In times when the music business shoots shit at the wall to see what sticks, we’re bombarded with loads of one-hit wonders and flavours of the month. Supernal is true proof that the old-school mentality of "a little talent and some hard work goes a long way" isn’t dead and that it actually works.
Starting over five years ago under the name Plunge, local alt-rock group Supernal began with just the idea of starting a band.
"Angela [Saini] and I went to a concert together and it started just sort of as a band high," says bass player Brent Miller. "And then we found Tony [Gare], and he could play guitar."
Beginning as a junior-high garage band, Supernal went through the ranks, playing house-parties and local pubs like The Unicorn and Morgan’s Pub.
A few years and six drummers later, Supernal thought it was about time to take the next step and record their first full-length CD. Living and Breathing is a true testament of their live sound.
"We didn’t want to take a whole bunch of money to a studio and a couple days later come out with a bunch of bad takes," says Miller on the recording process.
Taking over a year to complete, the disc was done completely by the band, from mixing to artwork.
"We started out doing this for ourselves, we certainly didn’t do it for any monetary gains," says Vocalist Saini regarding the CD. "I’d say we’re pretty proud of it."
The band says that they enjoyed the experience of building their project from the ground up and unanimously agreed that nothing compared to playing live.
"We got to autograph our CDs, that was cool," says Saini.
In the past year the band played some fairly big shows, including last year’s Bermuda Shorts Day. However, the state of Calgary’s music scene isn’t welcoming to new bands.
"It’s so hard for an original Calgary band to get shows here, everyone wants cover bands. But it’s getting better," says Miller.
Poppy tunes coated with Saini’s sweet voice might just be what Supernal needs to take it to the top. But this is one band that isn’t afraid of doing a little grudge work to get where they are going.
"I think that hard work really pays off," says Miller. "The attitude is don’t trust anyone but yourself." And with lead guitarist Gore doing all the mixing and mastering for the disc, and Miller acting as publicity and booking manager, they only trust themselves.
Looking to the future, the band has a few hopes: to slowly work their way to regional success, to play in Edmonton and do a host of local gigs during the coming months.
"We’re just going to keep on doing what we’re doing, and hopefully people will catch on and like what they hear," says Miller.