Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen – there’s a music-making hurricane coming through San Diego and it’s anything but little.
Little Hurricane is the dirty blues, hard rocking power duo of guitarist and singer Anthony “Tone” Catalano and drummer Celeste “CC” Spina.
Since their inception in the music world in 2010, they have released an album entitled Homewrecker and they are currently on tour across the United States, which included a performance at this year’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, alongside the Foo Fighters, Eminem and Muse.
Just one year after its formation, the band has stormed the local music scene, winning a total of three awards at this year’s San Diego Music Awards, including Album of the Year, a category in which they faced off with music veterans such as Switchfoot and Augustana.
The band has made quite a name for themselves, despite having to be self-sufficient. Little Hurricane writes, records and produces music their own music and even releases the music independently.
The band was formed in San Diego surprisingly through the power of the worldwide web – when CC answered a Craigslist ad for band members posted by Tone.
Little Hurricane “found a common interest in unique and vintage equipment and a love of grimy, down and dirty blues,” according to Little Hurricane’s Facebook page.
CC hails from Chicago while Tone is from Santa Cruz, Calif. and both members have prior experience playing music, both playing for their school bands.
Lead vocalist Tone describes Little Hurricane’s sound as “dirty blues,” according to an interview with Happy Hour Magazine.
Heavily influenced by the White Stripes, which coincidentally is also a duo, one can tell that their sound resembles that of the band – utilizing the likes of raw, methodical drum beats and heavy, synthesized guitar riffs to back the soulful vocals that Tone brings to the table.
One may also notice indie elements in their sound, resembling that of other bands, like Foster the People and the Black Keys and it is apparent on such tracks like Crocodile Tears and Sun Sets West.
Tone’s guitar skill on several tracks bears a striking resemblance to that of guitar heroes like Chuck Berry and Stevie Ray Vaughan, while his voice and vocal performances remind listeners of the likes of Jimi Hendrix and John Mayer.
CC played her part on the album fabulously as well. Providing backing vocals to Tone while playing the drums is not the easiest thing to do, but CC does it well. Her drumming skills mirror that of such percussionists like Interpol’s Sam Fargarino or Dave Grohl during his days with Nirvana.
According to the same interview with Happy Hour Magazine, the band’s ultimate goal as to where they want to end up in the future is to “play music as much as possible, to write new songs and whatever else comes along.”
As humble as the band is, it is apparent that this band will go as far as they want it to go.
When asked about why the name “Little Hurricane” was chosen as their band name, both members agreed that it “best describes” their band – small, but powerful. They have more than proven that with the prestige that they’ve obtained in the music world so far – as seen in their awards, sold out shows and more.
Little Hurricane is writing new material at any chance they get, but they never forget their roots. They stay true to who they are and their music and keep their humble beginnings in mind while searching for new roads to travel on the road to musical success.