Murder by Death debuts new music at the Bishop

This summer, Murder By Death toured Alaska. The band did not just go to Anchorage. Instead, it went to McCarthy, Alaska, population 22, a small mining town three hours away from any neighbors.

People traveled from miles around to see the musicians, cramming into the tiny lodge where they played their rock ballads and filled the room with themes of the Old West, the band said. Young people crowd surfed while an old man with a bushy white beard danced in front of them.

“We have all these great memories,” frontman Adam Turla said after recounting the tale. “It’s the reason we like to travel.”

Now, Murder By Death is back in Bloomington, where it began more than a decade ago, and is holed up writing songs for the album to be recorded in January.
The band will debut several new songs Friday at the Bishop.

“I don’t think we’ve ever done anything quite like this,” Turla said. “It’s a local show to get some perspective on (the new music).”   

He said the songs have been coming hard and fast lately. And, while the band has been a four-piece for some time, Scott Brackett recently became a fifth. He plays a number of instruments: accordion, trumpet, mandolin and piano.

“There’s a huge amount of sonic space he opens up by being in the band,” Turla said. “There’s so much opportunity it can be hard to rein it in.”

The band is completed by Sarah Balliet on cello and keyboards, Matt Armstrong on bass and Dagan Thogerson on percussion.

Mile 44, a screen-printing service run by duo Dave Windisch and Stacy Curtis, created the poster for the performance.

Windisch said they listen to and base their designs  on aspects of the band’s music, whether those are specific lyrics or a feel the band projected. This show’s poster depicts a cartoonish arm raising a martini glass of bubbly blue beverage. A glow-in-the-dark overlay reveals a skeleton in the arm.

Windisch based it on one line from the song “Piece by Piece,” in which Turla sings “I’ve paid my dues, and I had my fun/ You’ll have yours too, son.” He said the line reminded him of his own father’s influence on him and the fun of “boozing it up” with friends.

“I love their music. I think it’s great,” Windisch said. “It’s happily depressing, if that makes any sense.”

Bloomington’s Austin Lucas, who will open with his backing band the Bold Party, has performed with Murder By Death before. As a spectator, he said he has found their growth incredible.

“If anyone’s good, they don’t end where they started,” Lucas said. “Adam’s voice has become so rich and full over the years.”

Lucas has been on a music journey himself — he grew up singing in the Indiana University Children’s Choir and performed in operas at the Musical Arts Center. Since his childhood, he’s toured and released albums for nearly a decade.

“It wasn’t until I was 12 that I realized punk was something I could reach out and grab, the kind of music I could do,” Lucas said.

While he’s moved on to playing what he said could be described as alternative country or folk, “Once a punk, always a punk,” Lucas said.

“I like to sing pretty,” Lucas explained, which punk music does not usually
accommodate.

Now, after a tour with Willie Nelson this past summer as well as a tour in Europe to support his 2011 album “A New Home In The Old World,” Lucas is back to writing for his next album.

“He’s got that Americana vibe,” Turla said. “We dabble in that occasionally. It’s a nice fit (for the show).”

While Murder By Death has journeyed to Alaska and across the world — Norway, Greece and Sardinia, to name a few — Turla said he’s excited to return to the Bishop.

“I love that joint,” he said. “Just a nice, small room that sounds good.”