A year later, Lawrence’s Psychic Heat is still hot

The dudes of Psychic Heat refer to their music as “ADHD rock” for a reason. Clustered around a table at Lawrence’s La Prima Tazza, the four 20-somethings answer questions about their psych-tinged rock and roll with awkward starts, stops and laughter.

Psychic Heat’s lead singer and guitarist, Evan Herd, speaks quickly, almost nervously, about the band’s evolution after forming nearly a year ago.

“By this time last year, we had a different bassist and drummer,” Herd says, shaking a wild mop of loose, blondish curls from his eyes. “They only played one show with us, and they had kind of other stuff going on. But [guitarist] Tanner [Spreer] and I have been playing together for two and a half years, and we’ve worked on a lot of original ideas together.”

Psychic Heat grew out of one of those ideas: The band now features bassist Sam Boatright and drummer Ricky Barkosky.

Barkosky is the only member of Psychic Heat still enrolled in school (at the University of Kansas). The rest work day jobs at the Merc, Lawrence’s natural-food co-op and deli.

Herd and Spreer also are roommates. Their home doubles as the band’s practice space and sometimes as the house-show venue Studio B. It’s a quirky life, one they never really expected.

“In a lot of ways, we’re raised to think that you need to go to college, and nearly every one of us is a college dropout,” Herd says. “As a young 20-something, we’re taught to think that’s a bad thing, but it doesn’t really feel like that. It’s nice to have this thing, this band, where who knows how long it’s going to last or if anything is going to happen with it, but it’s been something really exciting, and people have been really supportive about it.”

For their part, the members of Psychic Heat are trying to make the music last. That’s why they’re throwing themselves a first-anniversary party March 30.

“A year and a half ago, if someone had told me I’d be singing my songs in front of people, I wouldn’t have been able to picture it,” Herd says.

Spreer laughs and nods his head: “I’ve managed to keep something going for 12 months. I think that’s worth celebrating.”

Spreer might be underselling the band a bit. Since releasing its debut EP, Lighter and Brighter, last August, Psychic Heat has enjoyed a reputation as one of Lawrence’s best live acts.

“I remember seeing these guys [before I joined] for the first time a year ago,” Boatright says, “and Evan went out into the crowd for a solo and got down on his back with his guitar, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is awesome.’ When they asked me to play with them, my first thought was, ‘There’s no way I’m just going to stand there. I’ve got to move around.’ So from the very beginning, it’s been my goal to be as active onstage as they are, and I think we all just kind of feed off each other’s energy in that way.”

Spreer agrees: “Once the music starts going, we just get into that zone and try to give it as much as we can. It’s one of my favorite things to do, to play live, and I always try to make the connection with the other guys. A lot of the time, we’ll mess up because of it. We’ll fuck up a key or something. We finally knocked the cymbals over at the last show.”

Psychic Heat’s appeal isn’t just stage presence and drum-kit trashing. A lot of ’60s- and ’70s-era rock music flavors the band’s sound. Between jumping from one corner of the stage to the other, Herd grumbles and chants into the microphone, at times sounding like a convincing version of Roger Daltrey. On Lighter and Brighter, hazy guitar riffs pay homage to Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Herd’s obtuse, minimalist lyrics — which, he says, aren’t necessarily his forte — are actually suited to all the different pieces that the band is trying out.

And that’s the other side of Psychic Heat’s collective ADHD: Though the members speak vaguely about wanting to tighten the songwriting — and speak more ardently about wanting to grow the band beyond Lawrence — they seem content with what they’ve achieved in a short amount of time.

I ask the guys what has changed for the band, aside from the lineup, since the EP’s release. They’re quiet as they ponder the question.

“Nothing really, honestly, and that’s what’s awesome about it,” Spreer says finally, smiling. “We’ve found this thing for us that is really great. I think we all struggle from anxiety, and Psychic Heat has been a great outlet for us to destroy that. It’s this anxiety-killing way to express ourselves.”