Super Doppler on radar for Friday’s Nightfall
Three years ago, Major and The Monbacks bought a used van, booked over 150 shows in nine months and embarked on its first national tour. They had no label, booking agents or tour managers at the time, just a bunch of 20-somethings with an independent streak and a shared love of making music.
The Monbacks pushed that van to its limits and beyond with their relentless tour schedule, developing a rapport with the tow truck drivers of the greater Norfolk, Va., area as they burned through three engines.
But because of that tour, the Monbacks’ popularity blossomed from local favorites into one of the most promising young rock bands working today.
They’ve got a new van now — along with a new name and a new album — and they are on the road again.
Now known as Super Doppler, the band will roll into Chattanooga on Friday, Aug. 11, to headline Nightfall in Miller Plaza, 850 Market St., at 8 p.m. Local band Ashley and the Xs will open the free show at 7 p.m.
Super Doppler is a rock band from Norfolk, Va., who met in high school and found a common interest in “late nights and loud music.” Upon graduating, they embarked on that 150-show tour of the eastern United States that spanned 30,000 miles.
In early 2015, the band mounted a crowd-funding campaign to record their first album in Nashville. That self-titled album was released in May 2015. Their sophomore album, “Moonlight Anthems,” came out in June.
Michael Adkins (guitar, keys and vocals) says each of the band’s six musicians brings his own influences to the table.
“Creating a song for us is all about condensing that into a cohesive whole. Our only guiding principle, really, is that if it sounds cool, we like it. … It’d be difficult for anyone to pinpoint a specific musical identity or pigeonhole what we do into a set genre. With us, the diversity is the point,” he says.
“Our only guiding principle, really, is that if it sounds cool, we like it . ... With us, the diversity is the point.” — SUPER DOPPLER’S MICHAEL ADKINS (GUITAR, KEYS AND VOCALS)