Show Preview: Mella
Jackie O's
Friday, March 28, 2014
By Garrett Bower, Staff Writer
Despite all of its house ragers and beer-soaked dance floors, local groove seekers may find themselves wondering, “But what if I just wanna dance?” It can be hard to find an atmosphere that is 100 percent groove conducive with so many of these places awash in the sounds of soulless bass that thumps off into madness. Thankfully for all these starved movers and shakers, Athens has a new act that’s looking to fill that gap. The self-described “high energy party band” Mella is here to do a lot of dance, make even more love and get down each and every night, starting this Friday night at Jackie O’s.
The show at the local hotspot will be the second-ever show for Mella, whose name was intended to convey their “snarky puppy meets Beyoncé musical style,” according to the band’s guitarist Mavis. “Right now, Mella is performing cover songs as we work on our originals. We play songs from the 70s, 90s, and today's pop,” continued Mavis. This decade spanning catalogue means show goers will be getting everything from Curtis Mayfield to Daft Punk and everything in between.
Having started up in February, the band found its beginnings through a few other Athens staples. Mavis and Eric Wright played together in Elemental Groove Theory, a local band that exhibits the emphasis on energetic live performing that Mella themselves bear in mind. Keyboardist and guitarist Anthony Mikicic was discovered from his band Bad Castle, another high-energy local group.
Coming from so many power-packed acts, Mella is sure to put on a wild show. While Mella will be playing all covers at Jackie O’s but that just gives the band more to tinker with. “We have put our own twist on the set to make it our own. We have an extremely talented group of musicians in the group which makes it fun to play around with the different songs,” said Mavis. With a full band, the pop driven set list is bound to get some off-the-cuff reworks and fun tune ups.
Being so early in the game and live performance inspired, Mella isn’t rushing into the studio right away. “[We’re] working to improve our set while coming up with original music,” said Mavis. While music is coming, the process is still in the early phases.
So Friday night come to Jackie O’s and support the fledgling fun of Mella as it shakes its way into the ACRN fray. The show kicks off at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover at the door.
