Low Phase Hopes ‘Star Dog’ Brings Relief and Relation
Article by Isabel Dowell
Photo by Isabel Dowell
Fresh off their summer tour, the indie rock supergroup, Low Phase, is already looking forward to the future. Based in Grand Rapids, MI, the four-piece traveled around the midwest for a week-long, six-date tour playing their recently released debut EP, Star Dog, to new audiences.
Star Dog represents an evolution for Low Phase. "Circles", a song they have exclusively performed as a closer at live shows, now starts the EP off strong. John Bomer (bass), mentions, "I think the idea behind the tracklist was to keep the energy up until "Swimming", where we kind of give you a reflective period before we really bring it to a massive close." "Headlights Like Heaven" has also been a staple at live shows since the beginning of the band and is finally being featured with the EP's release.
On the EP, lead vocalist Caleb Waldvogel shares, "We fell in love all over again. With each other, with this project, and with performing. These songs are the best representation of the love we've shared and lost over the past couple years."
Formed in 2020, Low Phase takes inspiration from the throes of growing older and the uncertainty of human relationships. Comprised of Caleb Waldvogel (guitar/vocals), Marley Ferguson (guitar/vocals), John Bomer (bass/vocals), and Miles Ferguson (drums), Low Phase offers listeners a unique take on the indie rock style of music. Marley Ferguson’s haunting guitar lines and soprano backing vocals weave expertly throughout each song, commanding the attention of anyone who hears them. John Bomer and Miles Ferguson create a rhythm section that is characterized by a deep pocket and an unassumingly complex cadence on which each song, and the expert lyricism of Caleb Waldvogel, rests.
Thirteen was able to catch up with the band just as they wrapped their summer tour to discuss Star Dog. Read about it below!
THIRTEEN: Let’s start from the beginning. Who is Low Phase and how did you come to be a band?
Caleb Waldvogel: Low Phase is Miles Ferguson, Marley “Mars” Ferguson, John Bomer, and Caleb Waldvogel and we got started during the pandemic. I think we all found each other at the right time.
THIRTEEN: You all grew up playing in a variety of different bands, what sets Low Phase apart from those?
Caleb Waldvogel: There’s always been chemistry but I think that along with this one, there’s also comfort. There’s comfort and chemistry and a lot more natural team building, for lack of a better term. Musically and emotionally we all support each other, so we kind of have the whole circle.
THIRTEEN: You are also all from the same small town outside of Grand Rapids, how did the juxtaposition of small town and city life influence you as musicians?
John Bomer: For me and Miles specifically, we did marching band which is kind of a small town, suburbia thing. From a musical point of view, we grew up and learned music in suburbia and in the small town setting.
Miles Ferguson: it never felt like a suppressor because we could always drive to Grand Rapids or a bigger city to play shows. Grand Rapids just as home as our small town did. Where we are now, like Caleb said, it just feels comfortable. That’s one of the things that feels comfortable.
Caleb Waldvogel: You have kind of an upper hand. Growing up in a small town and then playing your first show in the city, there’s an amazement to it that you wouldn’t get if you grew up in the city. I think that helps a lot. The first band I was in with [Miles and John] we played at the Pyramid Scheme. That was our first show in Grand Rapids and it fucking felt like Glastonbury because we’d only played at our high school, you know? It shows that you have that upper hand of knowing that there are bigger and better things. It gets better.
THIRTEEN: Tell me more about your debut EP, Star Dog.
Caleb Waldvogel: It’s a compilation of really dealing with COVID, emotionally and physically. It also touches a lot on drug abuse, anxiety, and interpersonal relationships. There’s a lot of really upbeat, happy sounding songs that, all in all, have a theme of redemption. I think genuinely, it’s like coming back to yourself and figuring this shit out but it spawned from a place of anxiety and darkness.
John Bomer: If I could add to that, from a musical standpoint, I think it’s a really good display of the band finding its footing in our style. It’s our first collection of songs so this is us being like, this is how we sound and wondering where we are going to take this now.
THIRTEEN: What was the overall process like getting Star Dog to be the EP it is?
Caleb Waldvogel: Trial and error. Like most bands, we had a bunch of demos. Most of them were unfinished. We had two years where we got to play around with them and switch songs out and feel out what people were responding well to and trying to balance that out with what we respond to well and what we think is the most authentic.
