A few weeks ago, Alec Hale, the 25-year-old lead singer/guitarist for hard rock trio Antholix, prepared for the band’s upcoming show at The Catalyst Atrium by posting fliers around town. Aside from event details, the fliers are emblazoned with a bizarre sketch of a hawk playing a Telecaster and reaching for an Olympia beer. “As you grow up, you’re affected by images just as much as words,” Hale explains. “I think I [am] certainly pretty guilty of that.”
Hale reveals that his design is “a take off of a concert flier in Stuttgart [Germany]—a flier which had a drawing of a woman singing into a mic, depicting the essence of live performance.” His version, he admits, is “a little warped; I draw birds better than people.” That modesty is also characteristic of Antholix, which consists of Hale and his best friends, Craig Underwood (drums) and Chris Deming (bass/vocals). Though they’ve been jamming since age 9, it wasn’t until their days at Shoreline Middle School that the three-piece began crafting music as Antholix. Their first gig was in 2004. “We’ll just keep going as long as we think the songs are worth it,” Hale says. To him, the band’s longevity is common sense. “We always have grown up playing and listening to music with each other,” he says, referencing The Who, Sonic Youth, and Nirvana as staples. Antholix’s influences include rock and pop, a fact which explains the blues and pop elements within Antholix’s heavy, lo-fi, extended jams. “We just want the songs to reflect real life, so if there’s a little bit of ugliness or craziness in them, then you’re kind of getting a representation of, you know, being human,” says Hale. For the first time in Antholix history, the band will headline the Atrium, where it intends to showcase its intricate, refined, and always-evolving repertoire, which will also appear on its debut EP due for release next month.
INFO: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. Catalyst Atrium, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 423-1338.
