Cleveland Heights Resident, Cleveland Natives Host CD Release Party At Beachland

Three months after Eclectic Mayhem formed, they won Cleveland Hard Rock Café’s Battle of the Bands, and were named one of the top 40 bands nationwide in the second round of the contest.

That was about a year ago. Band members, who are all Cleveland natives, have since concentrated on recording their full-length, self-titled album and hosted a release .

Jonathan Khouri, a Cleveland Heights resident and Westlake native, says fans and newcomers can expect a loud, powerful show.

“We’ve written a couple of new songs that we’re pretty proud of, and we’re pretty excited to unveil them,” Khouri said.

Khouri, who plays piano and keyboard, says their sound is similar to Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Muse.

“Every once in a while we write a song, and we’re a pretty hard band, so sometimes I struggle to see what my contribution will be on the piano and if there’s going to be piano period,” said Khouri, 24, a law student at Case Western Reserve University. “Having a piano in our harder sound smoothes it out. If it’s all just over-driven guitar, it could be in a major key but some people could listen to it and think, ’Oh this is too aggressive for me.”

Khouri said when they come out on stage, the audience often is confused about where the lead singer is. Drummer Pat Conley handles lead vocals.

“I think it’s pretty cool to see Pat drumming and singing because he’s a pretty small guy in stature, but he goes to town on the drums,” Khouri said. “…He’s kind of a spectacle.

Conley, Dan Cooley (guitar) and Nate Dreher (bass) have played in bands in the area for a while, Khouri said. He describes the group’s sound as “quirky, harder rock with its own progressive flare to it.”

“Dan writes some complicated stuff, but we try to bring in that pop sensibility to each song,” Khouri said. “…I think that some of our music musicians listen to and they think it’s great, but we want to make sure everybody can listen to it and think it’s great.”

Their album features 12 tracks, which Khouri says are influenced by music he and his band mates grew up with — ‘90s alternative and grunge.

“There’s a little bit of darkness to it that I don’t think a lot of music has today, but it's pretty acceptable because I think the piano smoothes it out.”

Khouri says everybody has other jobs, but he’d love to be able to perform and write music for a living.

“We have the next year or two to keep plugging around,” he said, adding that they’ve sent press kits to labels and they hope to book a national tour next fall. “I think right now we’re looking at it as something we love, and we certainly don’t want to have any regrets if we have to tone it back in the future.”

For more information about the band, visit Eclectic Mayhem's pages on ReverbNation and Facebook.

Eclectic Mayhem, Beachland Tavern, 15711 Waterloo Road, 8:30 p.m. May 24. The show will also feature 123wow and Jazmine Trio. Tickets: $6.