Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Virtually Corelia

Corelia, a band born online, thrives online. “I think we have more fans in India,” says singer Ryan Devlin.
Corelia, a band born online, thrives online. “I think we have more fans in India,” says singer Ryan Devlin.

“We’re bigger now than we’ve ever been,” Corelia band guitarist Chris Dower says, “even though we haven’t played shows in a while. We’ve been growing our fan base online.” Corelia is an as-yet unsigned progressive metal band that looms large on social media (61,813 Facebook likes) but is otherwise unknown in San Diego. With only one venue that books original metal acts, Corelia guitarist Chris Dower explains that’s probably because hometown consumers of live music expect otherwise.

“Down here, the majority of people go to hear reggae. I don’t think a metal band can make it here,” he tells the Reader at an Oceanside café. “We wouldn’t be who we are if we had to depend on San Diego.”

So far, it hasn’t mattered.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We’re more of an online band, than a touring band,” adds drummer Clayton Pratt.

“Actually,” says Ryan Devlin, Corelia’s vocalist, “I think we have more fans in India.”

Thus far, Corelia has released two EPs — Nostalgia and Nostalgia (Instrumentals and Extras). They are expected to finish and release their debut full-length this year with front money from an Indiegogo.com pledge drive that doubled up from the band’s initial asking to $30,000.

Video:

Corelia, “The Sound of Glaciers Moving” (live in the studio)

But doesn’t the notion of being an online band violate the performance tradition? “It’s not a black-and-white situation,” Pratt explains. “It depends on the band. Some bands need to get out and play a lot of shows. But the way our fan base started, it’s been because of our recordings.”

“We got some demos together,” Dower explains of the early days, “and we released them online.”

“We were definitely born on the internet,” Devlin says. “And it’s been our resource for marketing. We go all the way back to MySpace,” he says, and then Dower corrects him.

“No — it wasn’t even MySpace. In the beginning, we went on, like, guitar-player forums. And they had these ‘promote your band’ features.” So Corelia did just that, and from those humble beginnings, Dower says word-of-mouth spread.

But did all that virtual love translate to actual ticket and merch sales? “Ninety percent of the people who came to our shows, they came from online,” Dower says of the period when Corelia toured. “We had a healthy fan base that came out and saw us.”

Pratt: “We frequented forums for metal fans as well, not just for other musicians. And later, we posted on MySpace. That was the first step for a new artist to share their music. Facebook wasn’t the popular place for bands yet. And then right when Corelia was starting to catch on, that’s when MySpace went in the toilet. Facebook came up, and some of the other social-media sites did, too, like Instagram. We’re not so much on Twitter.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Celebrate Holi, Borrego Springs Music Festival

Events March 23-March 27, 2024
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Corelia, a band born online, thrives online. “I think we have more fans in India,” says singer Ryan Devlin.
Corelia, a band born online, thrives online. “I think we have more fans in India,” says singer Ryan Devlin.

“We’re bigger now than we’ve ever been,” Corelia band guitarist Chris Dower says, “even though we haven’t played shows in a while. We’ve been growing our fan base online.” Corelia is an as-yet unsigned progressive metal band that looms large on social media (61,813 Facebook likes) but is otherwise unknown in San Diego. With only one venue that books original metal acts, Corelia guitarist Chris Dower explains that’s probably because hometown consumers of live music expect otherwise.

“Down here, the majority of people go to hear reggae. I don’t think a metal band can make it here,” he tells the Reader at an Oceanside café. “We wouldn’t be who we are if we had to depend on San Diego.”

So far, it hasn’t mattered.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We’re more of an online band, than a touring band,” adds drummer Clayton Pratt.

“Actually,” says Ryan Devlin, Corelia’s vocalist, “I think we have more fans in India.”

Thus far, Corelia has released two EPs — Nostalgia and Nostalgia (Instrumentals and Extras). They are expected to finish and release their debut full-length this year with front money from an Indiegogo.com pledge drive that doubled up from the band’s initial asking to $30,000.

Video:

Corelia, “The Sound of Glaciers Moving” (live in the studio)

But doesn’t the notion of being an online band violate the performance tradition? “It’s not a black-and-white situation,” Pratt explains. “It depends on the band. Some bands need to get out and play a lot of shows. But the way our fan base started, it’s been because of our recordings.”

“We got some demos together,” Dower explains of the early days, “and we released them online.”

“We were definitely born on the internet,” Devlin says. “And it’s been our resource for marketing. We go all the way back to MySpace,” he says, and then Dower corrects him.

“No — it wasn’t even MySpace. In the beginning, we went on, like, guitar-player forums. And they had these ‘promote your band’ features.” So Corelia did just that, and from those humble beginnings, Dower says word-of-mouth spread.

But did all that virtual love translate to actual ticket and merch sales? “Ninety percent of the people who came to our shows, they came from online,” Dower says of the period when Corelia toured. “We had a healthy fan base that came out and saw us.”

Pratt: “We frequented forums for metal fans as well, not just for other musicians. And later, we posted on MySpace. That was the first step for a new artist to share their music. Facebook wasn’t the popular place for bands yet. And then right when Corelia was starting to catch on, that’s when MySpace went in the toilet. Facebook came up, and some of the other social-media sites did, too, like Instagram. We’re not so much on Twitter.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.