The curiously different noise rock duo Blues Control travels to State College to kick off its national 2013 tour at 8 tonight at the Schlow Centre Region Library.
Although a library may seem like an odd venue, it is not the most unusual stage the band has played on, keyboardist and visionary Lea Cho said.
“We’re pretty open playing anywhere as long as people want us to,” Cho said, having played in front of a group of third graders in Oakland, Calif. in the past.
The library insists that the concert will not disturb anyone, seeing that the concert will take place after the library closes, said library administrator Nathaniel Rasmussen.
“We like to bring a large diversity of acts to the library,” Rasmussen said. “We do a large variety of concerts that are a little different from what you normally hear in State College.”
The band’s unique sound and elaborate live show could only be generalized as “loud and psychedelic” by guitarist Russ Waterhouse.
The tour follows the recent release of Blues Control’s fifth studio album, “Valley Tangents.”
The album’s inconsistent and often dissonant sounds were inspired by the band’s new home in Lehigh Valley, said Waterhouse, who noted he and Cho have previously lived in Philadelphia and New York City.
“We worked on each song piece by piece,” Waterhouse said. “We have an idea of a genre or band or sound. We often jam and build off that.”
Their home environment was not the only source of inspiration according to the duo. One song featured on “Valley Tangents” titled “Iron Pigs” was inspired by a baseball game, Waterhouse said.
“We went to check out the minor league baseball team called the Iron Pigs,” Waterhouse said. “We thought we should write a stadium rock song. It was inspired by the minor league baseball team.”
The inspiration was paired with influences from industrial and 1970s African rock as well as Michael Jackson, Cho said.
Although they’re unsure of the environment, Blues Control members are excited to stop in State College and to check out the town, Cho said.
“Hopefully it’ll be an environment to zone out and dance and stuff,” Waterhouse said.
