Phineas Wrath, the band captivating Glassboro with their rock essence performing at Battle of the Bands and The Speakeasy, continues to venture into making their mark on the local music scene.
With over a year since starting the band, the group continues to grow, receiving offers and booking shows throughout the Tri-state area, last weekend performing in Ithaca, New York.
Local musician Atiya Aclaro brings their vocals and plays guitar alongside Rowan Music Technology and Industry student Athena Rossi. Dorian Antonelli plays the drums with backup vocals provided by bass player Mckenna Daley.
Aclaro was inspired to start the band after taking guitar lessons at The One Therapy Rock School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Through filling in for the drummer positions in the local group, The Band Valendina, Aclaro met Antonelli and connected with Daley while performing at The Let There Be Rock School. The trio have been friends for years while working together at the school’s program.
The group of three musicians practiced together and performed at house show venues and bars for six months leading up to Battle of the Bands. The event required another guitarist for the band and asked Rossi to perform all together. The group is assimilating themselves into the local music scene and said they are glad to be a part of it. They had a fantastic time listening to their friends in bands outside of house shows.
“Battle of the Bands was so good, everyone was so nice and welcoming to us, especially being the only people who probably didn’t know each other going into it as well. They were very complimentary of us,” said Daley. “We were able to meet a lot of people who would like to play with us in the future. It was super cool to feel like we were fitting into that situation and scene well.”
After teaching Rossi original materials, the band asked them to join. Since the group of four emerged on the scene, they have appeared at local The Band Valendina shows and on sets including their performance at The Lovers Lagoon at The Speakeasy. The band has been working to find new venues to perform at and recently received a club offer for a booking in New York City.
“They needed another guitarist for Battle of the Bands at Rowan, and I go to Rowan, and I was like sure. So they just got me the original stuff and I’ve been practicing with them since,” said Rossi.
With ties to the local music scene, The Band Valendina band member Karina Patricelli helped form Phineas Wrath.
“I’m friends with Karina, so I was like hey I wanna start a band, and I had a guitar friend and she knew Dorian had a bassist friend, and then we were like oh let’s be a band,” said Aclaro. “Karina kinda got us together, and then the guitarist and bassist were loaded.”
Inspiration for the group has been drawn from bands and artists including 5 Seconds of Summer, Pierce The Veil, and early music from Demi Lovato. Antonelli drum-wise is influenced by Green Day and The Regrettes. Featured in their sets include the 5 Seconds of Summer cover of “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry and “House of Wolves” by the band Chemical Romance.
“There’s a lot of Pierce The Veil happening, I grew up on Disney Channel, and I had that artist phase, a lot of early Demi Lovato,” said Aclaro. While many performances get emotional with various songs based on heartbreak, it can be challenging to take the stage.
“It’s scary sometimes right before we go on, I get nervous,” said Antonelli.
Focused more recently on writing original tunes, Aclaro spends their free time scrolling on GarageBand to bring new ideas to the band. They write down what comes into their mind in their notes app and piece together lyrics. Parts of the originals performed currently are written by the last iteration of the band.
“It’s a place where I can take everything up here, and put it in a structured form that looks right to me,” said Aclaro.
Taking the songs they are working on while currently recording demos together, Rossi plans to record the band’s music at the Rowan Department of Music Recording Studio 1.
“At some point, I’m gonna try to record everything that’s been written too at the studio at Rowan,” said Rossi.
The rising band Phineas Rath will continue to unleash their inner rock stars, planning to book more performances in the local area. They are open to performing at new venues across bars and house shows throughout South Jersey and Philadelphia. To watch the band adventure throughout the world of rock music, follow the band on Instagram @phineaswrath to see when they post the next shows they will be giving an electrifying live performance at.
For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email the.whit.arts@gmail.com.
