Local band ready for Bloomington

Accompanied by a slide guitar and a banjo, IU freshman Peter Oren introduced his new band as “Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj” because the band has yet to settle on a name. However, the audience said he sounded a little less Weezy and a little more Johnny Cash with his high-strapped acoustic guitar and deep voice.

Along with freshmen Quintin Caldwell and Terry Neumann, Oren is in the process of what many people just talk about doing: starting a band. Oren said they have yet to define their sound.  

“We’re new to everything,” Oren said. “And though I get a little nervous at times, I know this is what I enjoy doing.”

Though still in the early stages, the band already played its first show this past week at The Bishop and is getting feedback.

“I didn’t know what to expect when they came on stage,” sophomore attendee Rachel Kolavo said. “The lead singer looked nervous, but when he started to sing, I was taken aback with his voice and how great it really was. You can tell that Johnny Cash had to be an influence.”

Though many had the same response as Kolavo, Oren said when friend Aaron Frazer of The Natives asked him on a scale of one to 10 how much Johnny Cash influenced him, he had to reply with only a three.

“I’m more inspired by Bill Callahan in Smog or Wilco,” Oren said. “But we’re a baby band, we’re still defining a sound, and we still don’t even have a name.”

Currently the band is still torn in its initial phase of selecting a name. Though CASO is what the band has been terming itself recently, Roman Nose and Blue Gums are still on the table. Oren and Caldwell said they hope to have a name with significance, and their final decision needs to  be permanent. Neumann said he agreed and said the name is one of the most important aspects in the process of becoming a band.

“The name is incredibly important because it’s what helps people recognize you as a band,” Neumann said.

Though Neumann is new to the country/folk sound, he played in a British indie-rock band when he lived in England, which he said he believes has given him a lot of experience.

“When we decided to play a show with only being together for a few months, I was completely surprised,” Neumann said. “In my previous band it took us almost a year to put together a solid enough set to play a venue.”

Neumann said that the process of starting a band is somewhat of a journey, from collaborating styles, to writing, to gaining confidence and practicing to finally performing. However, with the first show out of the way, CASO has already decided to start booking more shows and is looking to start recording an EP to be finished by the latter part of the semester.

“I was lucky to meet Aaron, who helped me to record solo vocals already and invited us to open for his band The Natives,” Oren said. “But we hope to record as a group now and just start focusing on good music
writing.”

As an English major, Oren said he doesn’t see himself as an extremely knowledgeable musician but wants to focus his songs on the lyrics instead.

“I want the music to be simplistic, to really lay an emphasis on the lyrics which I hope will be a little more complex,” Oren said. “I am interested in a lot of social and environmental issues that kind of theme to a more melancholy sound.”

Oren said though he wants to maintain a simplistic sound, he would like to see the band add another guitar or possibly a drummer with a bass and snare drum and hat symbol to make the music more rhythm-based.

“I think the addition of drums will fill in that gap you get with having three string instruments rather nicely,” Caldwell said.
 
The band has begun to make an impression on the local music scene. Kolavo said she looks forward to seeing them develop as a band.

“Their sound was calming, and the crowd seemed to fall quiet to listen intently to their songs,” Kolavo said. “The guys seemed to fit in nicely with the Americana lineup, and I think people liked them for what they were.”

Oren said he doesn’t really know what is to come for the band but said he loves to sing and write, so he’ll continue to do so.

“I’ve never played in a band before so I’m really looking for people to tell us how they feel about our sound,” Oren said. “Otherwise, I guess we’ll just have to see what happens after spring break.”