To celebrate the release of their 7 inch on Third Man Records, the band spent a Friday evening at Luna. Introduced by a little fan adorning a We Are Hex T-shirt, the band wasted no time. It was loud…real loud. CDs toppled from the vibrations and the band performed their songs the best way they knew…in a frenzy and artfully expressed.

(Turn It Up! Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

This recap is a result of the valiant efforts of the following ZapTown staff: Andrew Duncan, Kimberly Duncan, Benjamin Swisher, Rachel Rubenstein, and Sutiweyu Sandoval.

Introduction by Andrew Duncan

Link: http://www.broadripplemusicfest.com/

It is quickly becoming commonplace to associate October in the city with The Broad Ripple Music Fest.”. What was once a novelty in the Northside neighborhood has now become tradition. For 2010, the festival was bigger and bolder than year’s past. From the opening Kickoff Party with Margot And The Nuclear So And Sos to a day and night filled with over 100 musicians and 15 venues opening their doors.

“I felt great about the turnout and overall vibe this year,” said Daniel Fahrner, festival organizer.  “We saw a 30% increase in attendance and all of the feedback we’ve gotten has been great.  Obviously there were still some low points, but we’re very encouraged for the future of this event after such an amazing 2010.

“Some of the highlights really pushed the envelope compared to past years: an incredibly beautiful backdrop at the Indianapolis Art Center stage, an epic outdoor party at Connor’s Pub with roughly 20 bands, a wall-to-wall crowd for We Are Hex and Andy D at Casba and let’s not forget a nearly sold-out kickoff at the Vogue on Friday night.”

With a percentage of ticket sales going to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and an enrichment of music and culture to the city, you cannot help but take notice to something of this caliber. It’s one weekend out of the year that will only grow and become more powerful. But that can only happen with further community involvement and more people coming out to help support the local music.

“More venues and promoters stepping into the fold will make this event grow next year,” Fahrner said. “Ultimately, we don’t have enough space for the amount of showcases we’d like to.  We’ll continue to grow, but we certainly need new venues and promoters to get involved to reach the potential of this event.”

For now, Indianapolis has something that is unique and special in its own massive sense. It’s something we can look back and say that we were there. This is our scene.

(Quick Said The Bird @ The Indianapolis Art Center. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

(Oreo Jones @ Savvy Salon. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

(We Are Hex @ The Casba. Photo by Rachel Rubenstein.)

(Smedley Jergins & His Orchestra @ Luna. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

(Mudkids @ Savvy Salon. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

(Jackola @ Tru. Photo by Rachel Rubenstein.)

(Rugged Russian Bear @ Wasted Space. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

(Deadbeats @ Connor's Pub. Photo by Rachel Rubenstein.)

(Jason Brown @ The Monkey's Tale. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

(Wiz Kids @ Savvy Salon. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

(The Rocketeers @ Savvy Salon. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

(Andy D. @ Casba. Photo by Rachel Rubenstein.)

(Neon Love Life @ Connor's Pub. Photo by Rachel Rubenstein.)

(Hot Foxx @ Connor's Pub. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

(Hinks Jones @ Savvy Salon. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

ZapTown/Old Soul Entertainment Showcase
Mystikos Quintet | The Right Now | DJ Kyle Long
Words by Sutiweyu Sandoval

I showed up a little early at the Jazz Kitchen so I had enough time to make the rounds and mingle with all the familiar faces. Old Soul Entertainment and Cultural Cannibals are well known for throwing the best dance parties in the city, and I have shown my face many times at events done by both groups.

Aside from the wonderful music, both groups have perks included in their event. With Old Soul, it’s moving around in a group that has a high concentration of creative types from photographers to dancers to musicians. There’s always amazing conversation to be had. Cultural Cannibals parties have a degree of cultural eclecticism which is always a delight in a city with such institutionalized segregation.

This event happened to feature Kyle Long (primary DJ for Cultural Cannibals), but it was more of an Old Soul crowd, albeit a slightly older one than I’m familiar with.

Shortly after I got done casing the place for friends and foes, DJ Kyle Hodges replaces the pleasant Jazz band that had been playing.

