Focus on the local scene
Ambient trio The Balloon People's heads devoid of helium
By Dani Purcell, Staff Writer
May 9, 2008 | 6 a.m.
Alternative instrumental trio The Balloon People began with modest bedroom recordings and two members in 2005. Since then, the band has endured multiple member swaps, but it has finally stabilized its sound and place in the Athens music scene.
“Well, it all started in [a] dream about West Virginia with hillbillies giving us cymbal machines,” guitarist and founding member Scott Durka said.
The concept of the “balloon people” itself began long before the band originated. Durka began drawing human characters with balloons as substitutions for heads in high school. This race of people lived in a sort of “alternate reality of individuals who were always high,” he said.
Members refuted the idea that this meant that these characters had “big heads” inflated full of hot air but rather that they sought to emulate this “peaceful community” of people, thus taking on the name.
The band itself began independently of its name in 2005, but only lasted for a brief spell at the time. A major hindrance disabled the duo from progressing when The Balloon People were scheduled to play at the Inside-Outside Gallery in Cleveland. Scott Durka explained that the other founding member, who could only be identified as “Brett,” had such an incurable case of stage fright that it prevented the two from playing live sets.
In 2007, Durka recruited two other members, drummer Josh Reith and guitarist Mike Rice, and that trio changed from post-rock to noise. The change was completely based on improvisation.
After an infamous show at Casa during which the band played an elongated set and was instructed to leave the stage, Durka acknowledged that the band “made the nastiest noise and pissed people off.”
Bassist Nathan Moore and Scott Durka playfully noted that the band attempts to frustrate audiences by the length of sets. All members noted that the band’s sound had matured since Moore joined the band. Durka’s younger brother Patrick Durka recently began playing the drums, and the lineup has not changed since.
“Bands with family members are the best, by default,” Moore said. “They have an innate connection musically that you can’t ignore or emulate unless you have that connection.”
The Balloon People compose structurally intense songs but include improvisational sections in which members have an ascribed time to “rock out.” The band’s sound is malleable and able to fluctuate dynamically as well as stylistically, which enables The Balloon People to make a unique connection with audiences unlike bands with vocals.
Members want people to appreciate the instruments’ sounds on both holistic and individual levels. Although members have considered adding vocals, they have not encountered an individual who they think could complement the rest of the band. The Balloon People consider the strength of the melodies to be adequate ear candy for listeners.
The Balloon People play with a unique, calm demeanor, one uninterrupted by the severity of distortion or lyrics. Scott Durka numbs the sound of his guitar to an echoing, reverberating, weepy resonance with a massive switchboard of effect pedals. Moore’s complex bass lines seem to be the driving force and present an unusual central melody between the percussion and guitar.
The lulling instrumental concept of The Balloon People is difficult to capture, but Scott Durka best described the band’s gradual metamorphosis from post-rock to noise rock to an ambient, experimental three piece.
“We’re in an ‘elephant-getting-hit-by-a-train-while-orgasming’ phase,” Durka said. “We replicate the sound of elephants dying.”
The band proceeded to jokingly expand on the difficulty of purchasing elephants from the circus. The tangent was highlighted by the process of “haggling clowns” in order to acquire said elephants.
The Balloon People, as a collective, conquer stereotypes of modern music. An iconic, structural base is deliberately made to not sound structural by a wall of noise. Although members attest seriously to the music-writing process and expansion of the band’s sound, they do not mind sharing their goofy senses of humor.
Contrary to the above statements, Scott Durka reflected that members truly love animals. No elephants or other creatures have been harmed throughout the band’s career as the band could not manage it, Durka said.
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The Balloon People play today, Friday, May 9, at the Smiling Skull with October Fist, Android Violent and Amish Electric Chair. For more information, visit The Balloon People's Myspace page.