A few weeks ago, I heard about a local Bloomington band named Early Grey. Early Grey?, I thought. Like the tea? Well, just to clarify for anyone reading: No, the band is not named after the black tea variety. In reality, TJ Tankersley, the drummer for the group, claimed responsibility for the name, explaining that he grabbed the idea from a lyric in the song “Flower” on Soundgarden’s first album. Early Grey as a band is innovative and experimental, rising in the local music scene and attempting to spread their influence across the midwest and beyond. Our conversation centered around their beginnings as a band, what they’re doing with their style and personality, and the future plans for Early Grey.
After recently celebrating their one year anniversary as a band, Darby Horsman, David Balzer, and TJ Tankersley spent some time with me describing how Early Grey came to be, and what has led to its success so far. To begin, each of the musicians explained to me their history in music and how they got started with the art. Darby and TJ, who met each other through a jazz band, began to work together to brainstorm some music before recruiting David last winter. Even before that, though, each member started from more humble beginnings. Darby explained that she “broke out of [her] shell and just started doing theater and show choir,” and transitioned into playing instruments once she made it to college. David described a similar history, citing music as his only thing to do in a small town. However, TJ started much earlier – 14 years ago to be exact. He explained that, “When I moved over here [Bloomington], my mom was like ‘Hey, you need to find something to actually do so you’re not just playing video games all day long.’ And I was absolutely notorious for pissing off all of my teachers by tapping the desks with pencils and pencil drumming. And so she was like, ‘Hey, you’re taking drum lessons now.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, cool!’ And the rest is history.”
During their first year, Early Grey has been very active in the Bloomington music scene. They played their eighth show on December 14th (or seventh, or ninth – it’s hard to keep track). In any case, Darby and David explained that they’ve been able to perform as much as scheduling could allow. But there’s one surprising thing about Early Grey: They’ve never released any recorded music. They are simply a performing band right now, rather than a band that people can listen to through streaming platforms. Shocking, right? Naturally, I assumed that Early Grey performed covers rather than original songs. But I was utterly wrong. In fact, David said that he didn’t “think [they’ve] played a single cover.” TJ further explained that since all three members draw inspiration from wildly different artists, they have never been able to agree to play one specific cover. Instead, Early Grey plays strictly original songs at their shows. Songs that have not yet been recorded – but that aspect doesn’t matter.
To be more specific, Early Grey’s resolve to take their time in releasing official music involves a confidence in their abilities to draw a crowd despite their lack of musical publicity. Darby described this self-assurance as originating from the fact that “we’ve just built ourselves up so much that we don’t really have to have music out right now.” Early Grey as a band has generated so much confidence in their public image without official music that they feel they can keep their fans in suspense. New listeners just have to, as TJ would say, “trust that we’re not going to suck.” But that’s the magic of Early Grey – their fans do trust. People know that Early Grey is a group that is not messing around. The band is ready to entertain and to create rather than appease, and is here to stay.
When creating their original songs, I wanted to know who Early Grey members draw inspiration from. I needed to hear who taught them their ways, who encouraged creation so magical that it consistently draws devoted crowds. Each musician explained that they have their own distinct styles: TJ is into 90s grunge, Darby draws from pop-punk styles, and David focuses on thrash-metal influences. BMore specifically, the members listed a few artists that they specifically look up to when creating music. TJ, drawing on those 90s ties, cited Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, AudioSlave, and Rage Against the Machine as role models. “Pretty much anything from that era except for Limp Bizkit or Faith No More,” he explained, “because those bands suck. It’s officially on the record.” Apologies in advance to any Limp Bizkit or Faith No More fans – but he said what he said. David, on the other hand, discussed two specific guitarists that inspire him: Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. Shocking – the guitarist admires two other guitarists! Last but not least, Darby listed Muse and Marina as large influences, pulling from stronger punk origins. Early’s Grey’s inspirations range from pop to heavy metal, but powerfully come together to create the distinct sound that is the band’s personality.
Speaking of a band personality, we then began to talk about the band's elusive and exciting plans to record and release official music. First, we discussed how each member thinks about the songwriting process – which, surprisingly, is very unique from individual to individual. Interestingly, Darby explained that she works best through improvisation: “Usually, how we write our songs in general is typically somebody has a little sliver of an idea and we just jam on it and then we put pieces together… I just kind of hum something out and use placeholder words. It’s very natural.” In doing so, she strings together ideas and plays what sounds and feels right to her; it’s, as Darby said, “very natural.” David and TJ, however, are driven perfectionists who have to workshop a piece nearly to completion before sharing. Either way, the lyrics and melody are rarely meant to be specific and identifiable; rather, they’re supposed to be unique. In fact, Early Grey is looking to avoid what TJ coined as the “Red Hot Chili Peppers Effect,” or when you hear “the first second and a half of a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, [and] you know exactly who wrote that song.” It’s scientifically tested and verified, I promise. Early Grey wants to make their music distinct and creative within itself, breaking free from constraints to stick to just one style. The band is innovative – what can I say?
When it comes to recording this creativity, however, the situation is more complicated. Darby and TJ explained that there are a few extenuating circumstances causing the band to further take their time in this endeavor. For one, Darby said that she wanted to focus on building a team of supporters before beginning to create the album (yes, exciting news, we’re getting an entire album next year!): “I’ve taken the time as we’ve been waiting to kind of gather this team of people to really help us out so it’s not random.” Additionally, TJ also talked about the realities of life getting in the way. As a student finishing up his final capstone project in just a few days, he explained that “I am the sound guy… so I’m going to have a lot more free time very soon. I’ll be able to put a lot of time and effort into getting our tracks into a computer so we can start that process.” And, like I’ve already said, Early Grey is a band full of perfectionists. They can’t start out with a small release – they have to begin with a bang! The members described their desire to first perfect the music that they so often change, and then to finally settle on the best version before officially releasing. In other words, it’s going to be a process involving letting go of imperfections; or, in other other words, a pretty impossible task. But of course, nothing is impossible for Early Grey. So expect an album next year – I know I can’t wait!
While talking about future plans, the band described their desire to travel outside of Bloomington to perform soon in the future. For the time being, though, they’re still scheduling plenty of gigs here in town. Be sure to go to their next one on January 17th at the Orbit Room! I promise it’ll be super cool. Unfortunately, Early Grey expressed their sadness at the shape of the Bloomington music scene – or, more specifically, the state of house venues here in the city. TJ explained that “a lot of the house venues have graduated out and disappeared. And there haven’t really been a whole lot of other venues popping up to replace them.” But Early Grey is resilient, and seeks out any opportunity to play a show that they can. Because the band is a Bloomington powerhouse (actually, their Instagram bio even says “INDIANA POWER TRIO,” so you know it’s true) Early Grey isn’t discouraged.
Early Grey doesn’t want to have the confines of a genre designation. They want the freedom to experiment and improvise, to create and innovate. Early Grey wants to be seen as a band that’s fresh and exciting. At the end of our conversation, I asked if the band had anything they wanted the public to know. TJ, David, and Darby all echoed the sentiment I’ve heard around Bloomington: Support local music. As David explained, “I have so much appreciation for anybody who shows up to any smaller shows and supports local artists. Thank you to those people. We really need people to come out and show support to everybody.” Oh, and one last little thing from TJ: “If you’re listening to this or reading this or anything and you have a house here in Bloomington, please make it a house venue. We need more house venues. If you have any place or any platform that can support a venue, we need it. The scene’s going to die without venues, without places to play.” So, readers, you heard them! Support your local bands. And convert your houses into music venues. It can’t be that hard, right? And, of course, support Early Grey, and keep your eye out for an album next year.
