Antostal is back again this year. Cue free t-shirts, sunglasses and the 2011 Battle of the Bands at Legends. This year features an impressive ten-band lineup of 8-Bit, Cookies n'Cream, Identity Crisis, M.O.B.B., Manse Burlingame Experiment, Project 214, Scootie Jones & the Sexy Train, The Johnny Drennan Trio and Toes on the Nose.
The tenth band rounding out this lineup is In Euphoric Company, an all-original group based out of Notre Dame. Over the past year, this talented band has garnered a decent following locally and on music blogs. The members said they can't wait to perform in their first Notre Dame Battle of the Bands.
Tyler Eto and Gerek Edrosolan started the band, under a different name, in their Sacramento, Calif., high school before they parted ways to attend college. Eto headed to Notre Dame while Edrosolan went to Creighton in Omaha, Neb., but the distance didn't stop the duo from composing songs and emailing lyrics back and forth.
According to Duncan Smith, drummer of In Euphoric Company, the founding members returned from their freshman year of college ready for something new.
"The summer after freshmen year of college, [Eto and Edrosolan ] came back with entirely new experiences, friendships and emotions leading to a decided change in musical style," Smith said. "In the fall of 2010, they were looking to expand the members in the band in order to perform."
This past fall, Tyler began to expand the band at Notre Dame, adding Lacey Cochran on glockenspiel, Arnav Dutt on violin, Kino Lee on bass guitar and Smith on drums. The new members each brought fresh experience and unique backgrounds and ability to the band.
At heart, though, the band is a group of friends that enjoy being and playing together, and this idea is reflected in their name. Smith acknowledged that their name came from those events in life that everyone has experienced, when they feel distant from the people they are with.
"We've all realized these times in our lives," Smith continued. "We are looking for a group of people where you don't feel distant. You want to be with them. There's nothing fake. Everyone is real and you don't want to be anywhere else. These are the friends that we hope to be with. We want to be in euphoric company."
Currently, the members are enjoying their time together, especially their late-night Taco Bell trips after shows. Smith says the greatest moment in the success of their band comes anytime someone expresses a connection with their music, no matter the venue, whether a street corner or a bar.
The band performs during the year in cities around the Midwest, from Chicago to South Bend, Kalamazoo to Cleveland. However, Eto, Edrosolan and Smith will spend this summer in Sacramento working on their first official release, which they hope will end up on iTunes.
This weekend, though, In Euphoric Company is looking forward to its performance in the Battle of the Bands and the opportunity to see friends in other bands play. It is hard to deny the camaraderie found in this up-and-coming band, camaraderie that can only be reflected in its music, so come check out In Euphoric Company Friday night at Legends.
