Oblivious Signal

I assume that fans of Lacuna Coil and the multiple likes may dig Florida’s Oblivious Signal. I am not 100% sure on that because I have only heard about half a song from that band. The singer is hot though. Like their Italian counterparts, Oblivious Signal is led by a looker. Her name is Cristina Feliciano and she has enough range to pull all the operatic sticky melodicisms of a gothic rock band without a flinch. She can also pull the heavy parts, which quite frankly are not that heavy. Some of the riffs are straight out of the melodic Swedish death metal school, with an emphasis on the ‘melodic’. With Feliciano’s vocals on top though the music comes out as soft and mushy. That’s softer and mushier than I like my noise. For the sake of objectivity though, I don’t see why Oblivious Signal may not compete. Their four song demo shows promise, which is something considering the band members look like they are straight out of high school.



http://www.deafsparrow.com/thegood-thebad-theunsigned-2-feature.htm - Deaf Sparrow

Florida based Melodic Metal band Oblivious Signal recently released their new video for the song “The Inflicted Shame.” Check out the video below as well as a sneak peak behind the scenes with the band’s guitarist Nick Orisino and vocalist Cristina T. Feliciano. - Guitar International

The night before they steal the show at NAMM, the Oblivious Signal take to the Viper Room stage as part of the heaviest industry showcase in town. This originally-Floridian, lady-fronted metal outfit stays just this side of melodic narrative, without sacrificing the head-banging edge long hair and spike collars were invented for. The rest of the bill is just as loud, and just as worked up over NAMM, including loud-ass indie rockers like Bound, Theft, Superficial Saints, and Society Red.

– Shana Nys Dambrot

http://flavorpill.com/losangeles/events/2010/1/13/oblivious-signal-w-superficial-saints-theft-bound-and-society-red - Flovorpill.com

I talked to the women of indie bands Andale! and Goodbye Gadget; metal band Oblivious Signal; and rock bands Hydrovibe and Ten Year Vamp about life as rocker chics. These 5 bands each have various experiences and musical styles, but they share one quality: dynamic female ‘frontmen’....

....Cristina: "To be honest, in some ways being a female lead in a band makes some aspects in regards to catching attention and marketing a little bit easier. It’s easier to appeal both to male and female demographics because you are the eye candy for the guys, regardless of whether many like to admit it or not, and in turn the girls look up to you. With these two elements though, I do have more to think about then the guys. For example, though I’d hate to admit it, I do have to worry about my looks and being healthy is always an issue. I can’t go out and eat all the fast food with the guys as much as I’d love to sometimes. I have to be careful with what I say or do, because unlike the guys…people tend to remember what I say a lot more clearly...."


http://iamthetrend.com/2009/12/01/whats-a-girl-to-do-an-interview-with-5-up-and-coming-girl-bands/ - I Am The Trend

Oblivious Signal has spent most of 2009 playing regional shows as well as writing music for their upcoming album produced by Platinum Producer Luis Salazar. This year has brought a variety of opportunities for the band including opening up for national acts such as Devolved (Sony BMG), The Gun Show, The Blood Reckoning, Circle II Circle, and others, as well as a Hot Topic Florida tour.

The Oblivious demo hit the top 20 spot on MySpace Metal Charts in 2008 and they have plans to release a full length before the end of the year. Praised as melodic metal, the Florida band stands out from others with an enticing female lead singer/screamer and has performed their entire set in Spanish at a recent festival...

http://www.forthesound.com/2009/09/oblivious-signal - www.forthesound.com

Fresh off their highly-successful showcase performance at this years winter NAMM conference in L.A., and preparing for the upcoming release of their next album Into the Night, South-Florida based metal band Oblivious signal is turning heads with their unique brand of melodic metal. Performing songs in both English and Spanish, the Broward based band has been working overtime recently to get the word out about their recent E.P. release and prepare their fans for their upcoming full length album set to be out in stores early in the new year.

Most metal bands featuring a powerful female lead vocalist will automatically be categorized as the next Evanescence or Flyleaf clone, but not these four up and comers. Featuring intensely heavy, in your face, metal, thrilling guitar work and a good mixture of softer, acoustic songs, Oblivious Signal has managed to blow past these comparisons to develop their own, unique brand of heavy metal music....
Link:
http://modernguitarist.guitarinternational.com/wpmu/2010/01/13/oblivioussignal/
- Modern Guitarist

check it out @ www.ObliviousSignal.com

The Blog Section or PDF on the Pics Mag Reviews. - Rag Magazine

When Cristina Feliciano hooked up with Oblivious Signal last year, it marked quite a transition for the melodic metal group.

