Review Fix Exclusive: Civiliana’s Calen Trentini Talks ‘Carry A Light’ And More

Review Fix chats with Calen Trentini (Drums, Lead Vocals), who discusses the band’s origin and new track, “Carry a Light.”

About the Band:

CIVLIANA is a four-piece Vancouver alternative rock band that just released their debut Canadian radio single on Monday (and accompanying music video) called “Carry a Light”, which was co-produced by Matt Di Pomponio and Ryan Worsley (Dear Rouge, Said The Whale, Sophia Danai). As far as influences and style go, you could say that CIVILIANA is what might happen if you blended Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire with a dash of Alt-J.

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Calen Trentini: We’ve been playing together for over a decade. Spencer Daley – our bass player – and I both met in middle school and picked up our respective instruments for the first time side by side.

We started as a bass guitar and drums duo covering punk songs and a lot from the band Death From Above 1979 – that’s where I realized being a drummer and a vocalist was an option.

In high school, a friend told us about a guy he knew from a neighboring high school that was an awesome guitarist and songwriter. Days later, we met Adam Wilson and started a band.

After high school, the three of us went our separate ways but reconnected as adults in the city of Vancouver and the band was formed.

Dan Ponich was an old high school friend that had opened a recording studio in town. He recorded/produced our first EP and it wasn’t long after that we invited him into our band to be the fourth member.  

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Calen Trentini: Adam will always have the spark of an idea that gets the ball rolling. From there, he and Spencer will flesh it out with guitar, bass and keys. That is, until I get my hands on it and start introducing drums, vocal melodies, hooks and generally flipping the song on its head.

A lot of this is done in rehearsal where we will feel our way through a song and make adjustments on the fly until it’s starting to be something we’re satisfied with. Daniel Ponich has been really integral to our songwriting experience as he allows us to incorporate electronic elements and 2nd guitar parts which were rarely options when we were a three-piece band.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Calen Trentini: I love watching passionate people work their asses off and whether it pays off or not, I find it inspiring. In situations where it doesn’t pay off, seeing them work through adversity and move forward really hits home for me.

Living in Vancouver, I see a ton of musicians, comedians, athletes and other professionals that are doing this on a daily basis, so there’s enough to fill my daily dose.

Outside of this, my bandmates inspire me every day. They’re a group of committed, talented and passionate people who constantly blow me away with the material they create.

Review Fix: What makes “Carry A Light” a special track?

Calen Trentini: “Carry a Light” is the beginning of a new era for us. We’ve come a long way in musicianship and songwriting and as a result, we have something we are incredibly proud of to share. Not only that, we also got to work with amazing award-winning producers Ryan Worsley and Matt Di Pomponio on this track. To us, the release of “Carry a Light” is about putting a stake in the ground to mark our entrance into the alt-rock arena.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Calen Trentini: We blend an electronic and modern sound with traditional rock elements such as powerful drums, tenacious guitar/bass riffs and huge energetic vocals.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Calen Trentini: Studio work is a ton of fun, but live shows are what we thrive on. We put the drum kit right at the front of the stage and keep the energy high throughout the show. We work hard to incorporate as much visual appeal as well through projections and lights. Every show, we deliver something a little different and strive to give the audience a performance they’ll never forget.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2019?

Calen Trentini: We are planning to release 2 more singles out to the world before the end of the summer! The singles are titled “Void” and “Melt” and will have music videos accompanying them.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Calen Trentini: For us, the next thing is to tour Western Canada to show off our new tracks and get some traction through our music and live performances. Following this, we are hard at work writing new material to create our first full-length album in 2020.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Calen Trentini: Thanks a ton for chatting with me, Patrick! If any of your readers want to keep up with our releases and be the first to hear our new music, follow us on our socials or our website.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CIVILIANAmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CIVILIANAmusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CIVILIANAmusic

Spotify: https://goo.gl/GzsMrh

Website:  https://civilianamusic.com

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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