Live Music Preview: Abadon Faluz

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It's almost time for the show. The stage is all set for the band to come out and play, with instruments strewn across the performing platform – enough for at least your standard four-person rock group. Soon, a single man takes to the stage and starts laying down a beat.

When you start thinking that perhaps the rest of the band will file out one by one, he moves on to a new instrument as the original beat continues. That's when you realize that this man is the band.

Meet Michael Edgerly, lead singer, lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, rhythm guitarist, backup vocalist, and more for Abadon Faluz. By employing a series of recorded loops and pedals into his act, Edgerly can create a whole song with all the bells and whistles (well, maybe not those instruments specifically) by himself.

"I can get up to 10 loops going in one tune, and they're all signature, so I can stop and start them whenever I want, so the song becomes very organic," Edgerly said.
Edgerly will take his musical talents to the Oasis Sunday, July 8 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and while some looping performers will record parts of their show beforehand, Edgerly insists on performing everything in his act in front of the crowd.

"Nothing that I do is ever pre-looped," Edgerly said. "I have a full drum kit, I have a steel slide, and two other guitars that are differently tuned. Everything I do is through a series of pedals and looping. All of the beat boxing is done by me; there's soloing and everything. I even have a harmonizer for my voice so that I can lay down harmonies."

Abadon Faluz has as many influences combined into one sound as the plethora of instruments and sounds Edgerly employs each show. Despite the vast amount of genres twisted into a single song, the multi-talented musician does have a term for his craft.

"I call it Mississippi blood blues," Edgerly explained. "All the topics in it are either about the living dead or vampiric in some nature, all of it is horror-based. Usually the happier the music sounds, it's pretty gory. I don't use any language that's really bright or anything that leads to that assumption. I don't call it right out, so if they don't hear that, then they don't hear it, and if they do, then that's what they get out of it."

When it comes to influences, Edgerly doesn't skimp on variety. From an early age, Stevie Ray Vaughan had a big impact on Edgerly's guitar playing. Add in some dashes of Cee Lo Green, Prince, and Adam Levine, and you have Edgerly's vocal stylings. Abadon Faluz's sound was even partially-inspired by Norwegian metal. Add all of those elements together, and you have one unique sound.

Of course, being the sole performer of Abadon Faluz takes a lot of effort, but Edgerly still loves doing it.

"My day job is recording in my studio, and my night job is playing gigs," Edgerly said. "Even on days where you're just done, the thing is when you get up there, you get into it, and you don't realize you're tired until you're done playing."

Abadon Faluz may just be one person, but if you're in need of a whole new musical experience, from horror-infused blues to a brand new take on Björk, then Edgerly is your man.