JENNIFER K MAHAL -- In The Wings

Redline 5 got its first taste of fame this week. And it’s bittersweet.

Not bittersweet like a long goodbye. Or bittersweet like a joyous

event following a tragedy. It was bittersweet like dark chocolate -- you

have to be careful not to overdose.

Since meeting the five-member Newport Beach band last year, I’ve

followed its progress in this column. The band released its first CD,

“Lustre,” in April. Last month, the members went into Costa Mesa Studios

to record a second album, “Frequency,” which will be released Sept. 8.

In between studio time, the group gained a manager -- Dean Hargrove --

and he’s gotten them airplay on New Rock 104 FM, a Fresno radio station.

On Sept. 9, the band will be among the headliners at New Rock 104’s 6th

annual Birthday Bash alongside bands like 311, Pennywise and Fenix TX.

Not bad for a band that’s only been a unit for a year.

This week the band -- Mika Greiner, Scott Kramer, Chris Kramer, Hunter

MacDonald and Drew Englebrecht -- took a road trip to Fresno to promote

the concert. In a way, they drove into a whole different world.

“Up there, we heard our name on the radio 30 times an hour,” Scott

said.

The latest single, “May Fly,” had been sent to the station a day

before. While driving to town, the band heard the deejay taunting

listeners with a taste of it here and a dab of it there. From a cell

phone, the group called in to say, “Hi, we’re here.” In the car, they

heard the song played in its entirety. It’s the second number to hit the

Central Valley’s airwaves.

At a Fresno-area gas station, the guys pulled in and a girl asked if

they were in Redline 5 -- a bumper sticker and Drew’s drum kit clued her

in. When they said yes, members of the band ended up signing fast-food

napkins. The girl and her friends were fans.

“You know what the whole moral of the story is?” Mika asked. “Media

has the ability to create false prophecy. We’re a bunch of nobodies from

Orange County. And we walk into town and we’re somebody.”

Ken Baker, promotions director at New Rock 104 FM, said the band has

gotten a terrific response from the local audience and his station is

happy to have the area exclusive so far. Competing radio stations are

scratching their heads as to who these guys are, he said.

How the band got on the air is a story in itself. Though the band’s

manager was hot to have the people at New Rock listen to Redline 5, Ken

said that station -- which gets stacks of submissions all the time --

wasn’t keen on testing them out. But Dean Hargrove, who also helps put

together the bash, asked them to listen to a CD of this “great band”

without telling them who it was.

“We liked what we heard,” Ken said.

The 7,000 people who are expected to pack in the Sept. 9 Birthday Bash

at Wild Water Adventures in Clovis will be the biggest audience Redline 5

has had so far.

Mika and Scott said the best part of their recent Fresno adventure was

how the band’s ties were strengthened.

“We had a lot of fun bonding,” said Scott. “It’s the first time we

didn’t have to worry about packing a venue. We just rolled into town and

where we were playing was on the radio.”

“We bonded like crazy,” Mika said.

Tickets for the all-ages 6th annual Birthday Bash are $25 in advance

($30 at the door) and are available from Ticketmaster, Wherehouse and

Tower Records. The gates for the concert will open at noon that day.

* * *

Do you know a local artist, writer, painter, singer, filmmaker, etc.,

who deserves to get noticed? Send your nominee to In The Wings, Daily

Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, by fax to (949) 646-4170 or

by e-mail to o7 [email protected]

* JENNIFER MAHAL is features editor of the Daily Pilot.