Thursday, November 12, 2009 » What sets Mosquito Fleet apart from other bands is not its indie pop rock style or its true-to-life lyrics. It�s not the band�s set up of two guitarists, a drummer and bassist. Mosquito Fleet is not focused on originality or making a name for itself; they just want to play music.
Band members Josh Carroll (jr), Alex Mrakovich (sr), Phil Rode (jr) and Joel Yoshonis (sr) use Ecclesiastes 1:9 to determine what sets themselves apart as a band: �What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.�
Essentially, what sets Mosquito Fleet apart is nothing.
�What we�re doing really isn�t anything that hasn�t been done before but what we are doing is following an ancient tradition that is exemplified in our music,� Yoshonis said. �God is unchanging and the forgiveness through Jesus Christ is always relevant.�
Yoshonis said that bands tend to be on two extremes: overtly religious or overtly secular. Mosquito Fleet tries to find the middle balance. This, however, does not take away from the spiritual messages in the band�s lyrics.
�Our goal is not to be subtle,� said Mrakovich.
�Our music is an expression of conversations and life experiences, ranging from explicit issues of faith to experiences in nature to love,� said Yoshonis.
Most of Mosquito Fleet�s lyrics come from specific experiences the band members have faced. Because of this, college students have an easy time relating to their lyrics.
�We feel a special bond with the IWU community because our music stems from the experiences we share with everyone here at school,� said Yoshonis. �We�ve also found that some of the best responses to our music have been with students from other small Christian colleges.�
Tonight at 7 p.m. Mosquito Fleet will be playing for the Huntington University and IWU crowd at the 509 in Huntington, alongside musician Denison Witmer. The band will also perform at Crema on Nov. 19.
At Crema, Mosquito Fleet will release their new song �Trees,� anticipating their full-length album to be released in March 2010. For more information, check out Mosquito Fleet�s Myspace page: www.myspace.com/wearemosquitofleet.