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10 Vegas acts to watch in 2016: Echo Stains

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Photo: Bill Hughes

The prom from Pretty in Pink. The boombox in Say Anything. If Echo Stains’ 2015 LP Colors of Emotion conjures up scenes from your favorite John Hughes films, it’s not by accident. “It’s that feeling of being young and in high school … it’s nostalgic love,” that’s driving their sound, singer and synth player Jordan Collins explains. The five-piece’s New Wave groove is influenced by everything ’80s—from films like The Breakfast Club to the music that made their soundtracks essential.

Echo Stains launched in late 2014, three high school friends jamming at home, unsatisfied with what they were hearing on the radio. The members—Collins, Ron Guillermo (guitar) and Marvin Cantorna Jr. (bass)—decided to make their own music to fill the void, then later added Jose Quiñones (guitar) and Mike Bryson (drums) to the mix. In the past year and a half, they’ve been experimenting with new sounds and gear, releasing bedroom recordings online and gaining a steady following. The group’s latest single, “Night Love,” is still indicative of influences like The Cure, with the addition of more contemporary sounds like Blood Orange.

Echo Stains is already at work on new material, shooting for a spring/summer release. And the group, which has played venues like Zia Record Exchange, Boomers and Makers & Finders Coffee, has set its sights on touring in 2016. “We really want to branch out into California,” Guillermo says. “That’s a big goal.” echostains.bandcamp.com

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