New On the Scene: Boulder Band Nite Owls

By: Hannah Oreskovich

Here's why you should stay up late with Boulder's Nite Owls.

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Indie rock group with a Southern twang.” That’s how Boulder’s Nite Owls describe themselves. The three-piece outfit (who are still playing around with their lineup) dropped their first EP this month, Where’ve You Been. We dig it, though we’d add there’s a little alt-punk sound to what these boys from the South are doin’. We decided to chat with Nite Owls to learn more about their birth in the Boulder scene, what it was like recording Where’ve You Been, and what these dudes plan to do next. So here’s our conversation with Nite Owls members Albert Opraseuth (vocals/guitar) and Nick Leng (drums/vocals):

First things first, how is it that Nite Owls came to be?

Albert: Well, I was born and raised in the Atlanta Metro Area, which is where I met Nick originally. I played in a few bands there, but always as lead guitar.

Nick: Yeah- we played music together in Atlanta in a band called Tasty Beverage. 

Albert: But then I moved out of the country and Nite Owls itself actually started as an idea that I had when I was teaching English in South Korea in 2012. While I was there, I contacted Nick, who was already in Boulder, and told him that when I came back to the US, I would be going to graduate school at CU Boulder.

Nick: So when Albert moved to Boulder after Korea, he shared some of the music he’d been writing with me and we started working on it together.

Awesome. How did your third member, current bassist Justin "Jud" Nair join the mix?

Albert: We’ve had a few members since we started playing together: one guitar player left to live in Seattle, and we had a keyboard player leave to pursue his own original material. Getting Jud was a happy and very lucky bonus. He’s our roommate as well. But the main core from the beginning has always Nick and myself.

The Nite Owls. Photo Credit: Murray Meetze

The Nite Owls. Photo Credit: Murray Meetze

Sweet. So after you two reunited and started working together again, how did you decide what material to include in the EP? And what was the recording process like?

Albert: Well I wrote these songs when I was back in Korea. Each of them are “songs about girls;” cliches that I had been struggling with for a while. [The EP] is basically getting relationship angst out of the way to move on and start writing about other stuff that I consider to be more important. As far as recording, I demoed out my songs on my computer and everyone else wrote their parts from that.

Nick: Then we went to our friend Jay Elliot’s professional studio and we recorded bass and drums together to a click track with scratch tracks of guitar and piano. We did our vocals in Albert’s bedroom and the rest of what we needed [we recorded] in an old barn. From there, Albert took the reins as far as production.

Awesome. We know you guys have a video out for your song “Cyclones.” Tell us about that track.

Albert: “Cyclones” is about a person that storms into your life when you think you have everything settled and they essentially infect your thoughts and turn you into a crazy person.

Ahaha- happens to the best of us. So what’s up next for Nite Owls?

Albert: We’d like to get our lineup set in January, practice and write new material in February/March, and put out a 7” in the summer. I’d also like to play more house shows. That’d be fun.

Nick: I’d just like to play more gigs and record more. It’s all about writing and playing live right now.

Speaking of- we haven’t had the chance to see you guys live yet. What has your experience been like jumping into the Boulder music scene and getting gigs?

Albert: Honestly, this town is a little weird. It’s a college town that seems very oriented to a certain type of music. Maybe it has to do with the culture and economic structures of this town, but I’d like to see more house shows or venues/dive bars on The Hill for bands to play in.

The venue shortage is a definite issue. If there are any rock club investors out there, we hope they’re listening… Anything else you’d like to add guys?

Albert: Please check out Where’ve You Been and invite us to play your next house party! We all love this town and would like to become a bigger part of the music community here.

And we’d like to see that too Boulder! So keep up with the Nite Owls events and new music here

Give Where’ve You Been a listen below:

-Hannah

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All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.