Starpost
December 25th, 2011
Performance: Indie – Pop
Band: David Gabelaia – Vocals, Rhodes, Keys and Guitar
Rodney Perez – Guitar, Synths
Alex Schalja – Bass, Synths
David Meister – Drums, Drum Computer
About: Starpost started taking shape in late 2006 when David (Dato) Gabelaia and Alex Schalja, after having met a couple of years earlier, discovered each other’s passion for music and decided they had to put it to work together. They met up with two musicians and old friends from the Nuremberg area and started to jam but it wasn’t until 2007 when things started to fall into place. After recording 3 demo songs, the bass player decided to leave and the drummer, Denis Zorenko, decided to act only as collaborator. However, shortly after, Rodney Perez joined and forced a change in the line-up.
Dato (then playing the lead guitar and synths) decided to concentrate on playing the Rhodes piano and Alex (playing only the keyboard before) decided to take up the bass guitar, leaving the guitar duties to the newly arrived Rodney. With a brand-new line-up, they started to experiment a little more with sound textures and aural landscapes, creating, at times, lush sonic atmospheres almost reminiscent of Post Rock. Along with long-time friend and collaborator Denis, Starpost played their first two gigs at a festival for newcomer bands in early 2008 in Nuremberg, Germany. However, there was still a spot to be filled and it didn’t take too long until drummer David (Dadi) Meister became the permanent drummer of Starpost.
Dadi became the final member of Starpost and helped to lay the foundations for the recording of Starpost’s first EP “The Future is Now”, which began in the last quarter of 2008.
‘The Future is Now’ EP consists of 5 songs and has been available since January 2009. It explores melodic sonic landscapes created by both the guitar and the Rhodes piano resting on the shoulders of both a warm and solid bass line and the precise and diverse rhythm section provided by the drums. The EP was available just in time for Starpost’s first gig of 2009 in Nuremberg, which was followed by several other gigs in different cities during the first half of the year. The band began receiving a very positive response from the audiences and saw a surprising, albeit secretly expected, high demand for their EPs at their gigs. The second half of the year started with a show near Kassel and one more at the “Altstadt Festival” in Saarbrucken and “The Future is Now” EP started creating buzz, with the single “Stray Away” receiving radio airplay on EgoFM. With the most important cities from Bavaria (Munich, Nuremberg, Regensburg, etc.) now able to listen to Starpost on the radio, and after some shows in different cities in southern Germany, the band goes to Munich and appears at the “Live & Unplugged” show on EgoFM, where they give an interview and play stripped down versions of two of their songs, including the debut of a new song called “Our Ghosts Will Chase You”.
Starpost also gets some airplay and gives interviews on important radio stations in the city of Nuremberg, such as StarFM and Radio Gong. In September 2009 Starpost’s “Daydream” is featured on the Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape 28 compilation, which further broadens the band’s exposure, this time allowing them to reach a more international audience. They also take part in the “Local Heroes” festival, gathering 8 of the best new acts from the state of Bavaria, which later lands them an opportunity to headline a show at the venue where the show took place, the renowned MUZ Club in Nuremberg.
2010 began as the year when Starpost would bring their music to more places in Germany. They visited Bamberg, Darmstadt and Hamburg, among others, where they filmed a clip for one of the most popular internet music tv services, BalconyTv. They took part in the festival Bardentreffen in Nürnberg and later headlined a festival at the E-Werk Club in Erlangen. They also finished the recordings of their debut album which is set to be released in February 2011.
