Me Like Bees

Even before they beat out thousands of other artists and took home first place in Ernie Ball’s 2013 Battle Of The Bands, Me Like Bees had already made a name for themselves in their hometown, gaining a fan in fellow Joplin, Missouri, native Christofer Drew, aka Never Shout Never. “After the tornado hit Joplin in 2011, we picked up a lot of regional recognition for our song ‘Naked Trees,’” recalls frontman Luke Sheafer. “About a year later, I was sick with a high fever to the point where I was delusional. Sometime during that spell, I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. It was asking us if we'd be interested in joining his Loveway Records. I said, ‘Sure,’ half-convinced he was about as real as the squirrels I had imagined running through my living room just minutes before.” As winners of Battle Of The Bands, Me Like Bees received a $15,000 shopping spree at Guitar Center and the opportunity to record a three-song EP with producer John Feldmann. Even with their recent accomplishments, the band—who are playing a week of dates on this summer’s Warped Tour—are staying true to their original goals. “This band started with a commitment to making quality music with meaningful lyrics,” says Sheafer. “That's what it has always been.” - Brittany Moseley / Alt Press

Hailing from Missouri comes indie-rock outfit Me Like Bees. The band’s simple melodies and passion for asymmetrical song structure create an infectious vibe all throughout their debut LP, “The Ides,” released on Loveway Records. After touring with NeverShoutNever, Mod Sun, and William Beckett, Me Like Bees is aiming to get back in the studio this summer for another full-length record.


POZ Showcase: Me Like Bees
This Showcase was compiled by Ashley Aron - Dec 22, 201332 notes






Hailing from Missouri comes indie-rock outfit Me Like Bees. The band’s simple melodies and passion for asymmetrical song structure create an infectious vibe all throughout their debut LP, “The Ides,” released on Loveway Records. After touring with NeverShoutNever, Mod Sun, and William Beckett, Me Like Bees is aiming to get back in the studio this summer for another full-length record.

For Fans Of: Cold War Kids, The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand
Social Sites: Facebook, Website



Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.Luke Sheafer – Guitar, vocals
Pete Burton – Guitar
Nick Bynum – Bass
Timothy Cote – Drums, misc. percussion, background vocals

What’s your hometown (or what are your hometowns)?Joplin, MO / Kansas City, MO

How did the band come together? How long has it been?There are a couple stages that this band has been through, but the active formation of this band is about three years old. We’re all acquaintances (who later became friends) that came together for the common purpose of making a band.

How have you grown since you started?We learn something new every day. We learned to go with the punches and to be flexible, it’s just about the only thing you can do in the music business.

What sets you apart from other bands?We have a love for asymmetrical song structures and wild vocal melodies. Our song writing process is always democratic, and for some of us in our mid twenties; this is our first band.

What’s the best part about being in your band?
The Burton family breakfast.

More times than not, influences tend to bleed through. What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
It’s no lie that Modest Mouse, The Arcade Fire, The White Stripes, Grouplove, and The Killers dominate our music collection right now. What you might not know is that we’re trying to also be like the “Danielson Family” band.

What would you say the band has already accomplished and what do you have your eyes set on next?
We were signed to Loveway Records (Owned by Chris Ingle of Never Shout Never) and put out a full-length record. It’s received a fair amount of attention. We went on tour with Never Shout Never, Mod Sun, Man Overboard, Anarbor, and William Beckett and made some great friends along the way. Since then, we’ve never stopped touring in the regional area, and we never stopped writing. We’re finishing up our repertoire and we’ll be ready to record another LP by summer.

Thus far, what’s a favorite memory or something quirky that’s taken place with the band (in-studio, onstage, or elsewhere)?Tim used his butt to make the thick clapping sounds in-studio for “Rolodex” on our album “The Ides.” There’s video footage, but we probably wont show you.

Is there anything in particular that you’d like people to take away from listening to your music?Luke’s lyrics aspire to inspire people to think about God and their relationship to him. He believes that’s the only worthwhile aim in his writing.

If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?That we could successfully dodge any interview questions about the origin of our name.

How did your band’s name come about?
Refer to above statement.

What’s the biggest mistake someone’s made while playing? Once, Nick fell on stage in a coffee shop in Wichita, KS. I guess it was kinda funny.

Any pre-performance rituals?
One time Luke wanted to be slapped in the face. Who knows, it might become a ritual.

