Branching out from their position as one of the more familiar Athens bands, Southeast Engine is looking to perform more outside the city limits.
The band has summer shows in Columbus and Dayton, said bassist Nick McPherson.
Drummer Leo Deluca and singer and guitarist Adam Remnant are originally from the Dayton area, and both went to suburban Oakwood High School. The 1990s music scene -including Guided by Voices and Brainiac -in Dayton heavily influenced both, especially through what Deluca called their formative years.
We lived a block away from each other growing up and Kim Deal from the Pixies and The Breeders lived down the street
Deluca said.
The two became friends the summer after Remnant's high school graduation, when Deluca already was attending Ohio University. They began playing music with Nick McPherson in Deluca's Gamertsfelder Hall room. In the beginning, Southeast Engine incorporated a second guitarist as well as a mandolin player and did the whole insurgent bluegrass thing for awhile McPherson said.
The quartet's brand of haunting folk rock is the result of an evolving sound. Since the group's break with former guitarist Conrad Dillon and move to one guitarist, the sound has gotten tighter McPherson said, with each instrument having its own equal voice in the band.
Deluca called their sound a hybrid of the Appalachian folk sound and just independent
indie-type mindset. Remnant added that The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the pop singer-songwriter style also influences their music.
Michael Lachman, the keyboard player, joined the group about a year ago, and is the best technical musician in the band, Remnant said. The piano adds another texture to the songs.
Just guitar
bass and drums can only do so much; but when you add the keyboards
it just adds more flavor to the songs
Remnant said.
Southeast Engine released two CDs in 2003 -an eight-song EP, One Caught Fire
and a full-length CD, Love is a Murder
A Mystery of Sorts. Both albums were home recordings and engineered by Dillon. They are working on a third album at 3 Elliot Studio to be released in the fall.
Band members Remnant and McPherson had a hand in starting up Students For Local Music in Fall 2002, along with their friend, Jim Harris, a senior marketing major. Harris, a fixture behind the scenes with local music and behind the counter at The Front Room, often records local performances and posts them on the
organization's Web site, http://www.ohio.edu/~s4lm/.
Harris is a graduating senior heading to Florida with intentions to return to Athens for graduate school. A major cog in Students For Local Music, Harris said he has not thought about the future of the organization in definite terms. He said the group helps to bring musicians together at shows and personally.
Although Southeast Engine was already established in town when the organization began, they have benefited in getting more leeway with OU. Being an official student organization allows the club to post fliers in the residence halls, use College Gate for promotions and The Front Room for concerts.
McPherson said playing free shows at The Front Room is a benefit of working with the organization. Performing at the campus coffeehouse allows Southeast Engine to reach younger students and those who avoid the bar scene.
(It's) just a way to reach a different crowd
he said.
Tony Xenos, who was scheduled to perform at tonight's show, had to cancel due to a wrist injury, Harris said.
