Dynamic Elgin rockers Moxxy offer more than the illusion of depth

Posted January 06, 2009 10:00 pm

By Jeff Pizek Daily Herald Staff

When all four members of Moxxy moved into the same Elgin house, their goal was to work on moving their band forward.

On Saturday, Jan. 10, Moxxy headlines a Q101.1-sponsored show at the legendary Chicago rock club Metro, fulfilling a dream held by most local bands. Yet, as if meaning to prove they chose the right moniker, they're determined to make it more than a musical showcase. As their Metro debut, Moxxy organized "Alive in 3D," with original 3D film backdrops tailored to each set of the five-band bill.

The quartet - singer/keyboardist Chris Servia, guitarist Kye Larsen, bassist Jason Sedlack and drummer Mike Bero - grew up in the Fox Valley area and began playing together about five years ago in a six-piece band Servia says was "more experimental" and "more into jamming out." After a year and a half, they broke off and formed Moxxy in order to play something "more structured."

Servia describes Moxxy's music as "alternative rock, power pop-style music with our own little flavor." As heard on the band's 2008 debut EP, "Serving Strangers," Servia's soulful, slightly raspy voice adds an emotional complement to Larsen's dynamic melodies, while the rhythm section remains tasteful yet deceptively hard-hitting. Moxxy's sound is memorable and professional, while avoiding the plastic sort of slickness that can drain energy from catchy rock songs.

"We chose the title 'Serving Strangers' because it fit our lives and what we're doing to get where we want to go," ponders Servia. "We all bartend and serve at restaurants. If you meet us face-to-face, we all love to talk and converse, we're all people persons. We feel like we're serving a product to everybody, not just at our jobs but also in our own lives. We have to portray ourselves as we want people to see us. And, we're serving everybody good music.

"We want to give people a product they can actually relate to, where they can be like, 'I can listen to this whenever I'm feeling upset, whenever I'm thinking about her or him.' We want to give everybody a taste of our lives. Our lives are really good. We've been blessed, but we want everybody to feel the pain that we have felt in our lives, because we're normal people. We play music, yeah, but we also have to work for our money."

Servia, whose experience includes a stint singing at Walt Disney World in Florida, says he takes inspiration both from other musicians (his favorites include 311 and Incubus) and from his personal life, including ex-girlfriends.

"A lot of our music is about being who you are and making decisions for yourself," Servia says. "There's a lot of heartache and triumph in our music. I feel like you can write best by digging deep into yourself and putting it down on paper. It's easier said than done, but there have been nights where I can't sleep, I'm tossing and turning in my bedroom and I just grab my notebook. I can write a song or two, depending on what's going on."

Servia singles out the dramatic "After the Rain" as representative of Moxxy's music, and says it sprung from Larsen's guitar during a basement practice session. "I'm sure he doesn't want to admit it," he says, "but I'm sure he wrote it about his girlfriend, since they were going through some hard times. The song is mostly about turning tragedy to triumph."

Crediting Larsen for the organ melody that opens the song with a classic rock flourish, Servia feels the lively swagger of "Dreams" is also exemplary.

He recalls, "I was at a dark time in my life when we were writing that. We had just gotten out of a really bad writer's block, and I was having a lot of crazy dreams, waking up in the morning and sweating. One of the lines goes, 'Seems like I fall when I'm awake.' Our dreams are our getaway, and our getaway is our music. There was a time when I felt so discouraged about music because there are so many great bands in Chicago, it's such a hard market, and that was my escape from the real world."

Moxxy is currently organizing a hometown show at Mad Maggie's in Elgin, dubbed the "Valentine's Day Massacre" (it's on Friday the 13th of February and features a post-show dance party), as well as preparing songs for a new demo. The band's main recent priority, though, is the "Alive in 3D" gig and its ambitious DIY format.

"You could be watching a band, but then you look in the background and there's going to be stuff popping out at you," enthuses Servia. "We want it to be an awesome show with the 3D, but we don't want that aspect to take away from the bands and the hard work we've all done to get to where we are."

As for that work ethic, Servia notes, "Every night that we've had off, we've been going to Metro and other venues downtown to hand out fliers. Among five bands, we've probably gotten rid of over 8,000 fliers."

Servia's done more than promote the gig, though. With help from a friend at Clubline Chicago Magazine, he created films for all the bands playing at "Alive in 3D" except anthemic indie rockers Makeshift Prodigy, who handled their own film. Servia says he spent last week working as hard as possible at his regular jobs in order to take this week off and concentrate on making the movies.

"If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself," he says regarding the hands-on approach.

Servia credits Moxxy's manager, Nick Marotta, for teaching him how to reach out to venues, radio stations and other contacts.

"I've really learned that you've got to talk to everybody," he says. "You've got to push the name, and now we're starting to catch a really nice buzz."

Moxxy is Kye Larsen, left, Chris Servia, Mike Bero and Jason Sedlack.

Next shows With: A Birdsong Valentine, Makeshift Prodigy, Simplistic Urge, Minus the Girl 6 p.m. Sat., Jan. 10, at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago, (773) 549-4140 or <a href="http://www.metrochicago.com" target="new">metrochicago.com</a> Tickets: $10 (includes 3D glasses for the first 500 people) With: Amrita, Makeshift Prodigy, Jane Vinyl 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13, at Mad Maggie's, 51 S. Grove Ave., Elgin, (847) 531-5883 or <a href="http://www.madmaggies.net" target="new">madmaggies.net</a> Tickets: $5

Article Categories
Entertainment Lifestyle Music Performing Arts