Central Iowa has a new psychedelic/rock/funk/jam trio.
Frontman Ozzy Starr joins his stylized guitar and voice with bassist Devin Frentress and drummer Timothy Bowlby to create a sound that is hard to classify into a single genre.
The unornamented interplay created by Bowlby and Frentress bring to mind early funk pioneers like The Meters, while the use of musical space and vocal effects by Starr might evoke thoughts of The Black Keys. All the while, Starr’s wah-heavy guitar playing and use of ambience harkens back to the more experimental '70s Motown era. Their presence on stage gives a vibe similar to that of classic '90s power trios like Nirvana and Green Day. All of that rolls together into the smokey atmospheric experience that is The Freeman Band.
The Music
“I think a lot of our music comes from when we get together and practice, somebody just starts playing. Then somebody else comes in, then somebody else,” Bowlby explains, “the structure of our songs comes from however many times we’ve played it.”
A recent live performance at Lefty’s in Des Moines reveals their on-stage chemistry. As they begin a song the trio turns inward, looking to each other for feedback as the backbeat solidifies. Then, having set the musical scene, their attention turns to the singer. Ozzy Starr is dressed in a vest with no shirt, sunglasses highlighting the dimly lit gap between his messy haircut and his perfectly groomed mustache. He leans into the mic, exploring the sonic backdrop with a combination of hypnotic melodies and ambiguous lyrics, filling the breaks between verses with spacious guitar solos. The energy created from the trio fills the venue and leaves the audience entranced. Impressively, that energy carries through in the recording of the band’s first single.
“Groove Tech” opens with Frentress laying down a classic slap bass rhythm, the subtle chuck of a guitar through a closed wah pedal in the background. After a cycle, Bowlby’s drums enter the jam bolstering, the groove while Starr’s subtle guitar playing lurks in the shadow. Starr’s effect driven vocals enter the fray, asking “Would you let me down if you’re lookin’ for the truth?” and “Can they let you out? Can they let you in the groove?” The song acts as a perfect display of the band’s strengths, blending the heavy reverb of guitar and voice with the sharp precision of Frentress and Bowlby’s rhythm section.
The Studio
In order to recreate the energy they feel on stage, The Freeman Band employed a simple strategy. “We just did it all live, looking at each other and just going off each other with the experience that we have, knowing that this is what we want out of the song.” says Frentress.
Golden Bear Records producer Bryan Vanderpool agrees. “Absolutely, the boys brought the same free and open energy to the studio that you witness with their live shows. The tracks were all live with minimal (if any) edits and there was a palpable energy in the room.”
The band decided to record without any click tracks or overdubbing to best capture that energy, which Vanderpool was more than happy to accommodate. “He’s a Jedi,” says Starr, “he just kinda sits there and lets it happen.”
The Band
Frentress has been a musician from a young age, but only recently picked up bass guitar at the suggestion of his friends. Bowlby has an extensive library of hip-hop and electronic music published under the alias TimBoobie, but admits that drums are his first analog instrument. Starr started playing guitar in third grade when his older sister had a guitar class at school. Starr is also a first generation Mexican-American, and is enthusiastic about the opportunities that has afforded him.
“Sometimes I think about my parents,” Starr says, adding “they probably think it’s crazy that I get to go play shows and stuff, and just live my life in this sweet city we got.”
While their genre may be hard to define, The Freeman Band is not out to reinvent the wheel. Rather, they communicate through the genres they love and grew up loving. The core of the sound is rock, but the shades of funk, grunge, hip hop and blues are peppered into the band's psychedelic nucleus, making The Freeman Band one that you will not want to miss.
An untitled EP is in the works at Golden Bear Studio and should be available soon. In the meantime, be sure to stream “Groove Tech” on all streaming platforms and follow The Freeman Band on all social media platforms to get updates about upcoming gigs and music releases.