THIRTEEN: Do you have any interesting or funny stories behind the creation of the EP that might bring fans closer to the project?
Marley Ferguson: I think coming up with the name was the hardest part.
Caleb Waldvogel: Can we tag Keanu Reeves?
Marley Ferguson: It was originally going to be Dog Star but then we realized there’s a band that happened to be Keanu Reeves’ band called that so we just flipped the words. I like it better as Star Dog, it just feels right.
Caleb Waldvogel: I don’t know about funny stories. I mean, there’s a lot of instances mainly because of John.
Marley Ferguson: We laugh all the time. He’s always funny.
Caleb Waldvogel: He’s the funniest fucking person. It’s just really upsetting because it’s so relaxed and natural. You know when you try to be funny and it flops and then you feel like a piece of shit? That never happens to John.
THIRTEEN: What song off the EP do you each resonate with the most and why?
Marley Ferguson: “Swimming”.
Caleb Waldvogel: Yeah, “Swimming”.
John Bomer: “Swimming” for sure.
Marley Ferguson: I don’t think it needs an explanation, it just is that song.
Miles Ferguson: I’m in the band and that song gives me chills.
Caleb Waldvogel: I think “Headlights Like Heaven” holds a special place, too. Just because it was one of the first songs we had.
Marley Ferguson: Everytime I sing / You won’t get out of this alone / … That feels good.
Caleb Waldvogel: Yeah, that’s true.
THIRTEEN: Caleb, you write most of the lyrics, correct? What lyric are you the most proud of on the EP?
Caleb Waldvogel: Right through the window you saw a sign / 20 years from now it’ll show in your hairline. I think that’s really cool. I also like, in “Swimming”, I wanna get better for myself / But I was told to say that by somebody else. “Doctor” also has some good ones, too. “Doctor” is a lot of visions and symmetry, just the back and forth. That’s always fun when writing a song. It doesn’t make a lot of sense but sounds pretty.
THIRTEEN: What do you hope people take away from listening to your music?
Marley Ferguson: Relief.
Caleb Waldvogel: Relief, yeah!
Marley Ferguson: Relief and relation.
Caleb Waldvogel: I think a lot of bands, and I don’t think it’s wrong to do this, take themselves very, very seriously and want the response to be appropriate to that feeling, but I also want people just to have fun when they listen to the chorus and not know the words. Both sides are necessary.
THIRTEEN: What is the most memorable moment of your career in Low Phase thus far?
John Bomer: At this point now, it’s this tour.
Marley Ferguson: Yeah.
Miles Ferguson: Easily.
Caleb Waldvogel: I think the moment we got done with the last song and started packing up there were tons of mixed emotions. I remember thinking ‘Fuck, I can;t wait to do this again’ and also ‘Oh my god, I’m glad it’s over’.
John Bomer: There were so many things we learned... and so many memes.
THIRTEEN: What goals do you hope to achieve as a band?
Caleb Waldvogel: Survival. Surviving off of this project would be really cool.
Marley Ferguson: I just want to make people cry at every show. That’s all I care about.
John Bomer: The ultimate goal is to be able to just make Low Phase records and make music with this band forever. Just make a Low Phase record every couple of years.
Miles Ferguson: Yeah, just take three months just to write an album and then take another three months to tour.
Caleb Waldvogel: Something that is talked about a lot, but also isn’t talked about enough, is you can’t fully put what you want into a project with the distractions of working a 9-5 job. We are all very proud of this EP but there is so much more than we could offer if this is what we were doing.
THIRTEEN: Like if you are in the studio writing and then someone has to up and leave for work?
Caleb Waldvogel: Yeah, it’s those very logistical things like scheduling but also being at work distracted at a fucking registered or doing dishes or whatever. 90% of the time you are thinking about a project or a project for the band. Then when you get home your energy levels are dwindling. It’s hard to work two jobs and the one that you want to do needs more energy but the one that you don’t want to do is the thing that lets you live the life you’re living right now.
THIRTEEN: Now that the EP is finally out into the world, what can we expect to see from Low Phase in the future?
John Bomer: More music, more tours and more shows.
Photo by Isabel Dowell