THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2003
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Area band comes into its own element
Jared Soares/Kansan
Ad Astra per Aspera shows state pride finds local niche
Mike Tuley UMKC junior, Kurt Lane senior, Julie Noyce senior, and Scott Edwards JCCC sophomore make the rock and roll outfit Ad Astra Per Aspera. They have been together for about a year. Ad Astra Per Aspera is playing a show tonight with Hook and Ladder at the Replay Lounge on 10th and Mass..
By Erin Ohm
eohm@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Performing is a blur - highlighted by moments of clarity-for Kurt Lane, percussionist for Ad Astra per Aspera.
Having played together for little more than a year and performed only two shows in Lawrence and two in Kansas City, members of Ad Astra were surprised by the audience reaction.
"It's been overwhelmingly positive," Lane said.
"Nobody wanted us to sound like someone else," Lane said. "We're not easily compared to other bands."
Band members Julie Noyce, Scott Edwards, Mike Tuley and Lane are a laidback group who enjoy one another's company as much as they enjoy making music together.
Band members said there was no particular influence that played a role in determining the band's sound.
They practiced about eight months before taking on live shows.
Noyce, Overland Park senior, said although members had different musical influences, Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath and jazz music were among the tastes the group drew from.
"We practiced for so long without doing shows that we've gotten to know each other," said Noyce, who plays keyboard and sings.
Because the group does not have much experience, it has not yet established any traditions.
"It's more a process of learning what not to do," Tuley said.
The band just finished its first recording, three songs, on a CD to be released some time in March. The group also plays at 10 p.m. tonight at The Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St.
Tuley, a senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said the band was reluctant to begin performing in front of people.
Lane, an Overland Park senior, lived with Tuley before the band formed, and both have been playing for more than 10 years.
But Noyce and Edwards are experiencing their first time playing in a band.
"Nobody wanted us to sound like someone else. We're not easily compared to other bands."
Kurt Lane Percussionist for Ad Astra per Aspera
Edwards, a sophomore at Johnson County Community College, plays the bass. He learned to play from Tuley, the band's songwriter, guitarist and vocalist.
"I've only been playing a year, so I feel privileged to be playing in a band that's actually good," Edwards said.
Edwards said he felt a little bit like a sixth-grader playing with friends in his parents' basement because of his lack of experience.
The group's name, Ad Astra per Aspera, are the Latin words written on the seal of the state of Kansas. They mean "To the stars through difficulties." The name was
Tuley's idea, and everyone liked the way the words sounded, he said.
For Ad Astra, it's about making the show interesting. Performing should not be a commonplace, mundane event. The band tried a different approach to make its first performance something memorable.
"We wanted to make our shows more like events," Lane said. He said the band had thought about using a projector to project images onto the wall behind the band as they played.
"We had invitations made," Lane said. "We wanted it to be like the birth of a new band, so we invited only the people we wanted to really hear us play."
The members of Ad Astra want to go beyond most bands' standard procedures recording and touring.
One of the band's goals for the future is to film a silent movie and write the score for it.
"At this point we can pretty much do whatever we want," Lane said. "It's not following a predetermined path."
"I've only been playing a year, so I feel privileged to be playing in a band that's actually good."
Lane said that as Ad Astra played together, each member was gradually developing his own style. All the band members wanted to make music into a career and continue playing as long as possible.
Scott Edwards Bass player for Ad Astra per Aspera
"It's fun," Noyce said. "Not just playing shows — it's practicing and making music."
Producing music that everyone enjoyed was a priority for Ad Astra, Lane said.
"In 10 or 15 years, all that's left is records," he said. "If we can make records we're all happy with, that's a lot more important than making money."
Edited by Erin Chapman