Local venues like Spanish Moon or Red Star don’t often yield performances by groups of classically trained musicians. And performing a variety of instruments, including French horn and glockenspiel, England in 1819 is no ordinary local band. Composed of five multi-instrumentalists – three of which are family members – the band combines the harmonic complexities of an orchestral group with pop elements to create a unique, ambient sound. ‘I want to walk the line between what people have heard and find emotional and powerful and something completely new,’ said the band’s principal songwriter and lead vocalist Andy Callaway. Andy Callaway grew up in England and spent his high school years in Baltimore before moving to Ohio to study composition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He said his years at Oberlin were integral in his songwriting approach for England in 1819. ‘I used to write real ‘poppy’ kind of stuff,’ Andy Callaway said. ‘Looking back, none of it was new or different. Then I’ ‘ studied composition – what people do to write, what chord progressions to use – and it changed my writing a lot.’ The band’s sound is largely defined by Andy Callaway’s intricate harmonies, but its rhythm section contributes to England in 1819’s pop appeal. His brother Dan Callaway, who splits the band’s bass lines between electric bass guitar and French horn, allows songs to move from one section to the next. ‘On the more atmospheric songs we do without the bass guitar, and we cover the bass with the left hand of the piano,’ Dan Callaway said. ‘If we want the driving rhythm of a rock song, we’ll put in the electric bass.’ Dan Callaway said the band’s ability to incorporate dynamics and a diverse live instrumentation gives it a unique appeal. ‘There are definitely bands that are doing different gears,’ Dan Callaway said. ‘But I think what we create with all the different sounds – the organ, the voice and the horn – that’s what sets us apart.’ The band’s guitarist William Callaway, Andy and Dan’s father, describes the band’s songwriting process as a group effort but said Andy brings in the initial harmonies and lyrics. Andy and Dan provide most of the harmonic accompaniment in the group, but William usually trades conventional chords and rhythms for ambient melodies driven by effects pedals, he said. William Callaway, who has a master’s degree in percussion from the University of Georgia, said he loves playing in a group with his sons and considers their ability to work together one of the band’s greatest assets. Some think having a father figure in the band may have an overpowering effect on the songwriting, but the Callaways downplay the family aspect of the band. ‘It doesn’t really come up much, but when it gets out that we’re a family band, we don’t look at it that way,’ William Callaway said. ‘When we work together, we’re equals. Maybe I’ve caught myself once or twice being the dad, but I don’t feel like that in this band.’ Dan Callaway agrees that the songwriting process is a very open one. ‘Most of the people who see us [play] don’t even know he’s our dad because it’s not that type of relationship,’ Dan Callaway said. ‘He has strong opinions just as all of us do, but that never comes into it.’ Vocalist Zuly Inirio, a vocal doctoral student at LSU, also adds to the band’s unique sound with both her vocals and percussion. A classically trained opera singer, Inirio combines her love of operatic singing with pop music to give the band a vivid texture. ‘There’s no other local band that has an opera singer in pop-rock music,’ Inirio said. ‘It’s something new to everybody’s ears, and people respond really positively to it.’ In addition to Dan Callaway’s contribution on bass and French horn, England in 1819’s rhythm section is rounded out by drummer Sebastian Jungschaffer. Jungschaffer lacks the years of music education the other members of the group share, but William Callaway said his percussive approach to drumming keeps the group grounded. ‘The type of drums that the music needs, Sebastian does really well,’ William Callaway said. ‘It’s not rock drumming – it’s percussion and effects, similar to a chamber group.’ England in 1819 is signed to local independent label Phantom Party Records and will release its debut album ‘Three Cheers for Berties’ on Jan. 30. The band will perform a CD release show the same night at Spanish Moon on Highland Road. Follow Ben Bourgeois on Twitter @TDR_Bbourgeois. —- Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]