Is there anything else you would like to add?If you have diabetes and you’re on Medicare, your testing supplies may be covered by Liberty Medical. - Ashley Aron / Property of Zack

The 17th annual Ernie Ball Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands has officially finished. Out of the thousands of entered artists, we invited 160 bands out to perform on the Ernie Ball Mobile Stage at the Vans Warped Tour in 2013. Of those 160 bands, 4 moved on to perform at the final BOTB showcase in Hollywood, CA where one artist was crowned the winner of our 2013 Battle, and that winner was Me Like Bees.

Coming out of Joplin, Missouri, Me Like Bees is an indie rock/alternative group that blends the musical stylings of Modest Mouse, guitar riffs of the White Stripes and some vocal melodies of their own.

As the winner of the 2013 Ernie Ball Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands, Me Like Bees will be invited to record a 3 song EP with John Feldman, a $15,000 Guitar Center shopping spree, an Ernie Ball Music Man endorsement, a $2,500 Electro-voice prize pack, an Apogee Duet recording interface, apparel from Vans, a slot on the Vans Warped Tour 2014, and TC Electronics gear.

Me Like Bees put on quite a performance at the House of Blues in Hollywood, CA, regardless of their opening slot. With an audience just starting their night, the guys played their hearts out, through broken equipment and all, to impress the judges which included Brian Ball of Ernie Ball, John Feldman, creator of the Vans Warped Tour Kevin Lyman, and Dustin Hinz of Guitar Center. Before the headlining performers, We Came As Romans, took the stage, Me Like Bees were crowned victorious. - Ernie Ball // Music Man official Tumblr

In 2009, then-recent college graduates Pete Burton (lead guitar) and Luke Sheafer (vocals/guitar) who are joined by drummer Tim Cote and bassist Nick Bynum, made a commitment to making quality music rather than getting rich doing what Sheafer calls “big-boy jobs.” The band gained local recognition in 2011 with their single about the deadly tornado that hit Joplin that year, “Naked Trees.” Never Shout Never’s Christofer Drew asked the band to join his label, Loveway Records, and tour together after their local success. The band are currently working on a music video for “Ra Ra Etc.” from their debut full-length, The Ides. Sheafer says they have been “writing nonstop since our first album released” and are excited about their plans to release an EP in the spring - Aime Szymanski / Alt Press

Following the EF5 tornado that leveled 25 percent of Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011, the Joplin indie-rock band Me Like Bees responded the best way its members knew how. Singer and guitarist Luke Sheafer, guitarist Pete Burton, drummer Tim Cote and bassist Nick Bynum together wrote the haunting but buoyant "Naked Trees."

Enduring tough times while searching for that elusive silver lining is one of the thematic threads that runs through Me Like Bees' first full-length, The Ides, released earlier this year. The album's 14 songs were written over a six-year period, starting with "Kids in the Kitchen" in 2007. It was recorded at Studio 2100 in Springfield, Missouri, marking the band's first time in a real studio.

"This album was a lot of dealing with sorrow and life experiences, kind of coming out from tragedy," Sheafer tells The Pitch by phone. "That's all real-life stuff for me. I think we've all had junk in our lives."

"A lot of it has to do with redemption as well — there's a bright side to everything," Burton adds. "Somebody said we sound like Modest Mouse, but we still have hope for the world."

Fortunately, that hope isn't usually misplaced, at least not in the case of the band's hometown. Two years after the tornado, which was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, Joplin is well on its way to recovery.

"There doesn't seem like there's a black cloud over everyone's heads now, because that's the way it was for about a year," Sheafer says. "It's still something I think most people think about every day, but it's not as heavy as it was. It was a very heavy time for a long time."

The occasional heavy topic notwithstanding, Me Like Bees knows how to have a good time. Sounding like a vigorous blend of the White Stripes and, yes, Modest Mouse, Me Like Bees tears up the stage during its live performances. The bandmates are determined to share their energy with the audience, whether they're playing Chicago's House of Blues or a sparsely attended Monday-night bar gig in Kansas City.

When the band first started, there were plenty of those barely filled rooms. Gigs followed a pattern: The band would drive to Kansas City, play in front of a handful of people, then make the two-and-a-half-hour trek home to Joplin the same night. But enthusiasm didn't wane.

