In order to progress in life – and music – change is inevitable. The inexorable forces of change are what brought the members of Message From Sylvia (MFS) together. With former bandmates leaving to start families or moving on to other projects – change happened with a simple phone call and fate began to run its course in the Summer of 2016. That phone call, facilitated by Nashville based Artist manager Erik Baker – connected the Lopez-Smith Brothers (Dane, Isaac, and Zachary) – formerly of First Decree – with vocalist Matthew Nevitt from Echovalve & DoryDrive.
Though they hail from disparate backgrounds – the Lopez-Smiths are from bucolic Cheyenne, Wyoming; Nevitt is from Peoria, Illinois – the members of Message From Sylvia found an immediate chemistry working together. That chemistry is already producing a combustible mix of explosive energy with the heavy yet melodic first single “Heart Of War”, which broke into the Top 20 @ Active Rock radio. Their second single “Right Here and Now” and upcoming album were Produced by Sahaj Ticotin (Ra). “Right Here And Now” is quickly climbing the charts @ Active Rock radio nationwide. Frontman Nevitt says: “We are truly humbled to have worked with someone Like Sahaj. I really feel he bled into this song and our new album just as much as any one of us!”
The members of MFS have seen success with their earlier projects: Nevitt’s band DoryDrive was named “Best New Rock Band” @ the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) awards in 2013 and their song “Here’s To You” reached the Top 40 on the Active Rock charts in 2014. The Lopez-Smith Brothers had an incredible run in 2015 with First Decree, which saw 3 of the band’s singles – “Lost In The Crowd”, “Phoenix”, and “This Is Our Rise” chart Top 15 @ Active Rock on the Under The Radar chart, and Top 30 on the BDs indicator chart. The band was nominated for “Best New Artist” of 2015 by Loudwire and finished in the Top 3.
All of the band’s members have been “Road Warriors”, collectively playing at large festivals: SXSW, Summerfest, Rock Fest, The Texas Showdown Festival, Gig It Festival, and Dirt Fest among others. They have shared the stage with acts such as Sevendust, Fuel, Candlebox, James Durbin, Alice Cooper, Adelita’s Way, Pop Evil, Hinder, Hollywood Undead, 10 Years, Otherwise, In This Moment, Avatar, Thousand Foot Krutch, The Deftones, Saliva, Hed PE, and Righteous Vendetta, among others. Current tour dates here: http://www.bandsintown.com/MessageFromSylvia
Message From Sylvia’s ultimate goal is to have their music reach as many people as possible around the world and for their music to inspire and encourage listeners. Becoming one of the biggest hard rock bands and a household name in the rock community drives them forward. “Heart of War” was a great start and “Right Here And Now” promises to take them even further towards reaching that goal. Message From Sylvia’s self-titled full length album will be released on April 7th, 2017.
Listen in as Matthew speaks with our Ace Sims about the making of the new album and the current tour
