Ellington

Imagine doing an interview in a cold van late at night. I did with the members of Alexander's Dark Heart—Walter Young, Roy Geoghegan and Jim Henegan. It's too loud inside the club, The Joint, and too cold for us outside. Getting them to open up about their music is like pulling teeth. "I hate to describe our music. I'd rather people just listen to it," Young explains.

Geoghegan agrees, adding, "I really have a hard time describing it as anything, but I think it's like rock music, but we do not necessarily do new things but different things." Young is the lead singer, Geoghegan plays the drums, and Henegan plays the bass.

Young and Geoghegan have been friends since grammar school. The group was founded in 2001. They originally began with a female friend as their bass player, but she ended up not staying. Young and Geoghegan were unsuccessful at finding another bass player, so they began playing as a two-piece. But a little over a year ago, Henegan saw the two playing at a show and asked if they needed a bass player. He joined, and they have all been great friends ever since. As a group they share the same musical inspirations.

"Bob Dylan and Broken Social Circle are big musical inspirations for us. And we like the Beatles," Henegan says.

Young adds: "We listen to music all the time. Like Modest Mouse and other indie groups." Their purpose for playing is not to achieve fame. Young explains, "We are just happy playing music. It makes us happy to know that other people are enjoying our music. But if they aren't, I don't care."

The sound of their music ranges from early '80s punk rock to more ambient sounds akin to Mogwai or Boards of Canada. The lyrics on their album "The Aleph" are particularly noteworthy. Take "Electrons in the Sky," for instance: "Electrons in the sky looking for love but lightning is all around." While listening to this song, listeners might picture a clear dark sky with bright electrons being isolated from one another. They almost find love, but a strike of bold lightning kills the chance. This could be the theme song for a physics class.

All three members are multi-instrumentalists. It is cool seeing the three, while performing on stage, switch up on instruments in between their songs. They all play the drums and guitar. Young is the only member who does not play the bass.

Alexander's Dark Heart is making music appearances from Tupelo to Hattiesburg. They can often be seen playing at W.C. Don's in Jackson. They are planning on performing at least once every two weeks in Jackson. The group is also planning a two-week tour this summer along the East Coast.

"The Aleph" is their first full-length album, but their older EPs, "Pancho Villa" and "The Drowsy Hours," have already been met with approval from young Jacksonians. Young, Henegan and Geoghegan wrote, recorded and performed every song on this album. Their album can be purchased at Be-Bop or online at www.alexandersdarkheart.com

Skyla Dawn Luckey is a Jackson Free Press editorial intern and the traffic reporter for Clear Channel Radio. She is a sophomore journalism major at Hinds Community College.