Three-piece dad rock band, Stimson Chickens, brings rock ‘n’ roll to Athens. The continually growing Athens music scene is full of aspiring musicians, made up of many Ohio University students. However, this band consists of three locals who came together during the peak of COVID-19, forming the Stimson Chickens.
The group consists of lead singer and bassist Cody Sigmon, drummer Andrew Norris and guitarist Morgan Coyan.
Although previously a five-member band, the group is now made up of three. The trio is set to perform at The Union for the first time Saturday, supporting Chris Michael and the Andrews. The show is at 8 p.m., and there is an $8 cover.
Sigmon has always wanted to be in a band, and this idea came to life when he met the other two members.
“I moved to Athens in 2019 and had been playing the bass for a while, but had always wanted to be in a band,” Sigmon said. “I met our drummer, Andrew Norris, and he and I got together a couple times just to jam, and it just so happened that his friend Morgan Coyan was in town with his guitar, and he came over and we jammed together.”
Although they got together to play for fun, Sigmon says the Chickens officially came to life during the pandemic.
“Andrew used to live on Stimson, and he was next to the KFC,” Sigmon said. “We dragged all of our instruments outside and pointed them in a circle and started learning covers, and that's where Stimson Chickens was born.”
After practicing for a while, the Chickens eventually played their first gig.
“We were playing together and we're like, ‘Man, someday we'll play at a bar. Won't that be so cool?’ It just seemed like a fantasy when you were in the middle of COVID,” Sigmon said. “So really, we had been practicing for a year and a half or something, and we played an open mic night at Casa Nueva. We played until we ran out of songs, and we're like, ‘Okay, we can do this.’”
Since that first show, the band has played at numerous other locations, including Eclipse Company Store, Fire Pits and Flannels, Fall Fest, last year's Porch Fest and the Kiser's Barbeque kickoff.
The Chickens play a lot of rock covers, from the Eagles to Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the three members are working on some originals as well. Norris said the group's writing process can develop in different ways.
“A couple of times we've had a song develop kind of organically from the jam that we're having,” Norris said. “A lot of times I'll write lyrics first, so I'll come to the band with a completely lyrically written song that I've been thinking about with a general idea of how I want that to sound, and then we will workshop that until it works as a full musical piece.”
Since they started performing, Norris considers their best show to be one at Eclipse.
“We had a really good turnout, (with) my family there and extended friends of the family were there,” Norris said. “It was just a nice full three-hour set that we'd really kind of mastered at that point, that five of us had been playing together for long enough for it to be a product that I was really proud of.”
For many bands and musicians, specifically students, their music is usually a side activity. The same goes for Stimson Chickens, as the members stay busy with their careers and personal lives. However, whenever they have the chance to get together, the group enjoys playing and is looking forward to its first show at The Union.
“This is something that we get together to do for fun,” Norris said. “That'll be a milestone for us, getting to play a new venue in Athens, one of the bigger ones.”
Along with putting out original music, another goal Sigmon has is to play a pride show.
“To my knowledge, I've not seen a pride-themed live music event,” Sigmon said. “So having our musicians in the area to support a pride event is our goal for June.”
Long-time fan Jen Newton has been around since the band’s first performance, and she believes there are a few different things that set them apart from others in the area.
“I think Athens has a fun music scene for college age kids and there's (also) a lot of older groups,” Newton said. “Like, if you go to Eclipse on any night, they’ll be older people picking away. But there’s a demographic there they hit that's kind of missed in Athens. So I think that they're kind of appealing for that middle group that's missing.”
Both older and younger people enjoy the band, regardless of age.
“We've just been really lucky to get together and play songs we love,” Sigmon said.
