The real psychedelic rock of Grand Rapids’ Lazy Genius: The Local Spins Artist Spotlight (video, podcast)

Lazy Genius frontman Patrick Wieland adores vinyl, cites The Beatles and Neil Young as influences, tends to mutate musically and thinks of his band as the “Steve Buscemis of rock.” They play Grand Haven’s indie-rock fest Saturday.

 

Settling on Lazy Genius as a band name has not surprisingly generated quizzical interest and even a fair amount of flak over the years for guitarist Patrick Wieland and his musical comrades.

And as if that were not enough, the five-piece psychedelic rock band is officially known as The Real Lazy Genius on the Internet.

No matter, the Grand Rapids musicians who also dub themselves “the Steve Buscemis of rock” – Wieland, drummer Daniel Francis, lead guitarist Jonny Bruha, bassist Adam Cavanaugh and multi-instrumentalist Kristi Prindle – have plugged along admirably, refining their stew of alt-rock, punk, shoegaze and psychedelia, with their third studio album set for release on vinyl at the end of the year.

“In school, we weren’t necessarily the popular guys, but the people who knew us appreciated our uniqueness,” says Wieland, who graduated from Kenowa Hills High School. “That’s kind of like the thing about (actor) Steve Buscemi. Obviously, he’s not like a Brad Pitt, but he’s got his own thing going for him that makes you enjoy him.”

On Wednesday, Wieland “got his own thing going” on Local Spins Live, performing a solo acoustic rendition of the song, “Feels So Fine,” which appeared on the band’s 2012 EP, “From the Ashes to the Stars.” Check out the News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) show podcast here, with a video of his performance below.

Since forming in 2008 and releasing its first album, “Strange Plains, Dark Grooves,” in 2009, Lazy Genius’ music has morphed from punk-hued alternative music to shoegaze-shaded psychedelic rock.

“It was sort of a natural thing,” offers Wieland, who writes most of the band’s music. “I’ve always been into bands that mutate or progress in a way. … It’s just kind of naturally progressed into new areas. For our new record, we’ve got some EBow going on (an electronic bow for guitar) and a little bit more keyboards. It’s one of those things where it’s like a natural progression, trying to get ideas from new instruments and (trying) to do things we haven’t done before.”

For Wieland, that evolution began when he started playing drums at age 12, then picked up guitar and joined his first punk band, The Castaways, at 15, all the while listening to his dad’s vinyl records of The Beatles, The Who and Neil Young – music that inspired his early songwriting.

EMBRACING VINYL, WITH A NEW BAND ALBUM ON THE WAY

Wieland has continued to embrace and collect vinyl records, with Lazy Genius planning to release its next studio recording, “Dreamy,” on vinyl in December, with digital downloads also available. The release show is scheduled for Dec. 28 at Founders Brewing Co.

“I’m a huge fan of vinyl,” says Wieland, who also can be found performing with Tokyo Morose, Matt Ten Clay and the Howlers, The Fuzzritese and Nathan Kalish & The Wildfire. “There’s definitely something to say for vinyl because obviously the whole thing is bigger and you have to actually sit down and put the needle on. It’s more involved. You’re really careful with it; it’s not a fast-and-now thing like a lot of stuff is these days.”

Much of the new Lazy Genius album was recorded at Ten Clay’s Amber Lit Audio in Grand Rapids, with some vocals recorded in Wieland’s bedroom and a trumpet in his living room.

When it arrives, that album will sport the “Lazy Genius” moniker, not “The Real Lazy Genius,” a longer band name that group members adopted for Internet purposes a couple of years ago so they wouldn’t be confused with a Detroit-area hip-hop outfit which carries the same name.

“In order to exist on the Internet, we’re labeled as Real Lazy Genius, but we go by Lazy Genius,” says Wieland, who credits Francis, or maybe Francis’ mother, for coming up with the name to describe a smart kid who does “just enough work to get through high school stuff.”

“Most of our friends refuse to call us Real Lazy Genius.”

Real or just plain lazy, the band will headline Saturday night’s lineup at the Grand Haven Indie-Rock Music Festival, performing at 11 p.m. The two-day festival spotlighting mostly Midwest acts features five bands playing indoors at the Dee-Lite in downtown Grand Haven on Friday, starting at 8 p.m. with Brian Vander Ark.

Five more take to an outdoor stage on Washington Street on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m. with Grand Rapids’ Flashing Blue Lights. The all-ages festival is free; see the full schedule and details in this Local Spins story.

For more information about Wieland and his band, visit their website at thereallazygenius.bandcamp.com.

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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