"We have a policy," Sheafer says. "No matter who we're playing for, we'll play a crazy show and be as energetic as we can, even if it's just Pete's mom and dad — which happened a couple of times in Kansas City. But now we have a nice following. We have a lot of support there."

Me Like Bees is already gathering material for another album and working with its label, Loveway Records, to promote The Ides. It's a busy time for a band whose members also juggle day-to-day life. Three of the guys are married, and each has a full-time job. (According to Burton, Bynum "dresses up like the Statue of Liberty during tax season and spins the sign in front of the tax place.")

They still feel like they're just learning how to navigate the music industry, though Sheafer notes that "figuring out how to make a living doing this" is a struggle many musicians face.

"Most people you're dealing with — this is their second, third or fourth job," Cote adds. "As long as you can have a realistic outlook on it and go with the flow, it becomes relatively easy to take it all in stride."

It's an approach that seems to be working. After playing KC's Warped Tour this past summer, Me Like Bees was one of four acts, out of 20,000, selected to compete at the upcoming Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 2014 in Hollywood. The competition gives the band the opportunity to play in front of big-name producers and showcase its infectious energy on a national stage. That's great news for a band dead set on a killer live show.

"We want to play for people," Burton says. "We want people to enjoy it, and we want people to come back." - Angela Lutz / The Pitch

“The first full-length release from these Joplin, Missouri rockers prominently features the band’s tornado-relief single, “Naked Trees,” a surprisingly delicate contemplation of what just happened and what do we do now. The answer is the rest of the record, a rambunctious and adventurous fight for community in a world of individual nightmares” - Dave Marsh // Rap Rock Confidential

Indie rock bands are a dime a dozen now-a-days, and that’s great. The grass roots music reviewer (eh hem, yours truly) is enthusiastic about this as it gives him something to do and also contributes to the diversity of music available for the consumer.

But the wading through new bands can be a tedious task as bands fine tune their sound, experiment, flop, fail, rework and finally succeed. I’m not sure what stage of the game Me Like Bees is in, but their album The Ides is an indie album that stands out. With asymmetrical song structures that can abruptly go from bouncy and light, to slow and heavy and back again, the listener is rewarded with an experience that is anything but dull. The vocals are also notable in their…strangeness? Lead vocalist Luke Sheafer has emotionally loaded and often cryptic lyrics that are sung in a strained fashion, as if the lead singer is about to burst into manic screams at any moment: and in some moments, he does just that! It works extremely well with the sharp changes in virtually all the songs on the album.

The first track, “Brand New Fall,” gives a suitable introduction to the album with a slow and measured opening. Just when the listener is convinced he/she’s in for a lilting lullaby, the drums begin a slow build up to a pop beat that explodes at the end with Sheafers fevered exclamations.

“Naked Trees” starts off with a bouncy baseline and top shelf drumming, accented by charged vocals. The tune hops along (the chorus is something like “Le-lu, le-lu, le-lu-lelu”) and then suddenly bursts into a stomping, crunchy rock song, then with the flip of a switch, goes back into the bouncy chorus.

“Pneumonia” starts slowly with simple strumming and softly sung vocals that pick up to another bouncing indie pop song–then suddenly switches to a slow, throbbing tune–then back to the slow origins of the song.

Me Like Bees isn’t a band for everyone, but it’s a band for me. There’s some solid, thoughtful and creative songwriting going on here that is a great change of pace (no pun intended). Check out their stuff here and enjoy something that will keep you guessing. - A Servant / The Music Ninja

Ever put in an album and within fifteen seconds of the first track you're already telling yourself "this band is going to be the death of me for the foreseeable future"?

Ever put in an album every morning for two weeks straight and say the same thing over and over without even realizing you're listening to the same band you already told yourself you were going to love the balls off and you know all the lyrics already and your kids sing the LAH DAH-DAH DAAAH DAH-DAH, LAH DAH DAH-DAH part on cue without asking them to?

Me Like Bees bro.

How fucking fitting is this then brosephs? I'm a beekeeper with many many bees, this band is called Me Like Bees.

Me Like Bees is a tshirt I would wear unironically, but alas, it is ironic that I also want to adopt all of these hairy children and make them rock and roll me constantly.

