Bands We are Hex, Crystal Antlers, Audacity perform at The Bishop

Indianapolis band We Are Hex will open for nationally touring California-based bands Crystal Antlers and Audacity at 9 p.m. today at The Bishop on South Walnut Street.

We Are Hex began playing in 2007, but recently drummer Brandon Beaver and his band members began to take their music more seriously.

“It went from being on the back burner to an everyday thing,” he said.

Beaver said the band saved up money to stay inside and record an album during the summer of 2008. The four members live in a two-bedroom house in Indianapolis, which doubles as their recording studio.

“It was good to try, but I’m not sure what the future holds,” Beaver said. “It was an advantage on the first record because we came together smoothly, and it clicked fast being at the practice studio.”

Beaver said their next record is simplified in terms of song structure, and the writing has moved on to include more rock ‘n’ roll styles.

“We don’t take each song real serious because we are not a politically charged band,” Beaver said. “We are just writing for the sake of art.”

Beaver said the band’s next record should be released by March or April. He said the band hopes to start touring by April 2010.

Audacity guitarists Kyle Gibson and Matt Schmalfeld started several bands in sixth grade with different names, but when other members quit and they reached high school, Gibson and Schmalfeld recruited drummer Thomas Alvarez and guitarist Cameron Crowe. Gibson said the band’s influences include punk artists Todd Rundgren, Redd Kross and The Adolescents.

The band will bring 250 cassette tapes with brand-new music recorded in Ohio to their show.

“We want people to have fun and feel like they are surfing or skateboarding in the snow,” Alvarez said.

Singer and bassist Jonny Bell and his fellow band members, who are currently on tour with Audacity, met in high school and started playing together as Crystal Antlers in early 2006. They released their latest album, “Tentacles,” in April.

“We collaborate on music and work on ideas to build the songs together.” Bell said.
Bell said the songs on this album are shorter, focusing more on vocals and incorporating different instruments. He said he began playing bass at 12 years old and then spent a lot of time teaching himself how to sing and play the clarinet, saxophone and organ.

“Everyone plays all the same instruments and try to teach each other,” Bell said.
Bell said the band is playing a style similar to old soul music influenced by Stevie Wonder and Bad Brains. He said the album was inspired by a Henry Jacob and Bob McClay animation titled “The Fine Art of Goofing Off.”

Bell said he doesn’t care what the crowd feels as long as they feel something.

“It doesn’t seem like there is a lot of music that makes you feel anything anymore, at least for me,” Bell said.