The campus band Mr. Suds, comprised of seniors Bryce Lednar (guitar, vocals), Sam Epstein (guitar, vocals), Brian Wu (synth, vocals), James Carney (bass) and Andrew Coleman (drums, vocals), who met their first year, has been a regular staple of the small, but ever-growing, Bowdoin music scene for years. While bands like Milkman's Union were busy playing more original music, Mr. Suds filled the cover-band niche, playing unique renditions of songs like "Karma Police + Zombie" by Radiohead and the Cranberries, "Where is My Mind?" by the Pixies, "Wide Eyes" by Local Natives, among others.
On Saturday night, however, Mr. Suds proved to be much more than your average cover band. The group, playing alongside Bates' band Time Travelers, wowed a brimming Bradford House with their renovated sound. Both bands delivered a strong set, featuring the Time Travelers' alt-folk and Mr. Suds' ambient and synth-heavy looping, smooth vocal harmonies and strong drum and bass.
Although Mr. Suds would have preferred to start playing more seriously first year, they lacked a drum set at the time. The group really started to compose and think seriously about being a band in their sophomore year, when Coleman brought a drum set to Bowdoin. That year, the band was also able to utilize the Smith Union Rockband Studio, which is soundproof, holds plenty of gear and sound equipment and comes complete with a recording studio.
After practicing and recording together for a few months, the band really came into the campus spotlight during their sophomore year. While before the campus depended heavily on smaller, singer-songwriter student bands and Milkman's Union, Mr. Suds burst onto a scene dominated by bands that composed original songs and in the spring of 2009, played a series of back-to-back shows at Pinefest, Quinby House, MacMillan House, Spare Time Bowling Alley and Coles Tower.
"We got kind of addicted to the whole cover-band thing," said Epstein. "It was really all-consuming for a while there. Before Pinefest we learned 12 songs in a week."
Mr. Suds' shows always make for spontaneous dance parties in which even the most unlikely candidates discard their inhibitions and embrace their inner freak (of course, always fully clothed). Although Racer X had always drawn the 80s-clad crowds, the popularity of Mr. Suds' shows serve as proof that Bowdoin had been craving a student cover band.
"[Playing covers] was just fun at first, but then we realized that people really like the cover band thing, so we did that for a while," said Coleman. "Kind of for too long of a while."
The band recalls some of the best gigs they played that spring, including a "pretty hilarious scene" at Spare Time where the band set up its equipment in front of the automatic doors.
"We got paid for Spare Time, because they were looking for a student band. That was pretty sweet," said Carney. "And the Tower 14D party was one of the sweatiest experiences of all time."
"We like to think of it as the concert at the highest altitude in the state of Maine," said Coleman.
Most of the group agrees that the impromptu gig they played in Coles Tower apartment 14D is one of their favorite and most memorable experiences as a band.
"The shows always made [the busy schedule and playing covers] worth it. They were a lot of fun," said Lednar. "But I think at some point we realized we had more potential—like we could get somewhere with our music."
Although the members were on hiatus their junior year, they reunited this fall inspired by their experiences abroad and ready to do something new.
Wu studied abroad in Amsterdam, where he focused on jazz, pop and electronic music and learned the accordion. All of the members of the band agreed that the music they were exposed to while abroad has had a significant impact on Mr. Suds' new sound.
This fall Mr. Suds played a show in front of Harpswell called the "Ocho Ocho" show. The band said, fewer people showed up than they would have liked.
"Nobody came, but we had a keg, so we drank it," said Wu. "And we covered 'Halo' at the end—it was a real summer hit."
"Since we'd done covers before, it took us a while to figure out how best to put a song together of our own," said Coleman. "I think we're still figuring that out."
This year, the band has composed six new songs and spent time during Winter Break recording. They hope to release a CD sometime this spring.
The band also mentions that a Mike Snow show they saw together in the fall has influenced their music, as have bands like Dr. Dog, Cold War Kids, Passion Pit, Local Natives and Daft Punk—an eclectic mix that serves to take their music in a variety of different directions.
"We listen to indie rock music, but we've been able to go in lots of different directions in terms of the songs," said Coleman. "We spend a lot of time thinking about the form of the songs, and shape, in terms of dynamics."
Lednar added that Wu has been incorporating a great deal of synth sound, and Epstein noted Coleman's use of sticks and mallets to create unique drum sounds.
"I write the lyrics, and some of the words don't exist," said Wu. "They're kind of unimportant to me. I think the general feel of the song is more important to me."
Some of the band's new songs include "Grayer," which is a kind of "down song that's ambient, and a little bit sad. It captures more than just a story," said Wu.
In addition, they have "Es Ist Grün (It Is Green)" about being color blind, and "Poconos," about being in the Poconos.
"They're all a bit autobiographical, I guess," said Wu. "But the words don't really matter as much as the overall feeling we're trying to get across.
The band also noted that it was now more willing to take risks with its sound, incorporating slower beats and rhythms instead of solely sticking to upbeat, danceable music.
"Even though we're not playing covers anymore, we still aim to write something lively," said Coleman. "Sometimes in the writing process we were afraid of sounding too down. Now it's okay, we let the music speak for itself."
In the next few months, the band plans to play with The Time Travelers at Bates.
They also hope to have gigs outside of Brunswick at other New England universities. I encourage you all to catch Mr. Suds before they walk across the commencement stage in May.