Red Calling

In a soft and mesmerizing Venezuelan accent, Jessica Pons, of the hard rock band Red Calling, described the band’s journey and the fresh excitement about their new album, which was released November 13. “This album is us,” Jessica shared. “It’s our feelings – it’s a very personal album.” This is their first full-length album. After touring locally for years and releasing 2 EPs previously, they are now venturing into new territory, seeking to enter the mainstream music industry.

As independent artists, they have enjoyed the freedom to write their own material and to record at their own pace. But it's also tough trying to get exposure as independent artists. So they're sending the new album to various labels and hoping for the best. “We're thinking, let's see what happens,” she said. “If something comes up, we’ll try that.” They will also continue promoting their music through online videos and on social media. “The Internet is really nice for an independent artist,” she noted.

When the band first got together, “It was like a Latin rock band, a 70s band, back in 2010,” Jessica said. The four of them—Jessica Pons, Javier Pons, Luis Pons, and Destiny Covault, met through mutual friends. After playing for 9 months, they decided to stay together and started playing hard rock in February 2010. “All of us, despite the fact that we were not from America, had a lot of influences from American music – you know, American rock, British rock – and that’s why we decided to do this.”

The band members “clicked” right away. ”Having a band is like having a marriage,” Jessica explained. “We have different personalities and all that, but we get along really well. We have the much-needed chemistry that you need to have as a band. Once you find the right people, you don’t want to leave. A lot like a marriage, like finding the right mate.”

The members of the band are great friends. Though they see each other every week for practice and on weekends for shows, they usually spend holidays together, like a family. “It’s funny, because you would think that we would want to get away from each other. For the past five years, we’ve practiced every single week, on Mondays and Tuesdays, and sometimes Wednesdays, if we have a break.” The four really enjoy being together and always spend New Year’s Eve as a group.

What does this type of synergy look like during performances? “On stage, it’s beautiful,” Jessica said. “Most of our players are multi-instrumentalists. The guitar player plays the synthesizer, and the bass player plays the synthesizer too.” Jessica plays the guitar and piano and does the vocals.

Fun facts about Red Calling include the bass player and guitar player being siblings. Jessica mentioned also that their drummer is a female. “She’s awesome. She’s a great musician; very humble; she’s great at playing percussion too.”

Each member brings varying musical influences to the mix, including Radiohead, AC/DC, Korn, Deftones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and many others, and these have converged to create Red Calling’s own unique style. “We’ve been growing; we’ve been evolving musically,” Jessica stated. “If you listen to our early EPs, you can tell. It’s part of life -- growing, experimenting, and changing.” Jessica described it like this: “Hard rock is the foundation, and then we just add layers.” With two synthesizers in the band, their music has electronic elements and has been described as “electrifying and unpredictable.”

“The writing experience, most of the time, is just us jamming and recording, and then I just put lyrics on top of that. The guitarist starts with a key and we start playing. So it flows really naturally when we’re playing or jamming together.” Regarding their hits, Jessica mentioned that “Let Me Fade” is one of their most popular songs, with a deeply personal meaning for them. That track is included in their new album.

They started recording two years ago, and it’s been a long process to save up the money and find a great recording studio and producer. But it’s been great to have the full, professional recording experience.

The band has toured mostly in Florida during the last five years, making connections and sharing what they love with their fans. They have performed in two summer festivals in Ohio, the biggest being Rockapoloosa, in 2013. “There were nineteen thousand people – it was beautiful,” Jessica shared. “We had the chance to play with national acts.” Now that they have a full-length album, touring nationally is an exciting possibility for the near future. It’s one of their main goals for 2016, along with trying to get signed on with a music label.

How can a band stay motivated for all these endeavors when they have other jobs and demands in life? “Playing the guitar, playing the piano, singing –it’s a need for us.” “Seeing that people like our music is a great motivation. We’ve been playing for five years, and we have great fans, people who follow us all around Florida to different shows, spending a lot of money in food and gas. It’s great to see that people get to love our music to that point. That fuels our need to keep playing and writing music and recording it.”

Jessica has been playing since she was fifteen years old, when she started a female rock band in Venezuela with two other girls. “It’s been a huge part of my life, playing live,” Jessica explained. “Live music is something that lasts forever. It’s a beautiful experience.”

Of her band members, Jessica said, “They’re very talented musicians, great people. It’s a blessing to play with them and write music with them,” Jessica said. “We’re normal people – nothing special. We just love what we do.” - Full Access Magazine - January 2016

“Red Calling plays in several venues across Tampa Bay Florida and collaborates with other music artists as well. The band looks forward to play at State Theater in Saint Pete on September 30th. “It’s a great opportunity for our band and several record labels will be there,” Jessica tells us.” - The Expressionist - 07/19/2012

"Each of its four members bring together different backgrounds of music to form a warm and intense sound" - Pop Vulture Magazine - August 27, 2012

"Hard rockers Red Calling cite influences like the Deftones and Lacuna Coil in describing their music, but the use of synths and piano call to mind Evanescence as well. “Our music is brutal yet tender.” The blazing single Let Me Fade is proof of that." - TBT - May 30, 2012