Austin Vida: Coming a long way with Whitman

I attended Whitman's first show in January 2005, when the now-defunct venue Redrum was in a small, upstairs facility. Musically, they played it safe, as those first songs were this mellow indie rock that almost crossed over to experimental territory.

Vocalists Ram Vela and Ryan Ermis appeared timid and unsure of their voices. On their first release, 2005's Anhedonia Falling, both guys held back, which made their voices sound strained. However, the potential that this could be a great band was evident.

Shortly after Torch Songs was released in 2008, seeing them live was like watching a brand new band. It was like the guys took the original Whitman sound and intensified it. The new Whitman was getting comfortable playing on stage, and with each other. The liveliness of the songs obviously showed they were having a great time being rock stars.

Vela conveyed his vibrant personality that everyone knows and loves into the delivery of his vocals, which gave him an approachable frontman stage presence. The biggest shocker, however, was the normally a quiet guy Ermis belting out his high notes in “For Heaven Sake” with such an excited grin on his face. Even now, he still keeps to himself off stage. But once he's on stage, he lets his inhibitions run free.

Five tours and three album releases later, Whitman is a solid indie-rock band that has really come a long way since that first show. The band's lineup has changed; substance abuse issues left the band looking for a new drummer to record a recent EP. After a session drummer helped out in the studio, the guys still needed to find a full-time replacement for playing live. But all the elements have come together for Whitman recently.

I got together with the band to chat about the last couple of years since I gave them their first interview. It was just like old times, full of laughter and silliness. Nevertheless, we did get down to business and talked about the recording of their upcoming release Culdesac and how far these guys think they've really come as a band.

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