Athens-born power-pop combo comes back for show

If you combine big energy, people born with a '70s mentality and a touch of random tendencies, you might just come up with Mind Fish, a Toledo-based rock band that released their second album on Jan. 24, three years after forming in Athens.

The band's having a "'90s House Party"-themed CD release party at the Union this Saturday with Twenty One Pilots and Brothertiger. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the bands start at 10 p.m. with no cover charge.

"The party should be great," band member Dean Tartaglia predicted. "We will be having '90s cartoons playing and hope everyone dresses accordingly with acid-wash jeans, scrunchies and oversized sweatshirts to accompany the theme of our new album."

The new album, titled "WATCHOUT!" is Mind Fish's first full-length, studio album, and it was produced, recorded and mixed in Athens by local record producer and Ohio University professor Eddie Ashworth.

"We (the band) have done EPs prior to making this album, but this is our most put-together album to date," Tartaglia said. "Aside from having an actual producer, the album also is more focused than anything we have done before."

Ashworth has produced for numerous bands ranging from Sublime to co-founder of Guns N' Roses, Izzy Stradlin, and now Mind Fish. Additionally, he teaches multiple audio production and music industry courses at OU.

"WATCHOUT!" was fundamentally inspired by an abandoned cat Tartaglia found, along with other contributing factors including Mahatma Gandhi, Chevy Chase and '90s era Nickelodean television.

"It all started when I found this cat who immediately turned me into a 'cat person,'" Tartaglia said. "He (the cat) was really sick at one point and bounced back quickly. So, I wrote a song about him, and it spiraled into the creation of 'WATCHOUT!'"

The power-pop band consists of Tartaglia on vocals and guitar, Dan Barbera also on vocals and guitar, Trent Rissover on vocals and bass, and Steven Warstler on drums. On the album, Tartaglia wrote all the songs except for the classic "Sunny Afternoon," by Ray Davies of the Kinks.

"It's hard to lump our band into a specific genre, but the best comparison for people seems to be Weezer with higher energy," Tartaglia said. "We try to be very musical about everything we put in our songs."

A typical Mind Fish show cannot be premeditated or create particular expectations, Tartaglia said, noting that the band likes to keep its audiences on their toes.

"We love coming back to Athens to perform," he said. "We have such a great fan base here, and we appreciate always having a rowdy crowd that complements our energy. It gives us freedom to do weird and random things like play the ukelele in the middle of a set."

The band has seen many members come and go since its Athens origins a few years back, but is finding solid ground and moving forward as a band, according to Tartaglia.

"We are more positive now and that is reflected through the songs in 'WATCHOUT!,'" he said. "The album never slows down and has a natural progression, which shows how we have grown in and out of stuff as a band. Our last EP was dark and heavy, and we slipped the switch on that."