The Viper Room. But really want to tour the east coast more frequent. They currently have an untitled EP available with four tracks and have planed to start recording their full lenght album this September. They hope 2 months prior to recording they can tour back through the east coast for a 2nd time. This trip, they played shows in Tennessee and made there way to PA where earlier this week & played a show at the Crock Rock in Allentown.
This 6 piece band has been playing music together for 5 years. Jordan, vox and guitar, and Justin, vox and keys, are brothers. They been studding music since they were 5 & 6 years old. When we spoke to them earlier this week while they we traveling on the road from Tennessee to Allentown, we asked them what type bands are they listening to right now? “Well right now we are listening to As Tall As lions, like actually have the CD in the player right now. We just turned it down to talk to you. I also really like MS Doom,” says Jordan. With the struggles right now that bands find to be able to continuously tour, we asked them if they would rather find major label success or would they rather find a solid indie label? He said they are pretty much open to anything that can help spread the word about them and market them. He said he feels anyone can tell you their band is great, but as a band, you really need someone else to be doing that for you. “You need that one degree of separation”, says Jordan. We asked him how he felt about bands that were making music but only looking toward licensing and not playing live shows or touring. “Good Luck to them” Says Jordan. He feels everyone plays their part and creates music for what ever reason is important to them. “I play music because I love music and I love to travel and meet people, seeing the country. But everyone has their niche and everyone has to eat.” Jordan said they’ve paving their own way and have gone thought struggles. Now they draw 200+ kids at shows in San Antonio and in cites like Chicago because the band has a great sense of work ethic and they are all working toward the same goal. Becasue they are playing a show on Record Story Day, we asked them what they thought about a lot of younger kids getting back into vinyl and if they ever plan to release something on vinyl. “Yea, we’ve already considered putting something on vinyl,” said Jordan. They might even consider putting their full length that they’re recording in September on vinyl. Based on our visits to record stores in Lancaster this week, that’s probably not a bad idea.
Hydra Melody is
Vocals/Guitar – Jordan Berlanga
Vocals/Guitar – Robert Pompa
Drums – Mateo Gomez
Bass – Bobby Hass
Keys/Vocals – Justin Berlanga
They play tonight as part of the Launch Music Conference @ Marion Court Room – 7:00PM - Tri State Indie

So, how did Hydra Melody form?

Justin: Basically, there was a band [in middle school] called Ready to Fail around for a couple of years, which mainly consisted of my brother Jordan and the guitar player, Robert. They'd been going for a while, had a bunch of lineup changes. I joined the band probably six years ago. It was at that point we started writing really really different music and found a lineup that we really liked. We decided to take a year and a half off from playing shows and all that stuff, and pretty much wrote a bunch of music and formed the band we are now. We've been doing it for four or five years.

How would you describe the band's sound?

Justin: I would definitely describe us as just rock music. We play what we feel. We do have a lot of Latin influences. Growing up in South Texas, it's kind of hard not to have Latin influences. I grew up playing classical music. There's so much different stuff in there. I wouldn't even know where to begin to classify it. People compare us to a lot of bands that I go listen to; I'm like "How do you even get that from this?" I guess if I had to pick a genre, it would be "eclectic rock." Just rock with a lot of different stuff to it.

That seems to be like the state of music now. It just seems like a lot of music out there now isn't just one genre anymore. Just like a hybrid of all kinds of genres.

Justin: I know; I love it. I like to call it "anti-genre." I think the worst thing you can do for your band is to say, "Oh, we're a punk band" or "We're a ska band," if we're going to stick to making this kind of music. Nothing against punk or ska; that's what I grew up with. I think it's just a shame, and you might limit yourself musically when there's a whole world out there. You can delve into. So to the original question, the anti-genre. That's what we are.

Hydra Melody is from Helotes, just outside of San Antonio. How would you compare the Austin scene with the San Antonio music scene?

Justin: I love Austin. I used to live in Austin. I definitely say San Antonio has a tighter scene, has a better scene because... This is the way I figure it, okay? If you live in Austin, chances are you go to school in Austin. So you have a new cast of characters every four years coming in and out of Austin so you can't really build a solid scene there. I've played shows [in San Antonio] for kids that I've known 10 or 12 years that have been around our shows, going to shows and stuff. So I'd say that the scene in San Antonio definitely goes a lot deeper than the scene in Austin.

You guys just recently finished a West Coast tour. How did that go?