The Broward-based band has blended her vocal prowess on emotional storytelling with heavy riffs, blast beats and bold bass lines.

"It's an adventure," Feliciano said. "People never know what they're going to hear next."

The reconfigured lineup is creating a buzz onstage and via the Web overseas. Oblivious Signal is building an Internet fan base in Italy, Finland and Germany, Feliciano said.

Founded in 2003 by drummer Jason Talley and guitarist Nick Orisino, the band also includes Jesse Iglesias on bass.

Feliciano, of Tamarac, wasn't seeking a permanent gig when answering Talley and Orisino's ad.

"I was looking for a side project," she said. "But when I met the guys, we clicked instantly. Music is our love, our passion."

The band put out a four-track demo in May and are looking for a full-length release next spring.

Oblivious Signal will play Sept. 4 at Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-374-1198; tobacco-road.com) and Sept. 5 at Alligator Alley (1321 E. Commercial Blvd., Oakland Park; 954-771-2220; alligatoralleyflorida.com).

Go to myspace.com/oblivioussignal

- MetroMix.com

After weeks of speculation, the female fronted, melodious hard rock band Oblivious Signal announced that they have officially signed with acclaimed manager John Tovar. The move comes on the brink of completing their first full length release "Into The Night," an album that parts from their previous metal sound and verges into the realm of more mainstream rock. While when the occasion calls for it, Feliciano will still belt out her renown screams, they are saved for live events and not prevalent on the radio friendly album.

This CD represents not only their new sound and the progress they have made as musicians, but will include songs done in Spanish. The Puerto Rican heritage of front woman Cristina Feliciano allows this band to stand out even more from the rest, with her capacity to sing all of their songs in Spanish for special shows.

Oblivious Signal recently played several notable shows, including a performance at NAMM, headlining at The Viper Room in Hollywood, and the Kryptonite Festival in Miami.

Feliciano is enthusiastic about the bands future, stating "We feel this is a great opportunity for the band, and this is going to make us stronger in many aspects. The Tovar Management Group along with the public relations dept of Static Management are going to provide that extra pull we need in order to really make it to the next level in the industry. We are very excited, and can't wait to see what this year holds for us as we move ahead with this strong team of people that believe in us."

Tovar, known for his work with Marylin Manson and The Mavericks among others, had been given several of the band's demos over the last year from fans of Oblivious Signal and finally made arrangements to meet with the band and talk about their future.

After meeting with Oblivious Signal and seeing a live performance he was impressed with their talent and potential enough to immediately put together contracts with them and set them up to have songs re-mixed by colleague Keith Morrison.

He was especially impressed by Feliciano's abilities as a vocalist in the hard rock genre, a genre Tovar says is "a man's world. It shouldn't be, but it is."
He elaborates, "The reason I have passion for that band is because Cristina has one of the best voices I've heard in the genre of rock and metal. And she has, the fact that she has, there's very few good, active female singers. I think this girl has excellent potential . They are great live, have a ton of energy live. She is great fronting the band. It's very hard to find someone like Cristina."

If you want to find Cristina, you can go to www.oblivioussignal.com to hear new tracks or see live photos from the Viper Room showcase.

- Female Metal.com

When you think of mainstream female rock, Oblivious Signal should be one of the first names that comes to mind. A powerhouse of vocals backed by screaming guitar riffs and distinct drum beats. Lyrically this band is ahead of the competition and Cristina’s vocals are weaved effortlessly around the melodies and blended fluently in harmony. The band’s new record Into the Night which is released this month promises a richer new sound along with the remastering of songs from their demo, and PopCultureMonster for one cannot wait to get his paws on it. Until that day, he’ll have to make do with having the pleasure of sitting down with their lead singer Cristina T. Feliciano for a natter this week…

Firstly, how did the name come about?

The funny story behind this is that no one knows. One day my old drummer was just sitting around and thought, ‘Oblivious Signal sounds like a cool name’. Since I came into the band in 2007, we decided it was time to attach a real meaning. So together we came with the idea that Oblivious Signal signifies how people sometimes give an impression/signal, and they are oblivious to that impression that they give out. A lot of the songs deal with the outcome of certain situations like that.

How did the band come about? What inspired you to make music together?

