The band’s two founding members also make up two-fifths of EMURG Rising Five favorites Throwing Gravity and are ready to take Until the Anthem to the same heights that made Throwing Gravity a household name amongst EMURGers.

Part I:

JS: How did you come up with the band name?
UTA: It was actually a candidate for another band that we were in at the time.  We both loved it, but it didn’t stick so we decided to use it for this project.

JS: What artists/bands/songs/albums influenced you?
UTA: Some of the influences you’ll hear on this record are (in no particular order):  Muse, Linkin Park, December Radio, Foo Fighters, and Anberlin.

JS: What are you listening to right now?
UTA: Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Fever Ray, Army of Anyone and Radiohead.  At this moment, I’m listening to a radio station based on Foster the People on Spotify.  Spotify is truly amazing.

JS: What’s your favorite show/performance been as a band?
UTA: We recently played a smaller show at The End in Nashville that was a lot of fun.  It’s a smaller room in town with a great feel and great sound.  We had a lot of friends there, so it turned out to be a blast.

JS: If I want people to remember one song from your band, it would be…

UTA: Either The Fall or Six Feet.  I’d probably say The Fall.

Part II:
JS: You have listed Jesse Triplett and Tom DuPree III as the founding
members. However, you describe yourselves as a four-piece. Who are the other
members and what are their backgrounds?

UTA: Nicely done.  Way to pick up on that!  The other two members of the group are Joe Pangallo on guitar – Joe was in a band called Day of Fire for many years and has played shows around the globe with bands like Daughtry and Sevendust – and Chris Boyle on bass – Boyle (we don’t call him Chris) has toured the world with various country artists as well and even filled in for Day of Fire with Joe for a while.  They are both MONSTER players and we are so thankful to have them on board.

JS: You all have gotten to rub shoulders with some musical greats. Who
gave you the best advice and helped get you to where you are now
musically?
UTA: Some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten (via Jesse actually) came quite recently actually. Jesse was having a conversation with Collective Soul’s manager, Fred, about starting this new project and they got into the changes that have happened in the business within the last decade, and Fred said something to the effect of (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Despite all the changes that have occurred in music, the one that hasn’t changed is that if you go out and you play, and you’re good, and you have good songs, people will like it.”  That really resonated with me.  I believe that to be completely true.

JS: What has been the hardest struggle for Until the Anthem?
UTA: Honestly, the hardest part has probably been getting this project to a point where it’s got some legs underneath it and can actually start to move.  I believe we’ve finally gotten to that point and now we’re ready to start running.

JS: Where do you see the band going in the next year?
UTA: Our main goal within the next year is to develop a strong presence within about 300 miles of Nashville by having an absolutely killer live show.  In my opinion, the strongest aspect of our band is the musicianship.  We don’t feel limited at all in that way, and we plan to take advantage of that talent in our live show.  You’ll want to see us on stage.  We’re going to be doing some pretty impressive stuff.

JS: Who is one producer or musician you would love to work with on an album?
UTA: I think Jesse and I both would love to work with Eric Valentine on a record.  He’s produced some killer records for bands like Lostprophets and Third Eye Blind.  We’re both huge fans of his work and we feel like he would get the vision that we have for this band.

You can buy Until the Anthem’s February self-titled debut at Amazon and you can actually check out the album on their Facebook page as well.

They went from opening in rinky dink venues to opening for the likes of Smile Empty Soul, Taproot and Saliva. Their hard work has paid off tenfold and they’re now ready to embark on a small Northeast tour with hard rock heavyweights and EMURG favorites Eye Empire, who they’ve already opened for once this year.

It’s also rare that you get an opportunity to interview all of the members of a band and these guys were gracious enough to grant me that interview.

Charetta is:

Angelina DelCarmen – Vocals

Pablo LaFrossia – Guitarist

Chris Fullam – Guitarist

Richard Mollo – Bass

Adonis Sanchez – Drums

Part I:

CFW: How did you come up with the band name?
RICHARD: It’s a deadly killer beatle in Egypt.
ANGELINA: It’s how they pronounce “Shredder” from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Panama where my mother is from. They also say “Maaaageeever” instead of “MacGyver”.
CHRIS: It’s the name of a man-made virus that can wipe out 95% of the population.
PABLO: After Angelina saved a little girl from being hit by a bus. Her name was Charetta. After she saved her life, she asked her if she can have her MySpace name (myspace.com/charetta), but Charetta said no!
ADONIS: It’s the name a young girl who life I saved. I saved her from an oncoming bus.

