Ayla Tesler-Mabe is the electrifying former lead guitar wizard for the all too short lived Canadian indie garage group Calpurnia.
Formed in 2017, they originated from Canada’s west coast city of Vancouver and included noted Canadian actor/musician Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame, Malcolm Craig on drums and Jack Anderson on bass.
Prior to Calpurnia’s formation, Wolfhard had met Craig in 2014 on the set of the music video for Guilt Trip by indie band PUP, while guitarist Ayla Tesler-Mabe was a mutual friend from rock camp. Bassist Jack Anderson was temporarily recruited for a charity fundraising gig and later became a permanent member of the band.
Their first release after forming was a cover of Wanted You by indie band Twin Peaks.
Signed to Canadian independent record label Royal Mountain Records, Calpurnia began recording their debut EP in November 2017 with Cadien Lake James of the band Twin Peaks producing and engineering.
In January 2018 the band performed at Rough Trade in New York City, covering songs by The Velvet Underground, Pixies, Weezer and Twin Peaks.
The band’s official record label debut single City Boy was released in March 2018. The single debuted in the Top 40 at No. 23 on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart.
Their second single, Louie, was released by the band the following April, while simultaneously announcing the release of their debut EP Scout for June 15, 2018.
They made their television debut on July 23, 2018 as the musical guest for Jimmy Kimmel Live.
In February 2019, Weezer featured all four band members in their music video for a-ha’s Take On Me cover from the Weezer Teal Album.
This was following Weezer’s request that Calpurnia cover their song Say It Ain’t So for Spotify’s 2018 Under Cover podcast.
Regrettably, on November 8, 2019, the band announced through their Instagram page that they had split up.
In the fall of 2023 Calpurnia guitarist Ayla Tesler-Mabe resurfaced with her debut solo EP Let Me Out!! including four earlier singles from the same year and two other scintillating new tracks.
Keep your Rock N Roll radar on this one. Ayla Tesler-Mabe is the most exciting new emerging guitarist to come out of Canada in decades.