The Galvanics were cemented as a Boston band in the spring of 2014. “I got the itch to get out and play again,” says Michael Austin, lead guitarist, after a hiatus from a few Boston-based projects and a healthy dose of gigging in his native Texas. Convincing Colin Lukens to play bass over keys, Austin and Lukens began to craft punky, dreamy, and sludgy rock songs. As luck would have it, a mutual friend introduced them to Chris Lawler, former drummer for the discordant, shoegazing band Eyes Like Knives. Over a pub night, they plotted an initial course and the group became three.
The trio’s first EP, Light and Sound, came together in short order. Their first of many records with producer Matt Girard, their rehearsal space neighbor at the time, featured their initial ideas: Light & Sound, Permission, and Andromeda. The lean and straight-ahead tracks presented on Light and Sound captures the energy of playing anew. After area gigs and radio appearances, the band set its sights on recording a budding set of songs that drew further from their influences in 70s- and grunge-era guitar rock. What burst forth was Stars in Flame with its signature lead-off track Gunnison, supported by the rave up Rivers Roll, and Who-esque Exit Regina. Recorded at Woolly Mammoth Studios (Waltham, MA) and Revolution Sound Studio (Charleston, MA), the latter which would become their home for the next four recordings, the Galvanics knew they needed an additional voice. Enter Carlos Cardenas, whose projects in his native Colombia included instrumental prog rock band Baco and funk rock duo Maggarret. “Carlos immediately took the stories in our songs to eleven and brought in new influences and ideas,” says Lukens.
The quartet dived deep into different influences for their third EP Rain at Dawn. Reflecting the band’s love for Pink Floyd, Bowie, and Soundgarden, the songs Rain at Dawn and The Lift featured their now signature lyrical style of historical storytelling and interpreting dreams. To highlight the band’s drama and verve, classically-trained vocalist James Capobianco took up the microphone. “James gives us that opportunity to go further,” says Lawler. Another Galvanics tradition, the blues-driven love song, makes another appearance in the one-off, AM radio era track Everything I Got.
Firing on five cylinders, the band was able to record and release its next EP Mirage just as the pandemic was taking root. Featuring the road trip rocker Game of Love, prog stylings a-la King Crimson in Oasis, and ending with the apocalyptic thriller Go!, the record signaled a new direction and energy. “The Go! you hear on the record was recorded live and the band’s first take - the volume and excitement are palpable,” says Cardenas, who also plays keyboards. Soulful keys, vocal highs, and a throbbing rhythm soak a message of longing in the band’s follow-up single High and Rising.
Emerging from the pandemic, the band returned to Woolly Mammoth Studios armed with a set of ambitious and personal songs. Under direction from the inimitable David Minehan (The Neighborhoods, The Replacements, Aerosmith), Seesaw features the multi-part suite Alight, the bittersweet and reflective Boyle Hall, and the Grunge-era screamer Windowpane. Capobianco sums up the EP this way: “Lyrically the songs are really interesting and great to sing, and our hope is they connect with listeners. The music really rocks, too.”
Returning to the core four in 2024 (with the departure of Capobianco), the band has been focusing on instrumentals, improvisational jams, and rearranging some of the original catalog. Returning this past summer to Woolly Mammoth Studios and producer Minehan, the Galvanics plan to release a new EP this fall.
