The members of Athens’ emo-punk band Small Steps are moving their musical stylings from the basement to a bar Wednesday.
It marks the first time the trio, which formed in July, will play at The Union, 18 W. Union St. The band will share the stage with Melk — also a local band — and Judson Claiborne, a professional touring band from Chicago. ACRN is sponsoring the show, which begins at 9 p.m.
Grant Engstrom, guitarist for Small Steps, said he looks forward to the opportunity to play in a familiar setting that he and his bandmates, drummer Drew Davis and fellow bassist D. Paul Lampley II, frequent.
“This is our first show at a bar. I’m excited to be playing at The Union because it’s the bar we always go to. It’s our main spot,” Engstrom said. “So playing a show and putting a few back with our friends is always fun.”
Small Steps began to take shape this past summer after Davis and Engstrom connected based on their shared musical interests.
“In early July we met up at The Lodge (Grant’s house) and by the end of the practice, we had written the skeletons of the songs that became ‘The Bike Lane Never Ends’ and ‘Yeah, Buddy,’ ” Engstrom said.
The group has since mastered several original songs to record a short EP, Whoops, which is currently available to stream on the band’s website. They are planning a short Midwest tour that will take place in January.
“The tour would encompass shows in Chicago, Cleveland, Akron, Ashtabula and maybe West Virginia or Indiana in there somewhere,” Davis said.
Despite the fact that the band’s website projects their music as being mostly emo and punk, Davis said audiences shouldn’t expect their music to be too straightforward.
“Personally, I draw influence from Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse, but I think as a whole we try to blend a whole bunch of stuff together,” Davis said. “Each of us has such a wide taste in music that it’s hard during the writing process to pick a style and stay with it.”
jd202409@ohiou.edu