Some DJ’s create excitement through the sheer hypeness of their tracks or through turntablist techniques. Kyle Hodges has repeatedly earned my respect above many others through his subtle track selection and detail-oriented mixing. He’s definitely a DJ’s DJ and when he spins Breaks, he’s a Breaker’s DJ. Needless to say, he spun breaks to open up the night that I found to be lovely.

My only real point of contention was apparent early. The seating arrangement was such that tables and chairs covered the vast majority of the dance floor. I’m a dancer so I pay attention to weird details. This was somewhat vexing because the seating was not dense enough to provide chairs for all and yet there were enough attendees that even standing within sight of the stage was a struggle without obstructing the service staff. This in no way diminished the quality of the music but it meant I had to ask a group of ladies (that I didn’t know) if I could sit with them. They were generous enough to say yes.

(Mystikos Quintet. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

Mystikos began their set and, to my delight, incorporated “Sleepy” Floyd (a musician’s name if I ever heard one) on drums and Jared Thompson on saxophone. Both musicians are incredibly talented, soulful, and friendly so they were a natural fit. Jared’s addition of the legendary horn part from “Today” by Tom Scott and the California Dreamers was raw business. Possibly my musical highlight of my night.

(Mystikos Quintet. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

The one constant throughout the performance was the core of Mystikos: Greg Rode and Kyle Hodges. Now, this is conjecture, but I believe that Kyle cued the songs up with Reason and Greg used his midi-keyboard to play the appropriate sounds for each song. Greg also gave a little background, and a little back story is always nice.

(Mystikos Quintet. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

For several songs there were three vocalists that sang in a delightful Neo-soul style. On each song, one would take the lead and the others would back them up. They rotated the lead role from song to song so each one got their time to shine. It worked well since for this performance, Mystikos chose to highlight some of the slower, more chill songs from their catalog. When I realized this, it explained the seating situation a little more clearly.

(Mystikos Quintet. Photo by Benjamin Swisher.)

Another pleasant surprise came in the form of Alpha.Live who is one of Indy’s premier Lyricists. He rhymed over two consecutive tracks, combining both written and improvised lyrics to great effect.

I could make further comment on the set but the fact is that it was a good start for what was essentially a studio creation making the transition into a performance with live instrumentation. I spoke with Kyle after the set and he said that the group is still in the process of rearranging existing tracks and creating new ones to make the integration of live musicians a little more seamless. All of the musicians involved are inspired so I believe that the live show will be something truly spectacular very soon.

(DJ Kyle Long. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

Kyle Long hopped on the decks after Mystikos. It sounds weird to say this but Kyle is not known for spinning American music, and he should be. His love of all things funky is evident as he pulls out gems as rare and obscure as local DJ’s that are more famous for their Funk sets. Kyle chose to spin Funk Breaks and they are dear to my heart, so I definitely applaud him for that. Something even cooler was that the musicians from The Right Now were comfortable enough with funk that they were tuning up in time to his tracks and it resulted in a very short but very smooth live/DJ collaboration.

(The Right Now. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

The Right Now are no joke. The closest analogy I can think of is that they are to vintage Soul what Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings are to Funk; a passionate and accurate revival of music that they are clearly passionate about and really dope at playing. The band was extremely tight which makes me think that they either spend an ungodly amount of time on the road or in a rehearsal spot. The way they accentuated each other was amazing. I’m really not even that big a fan of Soul (old or new), but these folks were amazing.

(The Right Now. Photo by Kimberly Duncan.)

Toward the end of their set, they made a point of encouraging the crowd to “Step.” This (to my eyes) is essentially a jazzy form of ballroom dancing which I mainly see when someone starts playing Earth, Wind, and Fire. The thing that most entertained me about this was that the band decided to lead by example so there was some enthusiastic dancing on stage that was replicated on the dance floor (which got maxed out quickly). Sadly, much of the crowd had already left after Mystikos ended, but for those that were left; the leader singer seemed to form a nice bond with. The Right Now was a pleasure both to watch and listen, and I hope they are valued as much in their hometown of Chicago as they were by the crowd that saw them here.

