Echo Theory’s fun vibe belies band’s seriousness

If any local band ’round these parts has had anything resembling a hit song, it’s probably Echo Theory’s “Beware of the Penguins” – if only for the fact that the song asks the listener to please, for the love of God, whatever you do, in increasingly impassioned, frantic pleas from vocalist and bassist Tony Margorones, beware of the penguins (cue terrified scream).

“That originated five years ago in a friend’s apartment. He walked in wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Beware of the Penguins’, and I just started singing,” said Margorones. That song and more will be performed tonight at Ushuaia in Orono, when the five-man Bangor band plays with local acts Propel and Ghostman on Second in a triple bill of local music.

“It’s got some serious undertones, though. You know, like, the penguins represent the man, oppressing the small people. Or something,” he added with a chuckle. “It lets me mess around with my vocals. It’s fun.”

With three guitarists (rhythm guitar by Adam Babcock, acoustic by Jay Kaufman and lead guitar by Ryan Kirkpatrick) Echo Theory produces a dense, swirling, borderline psychedelic wall of sound that manages to stay balanced and never sound muddy.

But Margorones and drummer Eric Laplante supply a rhythm section that’s dexterous and funky, so while the three-guitar attack keeps the melody out in the stratosphere, there’s always a foundation anchored in a steady groove. Think of The Byrds or The Grateful Dead, with Sublime’s rhythm section.

“We call ourselves a progressive rock band, but I’ve heard a bunch of different ways of trying to explain our sound,” said Margorones. “It works out to be rock ‘n’ roll, though we’ll play some reggae-influenced tunes, or some heavy stuff. We try to make it so people will enjoy at least one song out of what we do.”

Echo Theory was formed two years ago, when Kirkpatrick and Margorones answered an ad that Babcock placed in local music stores looking for people to start a band.

“We got together in a friend’s studio and recorded a few things,” said Margorones. “Then Jay signed on. Then I met Eric at the mall, and he said he played drums. A week later he was in the band. We’ve been together ever since.”

The band has been busy writing and recording new songs. Meanwhile, Margorones slings pizzas at Bangor House of Pizza, Kaufman is gearing up for another semester at UMaine, and the rest of the band is working in the area to save up enough money to put out a full-length album – one which they’ve already finished, but are still putting the finishing touches on.

“We haven’t figured it out yet,” said Margorones. “We’re trying to get some money to release it. We have a full-length basically ready to go, but we want to get things right. We don’t want to rush. We want to make sure it’s the best quality it can be before we let anyone hear it.”

They make decidedly non-serious songs, though in reality they’re very serious about their music. That sense of humor and laid-back vibe is both an artistic and life philosophy.

“The name ‘Echo Theory’ means to us that if you take positivity and put it into the world, it’ll echo back to you,” said Margorones. “We try to use that in our daily lives. I’ve written political songs, complaining about the world, but that just makes people complain more. We’ll talk about serious things, but we take it with a grain of salt. We like to keep it fun.”

Echo Theory will play at 8 p.m. tonight, Friday, at Ushuaia in Orono. Tickets are $8. For more info about the band, check out www.myspace.com/theechotheory. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.