Student bands rock local venues
Gashhound
Gashhound arrived on the music scene in 2004, when the group was known as EDG. The band at the time consisted of Travis Swint (drums), Alsamer Gross (bass) and Schyler Wood (guitar/vocals). The group decided to add Joshua Huffman for vocals and synthesizer in 2005 and developed a heavy metal sound.
Gashhound was largely inspired by Pantera, Black Sabbath, Type-O-Negative, Sun-0 and many others.
“But as we grew disheartened by that scene, we began changing our sound yet again, by playing more down tempo, sludgy metal, as well as drawing from genres not typically associated with heavy music,” Wood said. “That particular sound is where the band currently stands to this point, and we currently have been trying to incorporate jazz, as well as classical music to our sound.”
According to Wood, the origin of the name Gashhound came from a George Carlin bit about things you can’t say on television. The band was strongly influenced by Carlin’s work as a comedian, so the name, Wood said, “was a no-brainer.”
Gashhound has played more than 100 shows, mostly around the Indianapolis area, and the band has released two albums. “The Left Hand Path” was recorded in a professional studio and was the band’s first full-length video. The second one, “The Bewilderbeast,” was finished last spring. “Bewilderbeast” is available for free download on Gashhound’s Facebook page, at http://www.facebook.com/gashhound.
The Sages
A passion for music brought University of Indianapolis students Mack Lamont, Jarred Juett and Brian Marris together in September of 2008. With Juett on vocals and keyboard, Lamont on drums and keyboard and Marris on guitar, the trio formed the band NewSoul.
After deciding on a set list and rehearsing obsessively, NewSoul added its fourth and final musician, Nick Tucker, on bass. The band performed its first gig on March 28, 2009, for the UIndy for Riley Dance Marathon.
In August 2009, NewSoul made a name change and became The Sages.
“The band felt that the music they were creating was the ‘new soul’ of rock and roll, but the band itself was not the new soul, it was merely a channel to communicate this new sound,” Marris said.
A sage is a wise man who does not seek wisdom or love because he already has it.
The band combined Juett’s love for classic rock and roll and the blues, Lamont’s interest in progressive music, Tucker’s classical training and Marris’ love of jam bands, creating it’s unique sound.
The band was inspired by Umphrey’s McGee, The Who and others. Over the summer of 2010, The Sages completed their first album, featuring 11 songs, including “Crazy Things” and “Holy Land.” Anyone interested in the CD can contact any member of The Sages for more information.
Teeklef
“My music is basically me,” said junior human biology major Ebuka Unogu. “Everything that has happened to me in times passed and also me speaking about who and where I want to be in the future is mirrored in my songs.”
Unogu’s spark for music started when his mother introduced him to the church choir at age 11.
Unogu goes under the name Teeklef for his solo music endeavors. He raps, sings, plays drums and plays piano. Put that all together, and he can be seen playing live performances that range from hip-hop to soft rock.
“The more I did it, the more interest I had in it,” Unogu said. “And it takes a lot less to believe in yourself than for people to believe in you. Everyone who has listened to my style of music has given it two thumbs up, and that makes me even more confident of the truth that I’ve got a shot.”
His plan is to be a doctor, but he also would like to take a year or two off from school to see if he can make it in the music industry as a performer. If he does not go into performance, he said he would still like to produce and sing, as well as be a doctor.
He has a nine-track EP called “On a C-rius Note,” that he produced himself. He is not signed but would like to start his own record label.
“We gotta start from somewhere,” Unogu said.