After The Right Now, Kyle Long began his second DJ set of the night and pulled out beats harder than he did the first time. By this point, I had bust out a few moves myself since I could sense the night ending along with my journalistic responsibilities. When he dropped “I Know You Got Soul” by Bobby Byrd, I had to restrain myself from dancing on the ground since that’s one of my anthems.

Overall, it was a great evening, a testament to what’s going right, musically, in the city, as well as what we have to look forward to. It was also a night that perfectly displayed why the Jazz Kitchen is one of the hippest venues in the city.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, January 23rd as My Old Kentucky Blog, Butler Scion, Nuvo, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and LaundroMatinee — along with the special efforts of the local music community including Indy CD and Vinyl, Luna, Transpanter, Joyful Noise, IndyMojo, Musical Family Tree, Vibes, and more — present the Local Music Git Down at Local’s Only.

What will hopefully become a re-occurrence in the city, The Local Music Git Down will be a celebration of the local scene with many bands and DJs featured.

January 23rd Line-Up

Bands

Pravada (http://www.myspace.com/pravadaband)
Marmoset (http://www.myspace.com/marmoset)
Andy D (http://www.myspace.com/rockslow)
We Are Hex (http://wearehex.com/)
Thunders (http://www.myspace.com/thunderstheband)
Jascha (http://www.myspace.com/iamjascha)
Heavy Hometown (http://heavyhometown.com/)
Beta Male (http://www.myspace.com/betamale)
Early Day Miners (http://www.earlydayminers.com/)
The Broderick (http://www.myspace.com/thebroderickband)
Burnt Ones (http://www.facebook.com/pages/BURNT-ONES/198536556329)
Slothpop (http://www.myspace.com/abeansprout)
Yuki (http://www.myspace.com/yukimeow)
America Owns The Moon (http://www.myspace.com/americaownsthemoon)

DJs

Action Jackson (http://actionjackson.bee-town.com/)
Slater Hogan (http://www.myspace.com/slaterhogan)
DJ Jessika
A Squared (http://www.myspace.com/thereturnofa2)
DJ Phenom
Jackola (http://www.jackola.net/)

The show starts at Noon and goes until 2 a.m. for only $10. A portion of that will be donated to Rock For Riley. Whether it’s the cause or the support, it will be a day of great music and a monument of strength to the Indianapolis music scene.

Links:

Pravada: http://www.myspace.com/pravadaband
Grandchildren: http://www.myspace.com/grandchildren
We Are Hex: http://wearehex.com/
The Vollrath: http://www.vollrathindy.com/

For First Friday, Fountain Square looked like a cross between Orson Wells’ Touch of Evil and Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. Tis the season for the near Eastside section of the city to be bustling by pushing people in and out of art galleries and restaurants.

In addition to all the sites and vibrancy that was going on, just down the road, The Vollrath was having their own celebration that packed in a good crowd for a diverse night of music. As space became sparse in and around the bar, the festivity only increased with more hugging, laughing, and joviality than a pack of pirates after a successful pillage.

An immediate sign that we were in for a unique night were the remixes of Hall And Oates and Huey Lewis and The News blending in to other electronic bass thumping, all echoing through the speakers. Over in the corner, newly recognized DJ Liar Mouth kept the energy going through the night and a welcome change from the usual.

Pravada kicked things into gear with their infectious noise pop sound. With the drummer on the floor and facing the band, it seemed a little odd at first, even if it left plenty of room for the rest of the band to take the stage. And not that they needed space because the movement by this band was minimal keeping their own space. Whatever works, right? This formula did work for the band as the sound was equaled out and their blend of songs from feedback-induced rock to starry-eyed pop filled up the club. With lights blaring down on the band, there was no mystery involved, it was simply a showcase of Pravada confident and well poised, playing a solid set. And even though we have heard “Atlas” and “You’re Fun” plenty of times before, it never gets old.

When the six people from Grandchildren packed the stage, things were a little tight, but the band impressively kept a spastic sense of motion to their tribal sounds, building percussion on drums, horns on guitars, songs into other songs. Made up of mostly instrumentals some songs made people tilt their head and bop up and down, while others got lost in translation of maybe too much going on.

