The Answer is AllTheAbove

This past April I’m sitting in my friend’s house in North Carolina. She tells me that her son is having a friend over the house that night. Oh, and the friend is in this band that, coincidentally, started out in Port Jefferson, the town right next door to me on Long Island, NY. Weird, I thought, as I sat 700 miles away from home.

So the friend and one of his band mates stop by and they’re these quiet, unassuming 16-year-old guys who I’m thinking may have mastered the first five chords of “Smoke on the Water,” played it incessantly in their basement, and figured a band was born. Heh -- not.

Fast forward a few weeks, when I got to see the guys perform here on Long Island at The Prohibition in Holbrook. Holy smokes. For all of the major acts I’ve seen over the years, it’s pretty cool when you stumble upon an “undiscovered” band that blows you away. It’s just another part of the musical experience that excites you.

The band I refer to is AllTheeAbove (or ATA), a power quartet of young, talented guys (three of them from Long Island – two from our own North Shore) who are currently riding a wave from North Carolina right up the east coast. And they’ve only just begun.

ATA is Eric Priest, 25, on lead vocals; Tony Zamparelli, 25, on drums; Peter Raughter, 17, on guitar, and William Trimble, 17, on bass and backup vocals. Their musical skills and showmanship far exceed their years yet they remain remarkably humble. But as soon as they hit the stage, they escape into this otherworld that you eagerly follow.

Their newest CD, “Meant to Be” contains 15 original songs that combine punk, grunge, metal and hip-hop, but always produces straight-ahead rock, most of which are remarkably memorable for their catchy melodies and impressive instrumentals. A few of the songs that stand out are “Grab the Mic and Spit,” a harder-edged rock/rap number (with shout-outs to Priest’s hometown of Bellmore), the uptempo and anthemic “Home Again,” and two versions of “Eyes and Teeth,” where Priest softly yearns, in the acoustic version, “And I promise to remember you when I’m far away/I will be back again, count on it, my heart still remains the same.”

That said, however, my pick for best song goes to the frenetic, guitar-driven “Five Times into the Mirror.” As Priest tells it, he was sitting in a friend’s house one day checking out some DVDs on a shelf when he spotted “Candyman.” The result was his penning “Five Times into the Mirror,” based on the movie’s legend that chanting the name “Candyman” five times into a mirror will summon the Candyman at the cost of his/her own life. Priest sings, “Don’t say his name in the mirror, he’s deep within your soul/Blood thirsty inhuman demons, smothered in honey unleash the bees/Try and disprove his folklore and revenge he'll take/They thought it was just a story, to frighten children at night/The more they believed, what they believed was right.” Priest’s menacing vocals and Zamparelli’s racing beats accommodate the myth of the Candyman in all its frightening glory. The song will be ATA’s first video, now in the editing stages, and shaping up to be as chilling as the movie.

Performing live, Priest is all over the place, jumping off and onstage, losing himself in the moment, while Trimble, Raughter and Zamparelli solidly carry the music. Trimble’s compelling bass, Raughter’s searing guitar and Zamparelli’s intense drumming form a tight, dynamic sound that keeps the audience screaming for more at every show. They’ve amassed a large group of fans as faithful as any Deadhead (including yours truly). With exceeding numbers attending their gigs, the band has earned regular airplay on WEND-FM, 106.5, a “new rock” station based in Charlotte, NC.

The band cites Coheed and Cambria, Finch, Green Day, Deftones, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin as musical influences.

Between their original songs ATA will sprinkle in a few cover tunes like Offspring ’s “Come Out and Play,” and Ozzy Crazy Train, done in a “new rock” genre as potent as the originals. One song, “Your Love,” surpasses the Outfield’s version as ATA gives the song an extra kick.

Andrew Sulloew, president of Power of Music Productions, a live music production company that has collaborated with internationally-known acts like Zebra and Quiet Riot, worked with ATA at The Zebra Club and had only good things to say about the band. “ AllTheeAbove is a driving force that’s been making a name for themselves up and down the east coast,” Sulloew says. “Combining alternative rock music with nu metal and a touch of hip hop, these guys offer just about every music fan something. If their original tunes are not enough, the band’s onstage energy will definitely have you shouting ‘ATA!’ in no time at all!”

 The band’s manager, Rev. Bill Trimble, who also happens to be the band’s father, says he is “proud and honored to be a part of ATA not only because they are my sons but because they work very hard to follow their dreams.” Trimble makes the band a top priority, booking their gigs and publicity events, traveling with them to every show, setting up equipment, helping to design stage sets, and keeping the energy and motivation going when the pace gets hectic.

“I’ve instilled the belief in the guys that says you’ve gotta go through hell to get to heaven and heaven is only a dream away,” says Trimble.

Check out the band at www.myspace.com/AllTheeAboveBand or www.atamf.com.

They’re talented, they’re hot, and they’re riding the East Coast. They’re AllTheeAbove. Go see ‘em.

SARAH BATTAGLIA