'Twilight' sounds by Hurricane Bells

Steve Schiltz’s earliest memory of music is dragging around a Fisher Price record player with him everywhere he went. He played Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson on it. A decade or so later, he’s on stage performing to a crazed lot of fans who ask him “to sign vampire bites on their necks, sign shoes and phones...”

The manic behaviour can be explained. The first song in the vampire super-grosser Twilight: New Moon is Monsters by Steve Schiltz’s band Hurricane Bells. The rest, as they say, is, well...a roller-coaster ride in show business.

The debut song of the American band, Hurricane Bells that was added to the soundtrack of one of the highest grossing films of 2009 is something of a dream come true for any band. The Twilight series of novels and now films have featured heavyweights like Muse and can turn the careers around for any newbie. Schiltz’s future looks encore heavy. “I made a record on my laptop that has been used for a very large film, and has opened other doors,” says Schiltz of Hurricane Bells’ first album Tonight is the Ghost.

Hurricane Bells will be performing in Mumbai this month, courtesy of the US Consulate. Bells’ music might not be the usual fare of indie rock bands and/or classical and jazz fusion pieces. Instead think of it as haunting, up-tempo music that’s complemented by sets of beautifully evocative photographs—black and white, sepia-toned, shadows playing with bursts of light, a moody lot that fits the notes.

“The Hurricane Bells record is pretty mellow, a late night kind of mood. Live, we keep that and add a few more guitar/loud dynamics,” adds Schiltz. “The record came about as a result of songs that I had that didn’t fit my other band, Longwave. I played everything on the record and recorded and mixed it myself. When it was done, I decided I wanted to give the project a name, and came up with Hurricane Bells. They were stone bells that were hung high in trees by the sea to alert people below of oncoming storms. I thought the image was beautiful and fit the mood of what I wanted.”

The band at times is a one man show—Schiltz mixing on his laptop in his room and taking photographs—but on this trip to India, he’s been joined by some of his friends. There are the usual things they’re looking forward to—the food, the sights.  As for their performances, he’s hoping the audience leaves with their drummer’s phone number.