story and interview by Sara-Jessica Dilks, photos and video by Anna Leach

At a Wednesday night band practice in a Westwood home, four high-school senior boys are in their truest element. Connor Ehman, who founded the band six months ago, cracks jokes as he fidgets with knobs on sound amplifiers and adjusts his microphone stand. He turns up the speakers so loud that they vibrate the wooden walls of the basement, which is adorned with film reels and a massive cello. Quinn Cochran stands nearby in the small rehearsal space, nodding his head and foot simultaneously to the strumming of his guitar. Murphy Smith, who holds his bass guitar like a newborn baby, playfully yells, “Lucky! Get out of here!” at the shaggy pet dog that prances around tangled equipment cords and wah-wah pedals. In the corner, Peter Andresen beats his drumset, pausing only occasionally to take a sip of his strawberry soda or a bite of his sandwich. This is Fresh the Plaza.

Fresh the Plaza is a new Kansas City-based band consisting of four local high school seniors: Connor Ehman of Rockhurst High School, Quinn Cochran of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and Peter Andresen and Murphy Smith of Shawnee Mission East High School. After performing one of its first shows at the STA Dance-A-Thon Feb. 8, the band has gained popularity among STA students.

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Dart: Who plays what instrument? How long have you each been playing for?

Smith: Bass guitar for about eight years.

Cochran: Guitar for seven years, vocals for three years.

Ehman: Guitar for four years, vocals for four years.

Andresen: My name is Peter, and I have been playing the drums for four years.

Dart: So, as many people know, you guys performed at the STA Dance-A-Thon, which was technically your first real performance. Looking back on that experience, how did it go?

Cochran: We had a lot of fun. We’re definitely a crowd band, not a background music band – the energy feeds off the crowd. It all ended up being better just because the crowd is excited.

Ehman: Yeah, we were all super pumped by seeing the crowd dancing along. We are crowd-responsive.

Andresen: I was really surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd; we get more pumped by everyone.

Dart: And now for the question that everyone’s asking…where did the name come from?

Ehman: There’s a poster in Peter’s basement that says ‘Fresh the Plaza’ that used to be hanging up at the [Country Club] Plaza like 20 years ago. Then someone suggested to use it [as our name] and at first we were like, ‘That’s so dumb.’ But we realized it’s catchy.

Cochran: We thought it was good representation of our style and [the actual location] of where we’re from.

Dart: How would you describe your musical style? Do your musical inspirations differ?

Cochran: Our style is melodic. It’s rock, but then it has lots of influences from jazz and blues, but it all kinda comes out in a poppy-rock way. I grew up on 80’s hair metal. I learned how to shred when I was like 11 or 12; you know, like, to play really fast. In high school I started learning [to play] jazz, so I meshed my shredding and jazz.

Ehman: Quinn and I are both songwriters and everyone here studies music. [Quinn and I] will write songs and then bring them in here. I started off on a less musically advanced path, but I listened to a lot of indie stuff like Bon Iver and the Strokes when I was a kid. The curve ball is that I listen to a lot of hip-hop like Chance the Rapper.

Smith: I started listening and playing jazz a lot, and I got a lot of influence from that. Our band ends up giving a lot of variety, really cool, different freedoms than you get in jazz.

Andresen: Yeah, yeah, like we’re bluesy-funk. One of my fave drummers is Mitch Mitchell, who played with [Jimi] Hendrix, and I strive to sound like him even though I don’t, really.

Dart: Do you guys see room for improvement anywhere?

Cochran: Absolutely. Vocally, I’m not even close to where I want to be. But people who don’t make sacrifices for their music will go nowhere…[as good musicians] you have to decide what you’re not willing to give up and also what you’re not willing to change about your music. The audience is always right.

Andresen: I want more variety in how I play. And when we get into a fat jam, sometimes we might get into it possibly more than the crowd.

Ehman: Right, we’re trying to cool it down a little bit. We love the guitar solos, but we need to keep it soft and entertaining. If you can’t get enough commercial success, you’re never gonna be allowed to have artistic success.

Smith: Yep. You want a good balance of the crowd having fun and [the band] having fun.

Dart: When it comes to Fresh the Plaza, are you guys in this for the long run?

Ehman: This is a test run for all of us to see, ‘How do you function in a real band?’ How do you get four people to work together?’

Cochran: Connor just gave me confidence. We feed off each other so much, dude.

Ehman: Yeah! Quinn taught me how to play the guitar. We’ve done our own thing a couple times, but yeah, I can look over at Quinn and know exactly what he’s about to do.

Andresen: And they’ve been in love ever since.

Smith: You just learn to communicate without even saying anything.

Dart: What’s the most rewarding part of being in this band?

Ehman: When a song finally comes together, and you hear it the way it was in your head. When it’s done, it’s not even a relief…it’s more like you just reached a mountaintop and nothing can bring you down.

Cochran: And you can’t wait to play it in front of people, and [the feeling of] not even having to worry about messing up. And plus, we’re really becoming best friends.

Andresen: I love the confidence of playing in a show. You’re just like, ‘Yes, I freaking own this.’

Smith: For me it’s kind of just getting to know these guys. And I love getting to play different music than I normally play.

Dart: Simple question…but what convinced you to join a band?

Andresen: I’ve always wanted to be in a band, like play music and tour and [stuff]. When Connor came to me, I was just like, ‘[Heck] yeah!’

Cochran: I’ve always been in [bands], and there has always been a weak spot. This band that can hold their own and I don’t have to worry about what other people are doing.

Smith: Peter texted me asking if I wanted to be in a band with him. And [I soon realized] I just had a lot of freedom. Usually Connor just says, ‘Hey, these are the chords. Do whatever you want.’

Ehman: Part of the reason I’m here is because I needed a band to help me communicate how the songs [I wrote] sounded in my head. And also because Peter’s hot.

Dart: Does the fact you’re from a mix of different schools benefit the band?

Cochran: It’s good because we all play in different jazz bands at each of our schools, so we have lots of exposure from many different musicians.

Andresen: If we’re all from the same place, we wouldn’t get that.

Ehman: We never got the chance to be in different social cliques. We’re just four musicians in a room with a goal.

Dart: Have any conflicts arisen within the band about anything?

Smith: Peter, you showed up late today.

Ehman: No, not really honestly.

Andresen: Maybe just trying to get in two to three practices a week when everyone has other stuff going on.

Dart: Where are we going to see you next?

Cochran: Hopefully soon we’ll start recording, try to put out a three to four song EP.

Smith: Right, we want to record something to put on a CD.

Ehman: Our other big goal is playing some bigger shows down at the Crossroads at First Fridays.

Andresen: This summer [before college] we wanna just play as many songs as possible.