Leather Phase: when music and visuals combine

By Kate Luce

Leather Phase, a local band comprised of college students, are bringing weirdness to the center stage with distorted visuals, scattered noises, and an ever-changing musical genre. The trio takes visuals closely related to their work in Integrated New Media Studies and chaotic sounds to a place unlike anything South Bend, Indiana has seen so far.

The trio includes Jared Herron, BFA ’19 Fine Arts, Jeremy Tittle, BFA ’20 Integrated New Media Studies, and Johnathan Watson, Communication Studies at the University of Phoenix. Herron covers lead guitar and vocals. Tittle plays the drums and does vocals, and Watson plays bass and vocals. The trio are close friends and have a passion for playing music. Becoming a band seemed like a natural progression to their friendship and interests.

“I think jamming with friends in high school really made me want to play live,” Tittle says.

The trio wanted to bring music to the South Bend community that is unlike anything that has been done before. They wanted to bring something weird to the table, which they have accomplished.

“I feel like the local scene was missing that bit of weirdness that we just attract at times,” Herron recalls.

Leather Phase describes themselves as something along the lines of psychedelic-Punk, punk rock, and acid rock, but they don’t always stick to those genres. Leather Phase is diverse with the sound, and they create music for people who have the same passion for music they have.

“We all like a wide range of sounds and we try to incorporate them in our sound in some sort of distorted way. With the new media elements, I always wanted to incorporate visuals with chaotic sounds. Jeremy is a wiz with programming and is able to contort whatever weird video collage I send him, and it looks fantastic,” Herron says.

Herron and Tittle work closely together to create the visual components of the performances, leading to a chaotic visual experience that ties directly with their multi-genre theme.

“I make a lot of the visuals with my old Hi-8 camera and edit them in [Adobe] Premier. It’s a lot of distorted footage of trees, security cameras, and the camcorder just glitching out,” Herron said.

The addition of Integrated New Media components to their music, has pushed both the bands sound design and the visual design of their live sets.

“New media has helped a lot indirectly through learning about sound and performance art. It is definitely the source of the visual elements that are sometimes included in our live sets,” Tittle explains.

One common thread that ties all three Leather Phase musicians together is their enjoyment in creating interesting music together.

“I think it’s just fun getting to play really cool music with some awesome dudes. Getting to meet new people and play at places I’ve never been to is just an awesome feeling,” Watson says. Leather Phase is currently working on new material and has been setting up a compilation of local bands and artists through Herron’s own label: Leather Phase. To stay up to date with the band, stream them on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube, and follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @leatherphase. You can also like their Facebook page: Leather Phase.

born to be

INNOVATIVE

Integrated New Media Studies combines art, design, and communication with contemporary digital and computer technologies. The core curriculum is built on a solid grounding in video and motion media, interactive multimedia and web design, and music/sound production. New media skills prepare you for careers in website design, digital filmmaking and animation, interactive and distance education, and new media art, as well as business applications in product development and training, marketing, sales, and advertising.

For degree offerings and more info about IU South Bend new media programs, visit us on the web at newmedia.iusb.edu.