The Calling
The five members of rock group The Calling are now reaping the benefits of the old saw that good things come to those who wait. Initially signed to a development deal by an impressed A&R staffer a couple of years ago, songwriters Alex Band and Aaron Kamin were allowed to nurture their sound over time, eventually adding Sean Woolstenhulme (guitar), Billy Mohler (bass) and Nate Wood (drums) before recording their acclaimed debut album, Camino Palmero.
Guitarist Kamin and vocalist Band first met several years ago, when Kamin was dating Band's sister. After seeing Band's guitar, Kamin says, "I asked his sister if he was any good, and she said yes. When she told me he was 15, I said, 'Oh, please.' But once I heard him sing, I realized I'd never heard anyone like him. The age difference became a non-issue."
Originally, the adolescent pair toured southern California in a band called Generation Gap, featuring a 40-year-old bassist and a 58-year-old drummer. The joke soon grew stale, however, and Band and Kamin soon rededicated themselves to the basics. "We knew that the only way to gain respect was to write our way into everyone's hearts and minds," Kamin says.
The Calling was given a huge break when they were asked to perform "Wherever You Will Go" in a scene from the film Coyote Ugly. That song is still picking up airplay nationwide, helping to turn the group into a formidable live act.
Songcraft remains of paramount importance to the group. "Too many people get lost writing just for themselves," says Kamin. "It's a big world, and as writers, we're onlookers, describing what we see and feel."
"We never stop writing," adds Band. "The people that work with us understand that things come fast and furious from us. This is the real deal."
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