Rhode Island rock band Appala’s Eclipse has played live across the Ocean State, as well as New England, for over two years, and their chemistry acts as a representation of their success.
The group most recently performed live at Rhode Island College in Providence on Sept. 6, where they played at WXINSTOCK 2024, an annual event hosted by the RIC student radio station.
The official formation of Appala’s Eclipse dates back to 2021, and saw a unique convergence of the members’ pathways.
Southern Rhode Island natives Paul Simmons and Benjamin Quinn had originally met up while working with another guitarist, a mutual friend according to Quinn. The two of them in particular clicked, with Quinn playing the keys and Simmons playing bass. The two decided to part ways with the original guitarist in search of a new group to join.
“Me and him were pretty cohesive on piano and bass,” Simmons said. “It was pretty easy.”
The two then encountered guitarist Ethan Dowding, who introduced them to drummer Brian Flowers to make the lineup what it is today. The band described their unorthodox method of meeting.
“I put an ad on Craigslist, which is how I met Ethan,” Simmons said.
The keyboardist put up an advertisement stating that he and a bassist were looking for a guitarist and drummer to complete a lineup, according to Simmons.
The band joked and reminisced about the first song they played together: a cover of “Riders of the Storm” by the Doors. They also brought up the fact that there is no inherent leader, as all members bring their own equal part to the table, including every member taking a turn on vocals.
“All it takes is a little riff that someone makes, whether its guitar or keys,” Dowding said. “With this band, it honestly doesn’t take long for that riff to become a full-length song.”
With almost any artist, there often comes an inspiration. The members of Appala’s Eclipse had different answers when thinking of what inspires them.
“Some inspirations are the Allman Brothers, along with the Doors, Zeppelin and definitely Santana,” Simmons said. “We tried to add some Latin spice to the first album. It’s definitely Latin-inspired.”
The members all agreed that their early track, “The Cure,” most represents the Latin inspiration.
“As far as the context of the group, the other group members are the biggest influence on me,” Quinn said. “I can come in with an idea and then after it’s gone through the whole process, everyone has put their own flavor on it and it’s something completely new.”
Quinn emphasized how the dynamic of the group allows each member to add their own bits and pieces to each other’s work, and how it creates a style of music that is generally difficult to label. What remains important to the band is how people react to their work.
“We all get a thrill from [performing live], we definitely get a certain high,” Simmons said. “We know that we sound pretty good on stage.”
The group doesn’t take what they have for granted, however. Dowding cited his childhood and how it affects his relationship with performing.
“When I was a younger kid, I was never really good at anything,” Dowding said. “Finally [with guitar] I was like oh s—, I’m good at something, and I’m able to prove that to people. Which I know is not something I need to be doing, but damn it if it doesn’t feel good.”
Quinn described how there’s a lot of work that goes into performing, most of which isn’t seen by fans.
“The amount of time as a musician spent playing by yourself, or just with your group, [means] that hour spent playing in front of people is a miniscule part of the entire experience,” Quinn said. “But it’s so much more meaningful because you’re sharing something you’ve put your heart and soul into.”
Appala’s Eclipse’s music, including their latest single “Pipe Dreams,” is available on most music streaming platforms. Their next live performance will be on Oct. 12, at Wakefield Oktoberfest in Wakefield and will be open to all ages.