THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
Band creates 'atmospheric' music
Bv Neil Mulka
Members of Theta: Mike Quillin, vocals; Torin Anderson, keyboard; Eric Graves, guitar; Adam Mitchell, drums; Cory White, guitar; and Esteban Caracciolo, bass. The band recorded a six song EP, Tone Poems for Sad Times and is searching for a record label to fund future ventures.
nmulka@kansan.com
Jayplaywriter
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
For some musicians, playing in one band is not enough. For the members of local band Theta, playing in two or three bands is ideal.
Featuring members from The Esoteric, Coalesce, The Storied Northwest, Pave Arrow, Pathos and The Now, scheduling for Theta becomes hectic.
"It's like a circus," said Adam Mitchell, drummer and Lawrence resident. "We have to keep up with six people in five other bands."
Despite many of the musicians involvement with metal projects, Theta's atmospheric space rock sound draws comparisons to bands like Tool and Hum—a stark contrast to the raw power of The Esoteric and Coalesce.
"It's definitely a lot more melodic," said Eric Graves, guitarist and Lawrence resident.
Mike Quillin's vocals make Theta sound unique, Graves said.
"We've been described as a Rock-Enya," Graves said.
Playing in bands with different styles gives the members of Theta a chance to flex their musical muscle.
"It's nice to play in different bands," said Mitchell. "I'm a metal guy, but it's nice to branch out."
Along with Quillin's room-filling vocals, Theta uses a slew of effects pedals and slides in and out of a wide range of time signatures while trying to keep the music listener-friendly.
"We try to do interesting things with familiar sounds," Graves said. "We're trying to make an odd time signature not sound odd. It's accessible yet still in six."
Despite having all of the members involved in other music projects, Theta continues to proceed with creating music.
"It's tough with all of the other bands we're in because there's always that one member that holds you back, because you got a real job or a kid," Graves said. "This band is based on that we all don't have a real job and we're here to record and get music out as much as possible."
Theta recently recorded a six song EP, Tone Poems for Sad Times. Recorded by Ed Rose of Red House Studios (now named the Black Lodge), Theta spared no expense in recording, spending $6,000 of its own money.
"I want people to appreciate the production of the sound," Graves said. "That's why we spent so much money. We want something for people to pick apart the production
and try to find something that sounds bad."
With all of the production work in one album, some of the songs on Tone Poems do not translate well into a live show.
"There's one song, '6/8,' that sounds really good on the record but not live," Esteban Caracico, bassist and Lawrence resident, said. "It's way too mellow. We're going for the big rock show."
Theta's flavor of heavy atmospheric space rock has a different effect in every venue they play in.
"The funny thing about us is the bigger the venue, the better the sound," said Mitchell. "It's because we're so atmospheric. We sound a lot better at the Bottleneck than a smaller venue."
"It's totally fun playing house shows," said Caracciolo. "It feels a lot better than playing on a stage but it's such a weird way with the music. We played the Replay and it was a train wreck."
Even though the sound is better in a large venue, Theta still enjoys the smaller shows.
The band is shopping for a record label to pay for their next recording.
"Our most immediate goal is to go on tour and have a label pay for our next recording," said Graves. "We don't want to spend another $6,000 again."
— Edited by Erin Ghapman
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
Corey White (left) and Mike Quillin(right) of Theta perform at the Pool Room. The band features musicians who also belong to bands: The Esoteric, Coalesce, The Storied Northwest, Pave Arrow, Pathos and The Now. While scheduling is difficult for practices and performances,the band still managed to release its own EP.