Archeology to perform at the Mill
"By the By"
"White Walls"
While most band members whose tours take them through Las Vegas probably try their luck at the tables and slot machines or party until dawn at the hippest nightclubs, the members of Archeology can be found visiting nearby historical sites.
"We have archeology books in the van as we speak," said Jason Davis, 30, a songwriter and musician. "That's what we read when we camp or stay at a hotel. We're always going on tours [of digs]."
Part of the band's summer tour includes a pit stop in Iowa City. Archeology will perform at 10 p.m. today at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., with Cheyenne Marie Mize. Admission is $6.
The two founding members first met at an archeological dig, and as Davis puts it, his path with fellow songwriter Daniel Walker, 22, "converged without us knowing."
Davis' journey in music began much earlier, at the age of 4, when his parents insisted that he learn to play the piano. In high school, the young musician's parents bought him a cheap guitar from Costco.
"I never learned how to play other people's music," he said. "I just kind of started sort of writing my own songs because they were a lot easier to play than trying to learn someone else's stuff."
Similar to Davis, Walker got his start with music at a young age.
"Because my family was so heavily involved in church, I was in the choirs," he said. "My father was a pastor, and we mainly listened to Christian music, but for some reason, country music was allowed."
Walker and Davis have taken their musical talent a step further by finding the right words to accompany their chord progressions and melodies.
"When we start writing, we kind of stopped listening to music a little bit," Davis said. "That's sort of purposeful, just because we want to make sure that what we're writing is as close to what's inside of our heads as possible."
"I am a lot more scatterbrained when it comes to writing," Walker said. "I like to go on a lot of walks and see what comes for inspiration."
The rest of the group also contributes ideas as well, and Walker thinks that "the strength in Archeology's writing is from the collaboration."
In November 2009, Archeology started working on its newest album, Memorial. The project took about one month to complete. The inspiration behind the album came from a combination of being "starving artists" and the religious lifestyle the members of the band experienced growing up.
Because most of the lyrics for Memorial are based on personal issues, it might seem a little intimidating to stand in front of a group of people and sing about it — but not for Davis.
"It's really cathartic. It's the best experience," he said. "I feel that it's a great opportunity to get out there and get it off your chest. It really is like therapy."
For the Archeology members, cruising across the United States in a van has all the fixings for an adventure.
"We're definitely having that whole 'gypsy-esque' experience on the road," Walker said. "I think one of the most important things to have in a band, above all else — besides the music — is making sure you're in a band with people you can stand. It's great to be in a band where everyone's gung-ho to do new things and see new places."
Davis said the main goal of their shows is to encourage listeners to think.
"All we ever want to accomplish [from our shows] is to encourage people to think," Davis said. "We, as a band, we're not pushing an agenda — we just want people to think for themselves."
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