Tennessee High School Swimming Trio “The Culprits” Making Waves in Music

Feature by Allison Whalen

ST. BONAVENTURE, New York, February 10. THE Sewanee, Tennessee band The Culprits recently recorded a demo CD of original songs. However, it's no surprise the first song The Culprits' played was a cover of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean", or that frequent references to water appear in the lyrics of the band's original songs. After all, before teenage bandmates Zach Blount, and brothers Nick and Will Evans could jam together, they swam together.

Zach, Nick and Will all began swimming on their town's summer swim league at the age of six. The town of Sewanee, which has a total population of 2,500, boasts 40 swimmers in its annual summer league. Freshmen Zach and Will, 15, now compete alongside Nick, 17, on the St. Andrew's-Sewanee School swim team.

This year, all three boys will compete at the Tennessee high school state meet. However, the road from summer swim league to state cuts was definitely the one less traveled.

Since the small town of Sewanee has no year-round swim club and is an hour and a half away from Nashville, the nearest city, Zach, Nick and Will realized they'd have to seek out pool time on their own if they wanted to improve. The boys began to supplement their summer league and school training with morning practices at a local university.

Each morning during the school year, the boys rise at 5:30 a.m., beating even the morning sun to the University of the South's pool. They swim or lift weights for an hour and a half with the college team, and then promptly drive to school where they grab breakfast and begin their day. After the final bell rings, it's off to high school practice, which runs for two hours. By six, the boys are out of the pool and ready for band practice at 7 p.m.

Although The Culprits balance their time between the chlorine and music, they can appreciate the similarities between both.

"Swimming and music both involve rhythm and building technique. They are all about tempo," said Nick, who sings vocals and plays guitar in The Culprits.

Will, the drummer, also draws connections between the band's dedication to swimming and their passion for music.

"Swimming takes an insane amount of dedication, and we take that dedication and apply it to aspects of our lives like music," said Nick. "Swimming basically puts the structure in our life."

Nick and Will are no strangers to structure. They began playing their instruments at a young age.

"Will and I have been playing music all our lives. Our parents never allowed video games, instead we had instruments," said Nick.

Nick and Will's background in guitar and drums made Zach and his bass a logical fit for the band. The trio explained that things fell into place when Zach showed up after school to perfect his guitar skills. From there, the boys quickly began to experiment with their own music and lyrics. At The Culprits' first performance they played an original song, "Kinds of People," for a St. Andrew's-Sewanee school function.

The Culprits, who describe their unique sound as alternative indie rock, now write and perform all their own music. Despite Zach's confession that girls serve as a muse for the band's music, it's obvious that swimming also plays a role.

"There is a lot of mention of water in our songs, even if it's not necessarily about swimming," said Nick. "Swimming gives us time to think about our music."

Zach agreed.

"I think of bass lines during practice, even though it makes it hard to keep track of laps too," said Zach.

Inspiration isn't the only thing that spills over from swim practice, however. Even though the boys specialize in different events, their competitiveness follows them home from the pool once in a while.

"Will and I have been racing against each other since we were six, and now that we're in high school we race against Nick too," said Zach.

Most of the time the competitiveness gets left in the pool, but sometimes traces of it can wind up at The Culprits' band practices.

"Nick might come up with a song idea and run it by the band, but Will might not think it's a good idea," said Zach. "So, there might be a little fighting, but I try to stay out of it."

Despite any small creative tiffs or pool rivalries, The Culprits' hard work ethic and catchy music has catapulted them on to the music scene. The band has recorded a demo CD and performed at local festivals and colleges. The boys were recently approached by the organizers of Bonnaroo, a popular four-day music and arts festival in Manchester, Tenn.

For now, the band is concentrating on preparing for the high school state meet, while still trying to find as many gigs as possible. The boys talk regularly with producers and promoters in Nashville about joining festival circuits.

Even though The Culprits are new to the music scene, the thought of live performances in front of screaming crowds doesn't make them uneasy. In fact, Zach and Will claim that swim meets make them more nervous than being on stage. Nick disagreed, saying he is more anxious for performances, but only because he has to sing.

One thing The Culprits can all agree on is the positive relationship between their success in the pool and on the stage.

"Swimming is a very competitive sport where individual times matter a lot. But when you put everyone together and the team does well – it's amazing," said Nick. "It's the same with the band. We all work on our individual music and lyrics, but it all comes together when we are The Culprits."

Visit The Culprits' MySpace Page to listen to some of their music.

Zach Blount of St. Andrew's-Sewanee School

Nick Evans of St. Andrew's-Sewanee School

Will Evans of St. Andrew's-Sewanee School

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