by Zachariah Zendejas
Interviewing different bands exposes me to local artists that I otherwise would have remained oblivious to and one such band is Saving Temperance. This band out of Kingsburg brings a mix of faith with rock. Although this is not something new, the band’s mix of alternative rock music and lyrics about faith, mercy and so on carry the weight and well of the emotion of the words written.
left to right are: Matt Nygren, Chris Wainwright, Brittany Wainwright, Frankie Palumbo
As I listened to their EP (extended play) Back Home, I was instantly engaged by the voice and sound. There is something about a well-balanced song (and more importantly an album) that can evoke a mix of feelings within a person. The beat of the music supports the voice that utters powerful lyrics, like my favorite “Do something with your life” from the song “Get Up”. From slow build ups to a powerful mix of guitars and drums, the hard, rhythmic rock of the music supports an equally strong, emotive voice.
Of course, a band is more than just the music they produce, but rather the people that collaborate and make the music that is enjoyed. As I had the opportunity to review their EP, I also was able to speak with the members of the band, comprised of Brittany Wainwright (kead vocals, songwriter, founder), Chris Wainwright (kead guitar, back-up vocals, founder), Matt Nygren (bass player, back-up vocals), and Frankie Palumbo (drummer).
Brittany and Chris are siblings who, according to Brittany, began their musical journey at a young age when Chris “would make something up on guitar and I would write lyrics to it.” As they got older, they eventually toyed with the idea of starting a band.
“About three years ago we thought it’d be fun to start a band and see what became of it,” said Brittany about the birth of Saving Temperance. Although starting a band can be a struggle in and of itself, to find other musicians, especially good ones who share the same enthusiasm for it, is something else. “We went through some turn over in musicians before finding Frankie Palumbo, a great drummer who toured with the band The Abbott Experience. Matt Nygren (bass) joined us about the same time we got Frankie and we’ve been a band ever since.”
When I talked to drummer Frankie Palumbo, he recounted his first time with the band. “I started with the band as a fill in.” According to Palumbo, they met through Wainwrights’ mother BJ, manager of the band. “BJ knew about me because we were a part of the same church organization. They asked me to fill in for a show in Selma.” About two months later, Palumbo was approached by the band and was asked to join due to the former drummer leaving. So, Palumbo “tried it out and stayed with them.” The rest, as they say, is history.
When it comes to bass player Matt Nygren, he recounted the time he met Brittany and Chris. “I first became involved with the band when Brittany and Chris talked to me at one of my jazz performances. They both had told me that they were thinking about getting some recording sessions lined up for a small project they had in mind.” After expressing his interest in being involved, he did not hear back from them immediately. A few months passed before he was called in to practice with them. When he arrived he was treated to a bit of a surprise. “I showed up to the first practice to find the drummer of my previous band in the room.”
According to Nygren, he and Palumbo had been in the band The Abbott Experience. “We were in that band together for about a year,” recalled Palumbo. With excitement about the “new found group,” Nygren remarked, “it has progressed greatly since then.”
Chris, the lead guitarist is also audio technical sound guy of the group. “My sister Brittany and I are the founders of the band. We currently have four members that have been together for almost two years,” said Chris.
When it comes to their “mission,” according to Chris, the band is in agreement. “We feel that God has assembled this group with a purpose. That purpose is to reach out through our music and musical talents that God has given to us, to our generation.”
However, there is a lighter side to it all. When I asked about how they came up with the name of the band, I was told it was quite a funny story. According to Brittany, after she and her brother had decided to create a band, they had trouble coming up with a name. “My family was on a trip to Oklahoma when we thought of starting a band. We were trying to think of band names but nothing stuck,” says Brittany as she recalls when they were at the San Jose airport. “While heading to the luggage carousels, Chris rushed past me, running at full speed. That’s when we saw Chris’s guitar Temperance (named after Temperance Brennen of the TV show Bones) coming up the carousel. It was just about to make the rugged fall before smashing into the side of the shoot. We realized that Chris was literally saving his guitar, Temperance.”
After hearing this I had to ask Chris why he named his guitar Temperance. “Well, one of my favorite actors is Emily Deschanel. She plays Dr. Temperance Brennan on the TV show Bones,” explains Chris. “I had this huge crush on her and thought she was very pretty, so when I bought my guitar years ago, that’s what I named it.”
As for tours, BJ Wainwright responded, “We perform local venues like Kuppajoe’s Night Club, Club Retro, The Lounge. We perform for local Youth Groups & lead worship for Churches. We get hired to play large Youth Conferences all over the United States. Mid-February we will perform at a Winterfest Youth Conference in San Diego.” The band has played with other Christian rock groups like Addison Road, Jars of Clay, and many more. “All of the band members have full time jobs. We would all really like to do the band full time,” explains BJ. They are also raising donations in order to travel to Nashville in April to be a part of a showcase and be seen by many record labels and producers.
If you would like to donate to Saving Temperance or book a show with them, please call (559) 930-1062 or email booking@savingtemperance.com. You can learn more about them on their website.
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