Jam band pledges far out live show

ep3 Playing with Distorted Penguins, Last Chance Hero, Fatkid Dodgeball Where? Club Khameleon When? Tomorrow at 10 p.m. How much? 21+: $5, 18-20: $7

Ep3, a Kent-based jam fusion band, attracts listeners with an experimental brand of rock and an intense live performance.

The band is comprised of photography major Steven Homan; music education major Patrick Scalambrino; Brent Eligado, of Stow; and John McCarron, of New Philadelphia.

It draws influences from across the music spectrum, ranging from trance-fusion to ’80s power ballads.

“Rock and roll, no trance,” bassist Scalanbrino said. “Classic rock, Pink Floyd, Toto are all big influences. Anything that’s a love ballad/power ’80s is sweet.”

With a diverse array of influences, ep3 thrives in the freedom of its live show. The band mixes original tunes with cover songs in an extended jam session. The live show relies heavily on the creativity of band members to get the audience interested.

“Improvisation is my favorite part,” McCarron said. “Getting to a point in the climax where everyone in the band and everyone listening pretty much gets off,”

The band has no studio albums, though it does have recorded work available for its audience.

“We record every show we play,” Eligado said. “At the next show, we take a bunch and pass them out to

everyone.”

In addition to its free-flowing instrumentals, ep3 adds a unique visual aspect to its live performance.

“We bring a lot of intensity and a light show. Nobody has a light show like ours around here,” Eligado said. “We’ve got four ‘intelligent’ lights that have 15 different colors, make all different shapes and sizes, go all over. We try to do different visuals every time. The lights are 50 percent of the show.”

The light show represents another layer to ep3’s performance. It draws an audience and is a further assertion of the experimental nature of the group.

“Ep3 stands for ‘eight planets past Pluto,'” Scalanbrino said. “It represents that we are trying to bring in something no one has heard before, from a planet never known. We’re coming to abduct you.”

Despite originating from well beyond the solar system, ep3 plans to stay in Ohio.

“In six months, we’d still like to be building a name for ourselves in Ohio,” Eligado said.

Ep3 said much of its success derives from the support it receives from close friends.

“We have the ep3 crew,” McCarron said. “They’re some really close friends that travel to each of our shows. They’re as much a part of what we’re doing as we are.”

Friends are always a welcome sight after traveling from 10 billion miles away, across the solar system, to arrive in Kent.

“It makes it worth the trip,” Scalanbrino said. “It’s our family, our support group.”

Contact ALL correspondent Ryan deBiase at [email protected].