Much to the excitement of Wheaton music-lovers, Wheaton student band Mike’s Bakery has released its highly-anticipated EP. Contrary to what the name suggests, they do not bake bread but rather make music.
They describe their genre as “sexy fuzzy garage rock.” Current members of the band include Jordan Wolfe ’15, Ryan Lloyd ’15, Jeff Horn ’16, and Nick Elliot ’15.
Mike’s Bakery’s origins can be traced back to the fall of 2011 when a twist of fate assigned guitarist/vocalist Wolfe and bassist/vocalist Lloyd as roommates in their freshman year. The two quickly bonded over their love of music and began writing and playing music together. Their earliest performances occurred at Lyons Den Open Mics along with their friend Max Glick under the name “The Shoots Express” (Glick is now a bassist for Electric Animal, another Wheaton band). Mike’s Bakery was then born in November 2011, and the group subsequently found their drummer, Horn.
Their first official performance was in the Old Observatory the next month. The rest of the year saw more on-campus performances and their first EP, “Hot Cakes,” a humble extended play recorded on a four-track cassette recorder bought off of Cragslist. Through hiatuses during summers and winters spent in different states, a gap year, and a semester abroad, the band persisted, rehearsing and performing whenever they could. This past fall, the band added Elliot as a second guitarist.
Their latest EP was released on last month. The band raised money to record the EP by selling buttons for $5. Everyone who bought a button received a free copy of the EP. There are five songs on the EP: We All Go, Feel Alive, Hindsight, Boneyard, and Specter. Feel Alive and Specter were written in September 2013, while We All Go, Hindsight, and Boneyard were written March 2013 over spring break.
Unlike the previous EP, this one was recorded in a professional studio at Mockingbird Music Studio in Mansfield with Eric Anderson.
Physical copies of the EP can be bought at the Lyon’s Den or from band members for $5 or $3 online at the group’s Bandcamp page.
With graduation on the horizon for the senior members of the band, the future is uncertain, but they hope to stay in the same area and continue to make music together.