Nick’s dad worked at HomeDepot with Jason, and basically introduced the two and they started jamming. That was in 2003. After the singer they had left the band, and they had no bass player, the search for a new singer began. That is when I came into the picture. I had recently left another band, and was looking into something I would feel comfortable and call home, musically speaking. I came in and jammed with the guys, and we just clicked. The music took a different direction when I joined though. It went to a more hard rock feel as opposed to the heavy screamo metal the band was doing before. The screamo stuff was really ripping my vocal chords apart and we came to a point where I told the guys I couldn’t do it throughout EVERY song, and they were great about it, and here we are now with a melodic metal/hardrock album coming out. Our inspiration to make music together was very simple. We all want to make a living out of this because it is our passion and we are willing to do whatever it takes.

Who are your biggest influences?

Nick’s biggest influence is Metallica. That is the reason he began to play guitar and write. His other influences include Led Zepplin, Alanis Morissette, and Alice in Chains.

My biggest influences right now are Laura Pausini and Cristina Scabbia. I also have a thing for Carrie Underwood…her vocal range is awesome.

What’s the creative process when it comes to songwriting?

Before Nick and our old drummer would jam out music at a rehearsal studio. Now Nick and I tend to do most of the songwriting together at my in home studio. We track some basic guitar rhythms and patterns onto Ableton or Logic, or I will play something on the keys of a melody that I think sounds cool, or maybe hum it out to him haha. Sometimes I already have lyrics done and try to find the perfect rhythm Nick has done and match it up. We started approaching this method more during the Into The Night album writing. The actual song “Into The Night” from that album was a lyrical collaboration of both Nick and me. “The Inflicted Shame” and “What Drowns Out the Screams” from the album also had the same technique and I think Nick’s metal background with my pop background really made those songs the strongest.

Can you take us through the technical aspects of getting your music ready once the song has been written?

When we have the song ready after recording scratch guitars, we practice it like crazy and work on any new parts we may want to add etc. We then go on to find the bpm we are going to record it at. Our new drummer Dan Hammler prefers to play with a click track so we must have everything to a click. After the songs are ready to be written we go into a studio and drums get tracked first. This takes about a day, depending on how many songs we are bringing in. Then it takes 2-3 days for guitar tracks to be tracked. After the guitars bass usually takes one day. The vocals sessions have always been the killer parts. I do one song in about 4 hours then I am done for the day. That includes all the background vocals, any necessary restructuring, etc. So vocals can take up to 10 days sometimes. That is if you do NOT want to hurt your vocal chords. Once everything is tracked it gets edited, any drums, guitars, bass, or vocals that are off get tuned, and then equalized. Then we master, then we duplicate.

Could I read your Poker Face?

I don’t know, I personally have a good poker face…Nick couldn’t lie if the world depended on it…he always cracks up and giggles after a lie. Haha! But you know what, now that I think about it he is kick ass as Poker player…so maybe he does have a good Poker face haha. Popopopopoker face…Sorry got reminded of the South Park episode where Cartman sings that..HILARIOUS!

What’s your ultimate goal as a musician?

To make this a career. Travel the world. Nick wants to share the stage with Metallica someday and influence the world with the music. I want to use whatever influential power as a musician to develop and invest in other artists.

If you could collaborate with one band/artist who would it be? And why?

Nick and I would definitely love to collaborate with Alanis Morissette! That would be the craziest collab but would be siiick!

Is there one song that every time you hear it you think, God I wish I had written that?

Haha…”Bring me to Life” by Evanesence. That was basically the start of mainstream female rock.

If a PopCultureMonster was eating your house, what one thing would you save?

I’m sure a PopCultureMonster wouldn’t get past my lion of a cat named Nala…she will attack anything in site and doesn’t care how big it is. She has attacked at one point or another every one of my band members. But I would think I’d save her.

Are you ever compared to other strong female rock singers?

Yes, all the time! I am frankly okay with it. Other female fronted artists get annoyed, but to me I find it a compliment. I hope one day someone can compare new and up coming artists to me.

You have co-written with other artists, how do you find co-writing as opposed to writing alone?

I have to be in an insane state of mind to write. It is usually 3am in the morning and my mind is on crazy person overdrive. I find at night you are a different person that when sanity kicks in during the day. I can’t do this when I am writing with other artists because I am on their time restrictions. While I do prefer to write alone because of the whole creative process, I certainly do not mind co-writing especially when the other person is well known for their writing skills. I find it an honour when asked to co-write.

Any advice for budding bands/artists?
Determine your genre of music. Go to the billboard top 40’s chart. See who is number one on the spot. That is your competition, and you better be as good or better in order to make it in the industry. Join performance organizations, intern at studios, and get into the professional scene and DO NOT get stuck in the local scene drama. The people who are going to help you are the professionals already in the industry getting to know you and your hard work. Practice, practice, practice. Your shows should always be super tight.