Justin: It was really cool. We played some really good shows. We made some really cool friends. Experienced some good things. The weather was horrible, but overall I say it was a success.

Was it cold?

Justin: It was really cold. We hit a snowstorm in southern Arizona. What the hell is that about? We saw snow from El Paso, like all the way, like 100 miles into Texas. Like fucking snow all over the ground! It looked like a fucking Arctic tundra or some shit. A lot of dust storms. Like blinding dust storms. We were hitting winds so bad that they were literally knocking 18-wheelers on their ass like on the side of the highway and stuff.

Where were you driving when that happened?

Justin: Well, we were driving in the really hard winds, but I think we missed those gusts that did that because it was probably about 10 miles after the winds kinda calmed down. We were driving and saw these 18 wheelers just flipped over. It was like right getting into California where those Santa Anna winds get real bad.

Are you currently working on a full-length album?

Justin: Yes, we are in the writing process right now. We're also in the process of trying to figure out where we want to do it and what route we want to go. We've been working with some producers on pretty much everything we've put out as The Hydra Melody. One of them is my cousin. His name's Anthony and another guy, Mack Damon, here in San Antonio. They're just awesome producers. We really like working with them, so we're kind of debating on whether to work with them right now or whether to try something different.

I know you're in the writing process of this album, but how would you compare the new material to your last albums?

Justin: I would almost compare "Maybe One Day" as even like a continuation of "Day of the Dukes," which was an album we did right before that. They could be an A-and-B type thing if you ask me. I think, in the past, all of our songs have really had a different feel to them from song to song. I think that even accentuates more with this new album. I think you're going to get something different out of every song. Like we said genre-wise, we might move from one to another, like really quick. And I think you can expect a lot more vocally going on as far as from the other members: myself and Robert. Maybe even Bobby. Bobby's kind - Austin Vida

We did a online pod cast when we were on a west coast tour. It was lots of fun! - Indie from the Living Room

Helotes rock band Hydra Melody began in 2001 as an after-school jam session for Stinson Middle School students Robert Pompa and Jordan Berlanga. Initially, eighth-grader Pompa played guitar and seventh-grader Berlanga played drums, but Berlanga, though he considered the guitar a “hobby” he “learned through finding tabs on the internet” soon came out from behind the kit.

“Once [Berlanga] hopped on guitar,” Pompa recalls, “he started singing and pretty much took over.”

The duo added a new drummer and a bassist and began playing pop-punk under the name Ready to Fail.

“I already had all these songs I’d written,” Berlanga explains of his switch to frontman, “so I thought let’s try this.”

Lineup and directional changes in ensuing years prompted a name change, and as Hydra Melody they’ve released two truncated albums — 2008’s six-song Day of the Dukes and last year’s three-track Maybe One Day — and plan to drop a full-length in either the summer or fall of 2010. Songs like “You’re What I Do on the Weekends” stretch the pop-punk frame with more involved instrumentals and abstract lyrics, and though it’s hard to differentiate between their voices, Pompa and Berlanga are swapping vocal duty. “Day of the Dukes is mostly me singing,” Berlanga says. “But on the Maybe One Day EP and the stuff we’re doing now, it’s more evenly split.”

After a January 17 show at White Rabbit, Hydra Melody will head to Southern California, where they’ve scheduled a handful of gigs, including a show at Hollywood’s famous Viper Room.

We talked to Pompa and Berlanga about evolving as a band and their conflicted feelings about the Mars Volta.

How did Ready to Fail become Hydra Melody?

JB: We added a keyboard player [Justin Berlanga] and new bass player [Bobby Hass] to Ready to Fail … and it wasn’t really pop-punk anymore. The keyboard added a different element that we really wanted to use, so we decided that name wasn’t really suitable at that point. It was kind of a dumb name to begin with.

Did people begin comparing you to the Mars Volta after you added a conga player [Manny Prince]?

RP: Even more so.

JB: We were already hearing that, but people really started comparing it then, and I think that kind of gave us the initiative to really go in a different direction.

I get the feeling you’re getting tired of that comparison.

RP: They would say that, and you listen to our songs and it doesn’t really sound like the Mars Volta —

JB: Well not anymore, yeah, but some of our earlier stuff that we don’t have up on MySpace … the Mars Volta was a huge influence, so it kind of came across that way, but I think we were really just trying to find ourselves at that point. We knew we didn’t want to play pop-punk anymore, and the music we were writing definitely wasn’t pop-punk anymore. I think it was really more a time period when we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do … learning the instruments more. We had just been playing power chords and little silly leads. We were trying to challenge ourselves.