Me Like Bees steals from the pockets of so many familiar musicians it's almost annoying the first few times around because the obvious ones are obvious, yes, but I'm still kicking myself in the taint trying to figure out where I've experienced some of these traits before. The vocals are spot on Jack White meets the dude from Snow Patrol while watching 1/13th of Arcade Fire jack off an inflatable killer whale, with that clear ass throat that's obviously manicured with repetitive swills from the whiskey bottle. But then dude gets raunchy, like on Naked Trees, and you're positive the dude is about to swallow the mic before muthafuckers start whistling and all of a sudden we're back to sunny skies and shirtless roller derby teams singing in unison on rolling freshly paved blacktop hills.

The entire The Ides album from Me Like Bees is whimsical in that all-American rock and roll sense of a Modest Mouse from Joplin, MO, but with hints of the goofiness of a Blind Melon, seemingly not-suicidal but totally-suicidal vibe of a Nirvana, but towards the end of the album the only thing I can imagine doing is starting the whole fucker over.

The Ides is addicting.

Theatrical and traditional are trading licks back and forth with shirtless and bearded adults who are doing their best to rock rock their way into a consistently gleeful sense of youth. I know exactly what the guys are doing in Me Like Bees, I just wish I had the time and cash flow to follow them around the country as they yank pannies off of the women (and men, I ain't disckscriminatezin) who are fortunate enough to have their ears penetrated by such awesomely crafted rock and roll.

As far as a favorite track, I'm torn between Joseph Jones, Rolodex, Comet & The Snail, Brand New Fall and The Fifteenth Day. But then again I've listened to Ra Ra Etc. a few different times while manscaping and my wife even complemented me on my cushy pubis's new whale's tail.

I won't prolong this review any longer.

Go buy this album and enjoy a summer full of driving with the windows up so you can get it lit, then the windows down so your uniform doesn't smell, then the uniform off so you don't get it dirty, then the uniform on the ground so you can sit without getting your pannies wet, then the uniform in a ball that you shove down the front of your pants to help soak up the moisture that Me Like Bees conjured in them jorts bro.

I love this band. - Joel Frieders // SSFFAL

It's startling really, but kind. Luke Sheafer's lilting "Hey, we'll inch out all these miles," bursts from the speakers over two light taps of glockenspiel. A gentle, alternating guitar chord pattern follows, along with two more chime-like taps. Me Like Bees' new single (all funds going to the hometown habitat for humanity) begins like the hand of an old friend on the shoulder, side by side with the listener at the scene of the devastation.

The bass and drums kick in as the singer recalls where he was when it all happened, out of town, helping a friend "park his tired soul." He hears something has happened back home, and he can't get through on the phone. The tornado's destruction is all over the news. Pete Burton's guitar delivers a wall of sound that pushes the music to its first crescendo. The singer's narrative moves from a personal loss to tackling something near incomprehensible.

Now the music returns to the pattern in the first quiet verse, but the guitar is biting just as "the sky opened its mouth and showed its teeth." Friends are buried under homes. And "everyone was screaming..." this wordless refrain, "loo lay loo lay loo lay loo lay loo lay loo," but by the time the refrain is repeated, it's "everyone sang 'loo lay loo...'" Out of chaos, people build a common song.

That doesn't mean it's easy. "So, now you can't sleep when you hear rain," the singer sings over shimmering guitar chords just moments before the music explodes into an agonized, almost indecipherable bridge. The singer gnashes and bites. Band members shout back. The music is about to run off the rails...

It doesn't though. The band snaps back to that first verse pattern, whistling responses to the singer's calls, insisting on the melody, pushing forward with harmony. This time, though, unlike at the beginning, the whole band is backing the singer's summary of the story that's come before, and the guitar is raring forward with a funky percussive riff. Though "your mind keeps bracing for that howl again," the music works its way back to the sparest melodic line, embellished only by each instrument adding an essential pulse.

The song ends back in the present, outside of the memories and the nightmares, with that friends' hand on the shoulder. And he's saying in this lilting, beautiful alto, "I know it seems for miles the world's at end/But even in all this/Our naked tree's greening again." And then the song's over, with a final quick pulse from everyone in the band.

Wednesday night, when Me Like Bees first released this single, I immediately felt this song as a delicate, considered rendering of pain. Grief was the word that came to mind that night; still does. This is a song by, for and about the victims of the Joplin tornado, and it is thoughtful about the mistakes people typically make when dealing with a pathos so deep.

