Comprised of singer and guitarist Dylan Bodnarick, bassist Tom McGrew and drummer Mitch Marsh, Bloomington band Bike Wreck got its start annoying Marsh’s resident assistant by playing too loudly in Wright Quad.
As seniors at IU, the trio will be performing at the Blockhouse Bar March 9. They will also perform at First Thursdays on April 4, an event hosted by the IU Arts and Humanities council every first Thursday of the month at the Fine Arts Plaza.
In their early dorm room jam sessions, Marsh was playing an electronic drum set, with Bodnarick playing guitar out of a small amp. McGrew, who didn’t yet know how to play bass, was on melodica.
“Every Thursday, we would jam and then go get Cresent Donuts at 10 when they became half price,” McGrew said.
McGrew said it was during this time the trio grew not just as a band, but as friends as well.
Although the band has been playing since the three seniors’ freshman year, they just started playing gigs about a year ago, Marsh said.
“It’s like a domino effect,” Bodnarick said of getting those first few gigs and making a name for themselves in the local scene.
All three members said they agreed playing together for so long before doing any shows played a big part in the band’s current success.
Marsh described the band’s sound as a fusion of punk and alternative rock as well as touches of more funky and soulful genres. Jokingly, he describes its genre as “punk n’ funk.” He said each member’s diverse musical tastes are to thank for the band’s diverse sound.
“It’s really a 33, 33, 33 kind of thing,” Bodnarick said. “Everyone brings their own thing to the table.”
The band is often complimented on its synergy and ability to work together to give crowds a good show.
“I think a lot of people enjoy our energy,” Marsh said.
When something goes wrong at a show, band members said they are always able to rein the performance back in and keep pushing forward. At one show, McGrew’s bass amp was plugged into a faulty power strip and gave him small electric shocks throughout the performance.
Although the band exhibits great teamwork onstage, tensions can run high during the songwriting process, McGrew said.
“Usually the closer we’re getting to killing each other, we can tell the song’s gonna be better,” McGrew said.
Bike Wreck currently has five songs on its Bandcamp page and hopes to record an eight-to ten-track album over the summer. The band also hopes to go on a small tour in the near future, having almost exclusively played in Bloomington so far. All three members will be roommates next year, and they hope to ride the wave as long as possible.
