Here come the beer-drinking emo kids

Namesakes make a name for themselves as sensitive rockers with extraordinarily high tolerances

by Chas J. Hartman
THE POST

Emo-core music is the ever-popular musical hybrid of emotion and distortion that Sunny Day Real Estate pioneered in post-grunge Seattle. The Athens music scene occasionally gets its dose of this genre; as of right now, Namesake is the closest thing around.

Namesake is the creation of lead singer/guitarist Kris Swanson, rhythm guitarist Michael Hughes, bassist Justin Lane and drummer Sean Whitlam. With the exception of Hughes, the other three guys are seniors at Ohio University and former members of another Athens emo sensation, As Soon As Possible. ASAP seemed on the brink of Athens superstardom before its premature breakup this past summer.

ASAP brought out uncharacteristically large crowds for a new band at The Union. That phenomenon helped draw Hughes into the fold when it came time to start anew.

"My freshman year, I lived on the same floor as Kris's girlfriend's good friend's boyfriend," Hughes explained. "I found out that he was in ASAP and I came to their shows and I just fell in love with the band. I would go up to the shows by myself, even if I didn't have friends to go with. The Athens music scene was pretty lame and all the music at The Union was really hard. You couldn't understand the lyrics, and ASAP was much different from that."

After ASAP's untimely demise, Namesake rose from the ashes. With the addition of Hughes on guitar and Swanson's appropriation of lead vocals, Swanson calls the new setup "a match made in heaven."

Such a remarkable connection ensures that the band members share a number of similar characteristics and hobbies. That chemistry is quite evident onstage, as well.

"We're just kind of normal," Hughes said, downplaying the connection. "I think that's the only thing we have in common."

"We like getting drunk before shows and messing up on stage," Whitlam added.

Of course, the boys in Namesake don't connect on absolutely everything.

"There may be some musical tension in the band, in that we're all into the same stuff," Hughes said. "We each have our own little branch of stuff that we like that the other people don't really like."

Confused yet? These guys either joke about everything or have a roundabout way of explaining things. To interpret: Basically, they all bring different music influences to the stage, but the sound produced is cohesive enough to fit into one particular style of music.

Still, if Hughes had his way, they would cover a different U2 song at every gig.

Asked to describe their sound, Whitlam tosses out the apparently hysterical "Alternative Dance Metal" label. "Wuss Rock" comes up next, but eventually is dismissed as too self-degrading. "Alternative Rock" is dead, and thus unsuitable. Eventually, the guys settle on "just rock-and-roll." If another adjective must be attached, "sensitive" will work just fine.

If you haven't experienced an emo-core show before, check out Namesake tonight at the Union. But don't come expecting a light-hearted show.

"We're not a fun band, so I can't smile," Whitlam admitted. As for whether or not he's lying... well, you'll just have to figure that out for yourself.

••Namesake plays the Union tonight, along with Swisher and Figure Four. Show starts around 10:00.••