Misamore are one of the few Sacramento acts who aren’t actively chasing the all-elusive record deal and, more importantly, aren’t in a hurry to write and record music. And although many of the local bands who are featured on 98 Rock and other like-minded stations seemed rushed and even coerced at times, this is one trio who write music for themselves first and foremost.

Submerge caught up with founding member Josh Amolsch to get the skinny on the little band that seemingly always could.

Photo by LouAllen Wheeler

Why did the album take so long to record and write?
It was written well before we went into the studio, yet it took so long because of the cost. First, we didn’t go to a cheap studio or a place with a deal per song. Second, we didn’t hire a producer and wanted a person with great gear already that knew how to use it. Lastly, we went around to many of the area’s top studios and got a vibe for each of the studios and the engineer. We knew it would take a little while and interviewed folks, but, in the end, Velvet Tone studio and Pat Olguin gave us the best vibe. It was like our own rehearsal studio, and we enjoyed it being rough around the edges. It was kind of like an old pair of shoes and it just felt good.

The band formed originally in 2003. Has the lineup always been the same?
I started the band in 2003 and had a handful of drummers and bass players. I also moved to Texas in 2006 and came back. Our current bass player is a friend of mine, and I convinced him in 2007 to start playing together. We picked up our drummer Ryan in December 2010 just before our first album, the Horizon EP, came out. It’s been the three of us exclusively since our previous singer quit in 2012. From 2003–2009 we had no singer.

There must still be some tension with you and some of the older members, correct?
Honestly, we don’t really have any past member we have a problem with. There’s a couple of ex-members of Misamore that left and we don’t know what happened to them … and there’s one other we won’t mention.

Photo by LouAllen Wheeler

What about unreleased takes that will be available as bonus tracks or B-sides?
No. We went in with 10 set ideas and came out with those same 10 ideas. Also, we had a lot of time in between the albums, but did one single in between the two in a different studio called “Preset Numb.”

What local bands do you align yourselves with and/or like?
Any band that comes off heavy and are nice you just can’t help like. I like Restrayned and Fall Rise. I wish I could get to know more these days, but I’m busy with my day job. More importantly, we try to not listen to anything going on in the scene for influences and try to be friends with bands who align themselves with us.

So what pays the bills when you’re not siphoning money into the band?
I’m a real estate agent for Lyon. They have reps all over town there are many different brokerages and is actually No. 1 in four or five counties. There are thousands of agents around here yet I am in a very small and successful team under Elizabeth Weintraub. We are actually No. 2 for Lyon real estate. Mike, our bass player, works as a warehouse manager for a networking company and drummer Ryan Maples provides transport and assistance for disabled people.

Why don’t we see Misamore out all over town passing out handbills like the early days?
When you’re younger, you go to every show. Now we are all very busy focusing on our stuff. Sure, we want to go out there and make new music and it’s always in the back of our heads that we’d like to play the biggest stages, but it’s not something we’re counting on since we don’t get out like many others do. At the end of the day, we just want to write the best music we can make.

Tell us about the personalities of the other members. Surely there must be a reason for this group coming together.
What’s great about our band is that everyone understands their role. I never wanted to be a leader and all the members now have creative control. We treat this band as a complete democracy and I like that everyone is on board with talking things out first before doing. We actually talk to each other more than we play, believe it or not. Ryan is younger than us and this is the first band he’s had that plays shows out of town. Mike and I have taught him a lot since we have been in bands for quite a long time. Ryan also trusts we are making the right decisions and has even learned double bass technique after joining us.

Photo by Elle Jaye

If you’re going to be serious, you would ultimately need to secure a proper U.S. agent. Are you actively looking for one?
No. Sure, we would love one but we don’t have the time and aren’t actively looking. Also, we have very busy lives and tours take up so much time.

How many shows do you play in a given calendar year?
We play anywhere from 10 to 12 shows a year. For the last couple of years, we’ve been shooting for around 75 percent out of town and the rest in town. We’ve played in Santa Cruz at the Catalyst Club inside the Atrium, the Elbo Room in San Francisco, Rooster’s Roadhouse in Alameda and more.

What can you tell us about the opening bands for your CD release show at Blue Lamp?
To start, we have our friends in Dimidium who are from San Jose. We just recently played with them and some locals at the District Theater in Gilroy on the band’s 13th annual Festival of Fools. It was great. Blood Party was another band we also met at a show with other friends. Opener Highway XII are from Oakland and they played with us a long time ago.

Misamore has an album release show on Saturday, April 16, 2016 in Sacramento at Blue Lamp, located at 1400 Alhambra Boulevard. The show starts at 5 p.m., and the cover is $10. 21-and-over only.