Somewhere near the witching hour, We Are Hex took the stage. Again, drums were on the floor facing the stage, but in this case, there was a good reason. The set was comprised of mostly new material with a few songs from Gloom Bloom peppered in like “Serious Sedatives,” a song I have not heard live before but always wanted to. People huddled around drummer Brandon Beaver as if he was on fire. When the opening number kicked in, we all thought he was going to combust, pounding skins like it was a homocide. Jilly Weiss grabbed a tambourine and in an instant she exploded into a spastic rage of energy that burned out into the audience. Standing by the drums, I could not hear much beyond being punched in the face with a hardcore punk esprit. We didn’t know what hit us and in an instant, I felt transformed back to the Broad Ripple Community Center circa 1988 when bands like Trenchmouth and The Oxymorons played there. Before long, you could feel the floor of the Vollrath pulsating with feet stomping and feedback ringing through my ears. The only thought in my head was that if we were all to go down, what a way to go.

The set was ferociously short-lived as the band burned white-hot and burned hard. By the end of it, Brandon was crawling out of his kit trying to find a breath, Jilly was picking herself off the floor, while bassist Trevor Wathan and guitarist Matt Hagan were recovering from the last remnants of a powerful, in-your-face show.

[All photos by gregthemayor]
We Are Hex

I was fortunate enough to see We Are Hex play live in Indianapolis again. The band played at The Vollrath Tavern, which is fast becoming a really popular spot to see live music.

We Are Hex (Indianapolis)
http://www.wearehex.com

It was a crowded house last night at the Melody Inn for the We Are Hex CD release show.  Check out shots from all four bands below.

We Are Hex (Indianapolis)
http://www.wearehex.com

Thin Fevers (Indianapolis)
http://www.myspace.com/thinfevers

Medusa (Bloomington)
http://www.myspace.com/rainunthunder

Pravada (Indianapolis)
http://www.myspace.com/pravadaband

This is the Hex Haus, home to four unique musicians who gravitated from beyond the outer reaches of Indianapolis to become bound by the forces of creative musicianship. This is the home of We Are Hex.

(From L to R) Matt Hagan, Brandon Beaver, Jilly Weiss, and Trevor Wathen. Photo by Gary Mead.

And not only is this house a residence to the band, it doubles as their recording studio where their debut release Gloom Bloom (due out April 7 on their own label with the entire album streamable on their website http://www.wearehex.com) was conceived.

“When we decided to make Gloom Bloom we actually found a studio space,” said drummer Brandon Beaver. “It had this amazing 15-foot ceiling and was an old classroom this lady was leasing as an arts studio. We wanted to be more serious as a band so a recording studio seemed like a logical step. But it did not work out, and Gloom Bloom was done throughout our little three-bedroom house.”

Brandon Beaver (Photo by Gary Mead)

Staying at home proved to be the best option, capturing the essence and aura of what the group is about more so than they could have imagined. And unlike the basic principles of the lo-fi home studio movement, Gloom Bloom is something different, something more. The frenetic atmosphere of the songs and how they morph and transition with each other is something the band could not have captured elsewhere.

“Brandon wanted to make the album feel like a mix tape with pieces flowing in between songs,” said vocalist and keyboardist Jilly Weiss. “Everyone sings and plays various instruments that they normally would not play. One thing I don’t ever want to lose is that feeling and edge of the punk rock influences I grew up on. In the end, I feel like we captured that immediacy because these songs are super honest.”

Jilly Weiss (Photo by Gary Mead)

This honesty in the music comes from a group who spends just as much time understanding their capabilities with the equipment they own, as much as capitalizing on their limitations. When it comes to outtakes, the band knows exactly how to use them to their advantage. And by this, you get a depth and experience you normally could not get on a linear, static release.

“We knew we wanted to do it our way,” said Beaver. “We wanted the bad mic placements. We wanted to have that feeling that the listener is right there with us. It’s good as an artist to keep producing and not working too hard to make one guitar part or one beat too perfect.”

