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by ALLISON CASEY
Lifestyles Editor
“Tell everyone Johnny’s got a new outfit he’s gonna wear,” Ed A. McGee said, laughing. “That way the pressure’s off me.”
McGee is the lead vocalist and songwriter for One Under, playing with Boone’s own Ample Example Feb. 6 at The Dragonfly Theater and Pub.
The show starts at 10 p.m. and has a $5 cover.
It is with this attitude One Under approaches their music: fun, lively and little bit funky.
“It’s
funky rock ‘n’ roll,” Johnny S. Polansky, drummer, said. “All the guys
come from a wide and varied and very diverse background. We all bring
our niches and nuances and general influences.”
The band began in Columbus, Ohio about four years ago when their current guitar player thought about moving to California.
After
getting together to play a few songs before he left, the band found
their own sound in a combination of fun music and meaningful lyrics.
“We
called up some cats who weren’t working or had just gotten out of
bands,” Polansky said. “There wasn’t really a grand scheme. It just
happened.”
Four years later, One Under continues to tour and is in the process of recording another album.
After a 20-year hiatus from the drums, Polanksy recently picked up his drumsticks once again.
He had previously played percussion with the band until their drummer quit in September.
“It’s
different,” he said. “As a percussionist, you’re a color person. You
add flavor and spice. When you’re the drum set player, you are the meat
and potatoes.”
Though
he admits it was tough when the original drummer left, he is thankful
for the new opportunities and calls it “rejuvenating.”
McGee, who began reading poetry in the third grade, tries to balance fun lyrics with those of more substance.
As a fan
of artists like U2, The Police, Joni Mitchell and The Grateful Dead,
McGee found himself constantly gravitating towards lyrically driven
music.
“My
favorite thing about being a musician is that combination of the
atmosphere of music with the atmosphere of language,” he said. “And if
you can get that right, it’s such a magical thing.”
He
constantly seeks inspiration from all things around him, including the
first day in spring. It is warm enough to take the plastic off the
windows and hear the world that has been closed off.
“I’m ready and willing to explore any idea that hits me,” he said.
As for
the live show, One Under likes to change it up, feeding off of the
audience’s energy and providing extended solos and some improvisation.
“It
wasn’t our mission statement to get out there and play fun music,”
Polansky said. “But all our personalities came together to make this
One Under sound, and at times it can be very thought provoking.”
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