Emporia punk band The Dead Idols deal with new member, lack of venues

Courtesy of The Dead Idols

Ryan Schlotterbeck, Logan Herrera, Joel Austin and Andrew Sanchez are members of the local punk band The Dead Idols. The band will be playing Saturday at First United Methodist Church and on Wednesday at Josie’s.

Emporia-based punk band The Dead Idols have found it increasingly difficult to book shows at venues in Emporia because of their age. Many local business owners have stopped hosting all-ages shows at their establishments because the owners can receive significant fines if the minors are caught with alcohol.

“It’s harder for bands like us,” said guitarist and vocalist Logan Herrera. “When there aren’t any all ages shows, and more people seem to be wanting to go out and shake their ass than see some real musicians putting their heart and soul into something constructive.”

The lack of places to play has put stress on a number of younger bands in Emporia.

“There’s a good, worthy local music scene that’s dying off,” said Ryan Schlotterbeck, the band’s bass player. “And these people are cashing in on non-local, non-live audio experiences. By putting the bands and the people who used to go to these places and have so much fun supporting hard-working musicians last in order of importance, in a way it’s taking away something from the community that I feel is very important.”

“I think that there is a lot of potential right now for a large boom,” said guitarist and vocalist Joel Austin, freshman art major. “We just need some new venues.”

Each member of The Dead Idols has their own ideas about how to address the problems in the local music scene.

“People need to stop caring so much about making money, and more about making good times,” Schlotterbeck said. “Venues need to have more all-ages shows, whether it’s on weekends or not. Maybe even more house shows need to be arranged.”

Herrera feels that everyone has to do their part if the scene is to survive, let alone improve.

“The underage kids need to quit drinking and smoking at the venues,” Herrera said. “They need to understand that the venues are accountable for what the kids do there. I don’t care if you drink or smoke elsewhere, but please don't ruin for the kids that care. The venues need to put some faith in the kids that like shows and put on shows. I understand it’s also a financial thing, but if there’s one night every other week or so when there's a show you wouldn't be losing so much money.”

Herrera also believes it’s up to bands to find new places to play aside from the typical venues.

“We don’t necessarily need venues to put on shows,” Herrera said. “Let’s look to the example of the early punk scene and rent out places and play in basements. I mean, I occasionally put on shows at a church of all places. I know we all prefer to play on a stage but if we want to keep this scene alive, we all have to make a few tiny sacrifices.”

The band’s original drummer Andrew Sanchez, a junior at Emporia High, recently returned to the band after a few months away. Despite the changes in their line up, The Dead Idols have played several shows including “Aggiefest,” a two-day music festival in Manhattan.

“We continue to grow as the different musical influences come in,” Austin said. “Ethan (Decker) and Levi (Lapping) both had a metal background where Ryan (Schlotterbeck) has a much larger range in style and has increased the complexity of the songs by quite a bit.”

Schlotterbeck, the newest member the band, is a freshman at Madison High and before joining The Dead Idols, he was making his own electronic-based music under the name Tasisity. His addition to the band has helped to expand the band’s sound.

“The guys have been telling me that I’m a good songwriter, and none of the bassists of this band before me have sung lead vocals, so it’s different in that way,” Schlotterbeck said. “We’ve also been experimenting more with not-so-punk elements, like one of the songs I sing is a sort-of swing ballad. So we’ve definitely been expanding.”

The new line up has affected other facets of the band, including how often they can practice.

“When we had Ethan (Decker) we were able to practice almost every day,” Herrera said. “After his parents made him quit, our friend Levi (Lapping) filled in and we still practiced nearly everyday. Now that Ryan is on bass and he lives in Hamilton, we really just get to practice as a whole band on the weekend, but we make the best of it.”

The band has been saving up money to record an album at Flint Hills Music with Matt Kosinski, member of the local rock band Radio City. For now, the band has a number of demo recordings posted on their MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/deadidolpunk.

The Dead Idols will be performing a free show at 7 p.m. Saturday in the basement of First United Methodist Church, 823 Merchant, also playing at the show are local bands Take The Forgotten, Holdinglines, Mr. Nasty & the Cry of Wolves and solo artist Sean Richey.

“I know that Logan has been really working hard on the upcoming show in Emporia at F.U.M.C.,” Schlotterbeck said. “It’s great because it's all ages, free and on a Saturday. You practically have no excuse not to come.”

The band will also be playing with local bands Take The Forgotten, Kids Can Dream and Ball Dozer at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Josie's, 19 E. 6th Ave. The price of admission to Wednesday's show will go to a local high school student to help with costs relating to her fight with cancer.