The Tulsa band released their debut EP in 2019 and frequents familiar venues in the 918.
The bass waves thumb a careful and deep rhythm. The lead guitar matches the very excitement of the crowd it beholds, coupling impressive runs and captivating chords. The drums’ beat tremors the venue. Lights swarm the crowd — a pulsating entity, always lively. The audience simply repeats the unadulterated energy and motion of the band onstage: headbanging, jumping around. In a screaming serenade, the singer continues with their most recent single, “Braindead”:
When you build a system by breaking bodies,
You build a system of broken bodies
When you build a system by breaking bodies,
The system will implode
Tulsa-based band A Mixtape Catastrophe describe themselves as the “poppiest band at the metal show, the heaviest band at the pop show.” With influences from bands like Bill Murray, Underoath and Tesseract in tandem with their pop song form of hooks and repetition, it’s not difficult to see the accuracy of their description and to understand their appeal.
While the eclecticism of their music comes from the diversity in musical interest of their membership, A Mixtape Catastrophe originally began with lead vocalist Zachary Taylor and lead guitarist Adam Woods. The band was initially Taylor’s side project outside of his and Woods’ other band Dead Alive, a project which lasted around six years. They added Trevor Downey, a percussion instructor, on guitar; Austin Mcferrin of Outline in Color – another Tulsa band – on drums; and JT Roudebush on piano, who soon became the band’s bassist. Thus, A Mixtape Catastrophe was born.
Individually or together, Taylor and Woods write the band’s songs. Then Woods, who owns the production company Oakwood Studios, produces and finalizes the music. This is how they wrote their 2019 album “The Shadow Cast,” which includes one of their most popular songs, “Hello, Hallucinations.” While the entirety of that album was a two-year endeavor, they are constantly releasing new music, including four singles this year alone, such as “Destruction” and “Smoke & Water.”
Once Woods produces the songs, the full band rehearses and performs them locally. A Mixtape Catastrophe began performing live shows in 2019, and, although the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put a damper on the plausibility of live performances, they have only been on the incline since. Having headlined their first show this year in September at the Vanguard with a fantastic turnout, the band is anxious to perform more large shows.
The chief purpose of A Mixtape Catastrophe, all bandmates agree, is for “the love of the music” as Woods puts it. According to Taylor, curating a show requires “understanding the emotion” of a song to translate it into their performance. Moreover, the very writing of their songs is often influenced by how it will be experienced live.
While you can frequently find A Mixtape Catastrophe on lineups at the Vanguard and Foolish Things Coffee, they suggest that you keep your eyes on their social media for shows, a Christmas special in the coming month, and at least three more songs that they have in the works. A Mixtape Catastrophe can be found on all streaming platforms, on Instagram @amixtapecatastrophe, TikTok @a_mixtape_catastrophe, and Twitter @amixtapetulsa.
