MANSFIELD, Ohio – If variety is the spice of life, then the Black Lounge, a rock duo from Mansfield, provides a mix fit to satisfy a wide audience.
Nate Wieland and Paris Stewart, the members of the band, began making their musical blend a little more than a year ago. It was a chance encounter at Goodfellows Pub on Park Avenue West that drew them together.
“I was there by myself, and I was just sitting out there not doing anything – I don’t even know what I was doing there,” said Stewart, who is a 2010 graduate of Ontario High School. “I was just kind of hanging out watching everyone lounge around.”
He said he watched Wieland walk up and sit down near him. The two sat in silence until Wieland broke the ice by asking if Stewart played music.
“‘I said, ‘yeah, yeah I do’, and from there, it was like a five-minute conversation, and that was it,” Stewart said.
He called Wieland the next day to jam.
“I was there to see my old drummer’s new band, because we were still friends, and they had packed up and stuff, so I was just chilling,” Wieland said of the night the two met. “I saw him come in, and I was like, ‘I’ve seen this cat around somewhere.’”
The two played together and immediately called 4th Street Bar to book a show.
Wieland, a 2005 grad of Mansfield Senior, plays guitar and does vocals, while Stewart provides the beats on the drums. However, both are multi-instrumental and switch roles often, giving them an ability to dramatically change their sound.
“We put on two pretty different shows,” Wieland said. “If we’re doing acoustic, it’s like an alternative blues blend, and it sounds awesome; but when we’re playing electric, we’re kind of a retro fuzz rock band.”
Their individual styles also create a dynamic feel, Stewart said, which gives their sound a certain distinction.
“As a drummer, my thing is about total release – just going as hard as I possibly can,” Stewart said. “The thing I like about what we’re doing is that (Wieland’s) got that retro feel – that fuzz, that old, classic ’50s and ’60s stuff – and then you bring what I’m bringing, and when the two hit, it’s just a perfect storm.”
When he was 18 years old, Wieland set off for San Diego, California, and was there for three years – between 2006 and 2009. It was during his time on the West Coast that the band originally formed.
“‘The Black Lounge’ is actually a song I had written a long, long time ago, before the band had started at all,” Wieland said. “I had a room in my apartment that was set up with black lights, and it had a hammock in it, a coach, and a Lovesac – one of those giant, quieter beanbag chairs – and it was just for chilling.”
When Wieland began to jam with his first bandmate in San Diego, the two realized they needed a name to market themselves. One of the suggestions was The Black Lounge.
“He’s like, ‘yeah, Black Sabbath has a song named ‘Black Sabbath,’’ so we’d be fine,” Wieland said, laughing.
The name lasted through a few lineup changes over the years. After Stewart joined, Wieland said he offered to change it, but the name stuck.
As a band of two, neither Wieland nor Stewart feel as though they are limited. In fact, Wieland said it allows them to play off of each other better.
“We’re both really into the project, and we’re really into the tunes and making sure the band is successful and having a great time,” he said. “There’s a good vibe to it, and it’s easy to maintain.”
Stewart agreed.
“I actually enjoy the two-piece more because when you’re playing with four other people you’re balancing what you’re doing to make it fit with whatever else is going on,” he said. “With this, it’s just full expression.”
That freedom of expression is what the music is all about, Stewart added.
Among their favorite songs to play, “Something about a Beautiful Girl” and “Romance Casualty” are two of their most popular tunes.
For information or to listen to the band, visit its Facebook page or www.reverbnation.com/theblacklounge.
