9pm. $5. 21+
Overlake:
https://www.facebook.com/overlakemusic
Powers:
https://powersband.bandcamp.com/album/powers-2
Gordon:
https://www.facebook.com/Gordon-360633034030650/
Overlake was formed in Jersey City, NJ by Tom Barrett and Lysa Opfer, who found a shared love of 80’s & 90’s alternative and indie rock while performing in another band. “We would stay late after practices,” said Lysa, “Tom on drums and me on a Rhodes, sometimes even switching up the instrumentation, and just pound out really cool, long, melodic noise jams, reminiscent of our influences. It was a lot of fun.”
Eventually these late-night jams paved the way for the beginnings of Overlake, which officially began in an hourly studio in Jersey City about a year later. “You can definitely hear the influences in our sound,” said Tom, who calls My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, and Sonic Youth among Overlake’s major inspirations, “but we have made it very personal. It’s like a fluffy jackhammer in your eardrum.”
They’ve since released their first album, Sighs, and have been busy honing their live sound, which came with its own unique challenges. “People have compared us to Spinal Tap because of all the drummers we’ve gone through,” said Lysa, “except our drummers don’t explode. They just kind of go back to their families.”
While other bands might have folded under the pressure of constant flux, Tom and Lysa believed strongly in what they were doing and have continued working tenaciously. “We needed to get the album recorded, and we didn’t have a drummer at the time, so I just did all the drums myself,” said Tom. “It worked out really well.” “During the periods of not having a drummer,” added Lysa, “Tom would write and demo a song in one night, soup to nuts, and bring it in. That obviously helped us get our stuff off the ground. Most of the songs on the album are the result of those sessions he did.”
Overlake has since recruited drummer Nick D’Amore and have been touring and playing shows in support of the release of Sighs, as well as writing new material for a follow-up (TBA).
Sighs is available on CD and vinyl through Killing Horse Records, and digitally through iTunes, eMusic, and the usual digital outlets.