If you’ve made it this far, then you obviously share the same strange sort of mental connection with the group as I do. As a lifelong musician (and a dude that doesn’t mind fucking up a perfectly fine event), I feel inclined to dig a bit deeper. I couldn’t help but notice a sentence on their website that mentioned the “disorienting power of itchy-O“. It seemed strangely fitting to what I felt the first time I locked eyes/ears on the group, so I was curious to see if this was a conscious effort, or just a byproduct of their combined efforts?studio_03 “We rock the Church of Entropy, however, the music itself is highly structured and organized. Also, one of the things that is so disorienting about an itchy-O show is that we smash the tradition that the band is to be observed on the stage and there is any sort of divide between spectator and performer. Audiences are so conditioned to focusing their attention toward the front of the house that when performers come up from behind them and play next to them…people then feel overcome by the show and even a part of it. There is so much that we control in our lives today. What we choose to see, hear, believe is carefully curated through our filtered reality, aided by algorithms we set. Itchy-O challenges that hierarchy of choice and control by inserting friendly chaos.”.

And what about the whole “marching band” aspect of things? Sure, they’re wearing traditional uniforms, but I’m not seeing much in terms of marching–nor do I see much in terms of traditional sticking rudiments (flams, diddles,etc). itchy-O is something else entirely, and there certainly isn’t a label for it. “We really actually abhor marching. When we “take” venues and spaces half of the band often processions in from the front of venues but, the rest filter in from every vantage. You probably won’t ever see us “parading” around playing our songs. We do more enveloping than we do marching.“. One member added: “Horns are for gording. You will not find any brass here.“. Fair enough.

itchy-O is something else entirely, and there certainly isn’t a label for it.

So where can you see these guys for yourself? Unfortunately, I’ve yet to have the pleasure, but I’ve certainly added it to the bucket list. Interestingly enough, at the heart of itchy-O is Denver Colorado. “There is a magnificent DIY scene and culture here that we have the privilege of recruiting from. Itchy-O can also attribute much of it’s success to small local independent venues like Mercury Cafe, Deer Pile, Rhinoceropolis and 3 Kings. It is these small pioneers that keep the Denver underground scene alive and vibrant.”.itchy0 3 But what if you can’t make it out to Colorado? You might be lucky enough to catch them elsewhere. While shows typically hover around the Denver area, itch-O has played venues in Arizona, California, Louisiana, and even Georgia. But it’s their upcoming show in Hobart, Tasmania at the Dark Mofo festival that has the group abnormally excited. It marks their first international show, and I’m sure it’ll be something for the ages. “You probably could not get much further from Denver, but you could also not find a more perfectly suited festival for us to play. So making the effort to organize and transport 30 members along with, quite literally, TONS of gear that cannot be back-lined there was absolutely worth it.

The Museum of New and Old hosts this festival. Having itchy-O play this festival makes so much sense that all parties have been excitingly eager and willing to invest the tireless work that it will take to get this mammoth project down there. We have been working on it with promoter, Tom Supple, since November 2014.”

Not in Tasmania? Can’t say I’m surprised, but thanks to the power of the internet you can support the group by ordering their records and merch from their official site over at itchyo.com. I obviously recommend that you do just that. It’s not every day that something like this comes our way, so let’s support it, just like we do with the films we love. Now excuse me while I try to resist the urge to furiously beat on shit while listening to the following track: