Thanks to the support of The Independent, a local band is about to release its first studio album.
Blame Sydney, a pseudo-ska band formed in Auburn, will finish up its LP, "In Memory of Mutton Chops," in the next few weeks and hopes to release it in mid-May.
Luke Sheehan, guitarist for the band, said the name of the album came from a former member who helped shape the band in its early days.
"We had a drummer who is still very dear to our hearts from when we were first starting to develop as a band," Sheehan said. "He really poured his heart and soul into the band and then got offered a job in Birmingham. It's kind of a tribute to him in a way, and he had big side burns."
Anthony Edwards, lead vocalist for the band, said Jaime Uertz of The Independent lent his house and recording equipment to the band.
"It was a lot of work as far as preparation time, but once we got into the studio, we knocked all the tracks out pretty quickly," Edwards said. "All in all, we've spent a total of six days over the course of a month."
The band had seen many member changes since it started a year ago.
Now, Blame Sydney has eight members, with two trumpets and a trombone player.
"We played for a few months and then the old lead guitar player left for New York," Edwards said. "So I moved to vocals and my friend Scott came in to play drums, and it's been like a revolving door for drums for a while. I think we're pretty set in our members now."
Edwards describes the band's sound as punk with horns. He said they're not quite ska, but more of pure punk and what he thinks is an original sound.
"Our influences are NOFX, Reel Big Fish and Weezer's in there," Edwards said. "It's almost like a mash-up of all those sounds."
Sheehan said he tries not to put labels on the band's sound.
"I think we sound more of a straight punk band if you listen to the tempo and the strings on the guitars and everything," Sheehan said. "We really don't like to label anything really. We just like to see what comes out. I don't like to put us in a box as far as what we put out."
The band is performing at The Independent May 8 with No Fuego and Katie Martin.
Sheehan said the band will be playing around the south over the summer and wanted the LP for fans to take home.
"We're working on booking in Huntsville, Atlanta, Nashville, Pensacola and Tallahassee," Sheehan said. "We're really focusing on being more than a local band this summer and kind of branching out into the region."
Blame Sydney's show at The Independent will be its last in Auburn for a while.
The band heads to Mobile for a show at Soul Kitchen May 21.
Later in the summer, they will appear at a music festival in Columbus, Ga.
"We like to make people dance, and that's our number one goal whenever we go on stage--is to make people move," Sheehan said.
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