From the Denver Post, August 11, 2006:
ALL PLAYERS ARE CREATED EQUAL
By John Wenzel
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Imagine the potential mayhem of a leaderless band. Who helms the ship through the inevitably choppy disputes? W [+]From the Denver Post, August 11, 2006:
ALL PLAYERS ARE CREATED EQUAL
By John Wenzel
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Imagine the potential mayhem of a leaderless band. Who helms the ship through the inevitably choppy disputes? Who collects and distributes the cash after gigs? And who is the lead singer?
Denver-based indie rock collective Everything Absent or Distorted could not care less. Its seven members see themselves as a democratic collective, sustained more by chemistry than a singular artistic vision or iron-fisted captain.
"There's no guiding influence," said Jody Pilmer, who switches among guitar, drums and bass. "No one in the band has a stronghold on what we're doing. It's more the way we all work together."
The group, which will release its new album, "The Soft Civil War," at the Hi-Dive on Saturday, sports a pair of lead singers: Bryce Merrill and John Kuker. Still, even those two frequently trade instruments, giddily mixing guitar, drums, bass and synthesizer. Drummer Trevor Trumble then picks up the guitar and contributes to the vocals, while Ryan Stubbs switches from bass to keyboards, the whole outfit barely pausing to take a breath.
In concert, Everything Absent or Distorted recalls a late-'90s Elephant Six, that hallowed indie collective that included Denver's Dressy Bessy, the now-expatriated Apples in Stereo and acts like Of Montreal and Neutral Milk Hotel. The bizarre, unself-conscious glee in their performances intoxicated otherwise dour hipsters.
Similarly, EAOD erases the line between audience and performer with its capricious, cathartic sets. Andy Maher rocks out on his banjo and accordion as if possessed by a sweaty, good-natured demon. The guys aren't afraid to bare their emotions in their lyrics or on stage, but they're too talented to devolve into earnest emo-pop.
And they come up with stunts such as inviting 45 friends to dress in pink and show up at a graveyard for a photo shoot. "We're trying to subvert (the idea) of the collective," said Merrill, who plays guitar and bass besides singing. "But we're not doing it for subversion's sake. There's a tension in the band, but our legitimation comes from writing and playing together."
The current EAOD lineup, if you can believe it, is
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