The Movielife Frontman Vinnie Caruana Joins Forces with Youth of Today's Sammy Siegler for Constant Elevation EP (Revelation Records)
Constant Elevation is a New York/California-based Melodic Hardcore "super-group" featuring Vinnie Caruana & Sammy Siegler, as well as members of WORLD BE FREE. Vinnie Caruana is best known for his time spent with The Movielife, I Am The Avalanche, and Peace'd Out featuring members of Rx Bandits, No Motiv, and The Velvet Teen. Sammy Siegler is, likely, best known for his time spent with Youth of Today, Judge, CIV, and Side By Side, as well as infamous stints with Gorilla Biscuits, Glassjaw, Head Automatica, Rival Schools, Limp Bizkit, Project X, and Tech N9ne. Sammy Siegler, actually, spent about three years drumming as part of Nightmare of You, which featured Vinnie Caruana's long-time The Movielife bandmate, Brandon Reilly, as frontman and guitarist. It appears as though The Movielife's current drummer, Brett Romnes, even recorded the vocals for Constant Elevation's self-produced/self-titled debut EP. English/LA producer and engineer Davey Warsop of SHARP/SHOCK, Beat Union, and Suedehead fame, additionally, helped record the music for said EP. It sounds like "when Sammy met Vinnie..." for the first time, it was sometime around 2002 when Sammy Siegler suddenly got the call to fill in for then-drummer Evan Baken for a European tour.
As legend has it, Siegler got the call, had one quick makeshift "rehearsal," and just as fast as he got the call, was soon headed Across The Pond with Vinnie C. & The Movielife. Now, nearly 17 years later, Vinnie Caruana & Sammy Siegler have joined forces once more for Constant Elevation's 3-track self-titled debut EP to be released on Revelation Records Friday, September 6, 2019. It's currently available to pre-order in a number of extremely Hardcore packages from "The Best Sources for Independent Music," REVHQ with orders expected to ship by September 2nd. Two of the three tracks from Constant Elevation's EP, opener "F*ck Runnin'" and closer "Fletch," have been released and are currently streaming within this very feature. Sammy Siegler recently told The Witzard, via email, that the entire Constant Elevation EP should become available on streaming platforms starting Monday, August 26th. Coinciding with the EP's wide release, Constant Elevation have booked their first two shows: 9/5/19 at Brooklyn's Throne Watches with "SPECIAL GUESTS HARDBODIES... MAYBE, A COMIC OR MAGICIAN, MAYBE, EMPANADAS OR SOMETHING" and two days later, 9/7/19 at Trans-Pecos in Queens, New York with Luxe, Worn & Steel Cage. Flyers for Constant Elevation's 9/5-7 shows are attached below.
"When Sammy met Vinnie... Sammy Siegler was filling in for Vinnie Caruana's The Movielife on a European tour, perhaps, sometime around 2002. It was a super last-minute thing; The Movielife's drummer couldn't make it, Sammy got the call and, after one rehearsal, they were off Across The Pond. There, a friendship was formed, a musical bond was made, all was lovely. Musically, however, that was really it for the two of them—until 2018. As a drummer in bands such as CIV, Rival Schools, Glassjaw, Youth of Today, and others, Sammy Siegler contributed with beats, vibe and spirit, some arrangements, and the occasional riff, song title or lyric.
It wasn't until early 2018 that he really sat down and wrote complete songs. That's right—he grabbed his miniature Taylor acoustic signed by Shawn Mendez, turned it upside down, as a lefty will do on a righty guitar, and busted out some bangers. In his mind, it was epic and he needed to make them come to life. He called on studio wiz, Davey Warsop (BAD COP / BAD COP, THROWDOWN, VANISHING LIFE) and his WORLD BE FREE bandmates, Andrew Kline, Joe Garlipp, and Alex Baretto, to record the songs, seven in total. Sammy was pleased, stoked, chuffed, but since this was a new project, it needed vocals.
Preferably, someone who got Hardcore references, can carry a melody, and write some crucial lyrics... "what about the skinny fellow who loves soccer?" he thought, Vinnie Caruana. Vinnie Caruana had been very productive himself, releasing music and touring with The Movielife, I Am The Avalanche, Peace'd Out, and solo projects, as well as writing music and lyrics for other artists. Having never really fit lyrics into pre-recorded songs, this was new territory for Vinnie. He was up for the challenge. That summer of 2018, Sammy & Vinnie drove out to Barbershop Studios, a converted 100-year-old stone church on the edge of scenic Lake Hopatcong. Together, with producer Brett Romnes, the final result is "F*ck Runnin,'" "Mouth In Motion," and "Fletch"—three rippers on the Constant Elevation debut release."
- Revelation Records (@RevelationRecs)
