by Sheila Rinere

With large speakers and an overload of security, the Seymour Union Ballroom was transformed into a downsized version of a concert arena.
The L.A. based band The Calling performed for a half filled Ballroom of students Sunday night. The band, who got the idea for their name from a person at their record company, has more of a youthful image. This is due to the fact that Alex Band, the lead singer for the group, is only 20 years old.

Band, one of the two founders of the group, ran on and off the stage interacting, waving and making faces at the crowd. He also sang and played to the other members in the band, co-founder and guitarist Aaron Kamin, guitar player Sean Woolstenhulme, bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood.

Even though the band gave an energetic performance, Band’s knocking down of the mic stand numerous times became repetitive and a recurring distraction.
The variety of the crowd went from teenagers to concert-goers in their ‘40s. There were younger girls screaming and adults just listening. Kamin said that was part of the college atmosphere.

“Colleges are usually more fun, I think, because you have college kids,” he said. “This is like time for them to chill out for a minute and have some fun.”
“Everyone is sort of feeling similar emotions, I’d say, rather than when you play a club,” he added. “You have the teeny chicks doing their thing and then you have the girls that wouldn’t go without getting a new outfit. And also the older people. It’s more homogenous.”
Brockport was the only college The Calling was scheduled to play at.

The band played many songs from their album, “Camino Palmero,” including their first single “Wherever You Will Go,” which was met with much excitement from the crowd.
“(The song) was a unanimous decision between management, record labels and us,” Kamin said. “It was in ‘Coyote Ugly’ two years ago.”
Before the members of The Calling could return for an encore at least half of the crowd had left. For their last song they played their latest single, “Adrienne.” They also played “Could It Be Any Harder” which is Kamin’s favorite song on the album.

“(That song) and ‘We’re Forgiven’ pretty much always have been favorites,” he said. “The songs mean a lot.”
The Band’s next show was Monday night in Boston, Mass.

Although it may seem The Calling and their hit “Wherever You Will Go” came out of nowhere and skyrocketed to the top of the charts in a matter of days, the journey to this point has been a long, hard one for the band according to the band’s guitarist and co-founder Aaron Kamin.
The seemingly laid-back and down-to-earth Kamin has been a musician most of his short life. Music from Peter Gabriel, Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews inspired him throughout the years and his grandparents also encouraged him to keep moving forward with his music. By his teen years, he joined a garage band (as every rock star wannabe does) hoping to make it big.

But there was something about the band Generation Gap he took part in that really started it all. By this time Kamin had met his future bandmate, Alex Band, and their talent together as musicians was taking shape. The two would jam endlessly and, as a result, good things came their way.
An RCA executive soon discovered the talented pair and offered them a development deal, which eventually led to the birth of The Calling.
Before becoming what they currently are, Generation Gap provided the pair with the mindset it takes to make it big, as well as a springboard to start their career.

“We definitely learned the potential for dedication and responsibility is out there,” Kamin said. “We learned what to expect and know that goals like that have to be met if progress is to happen.”

 It took more than five years of patience and motivation between Generation Gap and the release of The Calling’s first album, “Camino Palmero.” But it wasn’t easy, he said, dealing with the uncertainty of it all.
“Every Thanksgiving (my family) was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Kamin said. ‘It’s coming real soon’ and next Thanksgiving again, ‘It’s coming real soon.”’
Many factors, he said, accounted for the dedication and motivation that they needed to have, if they had any hope of releasing an album and making it big.
“I’m definitely motivated to make my family proud. And myself, too,” Kamin said. “Aside from that, just wanting to have your own life and make something out of your time is pretty inspiring.”

Kamin and Band would soon create the album and let creative juices work their magic.
“We had put our foot to the pedal so hard that we were coasting in a sense. For a while it was sorta like we were running on autopilot, rather than really pushing forward,” Kamin said. “It was a matter of repetition; that’s what came out of writing so many songs. That’s why we stopped playing shows for a year and just wrote. What kept us motivated was the music and the will to succeed. And doing something you really care about.”

Apparently, it paid off, as their first single, “Wherever You Will Go,” has rapidly climbed the Billboard charts and has apparently taken the airwaves by storm. The band just released their second single, titled “Adrienne” which could give “Wherever You Will Go” a run for its money.
Kamin said he was “freaking relieved” when they finally finished the album after years of hard work and perseverance.
“It had been way too long. So much of this has been an ‘I told you so story’ for Alex and I. It’s about f-ing time (record companies) let us make the record,” Kamin said. “You know the record is great. No shit it’s great. That’s what we have been telling you all along, it’s going to be great. We were relieved and excited to move forward.”

The band has one week left of its first headlining tour, but after a short week off, the band kicks off a worldwide tour that will turn them into “walking zombies,” according to Kamin. The tour will have the band performing in Japan, Australia, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and almost all of Western Europe.
“Definitely in a sense we’ve made it,” Kamin said. “In another sense, we’ve hardly scratched the surface. When we got signed I was 19 and Alex was 15. We thought we made it. Here we are, five years later and we look back and, wow, it was just the beginning.”
With fame comes millions of screaming fans and a lifestyle unlike any other career. The ability to adapt to the situation can sometimes be harder than the job itself, he said.

“The moral of the story is: Never ever, ever, ever, prepare somebody for what it’s like. It’s one of those things you have to experience for yourself, which is both good and bad,” Kamin said. “Some people will never get to experience it, but for those who are going to, hold on tight, because everything you thought your life was, will be no longer. It will be interesting when the ride slows down, what life will be like then. Now you’re caught up in the whirlwind that is you.”
A prime example, Kamin said, of the crazy and unpredictable life that comes from being a rock star happened just the other night when the band was in Canada for a performance.

“In Toronto, people were crushing each other to touch my hand. Then what? I touch your hand and you feel better? All right, here you go. It’s just a little strange. It’s fun, though,” Kamin said.

Kamin doesn’t know if it is all worth it ... yet. He said he loves what he does, but it is still too early to tell. Every day he is reminded of the lifestyle it entails and misses the things he loves to do, like ride his motorcycle around Los Angeles. But his passion for music acts as the glue to hold it all together.
“It’s a lot of work. Right now the only fuel to the fire is getting to play shows, see places and getting to meet fans. That’s the only compensation there is,” Kamin said. “Hopefully in the future, fame will afford me with more opportunities rather than just fame itself. I could care less about that. I’m just going to make more music and keep on living life.”