Exit Vehicles

DC’s Exit Vehicles released their first EP this weekend, and you can find them on Spotify and iTunes. Recorded in famed Inner Ear Studio, it’s an exciting introduction to what will surely become a new favorite. Aggressive yet melodic, progressive yet tight, a solid post-punk rhythm section drives a clean alt/indie sound reminiscent of the best in the city’s history. They’re the kind of band you’ll be bragging about seeing when they were small. As of now you’ll have to wait until April 26th to catch them locally at Axum’s Lounge. Until then, the EP should be on regular rotation on your player of choice. --Natan Press - The Deli

As soon as I heard the first few seconds of “Millennial,” I realized the description was right - the drums are incredibly complex and fun to listen to and attempt to follow. This isn't to take away from the guitars, which play an integral part in the overall rhythm, and the slightly off, very thick vocals that pull it all together. It’s a catchy song though I wouldn't expect to hear it on the radio - it doesn't follow the beaten path of radio rock, which is a good thing.

In “Unplugged,” the guitars shine more in this song, and possess the same intense melodic intricacies that the drums have.

“Burn Your Name” has a little psychedelic pop going on, thinly iced over a solid yet tasty rock cake. The galloping chorus sounds awesome with the slightly murky guitar chords, and the song rocks enthusiastically from the clearer verses to the grungy choruses to make for a thoroughly interesting song.

“Tsunami” sounds every bit as frenetic as one would imagine at the beginning, slowing down to incorporate more of a fluid sound to accommodate the lyrics. The swirling riff and choppy drums set the perfect tone for this dong.

“Stands To Reason” is the low balancing song to the higher-toned songs that preceded it. It was nice to hear more bass used, both with the bass guitar and the bass drum, particularly when played with the same unique style that was used with the lead guitar and drums. It also seems to be a perfect sound level for the vocals and sounds great all together.

This is the type of band with a unique enough sound to garner a cult like following even if it takes a little time. I really enjoyed the very different sound of this band, and thoroughly look forward to hearing more that they have to offer in the future! - The Equal Ground

D.C.'s Exit Vehicles is brand new. Their online presence is scant, as most of their profiles and pages were created between September and October of this year, and tonight they play a headlining gig at DC9. What is known is the band is a four-piece made up of Adam Polon on bass, Brian Polon on guitar, Jacob McLocklin on drums, and Brian Easley on vocals. The band has eleven shoddily recorded tracks on their Soundcloud, but from those tracks the band shows some great potential. The band has touchtones of Sunny Day Real Estate with a bit of Hey Mercedes thrown in. "Module" is one of the best of the eleven tracks, as it has some angular guitars with shuffling drums and is almost danceable. Easley's deep voice doesn't come across very well on the demo, but this is a rough cut and is sure to improve when the band release a full-length next year. - dcist

Alt/indie rockers Exit Vehicles sound like they’ve been playing together for a decade despite the fact that their debut album is yet to hit shelves yet. Founded as The Debuggers by twin brothers Brian and Adam Polon and drummer Jacob McLocklin, the group soon added vocalist Brian Easley and morphed into Exit Vehicles. The name’s a tribute to their obsession with “science, space, technology, and NASA.”

Exit Vehicles’ key influences include The Police, Guy Forsyth and Dawn of Midi, and you can hear traces of each in their debut album, STAGES. The band dove into our questions as they prepare for their album release party on July 3, 2015, in Washington, DC at the Rock and Roll Hotel with our special guests Rom and legendary DC instrumental rock act TONE.

Rocknuts: Brian Easley, when and where did you serve in the military?

Brian Easley: I was in the Army from 2001 to 2013, with a break in the middle so that I could recover from wounds I got in Ar Ramadi, Iraq in 2003. I went to Iraq twice, once in 2003 and then again in 2011. So, kind of one of the first in and one of the last out. I was an infantryman in the 1st Infantry Division and later in the 1st Cavalry Division. I got out in June 2013 as a Staff Sergeant and moved to DC, where I met the rest of the band while finishing my master’s degree.

Rocknuts: Thank you for your service in the military. I can’t imagine going back after getting injured. How does your service influence your music if at all?

Brian Easley: I think my experiences absolutely influence what I write and how I perform. I feel it’s been an exercise in dealing with PTSD. A lot of that stuff was kind of held inside and I didn’t really deal with it in a constructive way in the past. But progressively I can tell I’ve opened up a bit more over the past decade, and progressively as we do more shows I open up more onstage. Our first concert I was shaking in my shoes. But I think it’s a good thing, I can draw from a much deeper emotional well when it comes to lyrics and performing than most folks, and that should just help make our music that much better as we go along. The twins are coming up with new stuff everyday, and I look forward to making some more music if we get the chance.

Rocknuts: What does your band’s song-writing process look like?

Brian Polon: We have a very organic approach to songwriting. Generally someone will bring in an idea and we’ll start experimenting with it and layering on from there. Once we’ve got the general foundation set we record it and each refine our parts between practices. New songs tend to really come together over the course of a few sessions.

