Artist Spotlight: Orents Stirner
Orents Stirner is a band that thinks outside of the box and has successfully sought to shake off the shackles of structure for the freedom to flow for over six years. The band, which started around 2007, has been through multiple lineup changes but is now in what they consider to be “The Best Orents Stirner Ever in the History of Time.” The “classic” version of Orents Stirner came together in 2010, when founder Fletcher Stafford teamed up with Alex Harter, Russ Eckhardt, Tony Dojchinovski, and Kevin Palmer.
Since then, the band has sought to create a unique listening and visual experience for its audience. The improvisational nature of their shows and the works of art that both band members and friends create bring to life the ultimate vision that is Orents Stirner.
Free spirits Orents Stirner will be bringing their spontaneous and inspired blend of progressive and often psychedelic improvisational jams to this year’s FPSF and are one of many beloved local bands on the bill. We take a closer look at the inner workings of this mysterious band and shed some light on what makes them Houston’s Best Improvisational Band, as declared by the Houston Press Music Awards.
FPH had the pleasure of speaking with Russ Eckhardt, the well-spoken and extremely friendly drummer of the band, to dive deeper into the collective mindset of Orents Stirner.
Tell us the story of Orents Stirner. How did things get started? What are some of the band’s biggest achievements? What obstacles have y’all overcome? ¶ In the beginning, Orents Stirner sprang fully-formed from the head of Zeus, shortly after he and Odin had started a Residents tribute band with Anubis and Neptune. I think. I'm not sure. As I said, I wasn't there in the very beginning. But Orents is Fletch's baby—it's his vision that's driven the band since the beginning. I can tell you, though, that the impetus behind what we do is just living in the moment. Fletch would say, "Just be in the 'now’ and see what happens." That's what we do when we play, we clear our minds and feel what flows.
I'd say our biggest achievement, besides being invited to play the FPSF, of course, is our big annual art and music show, MINDSET. Fletcher's also a visual artist. He paints and does screen prints and collages and things like that, and each year we invite other artist and musician friends of ours for a big show. We invite everyone we know and plenty more we don't, and everyone has a blast experiencing some amazing art and listening to some great music. This year's MINDSET was on April 27th at Super Happy Fun Land.
What inspires you to create? What inspires and moves the music forward? ¶ I can't speak for the other guys, but I think they'd agree with me in saying that we just love to hear the music we make. We never know what's going to come out of a session. We're all working stiffs and we all have families, so we only get together a couple/three times a month to jam. So for us, our sessions are like a musical recess from the daily grind. The five of us have very different musical backgrounds, so when we bring that variety to the table it's always exciting.
For example, I grew up a hardcore prog-rock drumming freak, listening to King Crimson, Rush, Yes, and the like. Fletch (vocals and guitar) is a huge fan of the Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth. Alex (lead guitar) is a little heavier, a little bluesier, into Zeppelin, QOTSA, Eagles of Death Metal. Kevin (keys, vocals, guitar) tempers all this with a slightly mellower sound. He's into indie rock like Grizzly Bear and Other Lives. Tony (bass) is from another planet and we have no idea what goes on in his head... I kid, of course. He's Macedonian, so, you know, he's got the trademark Macedonian sound that everyone knows and loves so well. So the end result of all this is King Lips Led Bear with a thick Balkan accent. Who wouldn't like that?
Where do you like to play in Houston? ¶ I think our favorite place so far has been Fitzgerald’s. It's legendary, of course. Rudyard’s is a favorite, too. And of course wherever we happen to hold MINDSET!
You guys are part of the FPSF lineup this year. Do you have anything special planned for your performance? I know the band is all about spontaneity… ¶ As far as something special planned, well, we improvise all our music so planning isn't really our forte. Ha! We usually have a bunch of broad ideas that we think might be exciting and just work from that when we hit the stage. Our set lists tend to have things like "Slow & Spacey in D" or "That Fast Thing Tony Did in A."
Any bands that you are particularly excited to see at FPSF 2013? ¶ Me personally, I'm excited to see The Postal Service mainly because I never thought they'd do anything together again, so that's great. Also Iggy and The Stooges because they're legendary. I really dig TV On The Radio, too.
Which local bands would you like to work with in the future? ¶ We've done a couple of shows with Ron + Cathy and that's always fun, so hopefully we'll be able to do that again. We've also worked with Eddie Mazariegos and Albas Serenatas. We played a benefit last year with The Flamin' Hellcats, those guys are freaking amazing and have such a great history with this city.
Your favorite thing about playing music/the music scene in Houston? ¶ It's the variety. There's so much demand for all kinds of music and new, weird kinds of music - which we excel at. Heh.
Check out Orents Stirner’s music at https://soundcloud.com/Orents or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OrentsStirner