On: March 20 at 09:33 AM
Too many musicians today will sacrifice originality to be next. They want to be the next Dr. Dre or Minor Threat or Mastodon, and as a result their music sounds like a cheap imitation of the artist they’re emulating.
It makes you want to applaud when you hear an act like Hey Manna!, which could be one of the most original Stockton bands since Pavement. You can check out the unique sound of Hey Manna! when it opens for another exciting and original group, Portugal the Man, at 6 p.m. March 23 at University of the Pacific’s Raymond Great Hall.
Admission is $13, and the show is sponsored by 209Vibe.
It will be the first of several spring concerts at Pacific featuring musicians from a wide variety of genres. Local rockers Crypt Orchid will perform March 19 at the university, which hosts a ’90s tribute night featuring student groups Alida, Awesome: The Band and Avon Union on March 20, conscious rapper Talib Kweli on March 28 and dub reggae band Rebelution on March 29.
Hey Manna! bassist and vocalist Daniel Gutierrez, 20, promised that fans who attend his band’s show will be treated to an experience they won’t soon forget.
“Your face is going to melt off. You’re going to go into a seizure. You’re going to fall on the floor,” he said. “All your friends are going to try and help you, but you’re not going to want them to help you because you’ll be having so much fun.”
“At the end, you’re going to be like, ‘Dang, that was the best show I’ve ever seen in my life,’” said multi-instrumentalist Mike Gonzalez, 24. Gutierrez added: “And they’ll have to rush you to the hospital, but it’s worth it.”
Hyperbole? Perhaps. But Hey Manna! probably will knock you to the floor, at least metaphorically.
The band’s sound varies between a sparse soundscape or electronic loops and a squealing but melodic wall of sound. In the midst of it all, drummer Jonny Fadum, 23, keeps a steady pace, while Gonzalez shimmys, shakes and struts to a beat only he might be able to find.
“It’s a lot of electronic noise and a lot of screaming and yelling, but catchy screaming and yelling,”
Gutierrez said. “Not something you want to kill yourself over.”
The Hey Manna! sound is capped off by the vocal one-two punch of Gutierrez and Caleb Rocha, 21. Each has a gravel-laden voice that’s achingly heartfelt; combined, the pair have an impressive emotional depth.
But like everything new and different, not everyone has immediately warmed to the music of Hey Manna!
“When you play for small crowds, nobody really knows what to think,” Gutierrez said. Gonzalez noted, “There are definitely some people who don’t get it.”
You might not have that much time to become a fan of Hey Manna! Gutierrez said some of the band members may soon be moving to Alaska, and the group’s future is in doubt.
“We don’t know how everything is going to work out, so we’re kind of taking it one step at a time,” he said. “Hopefully, we stay together.”
Here is video of Hey Manna! performing "Mr. Know It All" and So Old."
