Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Malleske.
Hi Mike, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Vorcha formed in Austin, TX in 2012 with me, Mike Malleske (guitars), Brock Davis (drums) and Adam Conner (bass). Prior to Vorcha, the band knew each other from their respective projects, Adam Conner playing in the Suicide Pistols and Brock and myself as members of the band Strangers. I had been experimenting with post rock in college, but having roots in hardcore and heavy metal I wanted to make something a little more aggressive and less meandering than your typical post rock song. I wrote two songs, ‘Larry Corvix’ and ‘Prosopagnosia’ and presented them to Brock asking if he would be interested in forming something new. We got in the rehearsal space and ran through the songs and it instantly clicked. We were swimming at the greenbelt, pondering who we could get to fill bass duties and, serendipitously, Adam happened to also be at the creek that day and joined on the spot when we told him what we were cooking.
We recorded the first two songs with Kevin Butler (Black Books) and continued writing. After some shows, we were able to record our first EP. We became regulars in the post rock community and founding members of the Southwest Post Rock Collective, uniting bands from all over the US. We recorded a second EP (‘Liberosis’) with Kevin Butler and continued our trajectory.
Vorcha had garnered the attention of Beau Burchell, guitarist of Saosin and legendary producer on social media. This brought the band to San Diego to record two singles, ‘Black Mark’ and ‘Host Body’. But challenging times followed. We had parted ways temporarily with Brock due to life circumstances and the pandemic brought an unfortunate lull in activity for the band. I ended up moving to San Diego permanently for a change of pace and in pursuit of new projects. I fell in love with the city and stared work on my solo project Mask Maker. But I was missing the band, and my brothers.
In 2022, we reformed with Brock back in the saddle and began playing occasional shows whenever I was able to travel back to Texas. We have since gained more momentum and returned to the studio with Beau for our 3rd EP. We did a short run landing us in San Diego where we made our debut appearance at Soda Bar. The show was a success, the new record is sounding great, and it’s the harbinger of a new beginning for Vorcha. We hope to continue to strengthen the musical pipeline from San Diego to Austin, and can promise San Diego will be seeing a lot more of us in the near future.
Through everything, we have been reminded why we started this in the first place-to make fun tunes with our best friends, which is the theme of new EP. After all this time, we are still making it happen, and we are excited to share our journey with you.
-Mike, Vorcha
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve definitely had our fair share of ups and downs. We are like brothers, and like brothers we can certainly drive each other crazy, but I think that is what lends to our music. Its an extension of our bond. Although we did face some uncertainty when parting with Brock for a time. Ultimately his job/financial situation at the time was not allowing the flexibility needed to be able to participate in the band on a larger scale. And although it wasn’t personal, it weighed on our friendship. Our friend Nick stepped in to play drums briefly, and honored Brock’s style in his contribution to the band. It led to a truly beautiful moment though. When we reunited with Brock, we played a show and brought Nick on stage for a song, and the shared love and respect filled the room.
It also has been challenging with me living in San Diego while the rest of the band is in Austin. At the same time, it has made our shows more meaningful and has led to our network getting larger and spanning the country. We were surprised to learn that we had a following here, and found ourselves welcomed with open arms to the post rock/metal community. We hope to make a name for ourselves here as much as we did back in Austin, and make new friends along the way!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Post rock/metal. We set ourselves apart by bringing a little speed and aggression to post rock!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
At the end of the day, we do this because we wanna do what we love with our best friends. Any other successes are a bonus, but making memories with your homies is the true success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vorchamusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vorchamusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vorchamusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5a7j64EL8c0cyyNquDUuhg
- soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/vorcha/tracks
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0muJ5C9B2xt8Of8vpFVbZa
Image Credits
Photos by Corey Davenport @coreylaynephoto