You can check out Oblivious Signal on their MySpace profile along with their Facebook page.

- Pop Culture Monster

Making a name for themselves quickly, Florida-based rock/metal band Oblivious Signal have played such notable shows as the 2009 Rock the Planet Festival at Revolution Live, Florida Power Metal Fest, Femme Fest, regional Hot Topic In-Store Performances, and headlining Hollywood’s The Viper Room.

I was lucky enough to sit down with Cristina Feliciano, the lead singer of Oblivious Signal, and get her thoughts on the past, present, and future of the band and their new album, Into the Night.

OV: More and more women seem to be members of rock and metal bands recently…Grace Perry [Landmine Marathon], Michele Walter [Farewell to Freeway], Maria Brink [In This Moment], and plenty more. When did you first become interested in this genre of music and/or know that this is what you wanted to do?

CF: I started off in music 7 years ago and started out doing contemporary pop. I played rock covers with my first band at a skatepark in South Florida and that is when I realized I had a way much more fun doing rock. It gave me such a rush as opposed to the mellow music I was doing before. It gave my parents, at the time, a headache though! [laughs]

OV: Being a female-fronted band, do you find yourself automatically thrown into a category with bands such as Lacuna Coil and Evanescence?

CF: This happens all the time! Frankly I am okay with it now. But I think a lot of female musicians get upset at first because they want to be classified as different. Over time though I came to realize that it is really no big deal because bands like Lacuna Coil and Evanescence really did pave the way for a lot of other female fronted bands. These bands are great and have amazing female vocalists which I am proud to be categorized with. I just hope one day I have the same recognition to where other bands starting out can be categorized with Oblivious Signal.

OV: Although you’ve been around since 2003, it seems like after your lineup was finalized in 2007 things really started to take off. Were you at all surprised at how quickly things seemed to fall into place?

CF: I am a little surprised, but not too much. I had good success with previous projects I had been in before and I was doing studio work at the time, which allowed me to develop credibility in the industry. When I came into Oblivious Signal the guys and I basically just used all the resources I had previously to give life to the project.

The guys will admit to the fact that the first year we were together they hated me. Being the girl I did keep a lot in check. I hated wasting time goofing off at practice when I felt we needed to be a lot better and I was really tough on the business aspect too. I used to make calendars with symbols so they knew whose day it was to reach out to fans, keep up with the websites, promoting etc. I won’t leave out the obvious though, that going from a male to female singer also helped. Before me Oblivious Signal was a screamer metal band. I attempted to incorporate melodic pop hooks with heavier vocals in order to appeal to a larger audience. Before me the Florida scene did not have a female fronted band that could do both; this helped us out a lot.

OV: I see that out of the 12 tracks that will appear on Into the Night, three or four will be in both English and Spanish…does this mean that you will record versions in each language, or intermix both languages throughout one track?

CF: For now this is still in talks. We have had a couple of setbacks. We do perform the songs live, which our Latin crowd loves. We have had several talks about this and we keep flippin back and forth with the idea. Nick (guitars) and I are attempting to reach as many people as possible and weather we do the songs as acoustic, studio, or live tracks we will have something for everyone.

OV: What new ideas/creativity does John Tovar bring to the table that you feel Oblivious Signal was lacking previously?

CF: When John came into our lives, the Oblivious Signal world was kinda rocked. He came in, we signed with him on the presumption he was going to cut some of the stuff we had going on and make improvements for the best…and he has done just that. John basically came in and got rid of the excess weight the band was carrying, and is now at the point where he is molding us to be at the level we need to be to compete with the industry on a national and global scale. We had great recognition before and now we are just stepping it up. Nick and I have had to deal with line-up changes, musical composition restructuring, and everyone’s hands in our “baby” (as we call the project), but honestly we love it. We need all the direction we can get and professional help, and John is a straight shooter. He says what he thinks and acts upon it. Nick and I tend to procrastinate.

OV: Some fans have wondered if, now that you have John, you will stray from your roots and become a more radio-friendly version of your former selves. Any comforting words for them?

CF: John was the brain child behind Marilyn Manson and The Spooky Kids…I know a lot of people thought back in the day, how can that be radio friendly?! I can assure our fans, that with the killer team we have between Static Management and Tovar Management Group, we will redefine what radio friendly means.

For more information on Oblivious Signal and to check out their music, visit the Oblivious Signal MySpace Page. Expect Into the Night, the band’s second album, to hit stores this summer.
- Outsider Vocals