CFW: What artists/bands/songs/albums influenced you?
RICHARD: Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) & Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
ANGELINA: Alanis Morrisette. Tool. Alicia Keys. Chevelle. Etta James. Red.
CHRIS: Finger Eleven, Live, Creed, Linkin Park, Our Lady Peace, Rise Against
PABLO: Dokken, Dio, Creed, Alter Bridge, Chevelle, Godsmack
ADONIS: Sevendust, Sting, Alter Bridge, Toto, Neil Diamond, The Police, Rubén Blades.

CFW: What are you listening to right now?
RICHARD: Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline
ANGELINA: Sara Bareilles – Gravity
CHRIS: A Day To Remember – What Separates You From Me
PABLO: Dark New Day – New Tradition; Staind; Evanescence
ADONIS: Dark New Day – New Tradition and Foo Fighters – In Your Honor.

CFW: What’s your favorite show/performance been as a band?
RICHARD: Hiro Ballroom w/ Exist Trace
ANGELINA: Selling out for the first time ever by local bands- Irving Plaza. (being a part of making NYC history)
CHRIS: Hiro Ballroom with Exist Trace – tons of crowd energy.
PABLO: Irving Plaza in NYC
ADONIS: Hiro Ballroom with Exist Trace, we had all of their fans right up on the stage.

CFW: If I want people to remember one song from our band, it would be…
RICHARD: “It Runs in the Blood”
ANGELINA: This is like asking which child I like best- and that’s not easy for me to say because I have no children, but I always hope people walk away with “Lights Out” in their head- first time hearing it.
CHRIS: When I was auditioning, they played me a “new song” that was unreleased. That song was “Lights Out.” That was the song that sold me on joining the band.
PABLO: “Lights Out”
ADONIS: “Lights Out”

Part II:

CFW: You guys recently put out the EP, A Nation Distracted. Was there a different approach (writing/recording) for the EP from the debut album Defying the Inevitable?
PABLO: This time around, we wanted to make a record that represented us as a band. When we recorded Defying the Inevitable, we’d been together for about twelve months, so our writing was still developing. I think its evident how much we’ve grown together since.

CFW: Did you have any extra songs planned for A Nation Distracted or are you working on new music now?
CHRIS: There were some songs that were left over from A Nation Distracted, but we felt it was best to focus on brand new songs since we have all grown as songwriters, both individually, and as a group.

Our goal is to have each release show our maturity as artists, so thats why we decided to leave the past in the past. We have around five “work in progress” songs right now, two of which we started playing live recently.

“I’m Not Your Bitch,” is my personal favorite to play right now because its a fast-paced aggressive track (as the title indicates). To contrast, “Not Made of Stone,” is a powerful ballad which has quickly turned into a fan favorite live. We are really excited to go back into the studio to record all of the new songs. We’re aiming to do that in the summer/fall of this year, and release a new EP from those sessions.

CFW: Of the music videos you’ve released, do you have a favorite? Do you plan on making any more for this new EP?
RICHARD: “Lights Out” is my favorite because we were able to have a bunch of our friends/fans involved in the making of it. And we all love the way it came out. Directors JayR Castillo and Sigh Robes did an amazing job. Plus, we got to have chicks fighting, which is always cool. No immediate plans to do another video from the EP as of right now, but you never know what creative ideas might pop up before our next release.

CFW: “Bully” is my personal favorite song on the new EP. Have current events (such as the recent shooting at Chardon High School and bullying suicides) inspired that or is it more personal?
ANGELINA: There were many current events, particularly the death of Tyler Clementi that opened up my memories of feeling trapped by my own bully. I wanted to write a song that helped people- of all ages build strength to stand up to their bullies, who are essentially abusers. And when you stop thinking they have any say on who you are and start seeing them as exactly what they are, abusive, that’s when you start KNOWING you’re in the right to put them in their place.

CFW: What do you want your fans or new listeners to take away from A Nation Distracted?
ADONIS: I obviously want them to enjoy it, but I also want them to see how we’ve grown as a band. I want them to always expect good music from us and I want to be sure we give it to them.

I’m not afraid to show a little local bias for Charetta. They’ve always put on a fantastic show and I’m ready for whatever new stuff they put out. In the meantime, you can check out their most recent EP A Nation Distracted on Amazon.