House of Emo

"I'd stay away from the whole emo thing. Music is art, not a haircut."The Army Navy Garrison building. A giant worn brick building located in one of the oldest most worn areas of Niles Ohio, looks like it could be an artifact straight out of a turn-of-the-last-century ghost town. But on this particular Saturday night, it looks like it could possibly be the most popular place in the area.

It is ten till eight in the evening. As I make my way through the ancient doorway of this venue, Original Dirigible's Travis Bowman (guitar) Darron Wilson (vocals, guitar) and Joe Ifft (bass) are setting up their equipment. The absence of their drummer, Nate Mang, has left them with no other option but to play unplugged for this occasion.

There is a decent size crowd of kids anxiously awaiting the stripped-down acoustic show that has been promised. As I push my way to the front of the gathering, the band kicks into the first number of the night, a song titled "This Dimension".

These types of events are a perfect example of what the 'real' indie scene is all about. Honest music backed by a do-it-yourself ethic is what accounts for much of O.D.'s appeal amongst their ever-growing young fanbase. This is a scene that isn't about making the scene.

As the intimate acoustic set comes to a close, and after a few moments of applause, the crowd finally calms itself. I was able to approach Travis Bowman, guitarist / lyricist / spokesperson of Original Dirigible. I asked him if he'd care to do a one-on-one interview for us, to which he obliged:

SMB: Where did you get the crazy ass band name?

Travis: I was just thinking about stuff that is difficult to rhyme. I came up with Original, then Dirigible as an approximate rhyme. It made me laugh so it stuck. Funny stuff usually ends up in OD music, whether you know it or not.

SMB: What would you classify your musical style as?

Travis: Progressive Indie Rock.

SMB: Did you think that there was a decent size crowd at this show in particular?

Travis: No. That show was embarassing.

SMB: Were you and the rest of the band pleased with the crowd's reaction?

Travis: The few people there seemed to like us. People clapped when they should have clapped.

SMB: This show in particular you guys played acoustically. Do you prefer playing acoustic shows or plugged in, and why?

Travis: I would prefer to play plugged in, just because I love how the three instruments interact. Being that I played drums first, I harbor a deep love for them. I didn't like not having them behind us. We only played an acoustic set because our drummer was not available.

SMB: How is it that Darron has such a sexy voice?

Travis:Lots of practice. If you listen to early live Futon Palace, he has improved greatly, just from experience. Plus, he has a big dick.

SMB: This band keeps you pretty busy. You arrange all of the music; the guitars, bass, keys, and drum parts on 4 track demos before they are presented to your bandmates. You are almost solely responsible for the over-all sound of O.D.'s music. Do you find the pressures of this responsibility to be overwhelming at times?

Travis: Rarely do I feel like I am pressured. I mostly do it because I love music. Daaron is never hounding me for more material, it's always the other way around. I enjoy playing all the instruments, so that is what I do. Also, any pressure I do feel is self inflicted. If I go a long time without writing, I start to feel sort of guilty.

SMB: You are quite the multi-instrumentalist. What would you consider to be your primary musical instrument, or what instrument are you the best at in your opinion?

Travis: Well like I said before, I started on the drums. But because of living arrangements, I haven't been able to practice in a few months, so my chops are a little rusty. So right now I am probably best at guitar.

SMB: O.D's lyrics could be described as very thought provoking and deep. Very meaningful. Could you describe the process that you go through prior to writing the words to a song? How do you prepare yourself for penning out Dirigible lyrics?

Travis: A lot goes into them. I usually just listen to the finished song and decide on an idea, and then my favorite thing to do is write in first person, but from another person's perspective. It puts a twist on how I look at a situation, and how the lyrics come out. It takes me forever to finish a song, lyrically. I revise a lot.

SMB: "This Dimension" and "Parabolabia" are the two songs that the band has chosen to post on your Myspace Music page. Would you say that those are two of your best works as of now? What elements of those songs would you say make them so awesome?

Travis: I don't want to say those are our best. I really love all our songs, but people seem to respond well to those. I think Parabolabia is great because it is much more dynamic than the other songs. This Dimension is just one of those songs everyone can enjoy. Very simple, catchy.

SMB: On the band's Myspace bio, you claimed to have blackmailed Darron into joining the band, is this true?

Travis: Hahaha, no. The first song I wrote was Parabolabia, and after I had written it, I listened to his other band, Futon Palace and was really digging his voice. So I just told him "you are singing for me." He said he'd take a shot, so I played Parabolabia for him and that was that. OD was formed.

SMB: What is your opinion on the House of Emo? Are there any other aspects of the website that you feel that we need to improve on?

Travis: I would stay away from the emo thing. I take music for music and stay away from fashion. Music is art, not a haircut.

Hey emo kids! Listen to this band's music here

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I appreciated the honesty of this interview. umm. Oh, merely, they asked for us not to refer to them as "emo" but rather "Indie" if anything. that's it dude. I hope you appreciate this peice, it took alot of work. hahaha.

l8tr, you slut
~~SickMoshBro