First Posted: 3/3/2014
As you walk throughout the halls of the Advanced Technology Center at Luzerne County Community College, a strong vibe can be felt. It is the positive vibes of Nanticoke-based pop punk/power pop quartet Send Request.
Fresh out of the studio and into the local music scene, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Andrew Blank, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Derek Holminski, bassist Aron Wood, and drummer Jon Labenski speak very highly of their goals to take over the world.
World domination aside and despite having only formed in January of last year, the band is fully aware of the mark they want to make on the scene, and by the sound of it, they will have no problems doing so.
After an Internet search for producers to record their upcoming debut EP, “Beyond the Ordinary,” it was Blank who discovered Johnny Franck. The band then traveled to Westerville, Ohio, to record their debut EP.
The band got exactly what they wanted from their time in Ohio and credits Franck, former guitarist of metalcore band Attack! Attack!, with establishing the band’s sonic direction.
“He was really a part of helping craft our sound,” Holminski recalled.
“Beyond the Ordinary” is set to release in early April, but the track “Never! Never!” is streaming now on the band’s Facebook page, facebook.com/sendrequestband.
Send Request have played numerous shows at The Living Room, part of Stroudsburg’s Sherman Theater, with bands like Scranton’s Eye On Attraction, whose crowd shares the same enthusiasm for openers as the headliner.
“We play these shows with bands that have a much bigger fan base, but you get the energy off the crowd,” Labenski said. The members all agree that they feed off crowd interaction, making a better set for everyone.
Returning to the Sherman, Send Request will be playing Bands Against Cancer, benefiting the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, on Friday, March 7. They will be sharing the stage with High Strung, Omnitial, Attaboy, Jeff Boland, The Daymen, and Intrigue.
With each member having lost someone close to them to cancer, they hope to see the room filled that night.
“We just want to see people support music and raise funds for cancer research at the same time,” Holminski said.
