And it’s not the same as it was eight, maybe nine years ago when they first set up in Mercy Lounge — at least not to him.
They’ve mined success despite the oversaturation existing in a place home to countless performers trying to make it big.
His band has one record out and an EP on the way.
Culberson has come a long way from Modoc, Indiana.
“I think it’s funny how it’s evolved,” Culberson said. “There for a while we played more of a loud, just straight rock ‘n’ roll kind of a vibe. We’ve evolved into being a little bit more fluent as far as which instruments we choose to put on the record and whatnot.”
Culberson is the lead singer of Modoc, an alternative rock band he helped form at Ball State University in 2005 with some of his friends attending the school.
At 9 p.m. Thursday, they will be opening for Goodbye June at the Bluebird Nightclub.
“We’ve played Bloomington a handful of times. I just don’t think we’ve played the right place,” Culberson said. “The Bluebird has been one of those places that we’ve tried to get on board with, but for whatever reason it never really worked out. We’re excited to play there.”
Culberson said the last trip the group made to Bloomington ended in a bit of a misunderstanding with the staff at the bar where they were scheduled to be playing.
He said they were booked as a rock band but were asked to turn down their amps.
The amps went to 10, and Modoc played until they were asked to leave the venue.
“I’m sure we were probably loud enough that somebody next door could hear us, but I think everybody was into it and I don’t think they were happy we had to stop,” Culberson said. “I think that we were a little bit more rowdy then.”
In the time that’s passed since that trip, the band has signed with Nashville-based Zavitson Music Group and released a self-titled album. They’ve also played at SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival and were featured as the Fox Sports band of the month in December 2013.
“That was pretty cool — being sandwiched between Pearl Jam one month and Bruce Springsteen the next for all Fox Sports programming,” Culberson said. “If you watch football in the month of November, you probably saw it. You just didn’t know.”
Culberson said those who did recognize them have treated the band well. He said he thinks he’s met most all of the 4,200 fans the group has online and an understanding exists between the band and the crowds, which allows Modoc to do something special each time he performs.
“I think our fans are pretty different in the fact that we can be honest with them and say, ‘I’m singing this song for myself, and I’m glad that you like it,’” Culberson said. “And they’re like ‘Yeah, we like it,’ or ‘We don’t,’ and that’s OK either way.”
He’d like to see the group nominated for a Grammy, though he’s not quite sure how much a nomination really means.
He’d like to be the band that’s in everyone’s face, the band that’s widely considered as one of the best in the country, maybe even the world.
But if not, that’s OK, too. He said while they’re never going to stop chasing that dream, at the end of the day, they’re all still kids who want to make their parents proud and never stop playing music.
“There’s so many more things we want to accomplish,” Culberson said. “But really all we want is to do this for the next 30 years as a career.”
