Solid Freex plays Mickey’s Dec. 16 with Sex Scenes, No Hoax and DJ The Real Jaguar.
The first time I saw Solid Freex, they were playing a basement show at a punk house known as Karl’s Kastle on the city’s near east side. When they started their set, I had two immediate reactions. First: These guys are amazing. Second: Why are these two adorable kids in a band with this older punk guy?
“That is the question I get at every single damn show,” Steve Coombs says, laughing. “How did you meet these guys? Are you some sort of creep? They are my sons — that’s how we know each other.”
Coombs, 49, has been a fixture in the Madison music scene since the mid-’90s, first as the drummer for a no-wave band called Xerobot and later with his one-man synth-punk project Trin Tran. Solid Freex is his latest endeavour, featuring Coombs on drums along with his 16-year-old son Evan on bass and 19-year-old son Josh on guitar. Formed in 2016, the band started out playing basement shows and DIY skateboard venues around Madison but quickly vaulted to bigger shows, opening for Deerhoof at the High Noon Saloon in June and Thee Oh Sees at Turner Hall in Milwaukee in September.
When asked about the band’s rapid ascent, Coombs is just a tiny bit sheepish — he’s friends with members of Deerhoof and Thee Oh Sees. But while personal connections have helped Solid Freex get breakout gigs, the band is undeniably talented — and there’s something downright charming about a dad rocking out with his sons. “I have so much fun with these guys; it’s awesome,” Coombs says.
Solid Freex counts among its influences punk bands like Gang of Four and Wire, plus new-wave artists like Gary Numan and no-wave groups like James Chance and the Contortion. “If I’ve had any influence on these guys, it’s probably my record collection,” says Coombs, who has particular affinity for music from the late ’70s and early ’80s. “More and more, the stuff we seem to be writing is a little more no-wavy,” says Coombs, referring to the avant-garde rock movement of the late ’70s. “Initially [Solid Freex] was pretty aggressive, straight-ahead punk rock, but I think we’re doing some different stuff now.”
In September, Solid Freex recorded 13 songs with Bobby Hussy, who runs the Madison-based record label Kind Turkey. The band is currently shopping around for labels and hopes to soon release its first LP. Meanwhile, they’re constantly writing new songs and working on improving their sound. “We’re starting to work on three-part vocal stuff, which is super fun,” Coombs says.
Evan is a junior at Exploration Academy, a charter high school in Verona, and Josh works in construction. Growing up with a musician dad, the boys played instruments from an early age, but Solid Freex is their first band. “There aren’t a lot of kids at my school who are into punk rock,” Evan says. Josh played music in high school, but never with a group. Both agree that being in a family band is convenient and rewarding — the group regularly has weekend-long practice and songwriting sessions at their home in Verona.
“It wasn’t a forced march, it wasn’t like a Joe Jackson situation,” Coombs says, eliciting more laughs. “In fact, these guys are on my ass all the time to get me to practice. They want to tour — they want to play as many shows as possible.”
