Moms flocking to Ohio University this weekend can look forward to a local folk mash up that promises to complement well, despite distinct differences.
“We love Indigo Wild; they’re friends of ours,” said Victor Rasgaitis, lead guitar and vocals for The Ridges. “They complement our style without being the same. It makes for a good show that balances each other without being monotonous.”
Indigo Wild and Maza Blaska will open for The Ridges at Casa Nueva, 4 W. State St., Friday at 10 p.m. for a special Moms Weekend performance.
Indigo Wild certainly distinguishes itself from The Ridges’ acoustic sound with heavier more piercing electronic instruments, said Chris Carter, bassist and vocalist for Indigo Wild.
There is more power behind the instrumentals, Carter added, but what connects all the bands is not the folk label but the vocal harmonies that the label implies.
“There is definitely a lot of reminiscent folk arpeggio guitar rifts, and that three-part harmony layered on is going to have a folk label on it either way you spin it,” he said. “(Folk) is a part of our roots, but we’re more indie rock.”
Sam Corlett, mandolin player and vocalist for Maza Blaska, agreed that, for her band, vocals take a prominent role in defining its unique sound, which she feels is hard to place in a specific genre.
Rasgaitis said The Ridges are normally opening for other groups when they travel but coming back to Athens they enjoy finding acts that mesh well, such as Indigo Wild, who the band plays with frequently.
“We don’t try to find bands that sound exactly like us,” Rasgaitis said. “We want people to come for the entire show knowing that if they like one of the bands, they are going to like the others, and stay for all three bands.”
The Ridges have designed this show as a follow-up to their all-acoustic record store day performance at Haffa’s Record Store, 15 W. Union St., where the band played its new song, “Bated Breaths,” for the first time in Athens.
“We are excited to bring that to life with a wider range of musicians and with the full drums,” Rasgaitis said. “We’ve been working on an album since we released the EP … we have a full-length album written, but we haven’t gotten around to recording it.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
