Alysium

by TJ Redig

Last Sunday I was sitting on my deck enjoying the beautiful day and sipping whiskey when a college friend called me up. He informed me that a couple of bands whose members I had attended my previous year of school with were playing a show that night and he wanted to know if I was going. I jumped on the opportunity and arranged for some one to pick me up on their drive to the venue.

The show was great and I am glad that I attended. The two bands that I was mainly there to see were Alysium and Rise or Rust. I knew the drummer from Alysium from dorm life and we regularly hung out until he was kicked out of the dorms. Through him I met the singer who was also a great guy. Of Rise or Rust I knew the drummer but the rest of the band I had never met.

After the show I got to thinking about the amount of work that goes into something like a band. I’ve jammed with a number of groups (as singer and guitar player) but I’ve never been a full member or played any shows.

To me, the trials and tribulations that small, undiscovered artists must endure is completely foreign and I can only begin to comprehend them. All of the work that a label would usually take care of is in the hands of the artists. Recording, promotion, merchandising, and not to mention writing the damn music. That is a lot of to do when you are also working a full-time job to pay the bills or attending a university.

Until a band gets their “big break” the shows will be limited in attendance and the attitude of the audience will be bleak. But the band still plays on.

They rock as hard as they can no matter how few people are standing, no matter how small the pit, no matter that half the damn audience seems to be more interested in picking up members of the opposite sex than listening to the music.

They rock because that is what they love and perhaps we, as an audience, should try a little harder to show our support for that. - www.pulsetc.com

By Aimée Groth Staff writer
While other bands were planning their victory parties before last Thursday’s “Battle of the Bandz” began, Alysium viewed the contest as another chance to practice. “A lot of people take it too seriously,” lead singer John Daugherty said. “We got a show? Great, let’s have some fun.” This approach served them well. Members Daugherty, Drew Anderson on drums, Billy Kohls on bass and Eric Duclos on guitar had the daunting task of performing first. Minutes after they took the stage, the crowd was jumping out of their seats. “ They were one of the most unappreciated bands coming
in,” said Joe Vangsgard, sophomore class president, who organized the event. “ They had a lot to prove, and they did it well.” The band took second place, winning $500. Alysium opened with “Hello English Tweed Baby” and included Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” in their set. Alysium’s manager, Lizz Boekman, a senior at Chaska High School, labels the band’s style as “punk-influenced alternative rock.” “We bring together our different music styles and blend them into our own unique style,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of interesting how we clash.”Alysium credits its musical growth to the influence of bands Thrice, Avenged Sevenfold, Led Zeppelin and Pennywise. “All of the sudden, a lot of doors opened,” Anderson said, referring to his discovery of the band Pennywise. “I was caught up in mainstream punk; I wasn’t even aware there was such an underground punk scene. That band is so political, it really changed my view.” Alysium also incorporates political messages into some of their songs.“ ‘Brainwash Nation,’ a song we played tonight, is very political,” Daugherty said. Even so, Daugherty said band members write about everything — except romance. “We don’t sing about high school love,” Daugherty said. “How much can you write about that stuff? We’re not into emo.” Daugherty writes music that everyone can relate to. “I write about what I see and experience,” Daugherty said. “I take something that has happened to me and I broaden it. That way, everyone feels a connection to our music.” Alysium began writing music together when the band formed in the summer of 2000. That July, Kohls and Anderson volunteered at Camp Omega, where they saw Daugherty playing the guitar. “We had an instant chemistry,” Anderson said. “And that formed a band called ‘To Be Determined.’ ”The band asked Duclos, the only Tommie in the lineup, to join last year. Despite feeling a little intimidated, he accepted the offer. “Our second jam session with Eric, we received a call from the Garage,” Anderson said. “They asked us to play a show that night. An hour later, we went downtown for the gig, Eric in his blue sweatpants and everything.” After Duclos joined, Daugherty abandoned his guitar and decided to focus solely on vocals. Ever since, Alysium has been lining up gigs at the Twin Cities Underground, the Garage and the Quest Club. “We placed in the top 10 at a battle of the bands at the Quest last year,” Kohls said. “We also won Dakota County for best band.” Although the band has experienced much success, they are aware that not everything “goes over” in the music business, especially when the media is involved. “We had an interview with the Pioneer Press when we won a contest, but when we saw the paper, there was a big picture of the losing band plastered all over the page,” Daugherty said. “After we read the long article about the other band, there was a small picture of me and a line that read, ‘And Alysium won.’ How crazy is that?” The band members laugh it off. “That’s our life experience,” Anderson said. “We’ve gotten screwed a lot.” As Alysium commented on their lack of good luck, a couple of students ran up to the band and asked them to autograph their T-shirts. Caught by surprise, Daugherty said, “Wow, it’s like we’re famous.” They are the first to admit that while they have improved over the years, they still have a lot of work to do. “We’ve come a long way, and it’s been hard,” Anderson said. Their humble attitude is what attracts fans to Alysium. Although their musical chemistry gets them gigs, what holds the band together is how they get along when they set their instruments down. “If it came between the band and us being friends, it’d be us being friends,” Daugherty said. - ST. Thomas Aquin