And all of this worked to their advantage as everything on Gloom Bloom feels necessary, from the tracking to the interludes, the contemplations and the wild effects — everything was mic’ed up. It’s what makes this album a true concept of the identity of the band.

“The creative process tended to be a lot closer to improv and the way jazz guys construct their songs,” said Matt Hagan, guitarist, keyboardist, and vocals for the band. “What I really like about this band is that there is not a leader. We are all in it together as an equal.”

Matt Hagan (Photo by Gary Mead)

They all agree that this is the single most important factor to what makes We Are Hex tick.

“This band has no individual ego,” said Trevor Wathen, bass, keyboards, and vocals. “It really helps that we all generally get along.”

Trevor Wathen (Photo by Gary Mead)

However, this was not always the case. Before Wathen and Hagan joined the band, We Are Hex was comprised of a different amalgamation. It begins with a 45-minute drive north to Muncie where Beaver and Weiss met. Beaver was living up there while Weiss was going to school. During that brief moment, Weiss started up a band called Days And Nights In The Skeleton Crew with Hagan. After that became a short-lived experiment, she tried it again with Ari Ari. Both Beaver and Weiss had no restraints to stay in Muncie. Ari Ari was their way out of the college town. When they came down to Indianapolis to play shows, they felt like they were getting more support from the capital city than the transient environment around Ball State.

After Ari Ari split up, they decided to form We Are Hex as a three piece with their friend Mark.

“It just did not work,” said Beaver. “No one was 100 percent behind it. The three of us just could not work together. If you heard what we sounded like then versus what we sound like now, it’s apparent how different it was back then.”

But they tried to make it work, long enough to record a full-length album. But then Mark left the band, and they scrapped the album, never seeing the light of day that Brandon admits to remaining buried somewhere inside a desk drawer.

But if that failed experience taught him one thing, it was to record everything, which is an important part of the band’s psyche, to get that documentation as Wathen boasts to having about two-and-a half albums worth of material during the making of Gloom Bloom.

As Beaver and Weiss were trying to re-group and determine the band’s direction, they ran into Hagan at a show one night. Hagan who played in several bands after Days and Nights — including Life After Bed, Black Panel Van, and Big Bang Static — had migrated to Indianapolis thanks to a job on the south side. The two had been contemplating a guitarist for a while, and Hagan fit right into the profile.

Then there was Wathen, a Southern Indiana resident who was burnt out on school and wanted to just create music. He had been in several bands, but knew that if he wanted to do what he wanted and do it right, Indianapolis was his next move. He was introduced to Weiss, and they began hanging out. When Mark left the band, he was asked to complete the lineup on bass.

“Originally we were super drony, no guitar, just bass and keyboards,” said Weiss. “And the keyboards were on loops. There is only so much you can do with that. Now that we have four people constantly writing and being involved, we can take our sound to so many levels.”

(From L to R) Jilly Weiss, Trevor Wathen, Brandon Beaver, and Matt Hagan (Photo by Gary Mead)

Now that Gloom Bloom has shown what they are capable of, the band is setting out to see just how far they can take their sound. The next project, an EP titled Various Songs, Sounds and Furs, was a process of writing songs that was completely new to the band and tends to drift towards a soundtrack-style of layered composing.

“Unlike just creating a song from scratch as a whole, we wanted to try a different approach, take an instrument like a drum part and build off of that particular instrument,” said Wathen.

For Hagen, he has never been in a band that has had such a diverse and creative atmosphere. “The idea that we developed together as a band is that we want to constantly keep doing things different.”

“We want to challenge ourselves,” added Weiss. “We make music we like because we have to play it. The goal is to better ourselves. I don’t care if it’s louder, quieter, experimental, I just want to make it a step up every time.”

Whatever direction the band takes, you can bet they will be putting forth every effort to do it all themselves and continue working at it as a group and not as individuals, because when it comes down to it, what they have is each other.

