Toledo band connected to the local music scene

There is a growing community of musicians uninterested in prestige but convicted by their passion for the ephemeral experience of making music. Venues around Toledo such as Woodchucks, Mickey Finn's and Frankie's Inner City have become vessels of creative expression for local musicians. This network of expression allows musicians and music lovers to take part in something bigger than themselves, namely a constructive community driven by mutual desire.

The Tides from Toledo are a group interested in more than the routine of band practice, shows and late night partying — although they have their fair share. They are about being true and making something meaningful with their sound.

Dan Brenner (guitar and lead vocals), and Jon Wolf (bass), a freshman majoring in electronic engineering technology, played music together in high school. Their group disbanded in college until August of last year when they restarted their partnership and formed The Tides by melding powers with Steve Pierson (drums), a senior majoring in construction engineering technology, and Drew Maziasz (guitar), history major, who have been playing together for nearly four years.

According to Brenner, The Tides is about "really getting into the art of creative recording and finding cool sounds during acquisition, instead of during mixing."

Eager to experiment with their work, Brenner, Maziasz and Pierson set up a makeshift recording studio one night by placing microphones and an amp on alternate levels inside of a stairwell. Their latchkey studio posits down the hall from the professional recording studio in hopes of creating a more enveloping sound through the natural acoustics and reverberations of the space.

Standing at the top of the staircase, Maziasz strums his guitar, isolating notes and basking in the warm glow of the unusual carriage of sound waves. His riffs are amplified, caught and repeated in duller sighs through space. Enjoying himself so much, he cannot help but crack a smile and utter to Pierson, "That sounds so sweet, man."

They recorded the sound of their own footsteps as they ran up and down the stairs. This was intended to create a vast, abstract, underwater-esque sound, which could be used later to expand the breadth of a musical track.

"We're recording an EP right now that's gonna have some older stuff we released a while ago," Maziasz said. "But [the EP will be] remixed and mastered a bit, as well as some new stuff. Five or six songs most likely. Out in a month or so."

Brenner earned his BA in interdisciplinary studies from UT last year. He plans on returning to obtain his Masters in music performance. Long term, he hopes to continue his career with The Tides and working in recording and music production.

As a whole, The Tides draw inspiration from The Beatles, At the Drive in, Q and Not You and Interpol. While they do not aim to accomplish any particular intonation, the entirety of their sound is realized by the heterogeneousness of each band member's musical interest.

The fourth Tide, Jon Wolf, plays bass in the style of Rush's Geddy Lee. Wolfe's influences are eclectic, but include punk, metal and progressive jam band music like Umphrey's McGee; these influences are obvious in his drive for quick accustomed mastery on the frets.

Maziasz draws from his love for classic rock like The Birds, generating a smooth catchy vibe for many of the musical variations. He also has an affinity for the subtler, more obscure talents from past decades of classic rock. One of Maziasz' primary influences is Nick Drake, whose musical career peaked quietly in the 1970s characterized by experimenting with alternative guitar tuning. The pleasing, complex dissonance of Drake's music can be found in the undertones of Maziasz' sound.

Pierson adds an element of surprise to his brain-child mastery of drums. For rhythm and pacing, he listens to Fugazzi, Black Flag, Daniel Striped Tiger and DC Punk. The fun and spontaneity of punk rock with a more grown up curve shine in Pierson's non-traditional rhythms.

The Tides plays very frequently around Toledo in various bars and venues. According to Pierson, Woodchuck's is one of the bands favorite places to play.

"Woodchucks is where the Tides ‘cut their teeth' so to speak," Pierson said. "The people there are always very genuine, and there is always a residual crowd that is willing to listen to new music. Also, the place has the best vibe for both the performers and the audience. There never is the sometimes overwhelming pressure to ‘produce' or ‘put on an amazing show' like present in many of the other venues around here. It's kind of homey feeling to me, and I love that. You get the rush and intimacy of a basement show, but with the added benefit of reaching a wider, more diverse and receptive audience with every show performed there."

As a joke, Brenner said that he doesn't really listen to music. He smiled and shook his head, saying that music is kind of always around and it floats in and out of his awareness. Some stuff sticks, other stuff doesn't. Particularly, Brenner listens to Deerhunter, The Shins, Sigur Ros, X in the Sky have stuck lately. Brenner's openness and awareness of musical environment accounts for the spectrum of grand, airy pathways with a rock edge.

Their lyrics are collaborative and range from slight dramatization or applying of average situations and impressions in an artistic way, to completely imaginative material. "Transient Vagrants" is a song essentially about driving from Cleveland (where the band members are originally from) to Toledo to attend UT.

According to Brenner, "Transient Vagrants" is expanded to comment on the experience of being in transit "from one industrial wasteland to another" and the feeling of losing a sense of home when time is split between two cities.

Another song, "Do Unto Yourself," is entirely fictional, based on meanderings of the imagination; Brenner singing "Here we lay now in the great salt flats."