UC students making some noise

From drunk dials to your ex-girlfriend to openly admitting to an extensive sweater vest collection, sometimes things are better off left unsaid. Local four-piece instrumental rock band A Dead Lois feels the same way, using strictly guitars, keyboards, drums and computer sounds to create their music, devoid of any pesky lyrics getting in the way.

A Dead Lois consists of Ian Wissman on drums and keyboards, Bob Otis on the bass and radio sounds, and brothers Kevin and Brendan Bruce on guitars, with Kevin playing some keyboards. Aside from Otis who has graduated from Miami University, the rest of the band members are University of Cincinnati students.

The band has been playing with each other since March of last year. All coming from former bands, A Dead Lois started when Otis' band The Elevator Company played with Brendan's band Suburban Massacre. Then in a band called Phoenix Down, Kevin and Ian joined, drawing largely from the musical sound of Phoenix Down.

But the sound the band drew from Phoenix Down was less intense, without the vocals and maximizing "the pretty parts," as Otis put it.

"I want to push music, push its boundaries. I love doing new things with music," said Otis, who claims he loves to lay his guitar down and just play with pedals with all the feedback enveloping him.

Influences for the band's sound include the likes of Yo La Tengo and The Cure, and a striking resemblance to Texas natives Explosions in the Sky, another instrumental rock band without the nuisance of any lyrics.

"I never heard [Explosions in the Sky] until like two weeks ago, and, yeah, we definitely sound like them," said the eldest Bruce brother Brendan.

Having only played two shows thus far, the band is relatively new to the scene. But fresh off a New Year's Eve show at The Mockbee, the band is optimistic.

"It was really cool to look up and see lots of people watching us. I got especially excited that it was nobody we knew," said Wissman. The band tended to get plenty of compliments from other musicians in the crowd, reaffirming their status that this band isn't to get all the ladies.

"Later on we're gonna start another band for the ladies and stuff," said Brendan.

For now, the band is busy practicing, and will hopefully be finding time to record an album, with a four song E.P. to be released before it.

Side projects include Ian's Mogu and Lude, what he defines as "destruction of other peoples' songs," which is essentially lots of computer noise.

Kevin is making beats, and has helped write a few for local hip-hop duo Crack Heist.

Look for A Dead Lois to perform at the Warner House for a special birthday celebration, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 28. For info on the band, visit www.apollo99.com/adeadlois.