A joke among friends is turning into a reality for four students who created a garage rock-band that is set to play its first concert on Thursday.
The Moose Titans consists of a group of ASU juniors: drummer Matthew Barry, lead singer Kieran Martin, bass player Tyler Prime and lead guitarist Dillan Ducar.
The group's efforts and hours of practice can be seen in the Moose Titans’ demo album, “Bungalow,” which includes four original songs that were released on March 21.
“I’d say it's the cumulation of years of jamming in bedrooms and garages,” Martin said. “Since we started practicing, we almost always played our own songs, and eventually it got to where we thought they were good enough to put out a demo.”
Martin and Ducar have a long history as friends, which included countless hours playing together. When both Ducar and Martin started college, they began playing as a group with Barry and Prime.
About a year ago, a joke between Martin and Barry led to the idea to create a band, which by summer was the reality.
“We spent all summer learning how to play with one another and figuring out our sound and what we really wanted to be,” Barry said. “We reached a tipping point this semester where we were tired of just playing together and having nothing tangible to show for it. We really wanted to actually record something.”
Bass player Tyler Prime said the band's demo was a huge goal that led to the Moose Titans booking its first gig.
“It's really incredible to have some of our stuff recorded,” Prime said. “It was something I've personally pushed for us to do for a long time. Now, even when the Moose Titans are just a memory, we will have that recording to prove our existence.”
While they have two gigs lined up, the more pressing problem for the band is making time to practice. All four members are full-time students who are balancing classes, jobs and band practice.
“We've been limited general to one practice a week, and two if we're lucky,” Martin said. “There's plenty of times we've had to cancel or postpone practices due to conflict. That's probably a big reason why it's taken us this long to get out of the garage.”
Since the debut of their album, the Moose Titans have been shocked from the response they’ve received. With over 200 likes on Facebook, 700 views on their video and over 1,300 listens on their demo, Barry said they are super excited that people are supportive.
“It's kind of exciting because we went in with little expectations about any sort of success,” Barry said. “We knew we had some friends who wanted to listen to us as well, but we definitely didn't expect anyone outside of our immediate friend group to really care.”
The Moose Titans are set to open for People Who Could Fly, Flight of Ryan and IAMWE at the Blaze's Kick Ass Spring Concert (KASC) at Last Exit Live at around 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The Moose Titans will also play at The Trunk Space on April 21.
“It's our first public show, so it's exciting, and there'll be free hot dogs so that's mostly what I find myself thinking about,” Barry said.
Related links:
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'The Tempe Sound' exhibit captures the once-vibrant Tempe music scene
Reach the reporter at Tynin.Fries@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @TyninFries
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