The song's talking to and for friends "despite the wreck that was all that you ever owned." And it knows loss like this can't be avoided, talked over or around, or minimized. It also can't be dealt with impatiently. Though the ending focuses on a small sign that life itself refuses to give up, such hope is offered only as what it is, an observation. The song's smart enough to end without editorializing further.

I know few things as well as this one--if there's one thing we can count on in life, it's pain. Friends stand shoulder to shoulder with us through our pain, knowing they can't take it away from us. The song's repeated advice, "Hey, let's look this in the eye" seems about as good as it gets. Music this naked, brave and beautiful makes it something close to bearable.

Me Like Bees single, "Naked Trees," is available at www.melikebees.com You can name your price, and the money goes to Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity.

Postscript: Me Like Bees' December 3rd Riot Room show delivered almost all new material engaging, thankfully, a decent-sized house and near-full floor. "Naked Trees" offered a particularly delicate beauty in a set that ended with a bit of destruction no one in the house is likely to forget. At that show, I also learned what I took to be a wordless refrain actually had meaning central to a metaphor I missed altogether. To promote the fundraising single, the band distributes postcards with the band's web address as well as lyrics far more clever than suggested above. I decided to leave my mistakes above intact; they're the honest reactions of a listener. And music is music, first and foremost, an auditory experience. (In addition, the record deviates in at least one meaningful way from the lyric sheets that I'm glad I caught.) Still, the lyrics add rich layers to the song, so I thought I'd share the right stuff in the same space. They read--

Hey, we'll inch out all these miles
All our friends' houses in piles
Either side they're forming aisles
We'll breathe those fallen walls in till we choke
Amongst the naked trees we'll bear the yoke.

I was north helping an old friend park his tired soul
And while a song to help his belle along was due
My town down south cut in with its own tune
But I couldn't make it out, those phones were dead
That didn't stop the whole world from feeling it.

Bared its snout, the sky opened its mouth and showed its teeth
I heard you heard your house get chewed through from underneath
Everyone was screaming
Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup!

And so now you can't sleep when you hear rain
Your mind keeps bracing for that howl again

Hey, let's look this in the eye
Fear causes only divide
Don't feel guilt for troubled skies
For by the hair of our collective chin
Lord know it wasn't we who let it in

De nulle part le Loup souffla et le Loup souffle!
Miracles! Miracles! Wind and grace, wrath and mercy!
Heroes and suitors, villains and looters sifted out in the scrum!
But it's not done
It's still at home on every tongue

I was north heading a southward course when you first called
When I arrived, I found you all despite the wreck
That was all that you all had ever owned
Good Lord, we sang it
Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup!

Hey, let's look this in the eye
Cease this mind-wrapping of why
Don't feel guilt for troubled skies
I know it seems for miles the world's at end
But even in all this are naked trees greening again. - Danny Alexander

I was north helping an old friend park his tired soul

And while a song to help his belle along was due

My town down south cut in with its own tune



Luke Sheafer went from one tragedy to another on May 22. The day the tornado hit, he was in Kansas City mourning the loss of his stepfather, who passed away the day before. As much as he wanted to stay with family for the funeral, Joplin called -- despite all the phones being out.

“He couldn’t get through to anyone,” said Asher Poindexter, friend and bandmate of Sheafer. “So he said to his family that he knew they needed him, but there were bigger things going on in his hometown.”

Sheafer missed his stepfather’s funeral, made it back to Joplin and found his hometown in a mess, Poindexter said.



Bared its snout, the sky opened its mouth and showed its teeth

I heard you heard your house get chewed through from underneath

Everyone was screaming Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup! Le Loup!



Like many artists, Sheafer and his bandmates in Me Like Bees used their art to deal with the tragedy. The band recently released “Naked Trees,” a new song meant to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Listeners can download it for free, but they can make a donation if they choose to, Poindexter said.

“If we’re giving it away, we might as well ask for a donation and raise money for Habitat for Humanity,” he said. “People give what they can as they work to rebuild Joplin. Artists have an art they can use to help in a time of need.”

“Naked Trees” is a perfect driving song -- upbeat but not too hectic, anthemic but not overpowering. It features a contrast of styles that is a trademark of the band’s songwriting -- prancing indie-pop quickly becomes powerful rock, and just as quickly reverts to a chorus of whistles.

