Music in Motion Rocks

"The only truth is music." ~ Jack Kerouac

Columbus Bands

New Music Monday – Antiøch

Photo Credit: Antioch

Sometimes you hear a band for the first time and find yourself not able to stop listening to them.

That was the effect that Antiøch had on me. Hailing from just south of Columbus, their sound is best described as “rock-infused Heartland Americana.” They formed just last summer (June 2016) and are on the path to making an impact on the local scene.

“This band became a priority for us last June,” Weston said. “The idea is to do as much as we can with this. We really want something to happen out of this.”

The band is comprised of brothers Nathan Little (vocals/guitar) and Weston Little (drums), John Raquet (guitar), Anthony Delgado (bass) and Michael Corbett (keyboards). Nathan and Weston are the principal songwriters for the band.

They’ve got the musical chops that pair perfectly with Nathan’s emotive vocals. Each of their songs births a strong feeling from deep inside you, without fail.

“Nate’s vocals are like, and I might be a little biased because he’s my brother, but he has one of my favorite voices,” said Weston.

Their sound is reminiscent of early-Son Volt and The Strokes with an Americana-feel John Mellencamp style. You could also sprinkle in a bit of an Allman Brothers influence, as well.

On the origin of their name, Weston said that it’s a combination of two things.

Photo Credit: Antioch

Photo Credit: Antioch

“The road we live on is called Anderson-Antioch. It’s part of a really small town. It’s a church and a couple of houses, that’s it. It also comes from the Roman empire and the Church of Antioch.”

While they are compiling music for their debut EP, I asked Weston about three of the songs slated to appear on their initial offering.

Of the song, Out of Your Hands, he said “Between the instrumentation and Nate’s voice, it kind of paints a picture of… it’s pretty literal, I think.”

Weston indicated that The Lonely will be the first track on the forthcoming EP.

“Nathan had the idea with the lyrics, and we both had the same idea from Motown and soul for the music. (Nathan) is a huge Van Morrison fan, too. So, we wanted a song that really stood out from what we already had written. We haven’t written a song like that before. It’s a fun song to play live.”

Showing they can play with different styles and tempos, Who’ll Stop Us Now? is a slow-tempo song that smolders with Nathan’s aching vocals.

“When Nate wrote that song, it was twice as fast. It was a full-on rock song. We took it to a friend of ours, John Demos (bass player in Columbus Indie/Folk band Magnumb Opus), and he said ‘Man, you’ve got to slow that down, like way down. And then strip it all the way out, too.’ It changed the song into more of a slow ballad.”

It’s the opinion of this author that this band is destined for bigger things in short order. But, you don’t have to take just my word as gospel. Having spoken with Lizard McGee of Earwig about the band, he gave them his stamp of approval by saying “I dig them.”

As they play more shows around Columbus. Antiøch is a band that you need to see and hear. They should easily make everyone’s “Best Of” list this year.

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