by David Waldron
It's almost impossible to do something with music that hasn't already been done, but Euvusahm is trying their best to do just that.
The band is made up of four members: Mickey, Dan, Stephen, and Shane. They formed Euvusahm in the spring of 2000. One of the things that make Euvusahm a unique band is their sound. Shane, the drummer for Euvusahm, says this has to do with everyone liking a wide range of music.
Shane: There's definitely overlaps between our musical taste but, everybody is into really kind of different things, even different bands within other genres. So, there's metal and techno influences, there's jazz and hip-hop influences, there's noise influences, so we kind of run the gambit as far as what we listen to.
I'm here with Euvusahm while they set up for practice. The practice room is about twelve feet by twelve feet, only the size of standard bedroom, and it's stuffed with equipment. Christmas lights line the ceiling, posters take up most of the walls, and Shredder, the villain from teenage mutant ninja turtles, sits inside of a mirror and looks down on us while instruments are plugged in. The room has a pungent smell of campfire. The band tells me all the equipment nearly burned up in a house fire last year. Euvusahm does a few sound checks, and begins their hour-long practice.
After the practice I get some one-on-one time with the band members. When I sit down with Dan, who plays guitar in the band, one of the first questions that comes to mind is “What does Euvusahm mean?”
Dan: We wanted a name that was completely unpretentious, and I guess possibly in coming up with an unpretentious name we became pretentious but. Me and Shane were just sitting around our apartment one night and I started asking him a bunch of random questions, and depending on his answer I'd assign a random letter to the answer and I came up with a big jumble, and kind of switched a few letters around, turned a k into an s and Euvusahm came up.
Euvusahm's name and their unique style aren't the only things that set them apart from other bands. Their song writing process is also different. Dan says the band is very flexible, and has no real conflict when writing songs.
Dan: The song writing process for us is so cut and dry, just because somebody will bring something to the table, and everybody will just put their part over it and there's never really anybody saying “well I don't like what your doing here, so could you do this?” because I mean, we've been playing music together for so long that everybody knows what everyone else is going to do, and we know what to expect from each other.
Euvusahm's sound may be complex, but their songs come together in a very natural, almost organic way. Even Mickey, who sings in the band, considers his voice more of an instrument than a lyrical tool.
Mickey: I see my voice as being an instrument, like part of the cacophony. I appreciate bands that have really profound lyrics and have really poetic lyricist but I'm not really sure that's me, and what I contribute is I hope more part of the music.
It's no secret that Euvusahm's sound is abrasive at times and that some people might be turned off by the screams and wailing guitars. When you make as much noise as Euvusahm does, you run the risk of people thinking that's all you're playing: noise.
Shane: It's a lot more abrasive than people are used to, and for that reason we don't go over well in a lot of settings.
Dan: I think the people that would say that would say, “all you're playing is noise” probably aren't really paying attention to it or don't understand what it takes what it takes to play noise, and they just would rather listen to their own style. They probably think that we don't have much talent, but I'd really like to see them play any of the riffs that Stephen comes up with. It's a noisy style of music, but it's not easy.
Stephen, the other guitarist in Euvusahm, writes the majority of the guitar parts, and a good portion of the songs. When I spoke with him, he explained why dissonant music can sometimes be tricky.
Stephen: You kind of struggle with it I guess, but I like things noisy, I like things intricate. So, I guess there's just a struggle to get the two going at the same time.
It's obvious when watching Euvusahm play live that they have a great deal of talent and potential. They innovate without being inaccessible, they shred guitar solos without being cheesy, and they create a sound that's not only unique, but sophisticated. However, when I asked the band members individually what their reaction would be if they ever found success, they all said the same thing.
Dan: Shock?
Mickey: Uhhhhhhh utter shock, and amazement.
Regardless of whether or not the band ever finds success, Euvusahm will continue to play shows together.
David Waldron: Would you really ever lay down the guitar and stop playing in bands?
Dan: No, I don't see that happening. Not any time soon at least, not as long as I can still move my fingers.
Scene Check: Euvasahm