What would you classify yourselves as now, if you had to?

JB: Man, I’d like just to say it’s rock. It’s just rock ’n’ roll, ’cause —

RP: I’d say progressive, progressive rock. … Our music progresses a lot. It goes from one style to another, but it’s still us. I’d just feel it’s necessary to call us that because it does progress.

JB: We all like a lot of different genres of music, and it all shows, I think, within the collaboration. So there’s a lot of different styles going on, and to us it’s something new. We’re trying to create something new, that at least we haven’t heard before. • - San Antonio Current

Hydra Melody, Westbound Departure, Northern Lights, Bear Foot, Dance Like Robots at Ten Eleven Hydra Melody, working with the “Maybe One Day” CD, has a cool S.A. rock sound that brings together influences including Latin rhythms and jazz strains. - San Antonio Express News

Hydra Melody, Westbound Departure, Northern Lights, Bear Foot, Dance Like Robots at Ten Eleven Hydra Melody, working with the “Maybe One Day” CD, has a cool S.A. rock sound that brings together influences including Latin rhythms and jazz strains. - San Antonio Express News

Hydra Melody is a bit of Coldplay, Matt & Kim, a dash of latin-pop background rhythm. Add perfectly clear vocals, choruses, bridges, a bit of jazzy rock and your ears will be satisfied. From their first song to their last they played from their hearts which could be seen with their physical movements and emotions.

Hydra Melody opened for Third Eye Blind. Being on tour as support to a headliner can be difficult. The support is there to warm up the crowd, gain massive exposure, and hopefully create new loving fans that want to hear more and more. Hydra Melody accomplished every single goal that night. The fans were immediately jamming, moving their bodies, and nodding their heads.

If the band could only hear how much the crowd was talking about them after they were done with their set they would be grinning from ear to ear. The chatter was constant on the main floor, upstairs, and outside on the porches.

Numerous artists visit the House of Blues Orlando as opening support for headliners and then they are seen coming back as a headliner. Hydra Melody definitely has a chance to come back as a headliner and blow the crowd away one more time. - Examiner

Three good-looking, well-dressed men approach the ’50s-style booth in the corner of the bar at Chuy’s—it seems appropriate to meet one of San Antonio’s more outwardly successful bands in the ever-expanding Texas-born chain restaurant.

As the rest of the members of Hydra Melody trickle in, they all casually introduce themselves to talk about Friday’s show at Jack’s Bar, the first local concert since last November. With three EPs, two nationwide contests (finalists in one, winners in the other) and a monumental tour behind them, the Hydra Melody members give off a certain confidence. Though the alt-rock band initially formed in 2005, the most recent—and most successful—lineup has been together since 2011.

“We’ve all been in and out of bands for a really long time,” Jordan Berlanga, lead vocalist and founding member, told the Current. “I’ve known our two percussionists [Manny Prince and Matt Gomez] since middle school and high school and we’ve all been jamming together for over a decade now.”

Once Jason Harari, bassist, and Taylor Ferguson, lead guitar, joined Hydra Melody, Berlanga said the focus shifted to touring, branding and the business side of the industry—not that they’re looking to get famous by any means necessary. All five agree tending to business themselves for as long as possible is preferable to having a label do it for them.

“We don’t want to do anything that involves signing our lives away until we know we have our business in order,” said Harari. “Unless somebody offers us something that is undeniable—like in The Godfather, they make an offer you can’t refuse—I think the dream come true would be that we never sign. We’re not willing to take the risk of being thrown to the bottom of the stack because Katy Perry wants to do a new record.”

Prince agreed when Berlanga, equating a music label’s support to a loan, said many bands don’t realize that money must be paid back before revenue can be generated.

“It’s great doing it homegrown, though,” Prince said. “From the business aspect, we’ve really figured out what a record label is—it’s just money from a bank.”

Big Gigs and Teen Dreams
Perhaps the biggest break for Hydra Melody in 2013 was an invitation to join ’90s alternative rock icons Third Eye Blind for a 20th anniversary tour sponsored by House of Blues. The headliners chose a different band to open on each leg of the tour, and Hydra Melody joined the likes of Gentlemen Hall and Team (the latter is ex-Boys Like Girls bass player Bryan Donahue’s new project).

