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Those who knew Reece Churilla when he was a teenager growing up in Whipple or a young adult attending Marietta College, may remember him drumming in some local heavy metal bands.
Today, he's still drumming--a little more softly-and has an album out with 9 Long Lives, a band whose others members he met while he was working as a writer and editor for the U.S. Air Force in Japan, where his wife was stationed. His wife, Natalia, is in the Navy, while the other members of 9 Long Lives, Mike Joiner and Billy Waters, are in the Marines.
"In high school and college I gave out CDs of electronic music made with synthesizers, drum machines and simple music software called FruityLoops," Churilla said. "I was inspired by '80s and '90s synthpop bands like Depeche Mode and Skinny Puppy. That kind of shared a growing interest in hard rock and metal by which I developed a strong style of intense drum playing.
In Okinawa I met the blues and classic rock guys who were all about soft dynamics. With 9 Long Lives, we definitely added a harder edge to classic songs from people like Hendrix and Zeppelin."
The album, "Southern Roots" is "an ode to the Average Joe trying to get by in small-town America," according to the band. It's available to stream at CD Baby, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify, with a physical release being considered.
And while the band members are now scattered across the country, Churilla, a stay-at-home dad to two toddlers, said he hopes to continue creating and sharing music.
Question: So tell me a little about the music on this album. What kind of band is it?
Answer: It's mostly southern rock with some classic rock influences. My involvement in the band came together because my wife is active duty military--she's in the Navy--and did a tour in Japan, in Okinawa. While we were there, I joined a band as a drummer and all the other members were Marines. The reason it's called 9 Long Lives is because of the constant cycling of new members that goes along with military life. Every six months or so they'd need a new drummer or a new bassist. I spent two years with them and it was really interesting for me as the only civilian.
Q: Had they played with other civilians, too?
A: Definitely one. They had a female singer when I joined who left a few months later to have a baby. We all tried to sing more and when they figured out I could sing, I started doing more of that. Then we all started writing songs together. All the songs on the album are originals.
Q: Have you always had an interest in music? When did that start?
A: I actually played in some heavy metal bands when I was in Marietta in high school and college. The irony is I never really listened to southern rock until I ended up playing it overseas in Japan. The American expats there liked it because it reminded them of home and the Japanese people liked it because it was something different.
Q: Are you still part of the group or has it disbanded?
A: When I joined the band we all kind of considered it the last run because we knew we were all going to PCS (have a permanent change of station). We were writing songs, playing live and using the gig money to record. We didn't have time to finish recording the album so we met back up in California to finish. I took it to the studio and mastered it. So now, we don't play together but we're still very close and we're open to the idea of playing a festival or something sometime if we can do it.
Q: Had you ever recorded an album before, with them or another band?
A: This was my first everything. My first recording experience…it was a learning process, making the album, releasing it independently, marketing it. I've really done the marketing since I have a background in that and have relied on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. For the most part, we don't see the album as something to sell. It's like a legacy of our time in Okinawa. If people like it, great.
Q: Did you find the experience overall to be fun, frustrating, what you expected…?
A: It was definitely a learning experience. It was my first time playing with a band that was somewhat established. I auditioned for the band, got in and had to learn 40 to 45 songs in a month. I also learned how to do live sound as well as track drums in a studio.
Q: What was the feeling like for you when the band was performing live?
A: It was exhilarating. It was a connection with the other members of the band that I'd never had before. We would play at least one show every weekend and we developed a real bond. You would learn to read what they were doing musically…I could get a glance from Mike and know a change was coming up that was not there originally. I really have a strong friendship with these guys. What I like about the band is that we didn't contain ourselves to one category. I sing two songs on the album and they're not southern rock at all because that's just not really my style.
Q: Do you have an appreciation for that genre of music now?
A: Growing up in small town Ohio, all I wanted was to get out and see what else was out there. I never connected to that type of music. Now I have a new appreciation for it. It's simple but groovy. I like the twang.
Q: Was there anything in particular that inspired you or that you drew from when writing songs? Had you written songs before?
A: My method of writing a song -- I wrote two on the record -- is first finding a melody that speaks to me. From there, I visualize a theme, write the lyrics and adapt them to the music. The outro track on "Southern Roots," "Firewalk," for example, began as a single acoustic guitar riff. From there, I knew I wanted to write a song about a young woman dealing with drug addiction. Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road" also heavily inspired those lyrics. "Tough Guy" is about a story I dreamed up after dealing with a difficult person at the gym.
Q: What's your future in terms of music?
A: I actually want to learn more about how to engineer audio. I'm looking at shadowing in a studio. When the time is right, I'd like to find another band and continue playing drums, using this album as part of my portfolio.
Kate York conducted this interview.
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Reece Churilla
¯ Age: 30.
¯ Hometown: Whipple.
¯ Residence: Alexandria, Va.
¯ Occupation: Stay-at-home dad.
¯ Education: 2005 Fort Frye High School graduate; Bachelors degree in journalism from Marietta College.
¯ Family: Wife Natalia Gerena, daughters Naomi, 2, and Camille, 1; Mother Brenda Croston, of Whipple; Father Randy Churilla of Canton (an MC graduate); Grandparents Louise and Ron Holmes, of Marietta.
Source: Reece Churilla.