Youth, in this instance, is certainly not wasted on the young.

In fact, the local high school garage band called We Are Not a Glum Lot is serious about exploring their own potential.

They play the free Acacia Park Summer Concert Series at 6 p.m. Saturday along with M.o.D.T.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Erickson, who is 17, formed the band 2008. In July 2010, the personnel shifted to include bassist Zac Blum, 18, violinist Colin Foxwell, 18, and John Carey, 17, at the drums.

This alt/indie four-piece band has already made waves on the local scene and has been nominated for Best Indie Rock Band in the Colorado Springs Independent’s 2012 Indy Music Awards contest, which ends July 13. That’s pretty impressive for a group of kids still years away from legally having a beer in the bars and venues in which they routinely perform.

Yes, Erickson admits, they are kind of young. And yes, that’s what a lot people focus on when it comes to their work. But that’s OK with him.

“It feels great being young, because people are way more impressed by what we’re doing,” says Erickson. “We’re more of a force to be reckoned with because of our age. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense to us, but it is nice being able to help this city’s scene grow.” 

At this point in their evolution as a band, it’s hard to pin down their sound. But Erickson describes the it as a “big wave of rhythmic noise.” You also might catch a little of the freshman echoes by Sonic Youth, Blur or the Pixies.

“As a band we collectively share a liking for indie rock, math rock, classical and jazz,” said Erickson, who adds that their name was plucked from Alcoholics Anonymous’ “Big Book” (‘we are not a glum lot’) and is an an attempt to remind themselves to not always be so serious. “I’m influenced a lot by old singer songwriter stuff, hip hop and R&B as far as writing lyrics and melodies goes.”

Erickson lays the groundwork of the writing process.

“I’ll write a riff/progression I like,” he says, “get an idea of what I want the song to sound like, write some lyrics, play it at practice and everyone starts writing stuff based on what Im doing.”

And right now, anyway, skateboarding and playing Xbox take a backseat to the band.

“I think I’m the only one with a working Xbox now,” says Erickson. “But I can honestly say we all love playing music a whole lot. Killing Nazi zombies is second.”

So what does success look like at this point in their lives? Signing to a label, he says.

“Right now we’ve been sending our songs to music blogs and radio stations, just to get our stuff heard a little more. I’ve gotten some press packages ready to mail to a few labels we’re interested in, too.”

Plus, one other thing.

“We would do unspeakable things with a tour bus,” he says. “The gods of rock would be proud.”

“Dancing around and going nuts on that big stage should be fun,” says Sam Erickson, lead singer of We Are Not a Glum Lot. “Especially on a warm summer. We all love to play ‘Chandler’ and ‘You Lack Itamotua’ a lot. Those songs just flow with a steady pulse and they’re really easy to get absorbed in.” Photo by

Photo by

Denise Chambers