Airplanes to Athens members find their groove as in-demand Lincoln band
A glance will do it. Or even a pause. The trio doesn’t have to talk to communicate.
Music usually tells their story.
Greg Humlicek (guitar), Rose Heydt (drums) and Jesy Stortenbecker (vocals) have been playing in the band Airplanes to Athens for the past couple of years. The three have grown close during that time, combining styles and gender to become one of Lincoln’s busiest local groups.
They will play at Duffy’s Tavern on Wednesday and Box Awesome on Thursday. Any venue is fair game these days.
“I’ve had 12-year-olds come up to me and say, ‘You play in Airplanes to Athens,’” Stortenbecker, 18, said. “It’s crazy.”
Things weren’t always that way. The music wasn’t always so appealing.
Stortenbecker and Heydt started playing together when they were in junior high school. They jammed on random instruments in the basement, and they attended local concerts during their spare time. By high school, they were getting on stage and performing for an audience.
They had a punk sound back then, and they had an attitude to go with it.
“You knew you were in trouble if Jesy wrote a song about you,” Heydt, 17, said.
But change came with maturity, and the lyrics lightened up. In the fall of 2006, the girls found themselves looking for a guitarist. They had opened for a number of bands, and they had a few prospects.
They got on MySpace and sent a message to Humlicek, an older guy just beginning his first semester at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Humlicek had his own history. He had been playing guitar since junior high and performing in bands for years.
As time passed, he got more serious about music. He wanted out of his old group.
“Our singer could not sing — he mostly screamed,” Humlicek, 20, said. “We were one of those bands, and it wasn’t my style.”
He jumped at the offer to play with the two high school girls. He liked their sound and their style, and he thought they had serious potential.
The group named itself Airplanes to Athens when Humlicek arrived. But the guitarist needed time to get used to the surroundings.
“When I practiced with guys, it was always, ‘Dude, play this,’ or ‘Dude, play that,’” Humlicek said. “I didn’t want to say that to the girls. So after every song I was like, ‘Did that sound OK? Did I play that right?’”
His new bandmates didn’t mind the respect. Soon they were playing a more consistent sound. It was lighter than ever before, more of a pop-punk style than an angry-gothic tune.
Since then, the music has served the group well around Lincoln. Airplanes to Athens played four consecutive shows in June. And this month it played at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.
The band doesn’t even have to work to book local shows anymore. Bars and venues send requests.
In hindsight, the trio should have seen that coming.
Their music usually speaks for itself.
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or mmchale@journalstar.com.
Music usually tells their story.
Greg Humlicek (guitar), Rose Heydt (drums) and Jesy Stortenbecker (vocals) have been playing in the band Airplanes to Athens for the past couple of years. The three have grown close during that time, combining styles and gender to become one of Lincoln’s busiest local groups.
They will play at Duffy’s Tavern on Wednesday and Box Awesome on Thursday. Any venue is fair game these days.
“I’ve had 12-year-olds come up to me and say, ‘You play in Airplanes to Athens,’” Stortenbecker, 18, said. “It’s crazy.”
Things weren’t always that way. The music wasn’t always so appealing.
Stortenbecker and Heydt started playing together when they were in junior high school. They jammed on random instruments in the basement, and they attended local concerts during their spare time. By high school, they were getting on stage and performing for an audience.
They had a punk sound back then, and they had an attitude to go with it.
“You knew you were in trouble if Jesy wrote a song about you,” Heydt, 17, said.
But change came with maturity, and the lyrics lightened up. In the fall of 2006, the girls found themselves looking for a guitarist. They had opened for a number of bands, and they had a few prospects.
They got on MySpace and sent a message to Humlicek, an older guy just beginning his first semester at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Humlicek had his own history. He had been playing guitar since junior high and performing in bands for years.
As time passed, he got more serious about music. He wanted out of his old group.
“Our singer could not sing — he mostly screamed,” Humlicek, 20, said. “We were one of those bands, and it wasn’t my style.”
He jumped at the offer to play with the two high school girls. He liked their sound and their style, and he thought they had serious potential.
The group named itself Airplanes to Athens when Humlicek arrived. But the guitarist needed time to get used to the surroundings.
“When I practiced with guys, it was always, ‘Dude, play this,’ or ‘Dude, play that,’” Humlicek said. “I didn’t want to say that to the girls. So after every song I was like, ‘Did that sound OK? Did I play that right?’”
His new bandmates didn’t mind the respect. Soon they were playing a more consistent sound. It was lighter than ever before, more of a pop-punk style than an angry-gothic tune.
Since then, the music has served the group well around Lincoln. Airplanes to Athens played four consecutive shows in June. And this month it played at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.
The band doesn’t even have to work to book local shows anymore. Bars and venues send requests.
In hindsight, the trio should have seen that coming.
Their music usually speaks for itself.
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or mmchale@journalstar.com.
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