Meet The Band: Terminal Overdrive
Meet local Rock band Terminal Overdrive and hear about how they found their sound!
Chris Moree, the lead guitar and founder of Terminal Overdrive, started putting together a band in 2012. While working in a factory, Moree spent his time off sending music and jamming with the band’s current lead bassist, Marshal Elkins in hopes of finding the right rhythm. What they really needed was a lead singer.
“I was driving down to Birmingham to jam with Marshal and a drummer for a few months, but we were having no luck finding a singer. I kind of put this project on the back burner for a few years.”
This did not deter the efforts of Moree though. He started a new band called Genki Genki Panic and proceeded to hone his craft from there. About six years later, Moree started developing what would be known today as Terminal Overdrive.
“I played Chris Campbell, current drummer of Terminal Overdrive and past drummer of Genki Genki Panic, some songs and we started working them out with a vocalist.” But with the sounds of new collaboration came problems.
“We had recorded a few demos that we were almost ready to give up on after the original vocalist fell through. Cara Madaris stepped in at the last minute and everything fell into place from there.”
Madaris, the lead singer of Terminal Overdrive, believes the band brings a totally different dynamic with a stronger female presence. “This is hard to come by with a harder rock sound,” she says. “Our members are all really great at what they do and it brings a really unique sound.”
Listening to Terminal Overdrive, you get a sense of energy pulsating through every chord change. The vibe is electric. The influences of Terminal Overdrive dictate the direction they take with their music. The band name is a mashup of William Gibson and Philip K Dick references.
It starts with months of Moree analyzing song structures and breaking apart music theory and then bringing into the band to make something out of the rubble. “Every song sounds completely different, yet it still sounds like our own thing,” Moree says.
Madaris hopes Terminal Overdrive is easy for people to relate to. “We just write what we feel,” she says. “It’s a great outlet for each member and we channel that into our songs.”
As far as having an impact on the community, Madaris knows it is important to shed light on the importance that each band member plays. “We want to show we can have a strong male AND female presence and mesh it into something really special,” she says.
Band members include Cara Madaris, lead vocals, Chris Moree, lead guitar, Jennifer Weaver, keyboardist, Chris Campbell, drums, and Marshal Elkins, bassist.
You can find their music on most music streaming sites, as well as Facebook and Instagram and lookout for new music coming this spring.