Heat of Damage, Folsom-based Rock Foursome
Nov 22, 2016 02:06PM ● By David Norby
Heat of Damage—a rockin’, Folsom-based foursome comprised of friends and college students Julian Bohland (drums), Jared Easter (bass), David Haug (vocals) and Nick Lassalette (guitar)—delights local audiences with their edgy, eclectic mix of rock, metal and alternative. Last year, the band released their first full-length album Open Fire, which is available on iTunes, Pandora, Amazon and Spotify. See the group live at The Boardwalk on December 3, where they’re opening for comedy-metal band Psychostick, alongside Digital Havoc, Motorize and Korean Fire Drill.
HLB: What’s the story behind Heat of Damage?
DH: Julian and I met in eighth grade at Sutter Middle School and began jamming together because of a mutual interest in, and ability to play, Metallica songs. We came up with the name Heat of Damage to describe our two-piece, which became a three-piece after inviting Nick to join during freshman year of high school. We operated as a trio until 2014, when we were introduced to Jared, who added to the dynamic of our sound—not just with bass, but with hardcore vocals as well.
HLB: Describe your sound and your biggest influences.
JB: I’ve always felt that the band and I have seen eye to eye on our musical background. Generally, at one time or another, we have experienced each other’s likings of music. I certainly see older styles of heavy metal—such as Metallica and Iron Maiden—as a base of our sound, followed by modern hard rock and metal bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour.
NL: We draw on all kinds of aspects of music we like, from the Beatles to bands like Trivium, Papa Roach and others. Anything we listen to and like, we’ll find a way to incorporate into our sound.
HLB: What do you love about performing for your fans?
JB: Our fans always bring unbelievable energy to our shows. It’s been awesome watching our fan base grow over time; seeing people have fun, go hard and sing along to music we wrote really can’t be beat!
HLB: Most feel we live in an area supportive of artists—do you find this to be true?
NL: Since we first jumped into Sacramento’s music scene, we noticed camaraderie among the artists that flies in the face of the stereotypical “dog eat dog” competitive music scene. In Folsom, the high school music programs have allowed us to easily share our band with peers (such as Vista Del Lago’s CME class that I completed last year). Our classmates, teachers and community members have been incredibly supportive of us.
HLB: What are your plans for the future?
JB: We want to take this band as far as we can. We’re proud to have shed the “garage band” label, and we know we just have to keep working hard and doing what we love to do. We won’t know that we’ve reached our goal until we get there.