Local hard rock band Misamore ready to release new EP

For local rock guitarist Josh Amolsch, April 13, 2011 is a very important date, one that’s long overdue. The band he founded way back in 2003, Misamore, will finally release their first official recording, a five-track EP titled Horizon, at Powerhouse Pub in Folsom. “This album has been a very long time coming,” Amolsch recently admitted to Submerge. “Every time we tried to put something out it always ended up going sideways due to one reason or another. So having this album finally come together is a huge achievement for this band.”

He added, “This record was kind of ‘do or die’ for us.”

Misamore’s sound lies somewhere between that of Tool, Pantera, Mudvayne and Metallica. The EP’s opening track, “The Desert Shade,” boasts speedy guitar riffs and a huge range in singer Mace Corona’s vocal abilities, who can change from melodic hook to brutal scream in a heartbeat. “New Beginning,” the second track, has a much more radio-friendly vibe to it, but still showcases the band’s musicianship and knack for weaving in oddly timed rhythms seamlessly. “Dead” is a whole lot slower than the first two songs and acts as a great centerpiece for the EP. “Forebay” gets a little tripped out at times, sort of Mastodon-ish, and proves that Mike Dragony can slap the shit out of his bass with some impressive playing in the intro; and “Home” brings Horizon to a close, leaving you wanting more.

Submerge caught up with Amolsch recently to chat about the band’s tumultuous past, their new EP and the status of heavy music today.

Why did it take so long to get an official release together? There have been quite a few ups and downs for this project, right?
Well, we had never had a full band together long enough to put a legit album out. We are very meticulous with everything we do and didn’t want to put out something we weren’t proud of. With that, there have definitely been more downs than ups. Misamore first came together in February 2003 after my old band broke up. I, along with the drummer from that band, launched Misamore. The next four-and-a-half years saw many member changes, a move out to Texas and back and a brief period of time when I just flat gave up and started playing drums in a punk band.

How did the current lineup come about?
I have known Mike for years. I first met him back in 2000 when both of our bands played a show up in Chico at a house party. We met Mace through an ad on Craigslist in 2008 and although it took a year to finally hook up, it clicked right away. Mace met Ryan [Maples, drums] at our rehearsal spot back in December 2010 just walking in the front door. I’m told that Mace just had a weird feeling about this guy and turned around and asked him if he played drums. We had fired our old drummer about three months prior to starting the record, so we were looking for a permanent replacement.

Being the group’s founder, are you also the main catalyst for songwriting? How does that process work for you guys?
I think we work very well together. Mike and I have been writing together for years. He and I will just sit, sometimes for hours and just pound out riffs. We record everything too. I must have 60 gigs of material just sitting on hard drives around my house. We will then sequence riffs together based on vibe, tempo and energy to make sure we are capturing the right feel Mace needs to get across what he feels. And then there is Ryan. He makes sure everything flows and bounces according to his standards. It really is the most healthy writing routine I have ever been a part of.

When were the songs on Horizon written? Are these all older, newer or a mix of the two?
Definitely a mix. It was tough deciding which songs would make it on the debut, but we narrowed it down the five we felt would represent us the best and reach the most people. The oldest song on the EP is “The Desert Shade.” I wrote that song back in 2006 when I was in Dallas. The most recent one is probably “Dead,” written in November 2009.

What are your thoughts on the status of heavier music today? It seems that with all of metal’s sub-genres it’s easy to get classified as “this” or “that” and sort of get pigeonholed, you know? What does a band like Misamore have to do to stand out from the rest?
Well, I am only speaking for myself, but I think that a lot of the heavy music out today sounds very similar. To my ears, there are very few bands that stand out lately. Looking at the big picture there are always trends. Right now, in metal, I just hear breakdown after breakdown accompanied by myriad screams with techno beats for effect. Although it was kind of cool and different when I first heard it, I’m rather bored with it now. I can’t tell if it is my ADD or just my yearning for a new wave of timeless tunes. Misamore is all about energy. We pull from Muddy Waters to Norma Jean. At the end of the day it’s not about how hard a song is or if we got enough double kick or guitar harmonies in there. We want our songs to be in people’s iPods 20, 30, 50 years from now. That is our goal.

What’s more important to you, sounding good live or sounding good on record?
I would have to say sounding good live. However, most people will come to your show based on a good recording. I like the old fashioned word of mouth and the respect that it brings from friends of friends telling their friends and so on. It’s kind of like we are all just a bunch of friends when we get to the venue. Life feels so synthetic lately with computers and texting and social networking; to get in front of a bunch of people and exchange energy with them, that is living man.