Melt down

  Byron Richard, guitarist/vocalist of the
band Melt belts out lyrics to a packed crowd at the House of Blues
on Monday night.

By Angela Salazar
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Melt’s got it ““ the ambition, the talent and the
presence all melted together to form a dynamic band.

The only question is: how far will it take them?

“I want to be in the rock “˜n’ roll hall of
fame ““ there’s no hiding that,” Melt’s
singer/guitarist/songwriter, Byron Richard, said in a pre-show
interview at the House of Blues Monday night when members of Melt
talked about the dynamics of the band, its successes and future
plans.

For a relatively young band (only two years old) without a label
or a full-length album out yet, Melt has made tremendous strides on
the music scene in L.A. and beyond.

The band, comprised of Richard, Scott Carneghi (drums), Kristyan
Ransonnet (bass/vocals) and Eric Bradley
(guitar/vocals/songwriting), has an advantage over other bands with
two lead singer/songwriters.

After coming together out of failed bands in 1999, Melt had a
song featured in the independent film “Jimmy Zip” and
played many L.A. clubs as well as the 2000 Mardi Gras festival in
Louisiana. In addition, Melt had several songs featured on
MTV’s popular drama, “Undressed,” including the
song “Slow” which is on the the show’s soundtrack
album.

“We’d all been friends throughout the years so we
thought we’d give it a shot and see if anything clicked and
we melted,” Richard said.

  Photos by CLAIRE ZUGMEYER Melt is comprised of
Kristyan Ransonnet (bass/vocals), Scott
Carneghi (drums), Byron Richard
(guitar/vocals), and Eric Bradley (guitar/vocals).
Carneghi and Richard, who had been friends for several years, were
housemates when they made the decision to develop a new band.

“We used to live together, we had a house together; it
turned into basically a party pad,” Carneghi said.

“It was crazy, and we needed somebody else to play
with,” Richard said.

The band finally came together when Ransonnet and Bradley
joined, giving it the boost it needed to get started.

“Before we knew it, we had like 25 songs and were opening
up at the Roxy and here we are ““ two years later ““ and
we just keep going,” Richard said.

Now the band is able to come together and produce the kind of
music they want.

“We’re not really part of any particular sound, its
not a rap/rock thing, its not a punk thing, its just Melt,”
Bradley said.

“I think there’s something in it for everybody, a
little bit of everything,” he continued. “You can call
it alternative, you can call it metal, you can call it rock, you
can call it pop.”

Not wanting to fall into one specific genre, the band describes
itself as its own kind of “Melt rock.”

“We’re all about melodies and beautiful chords and
energy,” Richard said.

The sound and talent of the band is not the only thing that
helped it achieve success so rapidly. The drive and determination
of the members, and a little luck, also played a role.

By chance, members of the band met music supervisor, Jennifer
Pyken of MTV’s “Undressed” at a Pavilions grocery
store.

“Kristyan and I were in this phase where we would just
walk up to anybody and say “˜Hey, come and see our
band,’ and give them a flyer,” Richard said.

“I met (Jennifer) at Pavilions and gave her the CD and she
passed the information on to Melinda Gedman (soundtrack coordinator
of “˜Undressed’) and we hooked up and kept talking and
it developed from there,” Ransonnet said.

  Kristyan Ransonnet sings at the House of
Blues. His group Melt’s latest endeavor is a contribution to the
soundtrack to MTV’s "Undressed."

According to Gedman, Melt was one of 16 bands chosen from over
500 indie bands by the music department of “Undressed”
to be featured on the show’s soundtrack.

“It was just so random how it happened … by the time we
had gotten back from lunch, the person had already left a message
… it was just like snap, snap, snap,” Richard said.

Since then, Melt has continued to work with Gedman and pursue
other performing opportunities.

“It seems we open a door and boom, there’s five more
doors,” Bradley said. “We just keep inching
up.”

Although the band has experienced some difficulty booking shows
at certain clubs because of its newness, overall, it has been able
to showcase its talents in prominent L.A. spots that have been
willing to give the band a shot.

With support from such clubs, as well as from friends and
family, Melt continues to work on perfecting its music and
expanding its experiences while remaining focused on its ultimate
goals.

“We have aspirations just like every other rock band
““ to get the deal and sell enough records to be happy and
have this be our soul thing,” Richard said.

With a strong dynamic on and off stage, Melt has been able to
move forward, already accomplishing a lot of ground work on their
own, without the help of a record label.

“The most exciting thing about this band is that
we’ve never really hit a plateau, things just keep on rolling
and snowballing,” Richard said. “We’re getting
there, just fighting our way into the scene, doing it
up.”

Right now, Melt is all about having fun and enjoying the perks
of having a tightly knit band working toward success. The band has
a video that can be viewed on their Web site and is currently
working on putting together a record and touring regionally.

The band hopes to hit several venues in California, including
college campuses. They also want their music to be heard via
college radio.

“A lot of positive things keep happening ““ everyone
is really excited about the project and just keeps putting the
energy in and every week something new happens,” Richard
said.

MUSIC: For more information on Melt and its music, check out the
Web site www.melterskelter.com.