Spring Break
Coming to the scene: Halloween, Alaska
Minneapolis-based band stays focused on presenting genre-bending music
Kathlyn Hotynski
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Scene
The music of Halloween, Alaska has been featured on television dramas - including "The OC" and "Dawson's Creek" - but lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist James Diers said if the band's life was a show, he'd make it "Twin Peaks."
"It was just a little bit darker and a little bit more esoteric, and the music was a lot slower," he said. "And it was a little bit more about solving a murder mystery than ... solving a mystery about which party to go to."
It's an aesthetic that matches Halloween, Alaska's music, which Diers calls "a little more dark, but not necessarily sinister," influenced by The Cure, TV on the Radio and My Bloody Valentine.
The Minneapolis-based band will play at the House of Rock, 422 Water St., Friday. The show starts at 10 p.m. and is open to people 21 and older. Admission is $5.
When interviewees were asked to describe Halloween, Alaska's genre-bending music, their first response was always the same - a long pause.
"They're kind of more modern or new age," sophomore Kayleigh Hanson said.
"It's tough," said Brian Moen, designer at House of Rock. "They're kind of they're own thing, so they're not easily compared to anyone."
Diers' answer was hardly more descriptive.
"It's textured and I think it's fairly patient," he said. "Sometimes very loud, and sometimes not very loud at all."
Senior Adam Moulton said the band is "on the same page" as Eau Claire-based Amateur Love.
"Their music is very tight; they're all very good musicians," he said. "Their drummer, David King, is probably one of the best drummers in the Midwest."
The musicians have done stints in numerous bands in the Minneapolis area, including Love-cars, 12RODS, The Bad Plus and Happy Apple. Halloween, Alaska was born about three years ago, Diers said, when Diers and King decided to get together as a side project from two different bands. They recruited keyboardist and engineer Ev Olcott and electric bassist Matt Friesen. They brought guitarist Jake Hanson on board about a year-and-a-half later.
"It was just a little bit darker and a little bit more esoteric, and the music was a lot slower," he said. "And it was a little bit more about solving a murder mystery than ... solving a mystery about which party to go to."
It's an aesthetic that matches Halloween, Alaska's music, which Diers calls "a little more dark, but not necessarily sinister," influenced by The Cure, TV on the Radio and My Bloody Valentine.
The Minneapolis-based band will play at the House of Rock, 422 Water St., Friday. The show starts at 10 p.m. and is open to people 21 and older. Admission is $5.
When interviewees were asked to describe Halloween, Alaska's genre-bending music, their first response was always the same - a long pause.
"They're kind of more modern or new age," sophomore Kayleigh Hanson said.
"It's tough," said Brian Moen, designer at House of Rock. "They're kind of they're own thing, so they're not easily compared to anyone."
Diers' answer was hardly more descriptive.
"It's textured and I think it's fairly patient," he said. "Sometimes very loud, and sometimes not very loud at all."
Senior Adam Moulton said the band is "on the same page" as Eau Claire-based Amateur Love.
"Their music is very tight; they're all very good musicians," he said. "Their drummer, David King, is probably one of the best drummers in the Midwest."
The musicians have done stints in numerous bands in the Minneapolis area, including Love-cars, 12RODS, The Bad Plus and Happy Apple. Halloween, Alaska was born about three years ago, Diers said, when Diers and King decided to get together as a side project from two different bands. They recruited keyboardist and engineer Ev Olcott and electric bassist Matt Friesen. They brought guitarist Jake Hanson on board about a year-and-a-half later.
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