Metal group Archana started in Midland, taking on Midwest
Up-and-coming hard rock outfit Archana isn’t the standard metal group.
The band’s work is a hard-hitting journey through crunchy guitar, rapid-fire drum licks and the occasional soaring guitar solo, topped with mostly clean vocals and the occasional trumpet.
Although for the moment they’re scattered across the Midwest, Archana’s current members have been playing together for several years. Midland junior Randall Hoyle plays trumpet and guitar, while his sister Jacqui Hoyle covers vocals and his brother Zack Hoyle plays guitar. Drummer Nathan Brandt and bassist Sean Stout complete the lineup.
One of the band’s talking points is how much its members bring something unique to the table.
Although Jacqui finds herself singing for a hard-rock band, she’s had classical vocal training. Randall brings trumpet into an arena unused to horns; Zack adds a guitar style more typical of metal bands.
In terms of their approach to the music, Archana keeps things in perspective.
“We’re not really one of those bands that are like ‘Oh, we’re going to make it big,’” Jacqui said. “We’re more into self-expression.”
Their live shows are an extension of that attitude.
“We do everything we can to make it fun,” Randall said.
He said Cincinatti alternative-rock group Foxy Shazam is their biggest influence for their stage presence, with some of the best live shows he’s ever seen.
"People come out of their way to see us and we do everything we can to make it worth their while,” Randall said.
Brandt agreed.
“It's almost like acting," he said. "Who we are onstage is not who we are offstage. It's more like superhero versions of ourselves, if that makes any sense.”
History
At first, Archana was only put together for fun, then later stayed together for small events like a high school battle of the bands, but things slowly became more serious.
In 2009, their work won a battle of the bands contest in Coleman and clinched some free recording time at Elm Street Recording in Lansing. From there, it’s taken them toward more a professional style of playing.
“That experience was good,” Randall said of the band’s first time in the studio.
It was the first time he’d ever heard the band on a playback, and he said it gave him a new perspective on the group’s work.
But, he added, “that album wasn’t where we wanted to be. We were restricted by money and we couldn’t put the money into it to make a really, really great (album).”
And so the group went back to work, sometimes writing three or four songs in a day. About a year later, Archana recorded the double album "Roundabout," released in 2011.
Roundabout Albums
Randall described "Roundabout 1" as a by-the-book rock album more inspired by his simpler writing style, while "Roundabout 2" is closer in line with guitarist Zack's fast-paced and frenetic style of playing.
“That’s where we put all the weird stuff,” Randall said.
The second of the "Roundabout" albums starts off with an arabesque lick on “The Monster with 21 Faces” before jumping into “Light,” a split-personality piece that heads from a quick-paced, off-rhythm drum opener into snappy verses and a sudden shift to a more soaring idea in the middle.
And for those who aren’t into the hard-rock scene, the band also released "Roundabout: The Instrumentals." It’s essentially the same songs minus the vocal tracks, and has a more musical feel. Their latest single, “Brobot” (February 2012), offers up an uncharacteristically techno-flavored track.
What’s next
Their next show is May 28 at the Main Street Pub in Saginaw.
In the meantime, the band has its docket full. In terms of writing new music, Brandt said the band has a lot of potential for future creative development, from making more acoustic music to reaching out to hip-hop artists.
“I want to do everything," he said. "I want Archana to be a one-stop-shop for any kind of music and mood you're looking for."
Randall agreed the band’s creative muse likes to explore.
“We just want to be different every time," he said. "I don’t know if we’re moving toward anything, we’re just moving to however we go.”
Through the process, the band remains enthusiastic about their work.
“There's no feeling, experience or drug that can make you feel as good as playing music and expressing yourself with your four best friends," Brandt said.
