The Epic

The people have spoken and The Epic's Kevin Cochran is this year's Best Male vocalist. At the same time, The Epic beat out a host of other bands to become this year's Best Local Band.\n Springing from Carmel, Ind., Cochran, now 22, has lived in Indiana all his life. A SPEA major and super senior, Cochran loves Bloomington so much he decided to stay here an extra semester after his December graduation. \nCochran has been playing the guitar for 10 years now, but he only began singing a few years ago. He started learning to play music during the grunge days of the early '90s.\n"(It was) a whole era of people just going out there and getting guitars," Cochran says. "(Epic guitarist) Luke Clayton and I both got ours on the same day." \nDrawn to music at an early age, Cochran admits that he has always been a rock musician and this award is especially gratifying for him. \n"There are a lot of good bands, a lot of good front people. I just have to be humble," he says. \nCochran is the band's front man and lyricist, providing the basis for the vast majority of Epic's songs. He describes his writing technique as storytelling. He writes short stories, and then collectively the band turns them into songs. Cochran says the songs come from his life experiences, stories that anyone can relate to. \n"I always try to make things as catchy as possible," he says. "I think it's all about finding that draw that makes people want to listen over and over, that catches them the first time they hear the song."\nPerhaps Cochran's popularity on campus stems from his casual charm and friendly demeanor. His onstage persona is relaxed and familiar, which he explains has been developed over time. \nHe says one of his greatest performance-related fears is forgetting the lyrics to cover songs. To combat these momentary episodes of pre-show nerves, Cochran and the band usually listen to a CD in the car, then have a brief pep talk to make sure all the band members are ready to perform. \n"When you are nervous, you don't move around as much," he says. "You don't get into it as much. The more free you are on stage, the more you relate to the audience."\nThe success of a band can often time rest on the lead singer's shoulders, as he is the voice of the band. For a lead singer to be successful, he should have certain qualities to draw the audience in, and want to hear more. \n"I wish I had some more one-liners," Cochran says. "I don't really do most of the talking. You have to connect with the audience; you just want to gain their attention, make them feel as comfortable as you feel. I get off on tangents where I close my eyes for the entire song. "\nAs the lead singer and eldest member of The Epic, Cochran sees himself as the father of the group. \n"Naturally I have to take a leadership role and get people motivated to get places. Being a lead singer, I think people approach you because they feel like you're the talker," Cochran says.\nOverall, Cochran sees the band fitting perfectly into the local Bloomington scene. \n"Bloomington has a huge music scene, and if you can't fit something here, then you are doing something wrong because there are so many musical tastes here," Cochran says. "There's always this underground with other bands; you're looking for respect from the local scene. We just love what were doing, and that's the only thing we want to get out of it. Bloomington has allowed me to play in a rock group, gain confidence, and the reception has been so great here."\nBloomington has a thriving music scene, where many musicians can find a place to express and gain recognition for their talent. For Cochran, Bloomington has allowed him and his band to play often and receive recognition, which is one of the reasons he loves it here. \n"Just playing music -- it's what we love to do and we make money doing it," Cochran says. "It's not about the money. It's about doing something that we really love to do. Singing in front of people -- there's what I call the music curse. Once you get a feeling for performing in front of people, it's all you want to do. In a way I have the music curse. You can get lost in it, and it's a very hard business when it's all you want to do."\nIn the future, Cochran, who draws his inspiration from industry front men such as John Mayer and Sean Kelly (lead singer of The Samples), hopes to continue to evolve as a musician, eventually having a solo career as an acoustic artist. For now, Cochran is making music with a group of musicians and friends that he respects and is having a great time doing it.