All the members in this Melbourne band have serious chops when it comes to playing rock music, and they’ve got a killer set of original songs as well, so they’ll have no trouble sending you home from one of their live shows humming one of their original tunes. Currently, they’re putting some of those songs together in the form of a demo, but in the meantime are putting their extra time into preparing their upcoming Melbourne gig. You won’t want to miss seeing them play live at the Espy on the 20th this month. Before the show they talk to Emergenza about how the band got together, what the key element of their sound is, and how they are getting ready for round one of the Emergenza festival.

HOW DID YOUR BAND CORNERSTONE COME ABOUT, AND WHAT'S THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NAME?
The band is the brainchild of Shane Mack (Bass/Vocals) who has played with each of us at some point over the years. He brought us together to bring some of his old material back to life and we have since added some new material to the list. The name came about one night at rehearsal when we were discussing bands and albums from the 70's and 80's. Styx released an album called "Cornerstone" in 1979 and we liked what the name said about us as a band.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY ELEMENT OF CORNERSTONE'S SOUND?
Catchy melodies and solid riffs but with a rough edge.

ON SOUNDCLOUD YOU'RE LISTED AS 80'S/90'S ROCK. WHAT ABOUT YOUR SOUND IS INSPIRED BY THOSE ERAS?
Once again, it would probably be our catchy melodies, solid riffs, and rough edge.

YOU'VE GOT FOUR SINGLES UP ON THE SITE FOR FREE STREAMING. SO ARE THEY PART OF A DEMO, OR WHAT?
We are working on a demo to promote the band, and these singles are some of our favourites. However one of those songs (“You Gave Me Everything”) is not a Cornerstone song - we put it together for a friend of ours who wanted to hear a full band recording. It isn't part of our repertoire or demo.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SONG WRITING PROCESS FOR US? AND WHO DOES WHAT IN THE BAND?
One of us will come up with an idea and we'll jam around it for a while to see what develops. Shane Mack (Bass/Vocals, the "Main Man"), Peter Saccuzzo (Lead Guitar god and all 'round nice guy), Tony Obersnel (Drums/Vocals and musical theatre aficionado) and Lou Di Quinzio (Guitar/Vocals, the "Eye Candy" of the band).

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN EMERGENZA?
We thought it would be a great opportunity to play a great venue and hopefully in front of a new audience who hasn't heard us before.

HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THE FIRST STEP IN THE COMPETITION?
Practicing madly of course.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT THE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE?
The venue and the crowd.

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO PROMOTE YOUR UPCOMING SHOW?
Mostly Facebook and word of mouth.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN FROM THE EMERGENZA EXPERIENCE?
We hope to just have a lot of fun on stage and to maybe get some additional exposure.