Local blues trio brings original songs, lesser-known covers to Bey's this weekend
Many bands might be leery of playing a gig on Friday the 13th, but for local rock/blues trio Albatross, the date fits right with the band's vibe and the symbolism behind its name.
"[An albatross is] a symbol for bad luck or a bad omen," said Jake Kiehl, a 2008 graduate of USC and the band's guitarist and lead vocalist.
The band didn't have a name in its early days and the name's origins were random at first.
"I came up with it because it just seemed like a good blues band name," Jake Kiehl said. "What really inspired me to say it was that Monty Python sketch ... 'Bloody sea bird,' isn't it?'"
The group later made several connections to Albatross, though.
"There's a Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac song called 'Albatross,' plus the old poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' about the albatross. And it's a double eagle in golf," Ben Kiehl, a 2011 USC graduate and the band's drummer, said.
Albatross is a bit of a family affair. Jake and Ben Kiehl are brothers and bassist Zack Stoudemayer, a 2009 graduate of Newberry College, has been making music with the brothers since they were in middle school. All three band members attended Mid-Carolina High School.
The members of Albatross describe the band's sound as a mix of classic rock and blues.
"We're inspired by '60s and '70s rock 'n' roll," Jake Kiehl said. "[Ben and I] like the older music because that's what our dad played on guitar. He'd come home from work and strum."
Their dad, who was a member of a surf-punk band called The Nelsons in the 1970s, introduced the boys to groups like the Grateful Dead.
"We thought those were his songs," Ben Kiehl said. "We'd hear [them] on the radio and go, 'Aw, man. I thought my dad wrote that song,'" Ben Kiehl said.
But the members of Albatross aren't completely stuck on older music.
"I listen to ... classical music up to [today's] music," Jake Kiehl said. "It's gotta have some soul to it."
The local blues musicians have been listening to groups like Alabama Shakes and The Black Keys lately. The Kiehl brothers actually grew up in the same Ohio neighborhood where Black Keys members Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach were raised.
"There must be something in the water in West Akron that makes you like old blues music," Ben Kiehl said.
While Albatross is not currently in the process of recording new material, the band hasn't stopped thinking about upcoming projects.
"We have ideas," Jake Kiehl said.
"We did have an idea for a rock opera about horse racing," Stoudemayer said. "It's still a work in progress."
The band does not have any recordings for sale, but several Albatross songs are available to stream for free on the group's Myspace page.
When asked how they balanced being students and being musicians, Jake Kiehl said, "It's a lot easier than working and being a musician."
Albatross will play at Bey's in Five Points at 10 p.m. on Friday.
In addition, Albatross plans to play at the Rolling Stone Bar on Rosewood Drive within the next two months.
"We're the kind of band that you'd want to have at your party," Jake Kiehl said.