For thrash band Anti-Hero,making music is a collaborative effort. Lead vocalist and guitarist Calvin Adrian usually comes up with the riffs and the band shapes them into a song. Lyrics tend to come after.
But not always.
The title song from their debut 2019 EP, Rolling Thunder was written while Adrian was still a student at Salinas High School.
“At 17 I felt stranded and didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he recalls. “I found my identity in punk and heavy metal.”
While attending local punk shows in Salinas, Adrian also found Sal Cisneros, a guitar instructor at Wise Music. And after three months of intensive practice, a schoolmate took notice.
“He asked me if I sang and, of course, I didn’t,” Adrian says. “But I wanted to be in his band, so I told him that I did. Later, that band broke up and we formed another one.”
That new band, Anti-Hero,would cause Adrian to think seriously about a career in music. So much so that after graduation Adrian moved to Hollywood and enrolled in the Musicians Institute there. At the institute, Adrian recruited a new lineup including guitarist Neil Metcalf, who he met at a party.
While Anti-Herocontinues to shape a home in Los Angeles, Adrian remains connected to his roots. In June, the band toured alongsideSalinas thrash bandPhantom Witchwhosedrummer, Quentin Minor, also managesAnti-Hero.
If Adrian has a message for Monterey County, it is a simple one: “Check out your local bands because they’re probably pretty good.”
And his hopes forAnti-Hero?
“To stay on tour,” Adrian says. “Playing music is what we want to do and ultimately it’s music that matters most.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.