Everything, Now! produces a sound that is difficult to describe to even the most savvy music connoisseur, partly because of the styles reflected in their name: everything.
A tour through EN's repertoire is a maze of sounds from country to shoegazer to folk, the common denominator being good old rock. While many have attempted to pin EN to the likeness of Modest Mouse and early Flaming Lips, singer/guitarist Jon Rogers said that a direct comparison to any particular band is misleading to first-time listeners.
"We're a really young band... if anyone is going to compare us to that stuff (Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips), they have to know the history behind those bands and how they started," Rogers said.
EN is always looking for new ways to redefine music, causing listeners to forget everything they expect to hear in a rock song and just allow the music to take them.
Everything, Now! established itself with the name "The Grand Opening" with only two members: Rogers on guitar/vocals and Sutton accompanying him on the bells. They gradually added members until they played their first show with the current line-up in February, 2003: Jon Rogers on guitar and vocals, Rob Williamson on bass, Ben Sutton on bells, Drew DeBoy on keyboard and Dan Shepper on drums.
All members except Sutton, who lives in Indianapolis, reside in Muncie, making practice and song development fairly easy. The band has weathered the initial processes of formation, writing, recording and releasing an album, and setting in with one another as collaborators.
"I think that at this point, we're pretty strong as a group... we all kind of hate each other, but we sound good together," Rogers said, employing characteristic sharp sarcastic wit.
The roots of EN's songs are found somewhere in the dark, enigmatic mind of Rogers. After graduating from high school, he began writing lyrics while working a summer job at a gas station. The free time and isolation gave his mind plenty of time to roam.
And roam it did.
Explorations of death, the value of a virtuous life, politics and pop culture weave through songs with no lack of biting irony and satire. Songs begin as concepts in Rogers' mind, which he later shares with the other band members, who, in turn, flesh out a song as it comes naturally.
While many people are satisfied by nothing less than a pristine display of virtuoso musicianship at a show, EN seems to revel in their mistakes and improvisational style. An ideal performance for EN involves forgotten lyrics, fumbled drumsticks, missed chords and an audience that is left amused, offended or confused.
"When we're playing, it's like we all have this joke going on between us while we're playing, but the audience doesn't necessarily know that." Williamson said.
Rogers said the band appeals to people because of its showmanship.
"We're not a punk band, but we have a kind of punk aesthetic about our shows," Rogers said.
EN's recently released, self-titled CD features just short of an hour of music that was recorded over a period of eight months. The band is thrilled with the quality of the recording, despite the fact that much of it was recorded in various basements and bedrooms around Muncie.
EN gives credit for the CD's polished sound to the near-legendary Tyler Watkins. Watkins mixed EN's tracks to their finished state, along with other familiar names on the Muncie circuit, namely Crusoe, Days and Nights in the Skeleton Crew, and Revel in the Morning.
Maintaining a balance of artistic autonomy and label support is a difficult one, but one that EN is willing, and apparently waiting in anticipation, to make. The group has gained a sizable following while playing a sporadic pattern of dates around central Indiana with the likes of Crusoe, Revel in the Morning, Arcade and Away with Vega.
Necessary to the growth of the band's popularity is the recent publication of the band's official Web site, www.everythingnowmusic.com. The site is still under construction but features information regarding shows and contact information. DeBoy, author of the Web site, says that downloadable MP3s and bios of band members are currently in the works and should be up soon.
Using the momentum that they have gained in just less than one year, they would like to sign a deal with a record company that would bring them greater distribution and therefore access to a wider fan base. Several companies have stepped forward with promising offers, but EN is focused on keeping priorities straight.
"All we really want to do as a band is play shows, have a good time and make good records," Rogers says.
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