by Maria DeBlassie
Daily Lobo
The Onlys are an acquired taste, said Jason Chenoweth, lead singer and guitarist of the band.
"We're not writing formulaic music," he said. "We capture the energy of art and then go back and rearrange it."
This indie rock band from Austin, Texas, will be in Albuquerque Friday to promote their album Limbic System.
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Everyone in the band is strong-headed about what they want in the music, Jason said. Although things can be bittersweet, he said band members have learned to balance their musical sensibilities so that everybody can bring something to the music.
"Everyone has something they're working on," said Rachel Romo, keyboardist for the band. "Everyone adds their own touch and then a song comes out of it."
Jason said Romo was originally a classical pianist, and she brings that classical element to the band.
"She's very diversified," he said. "She can be anything from Chopin to Sex Pistols."
Members have their own way of creating music, he said.
"I'm a television junkie," Romo said. "I listen to background music in shows. It's fun for me to figure out what the advertising agencies do to get you to watch it. It's in the music."
She said every time she reads or watches something, she can take it and incorporate it into her music.
"I'm not a prolific writer," she said. "But I have a bad habit of writing everything in my head and not being able to get it all out."
Jason said he thinks up tunes while he's driving.
"I don't listen to the radio," he said. "The radio in my head kicks in. A lot of melodies get lost in the wind. The recurring ones are the ones I try to capture."
Joel Chenoweth, Jason's brother and the bass player, said he became a musician because he needed to express himself.
"I needed a creative outlet, and I wasn't good at painting," he said.
Jason said the album is their best work to date and shows their growth in lyrical arrangement and composition. But he said it was a difficult album to make because they lost their drummer halfway through.
"It became more of a mission to finish it because we were feeling like the record would finish us," he said.
Jason said he and Joel started playing guitar when they were teenagers. But he said music has always been a part of their lives. Their mother was adamant about getting them to be creative.
"It's the way we were raised," Jason said.
When asked what it's like being in a band with his brother, Joel said they fight all the time.
"We're always at each other's throats," he said. "But in the end we find a way to make a good song out of it."
The Onlys are also inspired by Asian cultures, Jason said. Romo is studying Japanese and has brought the Asian influence into the band.
"Studying Japanese opens up the door to an easier appreciation and understanding of world music," Romo said.
Jason said the band creates music for music's sake now. He said when they first started the band they wanted to be rock star millionaires.
"We were naive," he said. "It's not about money anymore."
