By Maddy Yen

Who is Verb8im?

The 4-piece Eugene rock band consists of Lucas Vega (vocals and guitar), Aidan Wright (bass), Will Martin (lead guitar), and Tripp Repp (drums), who started playing together in October of 2022. Vega and Wright were in a band together in high school and came to Eugene intending to form a band at UO. Wright met Repp during rush and Martin in a business class they had together. Wright was looking at guitars online, and Martin sparked a conversation about playing. Wright told me, “I asked Will if he was looking to play in a band and to send me some videos of what he’s played, and he sent me my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers song of all time.” Their first show was a frat date dash in January of their freshmen year. They didn’t play another show until St. Patrick’s Day weekend two months later — their first “proper show and when we got introduced to the scene and hung out with other bands,” Vega says.

 The “Ask Again Later” Album

The band's first two singles, “Think of Me” and “Hungover,” were released in 2023 and recorded in a school studio during the spring term of that year. “The process of making a song usually starts with someone coming up with 4 chords,” Wright said. He added that each band member contributes to the writing and no particular element comes before another. "Sometimes the bass comes first or the lyrics," he said. The recent release of their debut album on May 3rd was “a long time coming; [these] songs have been written for a while,” Vega said. Martin went on to say, “The process was more about putting the songs we wanted on an album; a couple of more songs are in the works.” The album was recorded at Sprout City by Asher Loewenstern, and mixed by Armant L’Heureux. The band spent two full days in the studio. Repp’s drum sections were previously recorded, and they went back and recorded everyone’s parts for “Colorblind,” “Bedroom Ballad,” and “Drag.” The other day was spent recording the live sessions for “Throw it Away” and “The Jam.”

Tracks

“Colorblind”

“We recorded Colorblind three times; it’s been the hardest thing we’ve had to do,” Repp says. Martin said he came to the band with the intro already written in high school and showed the rest of the band at practice. He said, “When Lucas sang the long note, I said, that’s it.” Despite the song having undergone many trials, including redoing the bass part three times and Vega having a cold the first time they tried to record it, it became one of their favorites. Vega told me, “The lyrical build behind it is so cool, and it works so well with the song. I am the most proud of that song in terms of lyrics we’ve all written.” Martin also said, “We didn’t realize it until after, but his lyrics 'Oh wait a sec,' we stop when Lucas says wait.” “Which was really cool, we didn’t really plan that,” Vega adds.

“The Jam”

Verb8im’s first track on their album, “The Jam,” is an instrumental rock song that “was the coolest musical ‘pick up an instrument and lay something down’ and just happened subconsciously” Wright says. He explained how the rest of the band was playing the chords in the Beta basement while he was grabbing something upstairs. He came down and they said check this out and he picked up his guitar and the first thing Wright played was what they ended up using. 

“Bedroom Ballad”

“This track “was the last song that we had written that went on the album,” Martin said. Once this song was done, the album was pretty much complete. Martin wrote the chord progression over summer break and the band wanted to make a song that had a ¾ feel to it. Repp noted the band put the whole thing together in two set practices but “it was this weird thing of like…‘We’re going into the chorus but then go into this polyrhythm and then stop and then come back in at the verse.”

The dynamic of the band

You can tell that the boys of Verb8im have a lot of fun being in a band together. Vega said, “Aidan and I have played together since high school, so that’s a whole different connection we have. But playing with all of us together, I think the chemistry is unmatched. I don’t think I could find that anywhere else.” Wright added, “I get to do something so special to me with my best friends who I’m already most comfortable or most vulnerable with. It’s really pure and it’s who we want to be when we play together.” They also brought up how there is business and seriousness behind the band and how “four humans can’t coexist in a creative space without bumping heads at times,” said Wright. "But we've done a really good job of communicating, and sometimes we need to sit down and say, 'Let's chat.'" They stated they have a lot of fun with each other, and it’s a cool balance of work and play. "It’s fun to be able to grow, work, and mature with each other," Wright concludes.

Will Martin and Tripp Repp at Beta Theta Pi on April 19, 2024. Photos by Maddy Yen.

Covers and influences

The band has played various covers over the years they have been playing shows together. Wright and Repp state their most sentimental cover is “Someday Soon” by HARLEM with Repp’s favorite cover being “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers. Martin says his favorite is “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors, Repp thinks it is because he gets two guitar solos but Martin says it’s just one. Vega and Wright added that they also like “I Love You So” by The Walters. As a band, they all want to choose at least one cover to learn and practice before graduating in 2026. As of now, Martin wants to play “Dani California” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vega wants to play “Bus Money” by The Chats, Wright wants to play the “99 Red Balloons” cover by Goldfinger, and Repp wants to play “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. Each of the band members has their respective influences  — with some overlap. Vega said his influences are bands Skeggs, The Chats, and The Strokes. Martin also said The Strokes, Nirvana, Radiohead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and LCD Soundsystem. Repp also mentioned Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, and Dave Matthews Band. Lastly, Wright said his were Sublime, Operation Ivy, Guns and Roses, and Green Day.

Lucas Vega and Aidan Wright at Beta Theta Pi on April 19, 2024. Photos by Maddy Yen.