Amelia's Jacket

“The meaning is that it sounds cool,” blurts bassist Brian Wenger in reference to his band’s name, Amelia’s Jacket. Then he comes clean: “The girls [in the band] are really into Amelia Earhart, and apparently the only thing they ever found of hers was her jacket. So we can say there’s a little more meaning behind it.”
Likewise, the band’s mentality as a whole is one of few that can be found in the world of entertainment. “There is more to be had in this life than the constant barrage of materialism, sex and power that the present culture would have you embrace,” proclaims a message on the band’s MySpace site.
With musical influences running the gamut from metal to punk rock to electronica to, prepare your self, the Beach Boys, Wenger proves his point that the members of Amelia’s Jacket come from “very eclectic backgrounds.” The span of musical taste is what accounts for the band’s awkward classification – “We like to call ourself ‘indie dance,’ but I don’t think that can really begin to describe the random sounds you hear,” quips Wenger.
Tack the term Christian onto Amelia’s Jacket’s categorization, and an accurate description comes a bit closer. “We’re all really devout Christians, so we write about what comes naturally for us. A lot of that is Christ,” says Wenger. “Not to say that we’re evangelistic, but one of the things we really try to be is real, and if we’re gonna be real, we have to write about what our lives are.”
As for the group’s idea of where this band could go – that’s real too. Each member has a daytime job, Wenger says, chuckling at the thought of making the band a full-time gig. Then getting serious, he says, “We wanna take it as far as we can. We wanna work hard and see if it happens.” Half-hopeful and half-grounded, he adds, “We’re working towards it, but we’re not gonna be devastated if it doesn’t happen.”
Amelia’s Jacket will play anywhere – the group’s MySpace site lists backyards, basements, gazebos and pool halls as options. The band has only one request – if you’re going to hear them play, make an effort to enjoy yourself. “Nobody dances anymore,” Wenger says, upset. He sees many people pay a cover charge to walk into a bar or club, take up standing room and look miserable. If you go out to see Amelia’s Jacket, expect a lot of energy from the group: “We just want people to come out and have a good time, and we want to facilitate that.”
After nearly a year of performing, there is no doubt that the band has made some headway. “We’re definitely starting to see some familiar faces,” says Wenger. “It’s really cool to have people that wanna hear us more than once.” The group also has a self-produced – “completely D.I.Y.,” as Wenger puts it – CD being released this month. Feeble Arms, Weak Knees will be available at Amelia’s Jacket shows, as well as through the group’s website. - Fly Magazine