Mitchell Street Band boasts originality

Not many bands can claim to be started on a cruise ship -- and many bands in Bloomington can't even claim to prefer original pieces to covers. \nThat is definitely not the case with the Mitchell Street Band.\nShortly after graduating in 2004, Mike Luginbill and Nick Jaenicke were not the typical graduates looking to settle into a 9-to-5 job, so they boarded a cruise ship and set sail to Europe. The guys provided entertainment to the ship's vacationers for about six months, and returned to Bloomington in October 2004.\nIn February, the Mitchell Street Band was born. Today, Luginbill on guitar and Jaenicke on keyboards will play along with Eugene McGhee on bass, Darnell Pirkins on drums and newcomer Joe Filipow, also on guitar.\nMany of the band's songs were written while on the cruise, giving its sound an uncommon influence. Its material is unique to them, and tagging a genre to the band is difficult. They say they have the sound of Maroon 5 with Jamiroquai's energy, but they play originals. Of course, it's hard for them to shine in their true colors. Luginbill explains how the band has to please an audience and bar owners at the same time.\n"Around here, we play what people want to hear," he said. "Bloomington puts pressure on bands to play covers."\nMcGhee points out that the Mitchell Street Band is not a cover band, it's a party band.\n"A cover band is going to play Top 40 songs that fit with the instruments they have, and they're going to stop after each song," McGhee tells. "A party band like (Mitchell Street Band) has a longer mix of music and is going to include things like disco and reggae. We play ten songs in a row, nonstop, so you get 30 minutes of continuous music."\nThree of the band members live and work in Bloomington, but two others are from Indianapolis. While that might pose as an obstacle for some bands, Jaenicke explains how each member's musical talent not only makes everyone a great band but helps everyone learn things quickly. Forget about the usual weeks of preparation -- the Mitchell Street Band claims to nail a song only after a couple of runthroughs.\n"Any one of (the members) could go on tour with a big name," Jaenicke said about his band mates. Jaenicke and Luginbill were both members of the male a cappella group Straight No Chaser while at IU. McGhee graduated from DePauw University in 2002 with a music business degree. \nThe lease on their Mitchell Street house ends in June. While the band might be uncertain about its whereabouts come next summer, it insists on having short-term and long-term plans. Members' lips are sealed as to the details, but they're very open about wanting "the whole shebang."\nThe Mitchell Street Band plays all over the Midwest. A list of concert dates can be obtained on its Web site, www.mitchellstreetband.com. Its next scheduled performance is Nov. 18 at the Bella Vita in Indianapolis. The show starts at 10 p.m. and is open to all ages.