January 27, 2005
Audio / visual
Bloomington band Aphonic shoots a video Saturday night at Second StoryBy Nicole Kauffman
Indiana University voice major Pat O'Brien has taken on a heavy workload every semester, with English and history as his outside fields.
"I've never had an easy semester at all," said the senior.
And while he thought his final semester would be lighter, with only about 16 or 17 credits, he was wrong. He's tackling 25.
"I'm just getting pounded," he said.
But O'Brien has managed to find time to practice, play gigs and even record a 95-minute album for his "compositional art music" band, Aphonic.
The quartet has played in Bloomington regularly. And with its own engineer and a little black trailer carrying old, cumbersome equipment, it has traveled to New York City, Toronto and Detroit.
On Saturday, Aphonic will shoot a video at Second Story.
"I think this will be our second-to-last show before we leave at the end of the year, so this is an opportunity to film something pretty cool," said O'Brien, the group's guitarist and singer.
Drawing comparisons that run the gamut from Pink Floyd and Robert Plant to U2 and even Jeff Buckley, Aphonic has attracted a loyal following in the community.
"Mostly college students and friends that really believe in what Aphonic is doing," says Marc Tschida, Second Story nightclub's chief booking agent.
While it's not unusual for a band to put a lot of time into practicing and playing, Tschida calls the foursome "particularly motivated."
All members of the group are students or recent graduates of the IU music school.
O'Brien's brother, drummer Matthew O'Brien, also is a voice major, with an outside field of Italian; keyboard player Robert Farren recently finished his composition degree; and bassist Luke Schram has a degree in trombone, with an outside field in philosophy.
"As much as it seems the band doesn't have to do with what we study at school, it really does," Pat O'Brien said. "It's a tough environment, and it forces you to work."
Last summer, Aphonic recorded an album in Dover, N.J., with producer Ben Elliott at Showplace Recording Studios, whose clients have included Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Nirvana and Rollins Band.
"It's a small city, and recording is all we did. There was nothing else to do, except jog at night and eat sushi," O'Brien said. "When that's your job, things get done really fast."
Although Aphonic formed in Bloomington in 2003, seeds for the group were planted in the O'Briens' hometown of Detroit years ago.
"I've been in and out of the studio since before I could drive," Pat O'Brien said.
After recruiting Farren and Schram in Bloomington, Aphonic built a private stage and rehearsal space in its basement. There, it cultivated a more rock-heavy sound for its artful compositions.
The video shoot will be a first for Tschida at the cozy upstairs club, but Aphonic is no stranger to arranging a video crew to rig cameras for its shows.
It has shot videos in the past, and tech-savvy Matthew O'Brien edits the footage.
"It's definitely an organizing process thing that can make you pull your hair out," Pat O'Brien said.
Doing the shoot in Bloomington is easier than it would be elsewhere: People are eager to get camera-work experience, and Tschida isn't charging for use of the club.
If this were New York or some other big city, Aphonic would pay at least $250 for a "mediocre room," O'Brien said.
Tschida encourages bands to come up with unique ideas for live shows, and this is one way he can support the local music scene, he said.
But decisions about what goes on during shows at Second Story are made on a case-by-case basis, and a major selling point for this shoot is that it makes the club a focal point.
The video will be used on the group's Web site, www.aphonic. com, and as a promotional tool.
But, more than anything, the project is for nostalgic purposes: "Especially with Marc Tschida running it, it's one of best places to play in town," Pat O'Brien said of Second Story.
In the spring, Aphonic will focus all its attention on the band. It plans to make Detroit its home base once again and will hit festivals in the South in the coming months.
"We've all decided that we owe it to ourselves to do that," O'Brien said. "We've kind of already tasted how good it can be, although we've never had any financial success with it. I don't think that's the point of it."
WHAT: Aphonic show and live video shoot. Trio in Stereo and Extra Blue Kind also perform
WHEN: 10 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Second Story, 201 S. College Ave.
HOW MUCH: $4
INFO: Call Second Story at 334-3232. See www.aphonic.com.
School of Music
Bloomington, IN 47405-2200
(812) 855-1583
Last Updated:
01/28/2005
Comments: musicpub@indiana.edu
Copyright 2003, The Trustees of Indiana University