(Article from September 2019. Photo Credit: Coffman Rock Shots) Family metal band Liliac brings back classic heavy metal sounds to the stage in the form of young and vibrant rockstars.
The band, comprised of the five Cristea siblings, has been performing on their national Chain of Thorns tour, including a stop at Tampa’s Brass Mug back in September.
Before they took the stage, Samuel, Abigail, Melody, Ethan and Justin sat down to give insight into their beginnings, their thoughts on the state of rock music, and what lies ahead for the “First Family of Rock”.
Early Influences
“The band that really got us started to go into the rock genre was Queen. We wanted to keep listening to more rock music. From there, our dad got us into playing instruments,” said 19-year-old drummer Abigail. Abigail herself is heavily influenced by Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor.
“His drumming just matched everything with the music. Like, when he writes his drum beats and everything, it falls in perfectly,” she beamed. As a drummer in a metal band, however, Abigail doesn’t shy away from theatrics. On stage, she’s banging her head, twirling her drumsticks, and throwing her hands up to excite the crowd.
17-year-old Melody, the lead singer of the band, finds her biggest influence to be the late Ronnie James Dio.
“Someone showed him to me and I just got really into him,” she said.
Liliac has covered Dio’s music in the past and has 1.1 million views on their cover of “Rainbow in the Dark”.
On the State of Rock Music
Among some fans of rock music, particularly older adults, there is a common complaint that rock music is dead. In an article for Vice, writer Dan Ozzi bluntly states that the genre is being out-performed by hip-hop and EDM, signifying its industry death.
However, the siblings say otherwise.
“So many rock bands are still going, still making albums and still going for it,” Abigail said, citing bands such as Metallica and Halestorm.
The biggest issue, they say, is with mainstream social media. Rock does not get the mainstream media attention it once got, making it harder for the younger and more tech-savvy consumers to find the music.
At the 2018 Grammy Awards, the rock music segment was not even aired on television. Bill Freimuth, the head of awards told reporters at Loudwire that they base their televised portions on what viewers talk about and post about most on social media. Rock was not in that category.
Samuel Cristea, the band’s 20-year-old lead guitarist, chimed in on the issue, giving the band a hopeful look towards the future.
“ I feel like we could probably break that barrier and make more young people enjoy rock music.”
Abigail strongly summed up their opinion, gaining nods of approval from the other siblings.
“If someone said that rock is dead, we’ll just say ‘OPEN YOUR EYES AND LISTEN’!”
Looking Toward the Future
Liliac touched the mainstream media and captured the attention of rock fans after their appearance in February on CBS' "World's Best".
Florin Cristea, the band’s manager and the father of the Cristea siblings said the band is also looking at a potential spot on NBC's "America's Got Talent".
This November, Liliac will open for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS on their KISS Kruise after beating out hundreds of bands in the cruise's Soundcheck Competition.
The band is also currently running a Kickstarter campaign to begin working on a second album.
You can find Liliac on social media at @liliacband and visit their website at liliacband.com.
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