Get to know: The New Collisions

The New Collisions, a five-piece New Wave-influenced rock band from Cambridge, only played their first show in November 2008--a sold-out gig at the Middle East Upstairs. But local press and bloggers have already called them the hottest band in Boston, and their list of accomplishments is on par with bands who’ve been playing the Boston scene for years.

“It’s been crazy,” says lead singer Sarah Guild. Working with producer Anthony Resta (who has also produced Duran Duran, Blondie, Collective Soul, Letters to Cleo), The New Collisions are set to nationally release a 6-song EP at the end of this summer, which features Greg Hawkes from the Cars on synth.

“Everyone in Boston has been so great to us, all of the bands, venues, all of the bloggers,” adds guitarist Scott Guild.

Though the New Collisions are a new band, Scott and Sarah have been making music for years. “We met at Marlboro College in Vermont, and then we kind of dropped out together,” explains Scott. From 2001 to 2006, they lived in England, Florida, Missssippi, and Ireland, always doing music in the background. “It was different, mostly acoustic, ambient, reverb-drenched guitar and vocals.”

“We eventually decided we wanted to stop roaming, have a band, and get started in a scene,” explains Scott. The two moved to Boston in 2008, hoping to start a rock band with influences like Blondie and the Kinks. “We were going for an amalgamation of late 70s and early 80s new wave pop.”

“We would always post on Craig’s List that we were looking for a keyboard player, and going for a Greg Hawkes vibe. One day I decided to just see what Greg Hawkes was up to, and wrote to him on MySpace. He wrote back the same day and came out to one of our shows. Then he came to more shows, we became friends, and eventually he actually played with us,” says Scott.

“Every now and then we all get together and watch that video to make sure it actually happened,” says Sarah, laughing. “It was the most amazing thing. He was in a band in Boston that came out of the scene almost 20 years before us.”

The New Collisions are set to tour the US and Europe later in the year, so catch them now while you can! The band will play Freezepop's 10 Anniversary show at Harper's Ferry on July 25 and The Middle East Upstairs on August 8. For tour dates, mp3 streams, videos, etc, check out myspace.com/thenewcollisions.

-Liz Pelly