Heavy Breathing brings its experimental sound to Strathmore on Friday.
Heavy Breathing could be one of the most unique bands in Washington. Barely two years old, the band has gained attention for its lack of a human vocalist, its striking yet indefinable sound and its miniature live light show. But if you knew them well enough, you’d know that members Jeff Schmid, Amanda Kleinman and Erick Jackson have been veterans of the Washington scene for years.
Before they were Heavy Breathing, Jackson, Kleinman, and Schmid were the core members of the punk and electronic quartet The Apes, which had rotating vocalists. The three had originally known each other from growing up together in Montgomery County, but didn’t decide to form their own band until the late ‘90s. The Apes went on to exist for more than 10 years, but then disbanded when the trio felt like they wanted to try something new that could only happen in the current day and age: using technology to create vocals for their music instead of employing a lead singer.
“One day we realized that technology had caught up in terms of electronics and how cheap they were for computers and to sample stuff and we were just like, ‘Why don’t we just try it as creating vocals on a computer?’” said Jackson.
When listening to Heavy Breathing without actually seeing the members of the band in the flesh, it sounds as though there could have been an eclectic group of vocalists they asked to contribute to each song. But the instrumentals are the real standout component of the band’s music — Kleinman, Jackson and Schmid fuse keyboard, bass and drums, as well as samples, in a fashion that could never be imitated. They group together a wide range of genres to create something entirely new, which Jackson credits to simply being influenced by whatever the band has been and is currently listening to.
“Our influences have always been similar growing up — it’s just been a combination of everything we’ve liked over the years,” he said. “We grew up with punk music but also with classic rock and funk and hip hop and soul, and we just add on and take things that we like that stick with us and end up seeping into your conscious — you find yourself playing certain styles or listening to particular things and it morphs into whatever it is you do.”
Jackson compared the group’s approach to music to something unlikely: the highway that runs parallel to the campus that houses everything from questionable bars, chain restaurants, a massive CDepot and a used musical instrument store.
“I think of Route 1 in College Park because Jeff and Amanda went there and I always felt that it was pretty eclectic. There were people into go-go, but also punk music and metal. It wasn’t all one style — it was more of a feel. When you go to Atomic Music, everyone has a pretty varied and eclectic taste but there seems to be a similar theme to everything.”
While not having a conventional vocalist doesn’t bother the band, it wanted to at least make sure that its live show was enticing for audiences when there wasn’t a lead singer for them to focus their gaze on. So to match Heavy Breathing’s wild noise, they also use lights and smoke machines to enhance their live performance. Venues aren’t always on board — but that doesn’t stop the group.
“Everyone’s always paranoid that we’re going to set off the smoke detector …sometimes it’s better just not to ask.”
Heavy Breathing plays at the Strathmore Mansion on Friday. Tickets are $10.
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