Columbus music in 2018 and beyond: The Turbos

By Ryan G

Words by Ryan Getz, photo by Mitchell Multimedia.

There’s no shortage of good rock and roll in Columbus, Ohio. Today I, along with the Columbus Music Commission, want to introduce you to The Turbos – one such band.

If this is your first time seeing one of these articles, or you need a refresher on what our partnership with the Columbus Music Commission is about, our statement is this:

The Columbus Music Commission (“the CMC”) is an entity that we’ve been getting to know a bit more in recent months. In their own words, their mission is as follows: “The Columbus Music Commission connects music makers, music commerce, and community to engage in creating, performing and promoting great music.”

Tuned Up’s vision has quite a bit in common with the CMC, and we are happy to be partnering with them with a series of interviews that gets back to our roots while also looking into the future. Every artist featured is one that Tuned Up has been fortunate to meet over the years and one who we’ll tell anyone we meet to check out.

The Turbos exploded onto the scene in early 2017 with the release of the Alternator EP. When I heard “Circles” for the first time, I knew I had a winner on my hands. Over the past two years, the band has nailed the strategy of crafting anthemic jams that are pure rock and roll, equally adept at slinging bangers meant to make you rock for fun or while pondering a greater message (see recent singles “Fever” and “‘Murica”).

The Turbos consists of Lucas Esterline, Cameron Reck, and Alex D.
They have utilized local drummers:
Austin Nill (Castile, Effee, Philip Fox Band)
Steven Bustos (Mystic Mamba)
Colin Miller (Miller and the Hunks).

The Turbos have a strategy in place to capture the attention of the midwest, rolling out singles every other month with an accompanying music video. Take some time to get to know them below and then hopefully you’ll board the hype train.

Tuned Up: How has living in Columbus benefited you as a musician in the past year?

The Turbos: Well, two of us(Lucas and Cameron) were living in Powell and the other one(Alex) was in Westerville with a cat lady when we formed. Being even that little ways away made a big difference in how we intaracted with the scene. We all worked A LOT. We’d miss a lot of events because we’d be practicing until start time and not be able to drive fast enough to catch locals and make friends and other connections with the scene. Now, we can drop our instruments and it seems like we could take a couple hops and stumble upon a show. We’ve been able to build great relationships with people at all levels of the scene. Venue owners to musicians to fans. Networking and meeting people at shows in Columbus has been one of the several contributing factors to our success with music so far.

What makes Columbus unique amongst music cities, from your point of view?

The Turbos: Columbus is in a prime spot in the United States to tour out of since we are less than a days ride from bigger cities; Pittsburgh, Memphis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, NYC, Toronto, St Louis, Nashville, Detroit just to name a few. Also, The Ohio State University’s jazz program brings a foundation of trained, highly talented players, and Capital University helps fill the scene with highly trained music tech pros.

What was the last local show you attended? What did you like about it?

Alex: I just saw The Worn Flints open for Joan Jett at Express Live and they ripped! To sit in the grass and watch your friends melt the faces of some old school rockers is something else.
Lucas: The last show i saw was a D’Angelo cover show produced by drummer Willie Barthel the III. Along with other AMAZING locals T.Wong, Terrance Farmer, Parker Louis, George Barrie, Jeff Bass, and More.
Cam: Why Omen, Wake Magnolia, and The Ragoons. It was a great night for Rock n Roll. All three bands really bring intensity to their music.

What can we expect from you/your band in 2018?

The Turbos: 6 total singles released digitally. As well as multiple tours in the late summer and fall.

What shows in Columbus are you stoked about attending this year? Why?

The Turbos: Comfest: Comfest is a great time every year with plenty to do and see in three days. As well as a bunch of local talent.
Halloween cover show season: Every year around halloween, multiple shows pop up where locals pose as a popular band and play a whole set of that groups tunes. Those shows are always fun!
Locals Radattack opening for Cold War Kids: The dudes in Radattack are awesome. Definitely keep an eye on them!!

Tell us about a memorable show you played in Columbus, and what made it such.

The Turbos: We did a double release show with Miller and the Hunks in February at The Shrunken Head. Locals The A.M. Soul Society and Courtney From Work joined us as well. We ended up a little past capacity and had an AMAZING crowd. They were all in, singing our songs loud enough to hear over monitors, and doing everything Colin Miller asked them to do while fronting the hunks set. Our new single “Murica” was received very well. We ended our set to chants of “one more song.” With no more time in our set, or material rehearsed with our fill in drummer, we ended up leaving them wanting more. It felt good knowing a full set wasn’t enough. The energy was awesome.

What excites you about being a musician in this day and age? What can be improved upon?

The Turbos: It’s exciting being a musician this day in age because of social networking. We can do a lot of things ourselves without a label, manager, publicist, or booking agent through social networking. An area of improvement could be more resources for Independent locals. Breaking in from the outside can be tough if you don’t know the right people.

What would you like to see develop further in the Columbus music scene in 2018 and beyond?

The Turbos: Centering the voices of Women, POC, and the LGBTQ community. More solidarity between scenes. Cross over support between genres. Columbus is a great city, it could be one hell of a music city with some more TLC from everyone in it.

The Turbos are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

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