Music fans should catch a glimpse of The Story Of while they can because this fiercely determined, highly motivated band will not be around Athens after this year.
If all goes as planned, guitarist David McCully, bassist Jeremy Gordon, drummer Jonathan Gibbs, guitarist/vocalist Alex Huff and vocalist/keyboardist Christman Hersha will be in Austin, Texas this summer.
Gordon said band members unanimously decided they wanted to stay together and work as a band. They looked at what different cities had to offer, and Austin was the winner. The climate, large number of live performance opportunities and vast college campuses were major determinates.
Each member an Ohio University graduate or soon-to-be graduate, Gibbs, a junior, is the only one who will be dropping out of school to take one for the team.
The band plans to stick around Athens for the duration of the school year, playing at various venues and continuing to produce music while getting their name and sound out to people as much as possible.
By March, Gordon said he hopes to have collaborated with a promotions company to have some of their songs played on the radio. He hopes college radio exposure will provide them with enough clout for when they make their fresh transition to Austin.
The Story Of will celebrate its second birthday in January and will have two extended EPs under their belt, plus a demo recording. On the latest release, the band spent February through July creating the album themselves to ensure a thorough, concise inspection.
I worked on it an average of five hours a day
Hersha said.
While the first album, Trust in Amanita contained carefully crafted melodies and detailed beats, the noxious vocals seemed estranged against such a beautiful background. However, the band seems to have sensed the disparity because the second album is a conglomeration of dreamy electronic interludes with instrumental influences intermingled, creating a more mature persona. The pace and pitch of lyrics mesh and complement the more sophisticated ambience of the album; however, some awkward collaborations remain.
Huff is confident in the bands' progression.
By now our personal influences have subsided; our immediate influences are not as noticeable as they were in the beginning he said.
The Story Of's music is not influenced by a single artist or genre, but draws from a plethora of inspirations.
We draw things from different music
but it comes down to artistry and melody and composition and how you display that music
Gordon said.
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Laura Lee Bloor
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The Story Of posing at their home on North Lancaster last night. The band plays The Union this Friday at 10 p.m.; tickets are four dollars.
