User:Mikaelaaroff/Calculator

Calculator is an American punk/screamo group formed in October of 2007. The band has a do it yourself label, they aren’t legally tied to any record labels. Their CD’s can be sold at shows. But most of their music can be downloaded through the Internet for free off their MySpace page. Ramez Silyan, one of the band members, came up with the band name Calculator, he depicts it as, “It’s not a calculator like a TI83 but a person because everything is calculated. Not in numbers necessarily, but in thought.”

The Band
The band consists of Nik Soelter, born on November 8, 1991, Chris Adams on January 30th, Ramez Silyan, August 24, 1991, Jeff Day, December 5, 1990, and Chris White, June 10, 1991. All of the members were raised in Los Angeles, California. Ramez, Jeff, and Chris White all went to Westchester Lutheran Elementary School. They then met Chris Adams and Nik at a program called Youth and Government and the band was formed in 2007. Chris White plays the drums, Nik and Chris Adams play the guitar, Ramez plays the base, and Jeff provides the vocals. Ramez and Jeff typically collaborate on the lyrics together, but the other band members contribute as well. As the band members got older, they had to separate for college. Chris White is currently attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, Jeff Day is attending University of California, Santa Cruz, Nik Soleter and Ramez attend the University of  California, Berkeley and Chris Adams attends Westchester High School. The band focuses on their schoolwork, but they play when everyone comes home for breaks. They write and record during the long breaks. In November of 2009, when the band reunited during Thanksgiving break, they all got matching tattoos. Each band member has a tattoo of a feather in a different place. The feather is also their album cover for their third album. In one of their songs, “FriendsLikePaddles” Chris Adams wrote, “to know your head and love your heart to cherish the silence of four years apart to grip your hands tight till I start again and always be the feather caught in a wind.” The feather symbolizes their lifestyles; they are “just a feather caught in the wind.”

Discography and News
The band has released two CD’s so far. The first album, which was self-released in December of 2008, was entitled Arguments. The second album was self-released in June 2009 and is entitled Calculator/Moldar (Moldar is a punk/screamo band that share the album). The third album, which hasn’t been released yet, is entitled These Roots Grow Deep. This third album will contain songs that have already been released as well and unreleased tracks. Melotov Records will release it, (a do it yourself label in Los Angeles). This album is going to be released on CD’s as well as on vinyl (something very popular in the underground music scene). It will be released as a 12 inch LP album. 200 Vinyl’s will be released in color and 300 will be released in black.

Arguments:

Track Listing:

1. Fivethousand

2. Abroad

3. 2012

4. FriendsLikePaddles

5. Presence

6. Memorial

Calculator /Moldar

Track Listing

By Calculator:

1. Our Homes, Our Graves

2. Paradise

3. Bandages

By Moldar:

4. Growing Roots...

5. ...And Eyes in the Back of My Head

On June 2, 2009 Punk News reviewed Calculator's first album, giving Arguments three stars.

On August 11th, 2009 Punk News reviewed Calculator's second album, giving Calculator/Moldar Split three stars again. In the review, Calculator is said to be "tighter, steadier and more dynamic than the material on their Arguments EP of last year."

Read more: http://www.punknews.org/review/8543#ixzz0ZGVGJf9i