A crowd of nearly 50 college students crammed itself into the living room of a small Logan home Tuesday night for the Sprang Thang house show.
Red sheets and a string of lights draped the front window. Amps, pedals and sound equipment littered the floor.
Kohl Kimoto took his place behind his keyboard as Brandon Casper stood to the left tuning his electric guitar. Russ Treharne positioned himself behind his set of drums while Ian Wadsworth stood on the right, fiddling with his bass.
Kimoto leaned toward the mic, started to sing and Blackford Blues began its first gig.
“We want people to go away knowing we take this seriously,” Casper said before the show.
Blackford Blues officially formed three weeks ago. Kimoto and Wadsworth have been playing together since they were 15 years old but Kimoto had to search for the other two band members.
Casper worked with Kimoto at The Crepery in Logan and joined the band after hearing it needed a guitarist. Kimoto found Treharne in the Utah State University library.
"I heard him talking to some other guy about PoBev," Kimoto said. "He wanted to know if they had drum sets and I just said, 'Oh, you play the drums?""
Treharne has been playing for the band ever since.
"I heard him talking to some other guy about PoBev," Kimoto said. "He wanted to know if they had drum sets and I just said, 'Oh, you play the drums?""
Treharne has been playing for the band ever since.
The band got its first gig through Utah State’s Independent Music Club. The club is always recruiting new artists for house shows so Kimoto contacted co-officer Benton Wood to arrange Sprang Thang. Wood booked another band from Minneapolis and local Taylor Ross Wilson to play as well.
The new members of Blackford Blues practiced consistently over the three weeks leading up to the event, rushing to learn several new songs before the show.
The band struggled to come up with a genre for its music but Kimoto and Casper ultimately classified their sound as “jazzy blues.”
“It’s really mellow,” Casper said. “Not too in-your-face or abrasive.”
The band played many originals during the show as well as a cover of “Stacy’s Mom" by Fountains of Wayne which had the attendees singing along. Casper believes covers are a great way for new bands to make a connection with the audience.
The band experienced some sound issues at the beginning of the show, including a faulty keyboard and mic. The members continued to play despite these complications and finished the entire set.
Casper said the show went well but he believes the band still has a lot to work on.
“You don’t find that out in the practice room,” he said. “You find it out in front of a group of 50 people.”
More information about the Blackford Blues can be found on the following Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BlackfordCoal/timeline
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