New Lagoon Preview

Sean Knox (Buffalo Death Beam), Luke Taklo (Moss Campions),
Bart Budwig, Ted Powers (Yarn Owl)

Four guys from local folk bands are taking their music from zero to classic rock in five seconds.


Luke Taklo (Moss Campions), Ted Powers (Yarn Owl), Sean Knox (Buffalo Death Beam) and Bart Budwig joined together to form New Lagoon only a month ago, and they already sound like they have been playing together for years.


“We’re really not finished yet,” Taklo said. “It’s a work in progress, a little rough.”


After hearing their first song — which they jokingly refer to by a variety of working names, including “Navajo Camo” and “Old and Rusty” — it became clear that the members of New Lagoon have a different definition of “rough” than the average listener. Their sound actually has more finesse than several much older bands and is a clear departure from the folk sound many of the fans of their other bands may be expecting.

“It’s all been pretty organic; we haven’t really talked about what we wanted to sound like,” Taklo said. “But Motown is something we’re all pretty enthralled by.”

It shows. Their music reflects a lot of older Motown, with the kiss of a retro ballad sound. They work in organ sounds to really bring together music that sounds as though it lives in the 1960s and today, simultaneously. The end result is utterly catchy and promises to entertain.
“We really just want to have fun,” Powers said. “We want people to come to our shows and dance. We don’t want them just standing around, we want them dancing. We’re playing music we love to play, and we just want to keep that going for as long as possible.”

Their supergroup reflects the energy of the local music scene, which all the members are hoping to promote as much as possible.

“We’re really excited about the music around here, with Birds on a Wire happening and everything,” Budwig said. “I would just encourage people to be optimistic, and really get out (and) look around. There are great shows happening here.”

They will be opening for The Moondoggies Sunday as part of the Birds on a Wire Mini-Fest. Tickets are available from members of the band or from The Belltower for $7 in advance or $10 at the door. Festival passes are also available for $25.