Eugeneans — if you think driving 20 minutes to Cottage Grove to see a band play is too long, consider how long Self Decay traveled just to play there. “We are four-piece from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” says Self Decay bassist Pedro Gibson. In 2012 the band lived in L.A. for six months before returning to Brazil, but didn’t have the chance to tour the states until now.
Self Decay is on the road in support of their latest self-produced LP, A Green Acrobat. Gibson describes the band’s sound as “alternative rock.” He explains that the band cut their teeth on heavy metal and Metallica covers (hence the menacing band name) but since beginning to write originals, Self Decay has added a lot of funk and progressive-rock influences to their sound.
“We try to focus a lot on the melodic side: good vocal melodies and riffs,” Gibson says. Listen to Green Acrobat’s lead single “Can’t Jump Now” and hear a radio-friendly ’90s-style alternative anthem with some real stadium-shaking potential — like a harder-edged Pinback, or a poppy Coheed and Cambria.
Live, they “try to be more of a jam band. Everything isn’t exactly like the album,” Gibsons says. He adds, “It’s more like a free organic thing — a lot of energy going on.”
Self Decay plays 8:30 pm Friday, Feb. 6, at Axe & Fiddle, Cottage Grove; $5. 21-plus. Catch them again at 10 pm Saturday, Feb. 7, at Black Forest in Eugene.