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The first rule of thumb when you’re starting a new band is to stay in your garage for however long it takes – weeks, months, years – until you know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you’re ready to take your music to the masses … and then stay there for at least six more months.
That rule certainly worked well for Cinder Hill, a band of 16- to 22-year-olds who, by the time they emerged from their basement in early ’08, had a well-defined sound, a batch of radio-friendly soft rock songs and a club-ready stage show.
“We spent a lot of time down in our basement getting our shit together and making sure everything was as tight as it can be,” says guitarist Ryan Bechtold, “and then we could go out and play it.”
Bechtold and singer/guitarist Matt Herr have been writing songs together since the age of 15, inspired by everyone from Dave Matthews and Derek Trucks to the Beatles, Tom Petty and Jimi Hendrix.
“All that music, it was so good and so raw. There’s no sugarcoating,” Bechtold explains. “We really like to get around the glamour and get straight to the music.”
Over the next few years, Bechtold and Herr practiced and wrote songs acoustically, but it wasn’t until the pair recruited keyboardist Rich Berkey and guitarist Kurt Jacobus that Cinder Hill’s sound truly began to gel.
“I had no idea how to do really anything,” Bechtold laughs. “Rich actually wrote every song except one. He’ll just throw music at us. ‘I have this idea. I have this idea.’”
Armed with a batch of songs and a newfound ambition, the four began looking for a rhythm section. The search didn’t take long: They snagged Ryan and Kurt’s 16-year-old brothers, Randy and Will, and got to work.
Family would also factor into the band’s career once Cinder Hill was ready to venture out. Bechtold’s father’s band, The Hazmatz, brought CH out to open gigs at the Ritz on Main in Leola – near the band’s hometown of Lititz – on several occasions, allowing Cinder Hill to win over fans in an organic, gradual way. Now, the band is able to headline the club on its own.
The second rule of thumb when you’re starting a new band is to keep your feet on the ground and not get carried away by early success – which is sometimes even harder than following rule number one. Cinder Hill has tentative plans to release its first album by December. Beyond that? World domination, of course.