Soulful funk rock band Villa*Nova to return to The Port City for album release party

Sierra Shepherd | Lifestyles Editor

On Nov. 14 at The Reel Café, located 100 S. Front St. in Wilmington, Villa*Nova will rock through the night for their album release party. The show is to take place atop The Reel’s rooftop stage that offers a bird’s eye view of downtown and the Cape Fear River. Local ‘90s grunge cover band Flannel Rebellion kicks off the show at 8:30 p.m.

Villa*Nova hails from Columbia, S.C. to play tunes from their new record. “Thread of Life”, and last performed in Wilmington to open for ¡MAYDAY! at Ziggy’s by the Sea in August. Members Brian “BC” Conner, Brandon “B. Hooks” Hooker and Bobby “Bobby Dredd” Guider were available for phone interviews with The Seahawk.

The band has been around for a while, but may appear new on the scene to some due to a name change. “We now have three albums under the name Villa*Nova,” said lead vocalist BC, “we were previously called Weaving The Fate, and have two albums under that name.”

BC founded Villa*Nova nearly 10 years ago; he writes the music, belts out soulful vocals with a pop vibe and plays lead guitar. Other members are rhythm guitarist and harmony vocalist B. Hooks, bassist Bobby Dredd, drummer and beatboxer Sean “Young Sean” Bing and Eric “DJ Able One” Adams, who plays the keyboards and operates the turntables.

In addition to being musicians, the band splits their time between their families and their jobs.

“I almost think our other jobs and families push us stay positive while we’re on the road and especially while we’re making music,” said B. Hooks. “Some of us have kids, so when we see those musicians singing about partying all the time, we want to be better role models for them through our songs.”

According to the band’s press release, the new 12-track “Thread of Life” album was “recorded at Plaugh’s House Recordings features artist Jordan Miller [formerly of The Movement] raps on ‘Give You My Name’.  ‘Make It Easy’ features beautiful piano work by Les Hall [Crossfade].”

The band released a Halloween themed self-produced video for “Give You My Name” on Oct. 29 (below).

Incorporating a variety of styles, their sound is not easy to define, but best described as positive and conscious with soulful delivery – here, rock, funk and pop combine. Bobby Dredd, who is responsible for contributing most of the funk aspect with surging bass lines, said, “We pride ourselves on our virtuosity. My favorite part of being in Villa*Nova is interacting with the other members and sharing our energy with the crowd. We encourage crowd participation at shows by taking down the fourth wall and connecting with fans.”

When they’re not on stage, one unique way that Villa*Nova connects with fans is with Facebook videos, which feature special effects, comedy, and previews of new merchandise. “We actually make and edit the videos with our iPhones,” said BC. The band produced one video of note on the night of their last show in Wilmington that shows them teleporting (special effects) around town.

The group also focuses on serious and charitable matters. On the day before Thanksgiving, Villa*Nova will play a relief show to benefit those affected by the historic flooding that occurred last month in South Carolina.

As for the show this weekend, BC and the band extend a special invitation to the UNC Wilmington community for a night of “exciting new music, dancing and good food from The Reel Café.”

More information on Villa*Nova may be found on their Facebook page and website.