In spite of little name recognition, Hydra Melody’s manager Chad Richardson contacted artists he knew would be touring in the upcoming months to solidify a spot for the band. Third Eye Blind, a last-ditch, shot-in-the-dark effort, was the band that bit.

“We got lucky,” Harari said. “We were the underdog and the indie band.”

The nine-day tour began November 17 in Orlando, Fla., and ended December 1 in New Orleans. - San Antonio Current

Third Eye Blind hasn’t released a new album since 2009’s Ursa Major. And—nearly a year ago—singer Stephan Jenkins tweeted that the band’s next disc would likely be the last.

There’s still no word on when 3EB’s fabled fifth disc will drop, or what it’ll be called, but the ‘90s alternative rockers are still making the rounds. The quintet warmed things up at House of Blues Cleveland on Sunday night, thrilling a sold-out crowd with a string of smash singles from its two-decade history as temps outside dipped into the low 20s.

Jenkins—the Palo Alto native who founded the group and authored (or co-wrote) its many hits—teased fans by taking the stage in a hooded sweatshirt, making quite the display for someone who looked as if he were trying to stay concealed. Kicking things into gear with snippets of “Don’t Believe a Word,” “Red Summer Sun,” and “Losing a Whole Year,” Jenkins and the band were either shrouded in darkness or blotted out by glaring strobe lights for the show’s first fifteen minutes. The mercurial front man sang into a microphone suspended from the ceiling, then strummed a twelve-string guitar up front, his razor-stubbled chin barely visible in the foogy shadows.

Jenkins eased up on “Crystal Baller” (from 2003’s Out of the Vein) and “Non-Dairy Creamer” (from 2008’s Red Star EP), dropping his hood and ditching the guitar to (finally) interact with GA ticketholders crammed on the floor. He made devil horns with his fingertips as the spots flared red, signaling a mischievous mood that charged the one-two punch of “Danger” and “Faster” and lasted the whole 100-minute show. Jenkins called for a show of hands from all the veteran 3EB concertgoers but also welcomed the “virgins,” assuring both parties that this would be the group’s best show yet.

If it wasn’t, Jenkins and co. certainly made a go of it, transfixing the venue with the 1999 chart-topper “Never Let You Go” and 1997 anthem “Graduate.” The bandleader dabbled on a red Gibson Casino guitar but left most of the heavy lifting to Irish six-stringer Kryz Reid (who’s been on board since 2010), which enabled Jenkins to roam, thwack a tambourine, or simply jump in place. The lighting themes transitioned from amber to violet to green as 3EB shifted through “Water Landing,” “Bonfire,” and “Wounded,” setting Stephan up for an unaccompanied solo (“Slow Motion”).

The show’s second half consisted of more cuts from the band’s eponymous ’97 debut and ’99 follow-up, Blue, with a drum spot by longtime percussionist Brad Hargreaves shoehorned in for good measure. “Motorcycle Drive-By,” “Jumper,” and “1,000 Julys” kept fans singing and dancing along in a tizzy, with Jenkins having stripped off most of his several layers of black garb and Hargreaves locking in with new bassist Alex LeCavalier. Alex Kopp handled keyboards, rendering fairly accurate versions of 3EB’s studio gems.

The California troupe encored with old standby “Narcolepsy” before unleashing saccharine-sweet FM breakthrough “Semi-Charmed Life” and its familiar “I want something else” / doo-doo-doot refrain as the band’s moniker ignited behind them, the letters bright enough to land airplanes. Jenkins summonsed the constellations of the zodiac for his edgy sign-off, “God of Wine,” corking a bright, effervescent (if cold) downtown evening.

San Antonio’s Hydra Melody captivated and convinced with a half-hour opening slot that pureed classic rock and funk. Led by singer / guitarist Jordan Berlanga, the five-piece got heads bobbing and hands waving with “Sunsets,” “This Road,” “Tangerine,” and other tracks from its first 3 EPs. Taylor Ferguson contributed lead guitar on a Les Paul, while bassist Jason Harari laid the grooves at the opposite end of the stage. Drummer Matt Gomez kept time, with keyboardist Manny Prince adding auxiliary percussion on congas / bongos.

The guys were as humble as they are talented. Berlanga thanked Cleveland for the nice reception—and for his (unbelievably) first glimpse of show ever. - Examiner

After winning a national contest, alternative rock band, Hydra Melody is on tour with one of the biggest bands out of the 90's Third Eye Blind! Watch the video in the player above for a performance of their song "Devil in Disguise". - Kansas City Live