(From L to R) Trevor Wathen, Brandon Beaver, Jilly Weiss, and Matt Hagan (Photo by Gary Mead)

“We Are Hex is not a band that is ‘out to make it,’ said Beaver. “We’d love to make enough money to eat off from this band, but we play music because its all we have. We are kind of the outcasts from most of the scene here because we don’t ask for much help, and we tend to just do our own thing.

“In some way or another that has worked against us. The truth being it’s just really hard for us to think that anyone around Indianapolis would work harder for our music than ourselves.”

The band will be embarking on an East Coast tour in April and the Midwest in May. By July, they will reach out to the West Coast to complete one of their first major cross-country outings as a band. You can find specific dates on the band’s website or follow their blog at http://hexhaus.blogspot.com/. 

For a ZapTown critique on Gloom Bloom, visit our review here: www.zaptownmag.com/?p=1050.

The highly anticipated debut from Indianapolis’ We Are Hex has finally arrived, and the wait is worth it. Gloom Bloom is a powerful ode to sound experimentation by a group of talented musicians that have captured something richly unique and intensely “in the moment.” As each song progresses, you never know what dark alleyway the band will take you down. This is everything you would expect and more: passion and fury, light and darkness, all feeding off of each other that gives these songs a life of its own.

Whether direct or indirect, the band puts themselves in an ideal situation by crawling back in time without trapping themselves in a retro vortex.  When New Order rose from the ashes of Joy Division, they were tapping into disco culture to propel them into a new style of dance music. With the saturation of standard pop and dance elements in today’s indie culture, We Are Hex strips away the ideology, going back to when music was dangerous and the days where The Rezillos wanted to go to Venus, The Adicts were talking about revolution, and Thurston Moore and Lydia Lunch were wigging out in Death Valley, all challenging pop culture one way or another.

Not to say that the band is really any of the aforementioned references but, to an extent, all of them combined. With the band on the move and constantly changing up styles, they escape being pigeonholed into any distinct category, constantly morphing and shape shifting before your ears.

What pleases me the most about this album is its spontaneity. Recorded practically live in their house, the untraditional studio presence works to their advantage. It is mixed and transitioned in a way that puts you on their couch and deep within the output of what the member’s experienced. Songs change from the heavily mixed to dirty and raw to simple found sounds from various outtakes.

“INDPLS” gives you the feeling of celebratory joy, urban power, and dark prowling that only gets accentuated on “Bottom Of My Belly.” Jilly Weiss’ vocal prowess displays a realistic urgency that is pushed forward by a tornadic activity of instruments swirling about, whether it is Trevor Wathen’s growling bass, Brandon Beaver’s rumbling drums, Matt Hagan’s intricate guitar work, the keyboards, the layered vocals, the time signature change up, and so on. And that’s just within one song. Before you know it, you are dragged along through purposefully bastardized early ‘60s-style girl pop  (“Noise Knot”), the taunting roar of “No FM/No AM,” or the hauntingly jagged dance number “Serious Sedatives.”

It seems with each passing listen there is something new to discover within each track. Gloom Bloom has found a way to breathe in the soul of this city and create a metropolitan melting pot of vice and virtue that will wrap around you and not let go, even after the sobering instrumental outro of “French Rough” has long since faded out.

Even though you can stream the entire album at the bands website (http://www.wearehex.com), the CD is well worth the buy for the sound quality, the flawless transitions between songs, and the gorgeous packaging.

On Friday, December 5, Indianapolis bands A Caesar Holiday, We Are Hex, and Rooms will be at the Melody Inn.

A Caesar Holiday look back to ye olde Amphetamine Reptile days and harnesses the emotional power of bands like Chokebore while tapping the the softer side of The Church or the expressiveness of Dirty Three. Sometimes instrumental, sometimes mysterious, but always creatively interesting.

You can catch a few tunes here.

If that’s not enough to wet your whistle, then We Are Hex should. Slightly coldwave, no wave, and 21st Century chic, these gritty rockers will have you bouncing around the room.  Check them out, here.

Let’s not forget Rooms.

Looking to the soothing side of indie rock, Rooms blend motion and angularity flawlessly. This band creates that sound that we just cannot get enough of over here. Judge for yourself, here.