Poindexter, bassist for the band, said the song was coming together a few weeks before the tornado. He, vocalist Sheafer, guitarist Pete Burton and drummer Tim Cote had the basic structure of the song, but no lyrics.

Inspiration found the band after the tornado. Sheafer’s drive back to Joplin gave him the foundation.

Though the song’s title talks about the bark-stripped trees everywhere in the damage zone (and how later they grew close-knit, leafy branches from their splinters), the song talks more about a certain strong-lunged wolf, reminiscent of a little pig-eating, fairy tale villain.

“That was the driving force to keep going toward finishing the song,” Poindexter said. “It allowed us to finish the strongest song we’ve written yet. Lyrically and artistically, we thought, ‘Hey, we gotta record this and give it away.’”

Studio time is tough to come by, especially for a band that’s only a couple of years old. But a little bit of luck dropped in the band’s lap. “One of our guys entered our name in a raffle drawing at a benefit show,” Poindexter said. “We won a half-price prize from (Zombie Life Studios in Joplin).”



Don’t feel guilt for troubled skies

For by the hair of our collective chin

Lord knows it wasn’t we who let it in



Poindexter said completing the song has started something bigger: the completion of the band’s first full-length album.

“We thought that we could keep releasing singles,” Poindexter said. “And we might release some more. But our main focus is on a full-length album.” Inspired by Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand, Me Like Bees features an alternative rock sound with a strong beat.

“We like to make songs with a sort of dance rhythm, with funky bass lines and dance beats on the drums,” Poindexter said. “But we still direct songs with indie alt-rock guitar riffs and vocal patterns.”

The band has toured extensively across the Midwest, as far as Denver and Pueblo, Colo., and in northern Texas. They are regulars at nightspots in Joplin, Springfield, Tulsa, Kansas City and Wichita.

The band’s self-titled EP was released earlier this year, and is available on iTunes and other digital music platforms. And work continues -- the band has about half of its album written now. The spark from “Naked Trees” has turned into a fire, Poindexter said.

Some songs are simple rock songs, others feature the “asymmetrical, quirky” sound they are honing. Picking their favorite songs that fit together in a concise way is challenging.

“We want to do a collection of our strongest material,” he said. “It heightens our artistic senses, so we decided to keep this going. This is a strong song that we like, and we can continue with that mold.”



I know it seems for miles the world’s at end

But even in all this are naked trees greening again



Want to hear?

“Naked Trees” can be downloaded at http://melikebees.bandcamp.com/track/naked-trees. The song can be downloaded for free, but donations will go toward Habitat for Humanity.
- Joplin Globe

One of the cool things about my job is that I can simply open an email and be introduced to something enjoyable and new. Happiness and entertainment hand delivered via a Soundcloud link. Such a gift arrived in my inbox today. Me Like Bees is a refreshing group of musicians producing songs that carry infectious melodies and quirky lyrics that stick with you long after the tune comes to an end. My personal favorite on this debut album is Brand New Fall, I mean to tell you, I LOVE THIS SONG! The lyrics paint pictures and the music carries you down the road…give it a listen, it will change you.

https://soundcloud.com/melikebees/brand-new-fall

Here’s the press release that came along with my gift in the email today:


July 9th, 2013 – Joplin, MO – ME LIKE BEES, indie up-and-comers hailing from the Southwest Missouri alt-rock scene, have just released “The Ides”, their full-length, debut effort. The 14 track LP is being released through LoveWay Records and is available now on iTunes and Amazon.

After much praise for earlier single releases, such as “Naked Trees”, a track released for charitable contribution in response to the tragic 2011 tornado that devastated much of their hometown, ME LIKE BEES have spent time developing their catchy, yet introspective sound and songwriting approach while appealing to fans with the playfully magnetic energy of their live performances, all culminating now with the release of “The Ides”. Preview the album and check out the official video for the title track, below! - Atlas Jams

West Hollywood,CA - ME LIKE BEES, the midwest indie-jugernauts that just six months ago brought us their impassioned debut LP, “The Ides”, have turned up once again to show us just how they intend to do things. This time, by earning their spot as the Grand Prize Winners of Ernie Ball’s Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands Showcase.

