This is the home and practice area of the Sunflower
Conspiracy, an Indianapolis-based atmospheric dream-pop band.The Sagamore
Equipment is scattered everywhere.
From bulky amplifiers and effect pedals to microphone stands and snakelike electrical cords winding across the floor, equipment dominates the living room of a tiny apartment.
This is the home and practice area of the Sunflower
Conspiracy, an Indianapolis-based atmospheric dream-pop band.
"We were all sick of the music going around," said Kate Carney, a junior majoring in English.
Since her junior high days, Carney grew up listening to bands like The Cure and The Church. She used to play for a loud punk band with an ex-boyfriend, but "wanted to play something different."
"He wanted to play punk, but I was just ambivalent," she said.
She eventually left the group and joined the Sunflower Conspiracy after meeting up with her current boyfriend/guitarist Ben Adrian, a junior majoring in anthropology.
Carney met Adrian at a local show. Both his band, Sunny Sea Heaven, and her band, Akira, were playing together.
"I've already been in a band that was mellow," said Adrian, referring to Sunny Sea Heaven. "I've been in Sohcohtoa (a loud, indie-punk rock group) and other loud bands so I wanted to get back to melodic, atmospheric music."
With the use of a four-track recording system, Adrian formed the Sunflower Conspiracy as an independent project.
"I wanted to get into a band that had proper pop structure but plays songs that are dreamy," he said. "My original plan was to record a tape and use that tape to get members."
After hooking up with Carney, they decided to add a third member. Adrian posted listings on his web site and other Internet resources in search of another guitarist.
Barry McCabe, a computer technology major, was one person who responded and got accepted into the band.
"(The) crazy thing is that I didn't know Barry until on the internet," said Adrian. "Now, I live with him."
McCabe also performed in a previous band and left because of disagreements in musical taste.
"I would try to play something besides Journey," McCabe said. "(And) they were like, 'What's this Cure stuff?'"
As a band, the members of Sunflower Conspiracy were missing one key component - a drummer. Instead, they incorporated two drum machines into the band which they named Electrovore and Señor 16.
In rehearsals and at live shows, each band member takes turn working with the programmed beats.
"There's a lot of bands that use drum machines, but a lot of them use drummers live," said Adrian. "It's not common for a band to use a drum machine both live and in the studio."
The band also uses multiple effect pedals with the guitars and bass.
"I enjoy the effects," said McCabe.
"He's always tweaking," replied Carney.
Adrian said McCabe's sister best explained the band's non-traditional guitar sound.
His sister asked 'What was that noise?' and the band replied that it was the guitars. She said, 'No, the other noise,' and they again gave the same answer.
"We use guitars, but we just basically use the guitars as sound generation only," said Adrian. "It's just the basis of the tones we use are sonically weird."
The band released a self-titled cassette through their own independent record label.
"We really like home recording because we can take our time and we can be more experimental," said Adrian.
The four songs on the cassette range from six to eight minutes. The reason for the lengthy material is because of the slow song structure, said Adrian.
"If you look at any band like The Cure, their songs are mellow and slow," he said. "(The songs) seem to gravitate longer if they're slower."
The band has had a few interested record labels checking them out. But for now, the members are taking their time playing shows locally and occasionally making an appearance on WICR's "The Free Zone."
"The next thing we don't want to be is 15 minutes of fizzle pop," said Adrian. "We want people to enjoy it."
Design and layout: Jason M. Sisk and Jim Hunt