Underground is back on top
After taking a brief hiatus from the local music scene last year, Underground has regrouped, added a new lead singer, and back to rocking establishments all across Southwest Florida.
“Preston Mailand is our new singer, and Michael Casella is back on drums,” said Frank Orlando, bassist of the band, along with Kenny Freeland, lead guitarist. “When Ken and I decided to resurrect Underground, we ran an ad for a singer on Craigslist, and Preston was one of the people who responded. We auditioned him, really liked his audition and made him an offer.”
The day he auditioned, Frank said Preston had only been in Florida all of four days.
“He had just moved here from the little town of St. John, Mich.,” Frank said. “He’s 6 feet, 4 inches tall and has an amazing voice.”
As soon as the band was once again a cohesive and dynamic group, the boys changed up their set list a bit to include new songs that Preston can perform additionally well.
“We’ve added bands like Hinder, Saving Abel, Cavo, Maroon 5 and Shine Down. People should hear him sing ‘Simple Man;’ it’s unreal,” Frank said. “Other cover song include bands like 311, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, Alice in Chains, Godsmack, Nickleback, STP, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Theory of a Deadman, Green Day, Three Days Grace, Buck Cherry, The Offspring, Lit, Blink 182, Candlebox, Papa Roach, Puddle of Mudd, Limp Bizkit, Audioslave, Three Doors Down, Bush, Incubus and Jet among others.”
Since most local establishments set up their schedules at least six months in advance, getting back in front of the mainstream audiences has been a little difficult, but Underground has been making its way back onto the event calendars little by little.
“We are presently still getting dates at Jack’s Bait Shack and Blue Monkey in Naples, Pott’s Sports Caf and City Tavern in Fort Myers and Back Streets in Cape Coral,” Frank said. “Some new places we recently played are Ralph’s Place, Dixie Roadhouse, The O-Bar and Cruisers Lounge in Cape Coral.”
Another great re-addition to the group is Underground’s drummer, Michael Cassella, Jr., who perfectly complements the rest of the band boys’ emanating talent.
“Michael is back full time, taking some fill-in gigs until our calendar fills up,” Frank said.
Keep an eye on the band’s website, UndergroundLive.net for a list of upcoming gigs, and find them on Facebook (search for UG Live or visit Facebook.com/UndergroundRocks) for up-to-the minute updates. (And make sure you request a Rage Against the Machine song to watch Kenny wail on the guitar!)
The group’s calendar is filling up, and will be jamming at City Tavern downtown Halloween night through Nov. 2.
Frank says they play private events and functions, and also plan to perform acoustic sets every once in a while, playing under the name “Unsupervised” when they’re “unplugged.”
Be sure to like the group’s page on Facebook, and visit Reverbnation for live videos and other fun info on the band.