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What Tyrants: same name, different sound

Garage rock band What Tyrants is here to blast crazy energy through your speakers.

Members of garage/post-punk band What Tyrants don’t skimp on wild energy and fresh attitude at their shows.

“I felt terrible for whoever was cleaning the stage after our 7” release show. It was covered in beer, and there was blood everywhere, but that’s what we want when we play a live show,” lead vocalist and guitarist Sean Schultz said.

What Tyrants has made music for a while, but the band’s latest rebirth happened in the fall after the addition of a new band mate.

Schultz, a University of Minnesota alumni, said there have been different incarnations of What Tyrants over the years. The band originally consisted of him and his drummer Kyle Schultz — his brother.

“Some of the earliest memories I have are playing music with [Kyle],” Sean Schultz said.

The two played under the name What Tyrants with various band mates throughout the years, and Sean Schultz said they considered calling the project quits. But then they found a musician who fit their band.

“It was a long process of finding the right person who could play the right sounds … But Garrison is the man,” Sean Schultz said, who met bassist Garrison Grouse two-and-a-half years ago while the two toured for another band, Black Diet.

Unlike Black Diet — a garage/soul band that Sean Schultz and Grouse are also part of — What Tyrants has a more thrash-y surf rock sound.

“[We want to] make songs more than just chords and melody and the beat. It’s energy,” Sean Schultz said. “I always want to make a song not catchy, but easy to grab onto in a way.”

The Minneapolis-based trio finds inspiration from bands like the Monks and the Stooges, but they say having a signature style is a crucial part of their work.

“It’s a balancing act of trying to pay homage and knowing where your music came from, but also being yourself and being an artist,” Sean Schultz said.

If the band members initially write music and notice that something sounds too similar to another artist, they make changes to elements of the sound.

“There has been kind of a garage revival lately, and I like a lot of those bands, but it’s [about] trying to separate yourself a little bit and stand out from that,” Kyle Schultz said.

What Tyrants has played several locations in the Twin Cities — including the Kitty Cat Klub, Hexagon Bar, Triple Rock, Turf Club and 7th Street Entry.

Saturday is their first time at the Bedlam Theatre.

“I play in a bunch of bands, but what I love about this band is that whenever we get on stage, we just have the most fun ever,” Grouse said. “Our songs are simple enough that we can freak out, jump around, jump off of things. We usually end up on the floor at least twice … And every time we play, it’s a little bit different.”

A key part of the band’s shows are a little bit of mayhem.

“I always want to be on that edge of destruction. We played at the Hexagon last month, and Kyle forgot to turn the fog machine off through our entire first song,” Sean Schultz said. “I couldn’t see anything, but those are the kind of things I like.”

Band members said their greatest achievement so far was putting together their full-length debut record, “No Luck,” which is scheduled to release March 24.

Matt Linden from the Forged Artifacts label said he is happy the band has joined the Forged Artifacts family.

“‘No Luck’ is just non-stop. It’s all fun, maximum rock ‘n’ roll the entire time,” Linden said. “I’m excited to see them take the songs on the road. They just flat-out rip, and that’s why I wanted to work with them.”

As for the show the band is playing on Saturday, the musicians said they are excited for the artist lineup, which includes Narco States, Ripper and Stereo Confession.

“If we weren’t playing, I’d still go,” Kyle Schultz said.

“It’s going to be pretty wild. There will probably be a lot of fog machine happening,” Sean Schultz said. “We’re going to make so much noise that Minneapolis will hear us.”

 

What: What Tyrants

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Where: Bedlam Lowertown, 213 E. Fourth St., St. Paul

Cost: $5

Ages: 21+

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