After being selected from 25,000 entries to the competition, Me Like Bees took the stage on January 17th, 2014 at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California as one of four finalists alongside Face The King, Pvris, and Wind In Sails. With a blazing 25 minute set featuring tracks from “The Ides” as well as currently unrecorded offerings, the lively quartet seamlessly brought their brand of midwestern Alt-rock to the Golden State crowd, ultimately, winning Grand Prize in the event.

We had an amazing time throughout the whole experience. We feel truly greatful and blessed to have won… The only disappointment I experienced on the trip was not running into Mario Lopez. I was almost certain that would happen. – Luke Sheafer, Me Like Bees

With new releases in the works, and performing select dates on the 2014 Vans Warped Tour, Me Like Bees are continuing their objective to produce surprisingly introspective, yet approachable indie rock that is definitely leaving it’s mark. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out “The Ides” full album stream below! - Troy Michael / Innocent Words

Epic tornado-related song: "Naked Trees," by Me Like Bees

It's almost unfair to pick a best tornado song — so many artists have poured their heart and soul into music to help Joplin residents deal with the tornado.
Ross Gipson's "Wounded Town" is sublimely written with just the right amount of feeling --no bombast, no balladeering, just raw emotion. LiveWire wrote "Miracle of the Human Spirit" and recorded a video underneath the cross at St. Mary's Church. Mark Laperle's "Sing Again" was used by the city as a motto and a keystone for a memorial.
But the one song that nails it for us: "Naked Trees," by Me Like Bees. It's slow-yet-upbeat rhythm and poetic lyrics made us feel better than we had in a while, in the way that a good song becomes a personal anthem. Which is odd, because the lyrics are some of the most painfully honest we've heard. From breathing in fallen walls to not being able to sleep during rain, "bracing for that howl again," the lyrics seem to come from right beside wherever we were when we survived the tornado.
"Naked Trees" is different from all of the other songs. While others songs sought to soothe us and comfort us, Me Like Bees heard us say, "This sucks," and they agreed. They covered everything about our experience, from the "heroes and suitors" to the "villains and looters."
But they didn't TELL us everything was going to be all right. They just pointed to some of Joplin's strange new trees -- the ones with broken branches and green leaves sprouting like Chia pets near the trunk. - Joplin Globe

Me Like Bees
Wednesday, March 23
The Riot Room
Better than: Any opener since Me Like Bees played RecordBar or, before that, since Tony Ladesich and Kasey Rausch played those gorgeous Stones duets at Crosstown Station.

It may have been 9 p.m. on a Wednesday at the Riot Room, and only a third of the crowd had shown, but Me Like Bees' frontman Luke Sheafer and bass player Asher Poindexter had mischievous grins on their faces as the band drummed and strummed its way to a tuneless opening crescendo. The Joplin band immediately launched into the hard-rocking one-two punch of "The Devil's Song" and "Good Machine" -- buoyant funk rockers with the raw edges of punk and the weight of metal. Poindexter's whole body dipped, turned and rocked with the groove, while Sheafer addressed the mic with the intensity of a man whose life depends on making everyone in the room feel the music.

By the time the band eased into the quietly building storm of "Doubt," the several dozen people in the place formed a semicircle around the stage. After "Lazarus" (a song that features a lilting, delicate vocal over a massive reggae-flavored rhythm) came a hard-hitting, jubilant cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." The Me Like Bees version is big and bold, with Sheafer growling and the band maintaining the funky lift of the song with hard, heavy swings of rhythm.

The band blasted a hole somewhere in the back of the house by the insistent swamp blues of "She," a song that more than relishes, as any good blues should do -- lines like, "My baby has a sweet left hook" with ecstatic vocal calls answered by scorching guitar. The song revolved around a swelling bridge worthy of the Who before delivering its definitive closing punch.

The end of the short set featured two of the band's finest crowd-pleasers. "Mama Don't Know" worked its way up to giddy breaks where the band cried "na na na" over hand claps. "Iconica" closed things out with the kind of hormone-charged rave that got rock-and-roll records burned in the first place.

The band's two shows a month ago, at Coda and RecordBar, worked packed houses to various states of giddy excitement. That kind of interaction with a crowd fuels any band to play its best, and those were unforgettable shows. But last night's show at the Riot Room served as a truer test of the band. With a much smaller crowd -- all but obscured, no doubt, by the glare of stage lights -- this four-piece delivered a level of energy all too rare on any night in any club in Kansas City.

Critic's Bias: This band had me at hello two shows ago.