Brian Easley: It’s a very unconventional process, I guess. The Polon twins come up with a song sketch together, then we meet up for practice, and in a very jazz-fusion like way, the sketches are played repeatedly with guitar and bass, as Jacob begins to fill in drums until it comes together. None of the guys are trained musicians, so it’s a very cool, organic process to witness. They’re all just naturals with these amazing ears. The twins also have that almost-creepy same-brainwave thing going on, so they play in sync and feed off of each other in this cool way. Often during those sessions other parts to the song come through, and completely separate ideas spring out of it. We record almost everything with an iPhone, and upload it to a folder on the Internet so we can come back to it. After we feel the song is close to complete, I come up with lyrics and we meet again to go through the new track, with lyrics included. So this way the lyrics are fashioned to each song, the way each comes across to me – that feeling or theme each particular piece produces.

Rocknuts: How did you get into music?

Brian Easley: The Polon brothers got into playing music when one of their friends came over with an acoustic guitar and taught them some R.E.M. riffs. They started their first band shortly thereafter. It’s great to be in a band together some 20 years later. I came out of Texas and the Austin scene, and had friends in a bunch of New Braunfels and Austin bands. I ran sound, was a roadie and sold merchandise for the Aaron Einhouse Band, along with writing a bunch of poetry and wanting to be a singer-songwriter on the side. But the Army kind of got in the way of all of that, especially after I was wounded and stopped playing guitar because of the wounds to my left arm, so I just focused on writing. Before any of that, I was a trained French Horn player, it’s still my favorite instrument.

Jacob McLocklin: I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb wanting to be a drummer. I don’t know how it originated, but it has been a constant thing in my life. I was probably the inventor of bucket drumming because I set up my first bucket kit around age 5, not upgrading to a real kit until 5 years later. From there, I was introduced to Rush and the rest just fell into place, one foot in front of the other.

Rocknuts: What are your hopes for your debut album?

Brian Polon: We’re really proud of the album and hope others enjoy it as well. Right now, we’re focused on getting it out in front of a larger audience.

Brian Easley: We’re not trying to take over the world or be the next uber-popular hipster praise hey-ho band. We’re also not trying to make people think we’re all deep or sell anybody anything. Lots of venues and other bands in DC won’t even return our emails, so we’re definitely not in this for cool points. Yeah, it would be great for this to go somewhere, but we’re just trying to play some shows and make some music. We think it’s important for everyone to have a creative outlet as human beings, and Exit Vehicles happens to be ours.

Rocknuts: If you could take one album from another band with you on a deserted island, what would it be?

Brian Polon: The Police (self-titled compilation). These songs are so diverse and have been a huge influence on all of us.

Brian Easley: Guy Forsyth – Can You Live Without is probably one of the best albums ever made. Yeah, Guy Forsyth would be played on my desert island for sure. He’s kick ass on the ukulele.

Jacob McLocklin: Dysnomia by Dawn of Midi, because that is the only situation in which I would have enough time and dedication required to learn and recreate such a beautiful, brain-wrinkling masterpiece. Some of us saw them perform this album at the Black Cat, where we learned that the only thing more mind blowing than the writing of this album is their ability to perform it nonstop and note-for-note on a stage.

Rocknuts: What advice would you give a 14-year-old kid from Dayton, Ohio, who wants to be a rock star?

Brian Polon: Be a rock star. Play music that makes you happy and take pride in what you’re doing.

Brian Easley: There is a different formula for everyone. Be yourself. Don’t write your songs as if they’re TV jingles. Be about something more than just sex or youth. Attitudes about drugs are starting to change, which is good, but that doesn’t mean coke, heroin, and meth won’t still kill you. Go forth and conquer. Steven Fromholz once said, “There’s good times, and there’s bad times, but there’s still time.” - Fred Marion

This one is a bit different. ‘Circular’, by Washington DC’s own Exit Vehicles (bonus points for the cool name), from their new album ‘Stages’, sounds like an almost math-rock style track, until it breaks out into the pre-chorus buildup, which explodes into a very heavy band jam. It’s done well though, so I can’t complain. Reminds me of those Harmonix-made bonus tracks you could play in Rock Band. You can stream this track, as well as the rest of the album below. Seriously, it’s good! - Jake Wills-Bennett

DC rockers Exit Vehicles perform at an album release party at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday, July 3, to debut their first album STAGES.

The band is streaming the new album on Soundcloud. Go listen:

We at ParklifeDC caught Exit Vehicles at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Jan. 16, 2015, and we shared some thoughts:

“Hands down, the most memorable thing about DC’s Exit Vehicles is the sensation that you are literally seeing double as one of the Brothers Polon are performing on each side of the stage. The twins Brian and Adam are dead ringers for one another, and Brian is playing guitar and Adam is playing bass? Or is Adam playing guitar and Brian bass? (It is Adam on bass, I’m assured.)

Thankfully, frontman Brian Easley keeps you grounded. He displays a loose rock-and-roll spirit, and he’s comfortable chatting with the audience.”

We added that songs such as “Like a Record” and “Face Behind” (both on the new album) consistently give off a good groove while the guitars are shimmery and the drums are snappy.

Join Exit Vehicles for their album release party with openers Rom and TONE. Tickets are available online and at the door. - Mickey McCarter