Bobby Amaru’s time with Burn Season

Bobby Amaru’s time with Burn Season

Words by Ambar Ramirez & Carmen Macri

Photo by Jeff Mozey Photography

Before fronting chart-topping bands and touring the world, Bobby Amaru was just a Jacksonville kid chasing heavy beats and raw emotion. With Burn Season, a band forged in Florida’s humid underground rock scene, Amaru cut his teeth as a teenage drummer — pouring himself into every guttural pulse and chaotic rhythm.

“Well, Damien and I started jamming, probably we were like 15 years old, and then we were doing Smakt Down locally for a couple of years building up our local scene,” Amaru recalled. 

During our impromptu phoner with Amaru, the current lead vocalist for Saliva, reflected on the gritty underground scene that once thrived in Jacksonville. Now distanced from the local circuit, Amaru fondly remembered the venues that helped bands like Burn Season rise to the top, such as the basement venue Milk Bar, Freebird Live and Club 5.

Folio: So Jacksonville obviously has a rich rock history. How would you say the local scene shaped your early music career and do you still see its influence in your work today with Saliva?

Amaru: I think the whole grinding aspect of it, you know, it’s just a whole different world now than it used to be. I mean, I loved the whole local scene back then and building it up. There were so many great bands to come out of Jacksonville, especially in the late ’90s, early 2000s, and I think that I owe where I am today to that. It didn’t matter what level you were at. We didn’t have social media. We didn’t have any of those things, so it was all grassroots like printing out flyers and making people listen to your band.

Folio: Yeah, how does it feel to be a part of that music legacy because Jacksonville really is known for having a huge rock presence. 

Amaru: It’s great. It’s an honor. I love being from Jacksonville. I grew up there. I think that as far as the local scene back then, I mean, I wouldn’t know what it’s like now, I haven’t paid too much attention to what’s going on, but I know back then there were a lot more venues, and there were a lot of things happening, and there were tons of shows all the time. I think it was a little more exciting back then, you know?

Folio: Yeah.

Amaru: I think social media can help too, but it was just a lot more work back then.

Folio: I completely agree. ’Cause like you said, you were having to print flyers and hand them out, where now you can just post it on Twitter or Instagram, like “Hey we have a show tonight!” 

Amaru: You couldn’t go on Google and find out, you know, where the 10 different places were that would print your CDs for you. You had to either know, look in a phonebook, or word-of-mouth.

Folio: Right! So you’ve been involved in several creative outlets over your career, is there a particular medium, whether it’s drumming or singing, that you feel allows you to express yourself most authentically?

Amaru: I think singing for sure because that’s how people can relate to you, know you or connect with you. I mean, I started as a drummer, and then I kind of worked my way through guitar and then songwriting, and I never, ever thought I would be a singer until it happened. I like beating the drum sometimes, but I just find myself through what I’m writing lyrically to the core of who I am. 

Folio: How did you find yourself to become a singer?

Amaru: Playing at parties and stuff like in the backyard and around campfires and playing like Bon Jovi and Poison songs on acoustic and get out it kind of turned into you know, ‘You should sing in a band.’ Oh well, I don’t know that I wanna do that. I’m playing drums in one and then you just start writing songs.”

Folio: It kind of just snowballed from there. Looking back on your journey, if you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Amaru: You know, just stay true and authentic to who you are, and don’t try to fit in with the trends.

Folio: Final question. What is one of your favorite or most memorable experiences performing in Jacksonville? It could be from the earlier days with Burn Season or more recent with Saliva, just one that’s stuck out. 

Amaru: Those early Jack Rabbits shows were fun. When we [Burn Season] got signed, we did a show right after at the old Club 5 and it was packed. There were a lot of people there, and I was thinking ‘Man, maybe something will happen.’ It felt good. But we had several fun shows in Jax, even with Saliva, we played Mavericks one time, that was a great great show. But pinpointing just one, I don’t know, even with Burn Season we had a lot of fun shows at Freebird and stuff.