Critic's Notebook: I love the black electrical tape across the drum set that cries out, "Free Weezy"! That's musical solidarity!

Set List:

The Devil's Song
Good Machine
Doubt
Lazarus
Crazy
Joseph Jones
She
What Your Mama Don't Know
Iconica

- The Pitch

Joplin export Me Like Bees packs a punch
A A A Comments (3) By Danny Alexander Tuesday, Mar 15 2011

In early February, Me Like Bees wowed crowds at Coda and RecordBar with its dizzying mix of aggressive rock and grooving rhythms. The two-year-old Joplin band — three members have KC roots — is swinging back this way on March 23 to promote a self-titled debut that magically conducts its live electricity in recorded form. The Pitch sat down with singer and guitarist Luke Sheafer, guitarist Peter Burton, bassist Asher Poindexter and drummer Tim Cote.

The Pitch: Is Me Like Bees' infectious, eclectic mix the result of a conscious decision?

Luke Sheafer: It's very much a mix of our tastes. We've never sat down and said, Hey, let's write this kind of song. Pete comes up with a guitar part. I come up with a melody. We see what Asher comes up with on bass.

What sounds have affected your band's tastes?

Tim Cote: John French from Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band — my dad played nightclubs with those guys. Primus drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander, those industrial sounds. Drive Like Jehu's Mark Trombino: dirty, dry, progressive.

Asher Poindexter: [Who bassist] John Entwistle. On "Baba O'Riley," where he's firing those notes off like a machine gun, throwing in as much as he can in the space allotted. Also, Peter Gabriel's bassist, Tony Levin, who follows the melody with his bass.

Peter Burton: Riffs that pull you into the song. Smashing Pumpkins, too. I take that perfectionist, Billy Corgan work ethic with the guitar — the overdubs, the amount of articulation.

Sheafer: I was raised on the blues. Then I heard the White Stripes' "Ball and Biscuit." That stirred me up. I thought, Yeah, I want to do that.

What influences do you have in common?

All: Modest Mouse!

"Good Machine" — a song about a square, corporate character — is an interesting tune. What's behind that?

Sheafer: So much of it, for me, is what I'm trying to avoid by playing music, you know? I don't want to work my whole life for two weeks' paid vacation. At the same time, my parents provided for me. The song is not in any way looking down on that guy. It's really an expression of sympathy.

You have a surprisingly rich sound on this record for an independent debut. How did you get it?

Burton: Three of the songs were recorded at a friend's house in Kansas City. "Iconica," "Good Machine" and "The Devil's Song" were recorded at my school by one of my classmates, Austin Marti. He does a really good job, but it all took a long time.

You've got a core crowd that packs the house in Joplin at the Blackthorn. What should Kansas Citians expect from the live show?

Sheafer: The White Stripes messed me up because it was so good. We want to do that. - The Pitch

Never Shout Never who just released their latest album Recycled Youth Vol. 1 on March 3rd brought their tour to Toronto’s Mod Club this past Wednesday evening as an all ages event. Frontman Christofer Drew and his band played a relaxed, fun, toned down set, to the delight of their fans.

For a band I’d never heard of before, they put on an enjoyable show. Throughout their performance Never Shout Never played a range of genres, switching from pop/rock to funk, to drawn out romantic ballads. Drew, who played in his bare feet for the majority of the set, and looked like a modern day ‘Where’s Waldo’ complete with red glasses, had a knack for interacting with the crowd. It was clear that it was a mutual energy relationship.

NeverShoutNever
NeverShoutNever
Supporting act singer/songwriter/actress Hayley Kiyoko (who you may recognize from Season One of ABC’s The Fosters) was a glitzy, synth driven Lorde/Lights combination. Having just released her debut EP This Side Of Paradise, Kiyoko was passionate and showed true spirit for her craft.

To be honest my favourite performance of the night was openers Me Like Bees. As the support to NeverShoutNever, Bees gave the band a run for its money. As an indie/rock band out of Joplin, Missouri, they put on roots-driven performance that delighted the crowd . It was their first show outside of the US, which I’m sure is only the first of many to come. I particularly enjoyed their live version of ‘Ra Ra Etc’.

Overall, it was a good show for a Wednesday night and I give a huge shout out to AnchorShop for continuing to support new local and international talent. - Kat Harlton