Cinema8

Fronted by former Fighting Gravity guitarist Michael Sauri, Cinema8 is a melodic and tuneful alternative pop/rock band along the lines of Creed. Cinema8 doesn't sound anything at all like Sauri's former band; while Fighting Gravity was ska-oriented, Cinema8 is a product of a post-grunge rock world. However, lead singer/guitarist Sauri (who does much of Cinema8's writing) obviously realizes that rock didn't start with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and his influences are far-reaching. Although Cinema8 shows an awareness of alterna-rock favorites like Creed, Pearl Jam, and the Stone Temple Pilots, Sauri's writing has also been affected by late-period Beatles, as well as '70s and '80s arena rock, pop-metal, and hair metal bands. There are traces of Peter Frampton in some of his work and it is clear Sauri is well aware of the post-Beatles albums that Paul McCartney's Wings and the late John Lennon provided in the '70s. And on the song "True Believer," one hears some of Aerosmith's bluesy swagger.

Born on the Long Island suburbs of New York City, Sauri was only six when he moved to Annapolis, MD, with his parents. Sauri learned to play the guitar as a child and by the time he reached early adolescence, he was playing in various local bands. After graduating from a Christian high school, Sauri had a double-major at Baltimore's Towson University, where he studied both music and literature; in fact, some of Cinema8's lyrics reflect Sauri's interest in literature and mythology. In 1999, Sauri was hired to play guitar for Fighting Gravity and ended up spending 14 months with the Richmond ska outfit. Sauri was hardly an original member of the band; the first lineup of Fighting Gravity (which was originally called Boy O Boy) was formed in the mid-'80s and the band had been together about 14 years when Sauri joined. During his months with Fighting Gravity, Sauri started writing some songs, all of which were rock-oriented and none of which reflected Fighting Gravity's ska-oriented direction. So in November 2000, Sauri left Fighting Gravity to devote more time to songwriting and start a band of his own. In early 2001, Sauri recruited some studio musicians and visited New York to record Cinema8's self-titled debut album (which was produced, engineered, and mixed by Bryan Martin). Favoring a big, glossy production style, Cinema8's recording debut underscores Sauri's interest in '70s and '80s arena rock, but still manages to sound contemporary by early 2000s standards. The album's lineup includes Sauri on lead vocals, guitar, and acoustic piano; David Vergauwen on guitar, banjo, organ, and background vocals; Jay Turner on electric bass; and Nick Bertling on drums and background vocals. But those studio players did not want to be in the live version of Cinema8 and in 2001, Sauri put together a new full-time lineup that united him with lead guitarist Buddy Speir (a graduate of a band called Boogiehawg), bassist Colin McGough, and drummer Tony McGee (formerly of the band Egypt). With that lineup in place, Cinema8 played the Richmond club scene in addition to traveling to Boston, New York, and other cities for gigs. Cinema8's self-titled debut album was released by Mason Management and The Telegraph Company in March 2002. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi