From the austere beginnings of a childhood garage band to the…well, they haven’t quite left the garage yet. And it’s more of a barn, than say, a garage. But when you conjure up images of a garage or barn, the conceptions typically associated with these two structures, or more specifically, the kinds of bands that practice in them cannot conveniently portray the makeup and flavor of Orwax. Equipped with mixing software and recording accoutrement, Orwax is the quintessential indie-rock band in that they produce their own music and don’t adulterate it according to the conventions of popular music. Deliciously unique in sound, this small town quartet consisting of three brothers and a close childhood friend has managed to combine their bucolic beginnings with the eclectic dissemination of homegrown music pervasive in today’s tumultuous music environment.
Brothers Ryan and Brandon Moran, the original founding members, began their musical endeavor at a very young age. The Orwax legacy began while the two were in high school and has continued on to its current fame, although the cast has changed slightly. The current line up including Ryan Moran on guitars and vocals, Brandon Moran on drums, Darren Moran on bass, and Adam Garlick on guitars and vocals, has been together since the latter two joined the ensemble in 2003. Although recreational in its beginnings, the band has come together to produce a serious body of work that has enabled their emergence onto the Upstate New York music scene.
The band is also enjoying the attention of fellow musicians as well as promoters and label scouts due in part to their exposure on Myspace© and other online community sites. Along with publicity on the regional live music scene, Orwax has been featured on various online radio stations and can be found in a variety of play lists across the air waves.
Contributing to the band’s unconventional sound is the melding of an eccentric range of influences that span all genres. From Radiohead, to the Pixies, to Sigur Ros, and Slayer, Orwax makes a concerted effort to produce unique and unstructured music discordant with the doldrums of the safe and unintelligent trend in music today. Not wanting to sound nihilistic, however, the band hopes to create music that is artistic and meaningful, and applauds creativity and the growth of the intensifying independent music movement.
