Indiana is the home of the Indy 500 and known for its Hoosier reputation, however little credit is given to the state for birthing some hard-hitting musical talent. Axl Rose, David Lee Roth and late pop superstar, Michael Jackson are all products of Indiana. Now an Indiana band is hoping for the success of their predecessors as they release their second album.

Native is an indie band made up of Nick Glassen, Ed O’Neill, Bobby Markos and Daniel Evans. Their sound is melodic with rough, metal-style vocals. They started their band in July 2007 and released their first album, We Delete; Erase, in April 2008 under their record label,  Sargent House.  They have been on several tours, including some in the Midwest and Canada.

A new album called Wrestling Moves is underway for the band, which is set for release in January 2010. The Chronicle talked with the band’s guitarist, Evans, about Native’s maturation of sound over the years, accomplishments and their new album.

The Chronicle: How did Native start?

Daniel Evans: Native started two-and-a-half years ago. There are four members. Two of us, the drummer and myself, were in this local band and we played a lot with this other local band. Both the bands broke up and we just took the most dedicated members from both and created this band. We were all on the same page as far as musical influences, and we were friends and we hung out all of the time, so it just worked out really well.

The Chronicle: How would you describe your band’s sound?

DE: I would describe Native’s [sound] as thick baselines, fast-paced, thick drumbeats and guitar work intertwined on top of that. It’s like a more melodic hardcore. It’s heavily influenced by our relationships and friendships with people, which is essentially the take of our new album. Our old one was about getting screwed over, just hardships really, like being a teen and growing up.

The Chronicle: How has the band’s sound matured?

DE: We were young when we wrote our first album, and we’re not much older now, but I feel that our music has matured in a way where it’s an easy transition from where we were to what we are. We were really close-minded when we wrote [that album], but now our new album [has] a lot of different topics. We wrote it about how [friends] affect us positively and what true friendship really is.

The Chronicle: What have been your biggest accomplishments?

DE: Working with Sargent House is a big accomplishment for us; it’s our record label and some of our favorite bands are on there. It’s kind of cool to be a part of something that they are all a part of, and it’s kind of surreal that the bands that we looked up to, which we’re not on the same level with, have the same people working with us.

The Chronicle: What do you think the future holds for Native?

DE: I’d like to continue writing music in the same fashion, but [about] things that inspire us and just going from there. It’s kind of the topics more so than the musical inspiration for us, it’s almost like chemistry for us. I know it sounds kind of lame, but it’s hard to describe. [But we] just want to continue on tours; I want to do this full time.

Wrestling Moves will be available in January 2010. Native will be making a guest appearance at Subterranean for the release of a fellow band’s album; the date is still tentative. For more information on Native about their album release, to see pictures as well as to listen to some of their music, visit MySpace.com/NativeIN.

kgamby@chroniclemail.com