Ever come across a band that surprises you? One of the great things about doing these articles is getting to hear bands and musicians I’m not familiar with. Upon first encountering the self-titled second release from Basement What?, my initial reaction was “...hey, pretty good band. Kind of alternative/roots rock stuff...”

But something clicked, and after repeated listenings, I discovered just how subtle these guys’ chops are. Of course, this particular CD contains the song Basement What? is getting national recognition for: “My Beer.” This tune is a frat party anthem if ever there was one. It’s the jazz influences and nice mix of instrumentation you’re not expecting that makes this band worth hearing.

Basement What? are the creation of Dave George (guitar, vocals) and Nick Young (guitar). The first incarnation of the band was realized in 1995 while Young and George were both students at Ball State University in Muncie. In the very beginning, the band started by jamming with friends in the basement of one of the dormitories on campus. According the band’s website (www.basementwhat.com), it was in the basement of 1104 Wheeling Avenue, Muncie, that George suggested calling the band “Basement”. Someone responded with “...what?”, and the rest is, well, history, according to their site. For a time, some of the band’s early fans simply called them “The What?”

Their path followed familiar territory most bands cover. Local gigs in Muncie, with dates expanding their base to the rest of Indiana. From the beginning, though, the band was into writing their own material. Their first recording sessions in December of 1997 yielded the debut project U Listen To What?. Apparently, this album is now kind of hard to find.

In 2000, Basement What? signed with Thirtieth Century Records, an independent label out of Connecticut, and released their second project, the self titled Basement What?.

Since that time the band has undergone a few changes. The current lineup now consists of founding members George and Young, with Pete Jacobs on bass and Lou Grant on drums.

“The current line-up of Basement What? has only been in existence since 2003,” said bassist Jacobs. “Actually, our first gig together was in December of 2002. This December, we will have had this lineup for two years.

“Lou and I played in another band [the Shelly Dixon Band] from this area for about three years. The way we actually met was that in that other band we were looking for a guitar player. We auditioned Nick Young to be in that band with us. The reason Nick even auditioned in the first place was because Basement What? didn’t have a rhythm section. In the process, Nick thought ‘...maybe these guys would want to be in two bands.’ Nick approached Lou and I about joining Basement What? in addition to the band we were already in. We were a little hesitant at first, but we went ahead and did it. The chemistry. when the four of us started playing together. was so incredible that Lou and I basically stuck with both bands for a short time, and when the other started to fizzle out we cut it loose and have been wholeheartedly pursuing Basement What? ever since.”

That was obviously an excellent choice on the part of Jacobs and Grant. They joined a band that is beginning to garner a lot of national attention. The aforementioned song, “My Beer,” has been included on compilation CDs put out by Billboard Magazine, Oasis CD Duplication and X102.3 in Fort Wayne (Extreme Essentials, Volume 4). The song was also featured during the annual Bob and Tom Radiothon Benefit last March.

Because of this, Basement What? has received press from well known music publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone, and has been selected as opening act for bands such as SR-71, Shinedown, and Seven Mary Three. “My Beer” also landed in the Top 30 of the most downloaded songs on what was formerly MP3.com. Not bad for a song it took George and Young all of 20 minutes to write.

“It’s a song that’s fun to play, and people request it all the time,” said Jacobs. “Whenever we play it, people dance and go crazy.

“But then again, it’s so tongue in cheek, it’s like if that’s what we’ve become known for, then if that’s not what we do, it could be a problem. As a matter of fact, we have some fans who have been fans since the guys started the band back at Ball State who don’t like us to play ‘My Beer.’ They say it’s a dead horse, you’re beating it, and you guys are better than that.’ But it’s catchy, and people like it, so it’s hard not to play it.”

There’s no danger of Basement What? becoming a one-hit wonder though. The current self-titled project has enough nuance and texture to it to win Basement What? a whole new legion of fans. The tracks were recorded sporadically between spring and winter of 2000. The jazz-flavored material on several cuts is the work of producer Ed Collins, who also played drums and some bass parts. Matt Albro, Basement What?’s original bass player, is also on the project. Keyboards were played by Jeff Peterson of the band The Why Store.

Basement What? are recording again continuing the same kind of “song at a time” approach they’ve used before. There’s no definite release date yet, but the project will probably be available by the end of the year. And what can we expect on this next one?

“We’re definitely pop-rock music,” said Jacobs. “Some bands, especially in this area, seem to be afraid of those words. They don’t want to be ‘pop’ because they think that makes them like the Backstreet Boys. When we think of ‘pop,’ we think of The Dave Matthews Band, or Train, or John Mayer, that kind of stuff that is a little more current. Just anything that’s very catchy and hook-laden. We kind of orient ourselves to that kind of stuff. We like the kind of music that, the minute you start playing a song people are tapping their toes.”

Basement What? also concern themselves with the timing of their local appearances. “We’re doing something different from what a lot of bands in this area do,” said Jacobs. “By that, I mean there’s a lot of bands here who tend to play only Fort Wayne, Indianapolis or just the surrounding towns. We basically try to make our ripples bigger. We play in Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati. We play in Bloomington because that’s where Indiana University is.

“Of course, we play Fort Wayne, but when we do play here, we want it to be an event. We try to play a venue in any market only so often so that, when people see us, it’s been awhile. And it’s going to be awhile before they see us again. We only play here every so often because we’re trying to build little legions of fans in markets all over the place.