| I caught up with the Electron Volts at the Bottleneck during
KJHK’s annual Farmer’s Ball Showcase. The band is a three-piece with a pop-punk
sound, consisting of Grant Potential on guitar and vocals, Mike Alexander on bass, and
Chris Bulgren on drums. Their set that night included songs like "Get Back to
You" and "Valentine’s Day", which I really enjoyed, as I am not fond
of the holiday in question. On the whole they have a harmonious pop sound fueled by an
underlying punk energy. I stopped them after their set and asked a few quick questions,
which they were gracious enough to answer.
When asked how the band formed I was told
that Grant has been playing as the Electron Volts for a little over a year. This paticular
show was Mike’s third with the ‘Volts and Chris’ first. They told me
the band "just kinda formed around Grant", as he is the creative mind behind all
of their songs. Previous to the 'Volts, Mike played guitar with The Breakups and Chris was
the drummer of the Bubble Boys. The name of the band came about because one of the
original members of the 'Volts was a computer engineer major and they wanted to devise a
system using math and science to write songs. They wanted their name to reflect something
mathematical and so they became the Electron Volts. That paticular member eventually left,
but the name stayed behind.
As for influences I found their answers to
be very diverse. Grant named two bands from Nebraska, The Young Hasselhoffs, and Red
Menace, right off. Some of the other bands mentioned were The Smiths, New Order, and Carl
Alvarez. When I brought up questions about local bands I was surprised at the responses.
Grant enjoys Ultimate Fakebook’s sound but regionally he likes The Timeouts and the
other two aforementioned bands. Mike had quite a few things to say about local bands,
including his opinion that local bands need to look at themselves more objectively. His
other comment was that he "really hates fake ass rock bands." He named Jettison
and Lushbox as two of the local bands he digs on. Chris also mentioned Derailer as one of
his favorite local bands.
As for future plans, they hope to have the
chance to tour this summer, so I asked who they would choose to tour with. Their repsonse:
The Yum-Yums out of Norway.
If you get a chance to catch the Electron
Volts anytime soon, do so! They play a tight set with a lot of energy and are well worth
seeing. I certainly hope to catch them again! |
