By Chloe Newton
Staff Writer
Dayan Zivkovic, Deck Braun, Ethan McFarland and Scott Barrow have taken their own musical paths and have put together their talents to form their own rock band, Mantis Shrimp.
Mantis Shrimp formed in November of last year. According to the members they had known each other before the formation of Mantis Shrimp through school, but their enthusiasm for music brought them together.
“It was around November of last year when Ethan and I were jamming in the garage,” Braun said. “We thought it sounded pretty good and proposed the idea of starting a band together. We then started talking with Dayan and Scott and the next thing you know we were Mantis Shrimp.”
With Zivkovic on vocals, guitar, and bass, Braun on guitar and bass, McFarland on guitar, and Barrow on drums, the group plays music for their own enjoyment and local audiences at house shows and public events.
“Our music is aggression but it’s also like a hug, it pushes you down but then helps you backup,” Braun said. “You can expect good music and good vibes from our shows.”
According to the band members, each individual in the group started playing music at a very young age, and their passion for music has grown over time.
“I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember,” Barrow said. “The drums were a perfect output of musical expression and aggression for me.”
Mantis Shrimp plays a combination of different rock genres. They have named their original new type of music “hummus.”
“Hummus is a new type of music we came up with,” Zivkovic said. “We don’t really know exactly what it is, but it’s like a mix of garage rock and surf music. We call it hummus because you don’t really know what it is, but you like it.”
The group has many musical influences such as The White Stripes, Pixies, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana and Black Sabbath. Mantis Shrimp creates their own songs, and these artists influence the way they write their music.
“Usually when one of us writes a song, we’ll bring it to practice to share with the rest of the group and jam out to it,” Zivkovic said. “We can then collaborate and make revisions until we are completely satisfied with the song.”
According to the band, they usually have shows once or twice a month. They promote their band on social media and by telling people about their upcoming shows. Whether it is a small house show or at a public event, they are always happy to share their passion for music with a crowd.
“We have a Facebook page, made some pins with our logo on it, we draw our own fliers, and we just go around and tell people,” McFarland said. “We try to find those kids who are interested in music and want to be apart of the experience.”
Mantis Shrimp will be playing at the Mira Costa Art Show for their next performance on April 17, located at the Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center.
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