One man’s garage project turned full-blown band will come to Athens this week as part of its national tour.
Monday night, the punk band Useless Eaters will play The Union Bar & Grill, 18 West Union Street.
Seth Sutton, creator of the band, said he urges people that his band is “as real as possible.”
“We aren’t some fake college indie rock crap,” Sutton said.
Sutton, who hails from Nashville, Tenn., has been playing under the Useless Eaters name since 2007, when he was making solo recordings in his basement, then in Memphis.
The band formed in 2009 and is putting out its fourth album, Hypertension, this Tuesday on Jeffery Drag Records, an independent label in Nashville.
“(We make) angular punk influenced by music from the ’70s and ’80s,” Sutton said. “I write about situations that happen in my life and people around me. I write about anything that comes to mind.”
Scott Winland, the booking agent for The Union, said he and Sutton had been working on getting a show together for some time after being introduced to Useless Eaters’ music from a friend.
“As fate would have it, they (Useless Eaters) had a day off … so I put together this show for them pretty last minute … I’ve been a fan for a while,” Winland said.
Rounding out the bill will be three “eclectic” bands, with Athens rock veterans Melk and Weird Science, as well as Fathers of the Revolution, who are making their third appearance at The Union after making the jump from an acoustic trio to an electric quartet.
Daniel Spencer, a sophomore studying English who is lead singer and bass player of Fathers of the Revolution, said the band’s transition has been smooth and its sound has evolved since its first show at The Union, with the addition of drummer Seth Alexander.
“I have been giving our sound the title of neo-swing,” Spencer said. “We’re definitely a punky swing band now.”
Winland said people attending the show should expect a “high energy, super fun show for fans of … good underground rock-n-roll.”
Sutton said an energetic performance could make or break a show.
“It’s good to see people get into it,” Sutton said. “I think it’s important to be energetic on stage because there’s nothing worse than seeing a band that is extremely boring.”
ds834910@ohiou.edu
