Local band Mrs. Helen Highwater looks to express the unexplainable “Clam Rock” genre to Athens.
Established in 2013, Mrs. Helen Highwater has based itself on attempting to bring a “fresh and clammy” sound to the Athens music scene.
The band recently played at Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery, 24 W. Union St. on Sept. 5 with The Wholehearted Halfwits.
The band received its distinctive name because before each show, they would introduce themselves by saying, “We will rock this show, come hell or high water,” which eventually turned into “Hell and the Highwaters” and then “Mrs. Helen Highwater,"Sam Terkel, the guitarist said.
Bassist Pete Shultz said he grew up listening to lots of classical rock with bands such as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The band is also influenced by funk artists such as Prince, making it hard to place the band into one single genre.
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Mrs. Helen Highwater was formed in Athens with all the band members studying audio engineering at the time.
“Our music can best be described as 1970’s music with fresh clams,” vocalist Ethan Bartman said. “You could also describe our music as super jazz clam rock."
Shultz attended the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning before returning to Athens. Shultz said that he takes things he learned about designing and puts it into the band’s music.
“Like a school, we teach each other things when we create our music,” keyboardist David Pritchett said. “Songs are never really finished, a lot of times we throw in ideas and the music changes.”
The band strives to put its different personalities into its music, bringing musical styles from Cleveland, Cincinnati and even Athens into the music they produce.
Last year the band dressed up as Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppets at Athens HallOUween, one of the band’s favorite shows.
The band members said another favorite of theirs was playing a Talking Heads medley with dadARM, in which there were four guitars on the stage at once.
“Our vision is to start playing more shows in the region, and even produce an album within the next six months,” Terkel said.
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