Sincerely, the Alchemists

Three devoted men with a set vision have stirred up the recipe for success with their band Sincerely, the Alchemists.

Members Marc Koza, Justin Muldoon and Dave Lilly have classified their music as pop electronica – a genre that takes strong influences from contemporary pop and metal cultures.

“It is such an eclectic genre that encompasses some influence from varied other musical forms,” Koza said.

Their welcoming, honest and comical personalities resonate through their short commentary and striking lyrics throughout their songs. As a new band, they are using social networking heavily to gain a fan base and promote their music. Two of their songs “Such Life” and “Let Her Go,” are the latest songs dropped on Facebook. The Temple News sat down with Koza and Muldoon, both Temple alumni, to discuss the bands’ recent creation, their inspiration and their method to promote themselves and stand out among other established bands.

The Temple News: Describe the sound/make-up of the genre “pop electronica?” What are your roles?

Justin Muldoon: It is a combination of theatrical, classical, pop, metal and rockmusic all in one. I do the background vocals when necessary and make up my own raps for the songs. [Koza] is the vocalist of the group. He makes all the vocal melodies and writes the lyrics. [Lilly] is the pianist and comes up with some creative structure for the song as well.

TTN: How did the group originate?

Mark Koza: Freshman year of college I met [Muldoon] and we both came in wanting to start a band. The idea actually originated because after every party we would be on our way home, singing out loud, walking down the blocks of North Philly. Plans fell through because we kept meeting people who didn’t quite fit what was necessary to uphold a good band. I actually floated through a few unsteady bands and senior year when I met [Lilly], we decided to create a band together ourselves. [Muldoon] and I remained friends and had always wanted to be in a band together so I asked him to join, and now it’s us three.

TTN: Where did the name “Sincerely, the Alchemist” originate?

MK: It comes from an author I read who divided up the great pianists and one of the categories was “alchemists.” We felt our music could bring you to a different place. Plus we have a great pianist.

TTN: How have your skills in your majors translated to either helping or hindering your success of the group?

MK: I was a [broadcast, telecommunications and mass media] major, which wasn’t necessarily musically focused, but it actually helped me greatly. As an independent team, producing and editing all of your own music is something you have to know. You must be critical of yourself. Learning how to do all of those logistical tasks with broadcast was able to translate over to working with the band’s music.

TTN: Where do you see the band in five years?

MK: We just want to be able to get a nice fan base and be able to play live for people. Personally, I just want people to say that we did a good job. I’ve worked on my voice for years to get it where I want it to be and it would be great to have others recognize my talents.

JM: If we have people who constantly are encouraging us to do more and write more, that would be great. Being able to get to a point where even our songs play on the radio would be nice. It’s a good feeling to make music that people enjoy and appreciate the work you put in to produce it.

MK: We’re humble in the way we don’t expect ourselves to explode but we just want to be respected in the community and hope things pan out great.

TTN: What inspires you to keep performing and writing?

MK: My band. I remember the days where I used to have good ideas and when melodies would just come to my head, but I didn’t have anyone to share it with. Now that I have a group of people to share it with – they keep me inspired.

JM: The fun and joy that comes along with it inspires me. With a song like “Such Life,” it was all jokes and I appreciate that aspect.

Shanell Simmons can be reached at shanell.simmons@temple.edu.