Fists of Phoenix coming of age

~Fists of Phoenix, once the music scene's teenage kings, are proving they're not kids anymore with a more progressive sound.

Fists of Phoenix frontman Daniel Seabaugh is no longer a teenager.

"I just turned 20 last week," he says. He's standing on the stage of the Enchanted Forest, the sawdust-covered upstairs venue owned by his parents, and talking to guitarist Ian Bolton about the song he's just written.

"It sounds like Zelda," he tells Bolton. "Like the theme music for the legend of Zelda."

He may be in his 20s now, but Daniel Seabaugh is still a kid at heart.

The Enchanted Forest is only accessible through a tiny door next to an antique shop on Broadway, but the hard-to-find venue has become one of Cape Girardeau's hottest locations for up-and-coming bands.

And a lot of that is thanks to Fists of Phoenix.

If you've heard the Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria or Incubus, you have a clue as to the type of space-age rock Fists of Phoenix churn out. Their first EP, last year's "In the Events of 1961," blew minds with epic songs like "Grade A" and "Space Travel for the Siamese Nobody," and previews of newer songs like "Grow Like You Mean It" show them venturing in strange new directions, reaching realms most bands never touch at a time in their development when they're just figuring out how the input jack goes in the guitar.

The band, made up of Seabaugh (a former member of Frogsweat), guitarists Bolton and Chase Wright, bassist Trevor Moore and drummer Josh Keusenkotchen, isn't the same Fists of Phoenix that formed three years ago while most of its members were still sophomores or juniors at Cape Central High School. For one thing, everyone in the band can now legally drive a car or smoke a cigarette (even if they don't want to; Daniel Seabaugh proudly describes the Enchanted Forest as "the only non-smoking, non-drinking place in town to see a good show.") They're also evolving past the "kid" label they'd been saddled with for most of those three years.

Fists of Phoenix has seen a few lineup changes, mostly thanks to its members coming of age; former drummer Chris Kitchen got married, had a baby and joined the Air Force, and former bassist Jarred started classes at Southeast.

The members who've stayed around have solidified their plan of attack, even if they have the occasional scuffle.

"It's healthy for bands to fight," says Seabaugh. "It's like being in a relationship. If you don't fight, you're not in a real band."

After "In the Events of 1961," Fists of Phoenix are moving away from the straightforward rock of their first three years and toward experimental rock in the vein of Coheed and Cambria or Sigur Ros.

"Right now, I think you could call us prog-rock," says Bolton. "But every set of songs changes. '1961' was heavier, but we're getting a little softer and trying to put in a little bit of everything," from keyboards and programming to Arabic scales.

He describes the difference as "12-minute songs instead of six-minute songs."

"Lately, my inspiration has been The Lord of the Rings," he says. "I don't know why, but it makes me want to write super-epics where you don't have to obey the rules of key signatures. I feel like music's the only thing I'm good at, so it's what I have to do. Writing and playing music just gives me a spiritual connection. You listen to great bands and wonder, how does that music come from people? Well, it doesn't. We're just the outlet for it. It originates on a spiritual level."

The conversation turns philosophical, and Seabaugh jumps in.

"Why are we where? Where are we going? What are we doing?" he asks. "Every good lyricist has a point to get across, an answer to those questions. Oh, and batteries. Lately, batteries inspire me."

Fists of Phoenix want to provide something different for Cape Girardeau in a music market they call "stagnant."

"No one has balls here," says Seabaugh. "Bands here just do what they think is cool. They should play from their hearts, but it seems like they don't have 'em."

"There are some good bands in Cape, but only a handful who take risks," says Bolton, mentioning Minus the Star, Falcon Drive and Rock Solid.

Fists of Phoenix wants to try to change that with their next album, which they're currently writing.

"We'll go out and tour for it," says Bolton.

Daniel has the plan. "We'll start with Memphis, St. Louis, and Springfield, and maybe even Chicago. From there, we'll spread out. There's no limit."

Seabaugh, Bolton and the rest of the band are optimistic their high-school project might turn out to be a full-time venture. And for a more stable, more progressive, more ambitious and (slightly) more grown-up Fists of Phoenix, that wish might just come true.