We sat down with UConn’s biggest homegrown band: Kalimur

A group of young Huskies came together to form the band, Kalimur, on UConn’s Storrs campus. With a unique sound and inspirations ranging from Coldplay to metal, four men have embarked on a journey which has helped them break into the music industry and make a name for themselves.

After a TV appearance on CT Style and numerous interviews, Kalimur has started to branch out in the New England and New York City area. I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to two members of this remarkable group: Brett Steinberg, 20 year old Journalism major along with a minor in Communications, and Alex Trouern-Trend, 20 year old and Molecular Cell Biology major with a minor in Chemistry.

How did you meet? And where did Kalimur start?

Brett started with a solo project prior to meeting Tyler, Kalimur’s bassist, his freshman year neighbor in Towers. “He’d bring his bass up, I’d bring my piano and we would jam every so often in my dorm room,” says Brett.

After a year and a couple of shows later, Brett and Tyler wanted to move forward with their collaboration. “This is where they announced their relationship on Facebook” Alex jokes.

They went on to open for a bigger band who toured in Connecticut, confirming their passion to play music. After watching Brett and Tyler perform at an open mic on campus, Alex reached out to them, “really in the mood to play music,” and asked if they would like to play together and started laying down the commitment deal to Alex, starting to become more of a band rather than a hobby.

Jonah, came into the band last minute. The trio had a string of shows set in stone, but were missing one last piece: a drummer. Alex knew Jonah for awhile, bringing the Led Zeppelin-inspired drummer into the mix. Prior to the first show, they had only spent six hours rehearsing but managed to perform for the crowd of metal and hard rock fans.

How does writing work for you guys? Any funny inspirations, or anything interesting spark song?

“Writing is one of three things: starting on the piano or the acoustic guitar and then writing from there, or creating an instrumental on my computer and then starting to figure out melody and vocals, or the bandmates put in their own material and we work with that,” says Brett. “It’s a very collaborative environment.”

For inspiration: “a weird sounding synth” Brett admits. For the lyrics he writes, he leans towards hypotheticals.

What’s the biggest show you’ve played?

“Probably the headliner show at The Space,” says Alex. This show combats with their first show ever, which included a big crowd for various bands. They have played their fair share of open mic nights and such, but The Space takes the cake for biggest show.

Do you ever get nervous before a show? How do you get over it?

Brett explains feeling butterflies before performing, while Jonah has to have time to center himself. “He has to leave the venue for a few minutes,” says fellow bandmates. Ultimately, feeling nervous is something that excites them, making the show even more fun to play.

So, do you have any weird stories from any of your shows?

“They usually happen on our way to the shows,” says Brett, “where we’re just stupid and laugh at stupid things and say weird things to Siri. I mean that’s pretty much just me.”

“Every time I look into Brett’s eyes, there’s just tension” Alex jokes. Brett moves along by telling a quick story of when they were recruited to play at a venue called, “The Garden.” What the band hadn’t known was the venue was literally a garden and performed in the center of it, gathering a small crowd to enjoy their music.

Do you have a dream location or venue you would want to perform? Or maybe a favorite venue or place?

Brett immediately said: “Madison Square Garden.” A better garden than THE Garden. “Or Jones Beach, in New York.”

Alex takes one day at a time, saying his dream venue right now is the House of Blues in Boston, MA. They guy is living his life day by day.

How do you balance school, working, and life along with your music?

“It’s easier to answer this question when not at school. You pretty much just say, ‘I don’t know we just do it,'” jokes Brett.

Alex continues the joke with, “it takes pain, a little bit of suffering, and big strides. You have your set destination, you know where you want to go, you just have to do some crazy shit to get there.”

To let the world of UConn know, what’s rock n’ roll without a little bit of pain and suffering. – Brett Steinberg 2016

What are your plans for your music in the future?

“We have our second full-length album, which is called, Redemption,” Brett says happily.

Their album release show just happened on January 29, at The Space in Hamden, Connecticut. Their newest album, Redemption, is out on iTunes and Spotify but the band’s main focus is to keep promoting the album, and more importantly, keep playing shows.

The most important question: DP Dough, Wings Over, Sgt. Peps…the list can go on, which is your top choice?

No worries, they both agreed with Wings Over.

Check out Kalimur’s website for more info about their music and future shows.

@xtaniayvette