Coronado

Coronado began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the winter months of 2011-2012 forming primarily around drummer Marc Martinka who was searching for a group to support new material he was developing at his home recording studio. He discovered guitarist Andy Carlson- a long blond haired California native who had recently relocated to Pittsburgh and brought to the mix a dirty Southern blues/rock and slide guitar sound. Added to the group was Alex Sands- a Pittsburgh born songwriter who spent 7 years living on Chicago's "Blues Alley" where he watched and learned Chicago Blues from some of the city's most seasoned players. Through late night open jam sessions and underground folk hootenannies, Sands developed a strong vocal and harmonica style which carried over into his abilities as a group front man. As a classically trained pianist and session Hammond organ player- Sands became a valuable asset to Carlson and Martinka's project group. Soon after joining the group in January of 2012, Sands was sidetracked with a major hand injury suffered during an alleyway brawl after he was jumped near his home and in recovery, began working on new material while taking retreat in Geneva, Switzerland. Looking for what Martinka called “a young Mick Taylor”, the pair auditioned stalwart-virtuoso Brian Swed who they immediately asked to join the group. After a revolving cast of original sit-in bassists, Sands met the younger Alex Rowland (known otherwise as "Rowland"), at a party and decided upon Sands' invitation to move in and live at Atlas Cedars (the group's flagship studio in Northside Pittsburgh). Thus, the complete original lineup began playing (now under the name Coronado) in the spring of 2012 opening for Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang (formally of Dr. Dog) on March 1st, 2012. The group created their first major waves after being discovered by 102.5 WDVE FM Pittsburgh rock radio show host Randy Baumann in October of that year, coincidentally at the same time the band released its first self-titled LP "Coronado". The album "Coronado" was considered a mixture of Carlson, Sands’, and Martinka’s earlier unfinished solo project work. Seeking to put out a record of their "core" work, the group quickly set out to record a follow-up album in November 2012, but began to experience alcohol and substance abuse problems that caused personal problems, hours of wasted studio time, and a series of rough live performances throughout the winter that year. In January 2013 as the group was trying to quickly release their second album, original member and guitarist Andy Carlson left the group and returned to southern California. Initially a setback to the group, Carlson was immediately replaced with young guitar prodigy Richard Stanley- a native of Wheeling, WV, who saw the band perform live during Carlson's final show on February 1st, 2013. Shortly thereafter in April 2013, bassist Rowland announced that he would also be leaving the band as pressure mounted from the other members who felt that there was a lack of interest on his part to remain with the group. Rowland's final show was played on April 20th, 2013 at Mr. Small's Theater in Millvale, PA. At that show, the group released a new single entitled “Another Night In America (Wasted Again)”, and Martinka and Sands quietly hired veteran Pittsburgh bassist Marty Connolly to take Rowland's place and Coronado then began playing road shows one month later. In the summer of 2013, after battling through lineup changes, drug and alcohol problems, and the reworking of the leftover Carlson material, the group released their second record titled "Past Present Future" - taking the name from the fact that all of the members of Coronado- past and present, were heard somewhere on the album. To the group, it was a testament to the story that is "Coronado"- a Spanish conquistador on a never-ending journey through the desert in search of fortunes and glory. To celebrate the release, the group staged a series of residency shows at their favorite local Pittsburgh pub The Parkhouse in July of 2013 featuring different special guests (including Randy Baumann of WDVE) each week. After a show in New York City on September 1st, 2013, Coronado founder and drummer Marc Martinka announced that he would be taking time off from the group for an indefinite period of time due to health concerns. Replacement drummers Tim O'Donnell and Bill Smith were contracted to join the band for the remainder of the 2013-2014 winter tour dates. In January, 2014, after tensions mounted between Sands and Martinka, Martinka stated that he had no plans to rejoin the group. In February 2014, drummer Ryan Milliron of DuBois, PA, was auditioned to become the new full time drummer for Coronado. During this transition, guitarist Richard Stanley (jokingly reffered to as the "Bob Welch" of Coronado) disappeared, and resurfaced in Wyoming, announcing that he had no plans to return. The current lineup (Sands, Swed, Milliron, Connolly), currently plays as a harder-edge 4-piece and continues to reform their image as they released "Better Than Drugs" (their most commercially viable material to date) in late August of 2014, and continue to perform live shows throughout the Midwest and Northeastern US. Plans for a new record are slated for late summer/fall of 2015.