Only one of ride bikes.’ four members knows how to ride a bike.

That member is Kyle Beam. Beam, bass player for the band ride bikes., said he read the phrase “ride bike” on an Internet forum and was inspired to use it as a band name.

“People would describe things as ‘ride bike’ because the feeling of riding a bike is so sick, so I figured we should definitely name our band that,” said Beam, a sophomore music industry major.

Ride bikes. formed earlier this semester after singer and guitarist Evan Pacheco, a freshman in the Bandier Program, wanted to fill a slot for a show organized by the trap den, a concert promotion group Pacheco is involved with. Pacheco and his lifelong friend Alex Palumbo approached Beam and Andrew Horvath to write music with them and form a band.

Horvath, a freshman in the Bandier Program, said he thinks the main idea of ride bikes. is collaboration.

“When these two groups came together, we actually found that the songs we had written separately were actually really cohesive together, which is really quite remarkable and they really went well together,” Horvath said.

Both Horvath and Pacheco play guitar and sing, while Beam is the group’s main bass player and Palumbo drums. The group has several different musical influences, and although ride bikes.’ sound has been described by others as “dad rock,” Pacheco said that the band doesn’t have a definite sound because it is new.

“I don’t think we’re really looking for a definite sound, we’re kind of just experimenting with a bunch of different styles and songs and enjoying our time,” Pacheco said. “It’s just this big amalgamation of different styles, and we’re not really putting a title on it, just having fun.”

Horvath added that the different backgrounds of the band’s members are what make ride bikes. distinctive.

“As a band, I think we’re really unique because we have such different musical backgrounds, but somehow we’re able to combine them to make this one sound that I don’t think anyone else really has,” Horvath said. “We’re just kind of doing music that no other college bands around us are really doing.”

Ride bikes. performed its first show on Feb. 28 at the Spark Contemporary Art Space. Palumbo, a sophomore religion and society major, called the group’s first show a “wild experience,” and said performing is one of his favorite parts about being in the band.
“My favorite part is getting to put out the music, letting people see what we’ve been working on and getting a reaction from the crowd,” Palumbo said. “It’s a great outlet for any frustration or build up of negative energy you’ve been getting from your day-to-day life. You can just go and put it all into your music and have a really great time with it.”

At the Feb. 28 show, ride bikes. performed three original songs and two covers of “Maps” by the Front Bottoms and “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance.

Palumbo also said the friendship between the members of ride bikes. makes being in the band a positive experience.

“It’s been a lot of fun. There’s never any tension,” Palumbo said. “There’s never any animosity if we have issues. Because we’re good friends, it just creates great positivity and there’s never any nervous energy between us. When we’re writing, things just flow very well.”

The band hopes to release an EP in April comprised of four to five songs, and hopes to perform three or four more times this semester. They will be performing April 4 at the Spark Contemporary Art Space again. Palumbo said he urges listeners to come watch ride bikes. perform.

“It’s always going to be a great time, we’re always going to do our best to make sure the crowd’s involved,” Palumbo said. “It’s never going to be dull, we’re going to bring the crowd in close, we’re going to play for them. We want to make this experience as fun for us and as fun for the crowd as possible.”

Published on March 17, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Isha: idamle@syr.edu