ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Complex Machine
Eclectic singer-songwriter Cullah held his “Spooktacullah” Halloween Costume Party at The Back Room at Colectivo on Sunday, playing with the Cosmonauts for this live iteration (he’s got several). Also performing were Nile (who brought up LaFond to perform two of her original songs), Funk Summit Bass Team, and Complex Machine.
Complex Machine is an indie rock band consisting of vocalist/guitarist Eric Hess, guitarist Mike Stevens, bassist Adam Dosemagen, and drummer Mark Soriano. Hess explains how the band formed.
“Me and Mark worked together at Turner Hall and started to play music in 2018; we had originally formed with me on guitar and him on drums and Cheston VanHuss on bass. We did that for a while and then kind of disbanded, and when COVID happened we got together with Mike from Dropbear Collective and Adam Dosemagan from Herman Astro. I came up with the band’s name based on the sphere of humans being complex.”
Last February the band released a three-song EP titled “Cut Loose.” Hess shares what went into it plus what he’s been writing about.
“That stuff was actually recorded prior to COVID…we had drum and bass down but I finished all the vocals and guitars when I was in quarantine. Ian Olvera mixed it down; that was a fun thing for me and him to go back and forth sending tracks over Dropbox…that kept us sane together. I feel like I tend to write about love or lack thereof; sometimes I read my lyrics after the fact and realize that’s what I’ve been writing about (laughs).”
The band have a new EP that will be out this coming February. Hess describes what’s different about this one.
“We’re all consistently playing on it together versus in pieces and segments due to COVID. This is our first cohesive thing that we’re putting out and we’re excited for it.”
Complex Machine play at The Pyramid in Lake Mills on Friday.
