Adam Torres' poetic lyrics and lullaby guitar melodies radiate from Athens coffee houses almost every weekend, making a perfect accompaniment for couples in a blissful trance with each another or for friends sipping lattés and reminiscing about the good old days.
Torres has played solo around Athens since last year, his first at Ohio University, but since then, he has recruited fellow guitarist Eric Vescelius and cello player John Stahly to make a fresh but mellow acoustic act.
The strongest quality we have is the way we play together. I don't think there's one person that defines our shows or our music as much as we can naturally play together
Torres said. It's a hard thing to come by just to click so well with a group of people.
I don't think we're superior musicians but I think when we play live
we definitely play a lot harder than most acoustic acts. It just seems like we play a little bit faster and try to get the crowd into it a little bit more
Vescelius said. It's really just acoustic rock with a cello.
The trio's music is incredibly reflective of its influences, Dave Matthews Band and Chris Graham; however, they try to be innovative with their repetitive guitar riffs and the way they intertwine Stahly's soft cello counter melodies.
Everybody has a unique sound behind them
but when it all comes together
it all meshes pretty well
Stahly said.
Torres' lyrics and echoing voice are the foundation of the group's uniqueness, reflecting the romanticism and soul searching most often overlooked by a nightlife-driven college campus like OU.
I make up stories. A lot of (what I write about) is just ideas that I have
a lot of times just strange or abstract ideas and sometimes maybe not so strange or abstract ideas. I've written stuff about dreams I've had and also animals
Torres said.
He and his band started playing the stereotypical college jam music in his confining dorm room, and although the setting is the same, the group's sound has now matured and has an added edge to it.
When we started
I kind of felt we had more of a Dave Matthews-ish sound to us
