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Camera-Head Shark Riding a Wave to Success
With the self-release of their 2007 album Oh, You, Patchogue's Camera-Head Shark turned heads with their refreshing brand of quirky, indie pop, which invokes the Beatles' more playful moments. Pop in their CD and you'll be humming their tunes for days. That album put them on the Long Island music scene's map, earning them the number two spot in Newsday's top ten list of local albums for 2007. Not bad, considering Oh, You was recorded in the basement of guitarist/vocalist George Kalivas, where it was also mixed by the group's good friend Udbhav Gupta, between April and June of 2007. ("We just gave [Gupta] cigarettes and forties and he was taken care of," said Ry Smith, piano/vocals.) "It's very easy to do on your own," said Kalivas. "The hardest part was raising the money, even though we did it as cheaply as we could." "Technology has mixed up the power of the music business," Smith added. "There's no reason why people who like to play music and are good at it can't succeed." Joined by Ryan Foster on bass and Charles Stucklen on drums, Camera-Head Shark already has a slew of new material and feels they have moved well beyond the songs on Oh, You. In fact, keeping with the mindset of the music industry during the 1960s and 1970s, when bands would release an album a year, sometimes more than one, Camera-Head Shark plans on releasing a new album this year. "It will be done by the end of the year, don't you worry," Smith said. Kalivas added, "There's no need to sit on material. We're constantly writing new songs." And this upcoming release will showcase a more unified sound, as the group has undoubtedly grown together over the past year. "We want to brand out and expand the sound of the album. We're definitely evolving," Kalivas said. "This album will be more in unison. All the songs have a more cohesive sound and vibe. We're trying to think about the finished product." Throughout the history of popular music, records were first sold as singles, and later, focus shifted to entire albums. "Now it's back to singles and I don't like that." "We'd really like to put out an album that's a unit," Smith said. "That's the way an album should be." For now, as they play across Long Island and the New York City area while working on their upcoming release, Camera-Head Shark just focuses on what they do best - playing music. "We just keep playing. We just keep doing what we're doing," Kalivas said. "We've seen a little buzz has grown and I just hope to see it continue." Camera-Head Shark will be playing at 507 Bar at 11 p.m. on Aug. 21 in Brooklyn. For more information, go to myspace.com/cameraheadshark or cameraheadshark.com. And if you haven't already, pick up a copy of Oh, You while you're at it. |
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