Six Parts Seven

Ohio, Instrumentals and biscuits

‘Ohio is not exactly a hotbed of entertainment these days. Sure, they’ve got The Black Keys and Drew Carrey, but what else of note has sprung up from this concrete paradise?

Besides a slew of interesting state laws, including the illegality of getting a fish drunk and forbidding women from wearing patent-leather shoes, Ohio harbors something special, a band that may just prove to be music’s most well-kept secret. Somewhere in the streets of Kent, The Six Parts Seven was born. They, unlike most other rock-inspired groups, have chosen to silence their voices in order to empower their instruments.

“Kent is a really good place for music,” said Tim Gerak, one of three guitarists in The Six Parts Seven. “Not many bands seem to make it out of there but I think that’s because nobody is trying to be ‘that band.’”

Straying from the beaten path of “that band” can be a slow and steady course, especially for an instrumental group, but they will not be deterred that easily. Their perseverance and natural penchant for musicianship has brought them, and The Black Keys, out head and shoulders above the rest of what the state has to offer musically.

As a matter of fact, the two bands just released a self-titled, split EP. In addition, T6P7 recently released “Lost Notes from Forgotten Songs.” The album is a tribute that has been paid to the band. Various artists reworked a collection of the group’s songs and added vocal components to them. It just goes to show you that sometimes it is not about success; it is about respect.

To Gerak, that respect may have been commandeered by the group’s tightness and instinctual abilities to know what to do when and when not to do it.

“We’ve really been lucky because everybody in the band knows when to play and when not to play,” he said. “We try not to over- or underdo it.”

This is especially difficult for them since the band has three guitarists. Intertwining seamless guitar parts can be a laborious task that, fortunately, has yielded positive results for them. They’ve got their methodology down pat and can stand up to any challenge.

A band that walks away from convention has additional obstacles to overcome in order to be successful. They need to not only add multiple dimensions to their songs, but they need to find a way to make them accessible to the listener. It’s a paradox; you need to be complex while simultaneously being simple.

“It’s tough because people have to look into the music a little more,” he continued. “Once you’re into it, though, it’s easier to put something on that sets the mood rather than something that tells a particular story.”

Gerak believes that listening to instrumental music is often easier for him. It allows him to interpret a song any way he wants, including the ability to write his own vocals to a tune. This is something he hopes fans can do with his band’s songs as well.

One overwhelming task the band has had difficulty escaping from is superficial comparisons. They feel like they get lumped into a category in which they do not belong.

“It gets frustrating to get compared to the same instrumental bands over and over again,” admitted Gerak. “We don’t sound anything like a lot of bands we get lumped in with. It’s just that people have no point of reference. There aren’t a ton of instrumental bands out there.”

One way that they may be able to overcome this is with their live shows. Seeing the band live in concert will further prove that they have little in common with the likes of Tristezza or Mogwai. Fans will also be treated to Southern hymns, one of which is even about biscuits. This singing is courtesy of new guitarist Mike Tolan and new lap-steel player Ben Vaughan. They both sing in other projects and have taken to writing hymns that they belt out in between songs from the band’s set.

Chris Rock once said in his tune “No Sex in the Champagne Room” that there ain’t nothing wrong with cornbread. Well, there ain’t nothing wrong with songs about biscuits either.