Staff Writer 

 Like many other 21-year-old Scarborough natives, Chris Moulton enjoys rock shows around the greater Portland area, but odds are you won’t find him or any of his friends in the nosebleed section. For the past four years, Moulton has had the best seat in the house as the lead singer for The Cambiata, a group that plays what guitarist and keyboard player Sean Morin describes as “indie alternative” music.

“I’ve heard [The Cambiata described as] experimental pop and some other things,” Morin said. “‘Rock and roll’ just doesn’t cut it.” 

The band released a self-titled album last week – their third in as many years – a project Moulton said felt like it “took a while” even though Morin said there are few local bands that have produced more in the same time period.

“I guess it seems like it takes us a long time,” Moulton said.

The Cambiata – Morin, Moulton, guitarist Miguel Barajas, bassist Stan Dzengelewski and drummer Dan Capaldi – isn’t the first musical group Moulton has performed for. He said he started out singing and playing the backup guitar for In The Arms Of Providence, another “pretty big” local band.  In 2004, Cambiata and In The Arms Of Providence joined forces onstage for a local show. Although they had never performed together, Moulton said he had heard Morin perform with a different band, Barium. Shortly after the show in 2004, Morin approached Moulton about singing for Cambiata and the pair performed together since. 

“Early on we would just play shows, any shows, even if they didn’t pay,” Moulton said. “It didn’t seem logical.”

A strong and unique singing voice wasn’t the only thing Moulton added to the group, however. Morin said he single-handedly changed the band name – Cambiata ironically means “change” – during a simulated live performance in the studio. 

“The song ended and I said ‘Hey, thanks for coming out, we’re The Cambiata.’ I added the ‘The,’” Moulton said with a laugh. “Those three little letters got everyone all worked up.”

In the past four years, The Cambiata has toured with other bands known locally and abroad – including Head Automatica, Rustic Overtones and Anthony Green – up and down the East Coast and as far west as Michigan. Moulton said he particularly enjoyed playing at the “Championship Vinyl,” a stage in Philadelphia, Pa.

“It’s this tiny little music store under this trashy bridge right next to the interstate,” Moulton said. “The sound is horrible but it’s just a cool place to be.”

Finding a good place to play is often about more than sound quality, as Moulton said he particularly enjoys shows where “people are happy to see you, nice to you and people show up to have a good time,” a common occurrence at the Space Gallery in Portland, he said.

“[The Space Gallery] has a good sound, but they appreciate their musicians too,” Moulton said. “It’s one of the places you can go and feel respected.”

This year, Morin said the band is concentrating on their local presence.

“We’ve bit off more than we could chew in the past,” he said. “Right now we’re doing the weekend thing, trying to become a well known New England band.”

While singing for The Cambiata may not provide Moulton with a steady salary yet, he said it does provide some appreciation from the community; he and Morin both said they have been recognized “around town” several times in the past.

“I was on [the interstate] and this blonde chick went flying by me with a Cambiata sticker on the back of her car. It was one of the new ones, too,” Morin said with a chuckle. “We’re getting there.”

Morin said the group began working on the latest album – what Moulton called their “baby” – in March 2006. Moulton said they started the creative process by performing “demos” of different songs each band member brought to the mix. In total, they considered 33 different songs for the new album, Moulton said.

“The first thing that became clear was we had way too many songs,” Morin said. “I’m sure some of them will rear their heads again for the next [album]. Sometimes a song just needs you to give it time, give it a rest.”

Together, the five-man group pared their playlist down to 11 new songs they practiced from May to August, Morin said. The Cambiata gave their audience a sneak preview with an EP release in February and performed pre-release shows in Bull Moose Music stores throughout the state before the final album was put on the shelves last week.

Morin said the group has high hopes for in-store sales of their new album, but today’s musicians rely on the Internet for a bulk of their sales. 

“You don’t sell records, you sell songs on iTunes, everything’s digital,” he said. “We go on the Internet. We hit it as much and as hard as we possibly can.”

Now, Moulton is as busy as ever. In addition to working a “more normal job” to help pay his bills, he said The Cambiata can perform up to three times a week to promote their new album, a significant time commitment paired with a number of other projects he is currently involved in. 

“I’m always writing songs and working with Every Smith Ever, an electronic band. I’m singing for Anna’s Music and I play guitar for Ghost – that’s my girlfriend’s band,” he said. “There’s also a group called 1955, they’re a metal band I’m basically screaming for right now.”

Moulton said his family – including Scarborough Police Chief Robert Moulton – and his girlfriend, whom he said he plans to marry sometime this year, are hopeful about his musical success.

“The may not totally understand it but they are as supportive as they can be,” he said.

To learn more about the making of The Cambiata’s recent release visit www.myspace.com/Cambiata. The album is available on iTunes and at local record stores.

Learn more about The Cambiata at www.myspace.com/Cambiata