Seattle’s Mega Bog making Valley debut

October 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Two decades may have passed since Nirvana’s “Nevermind” turned the music world upside down, but the lesser-known story revolves around bands from the Pacific Northwest who seemingly forever have to fight the tag of being a Seattle band. Such is the case for indie act Mega Bog, which makes its Youngstown debut Wednesday at Cedars.

“We kind of made up our genre we call peace metal,” said singer, guitarist, songwriter Erin Birgy. “It’s just like grungy pop music. We like peace metal because it kind of supports the theory of the whole band of just being really open but it’s really loud and obnoxious. It’s mellow but really harsh and piercing. Some people have to put earplugs in.”

Formed two years ago, Mega Bog is now touring its latest effort “Freaky Dawn,” which includes the groovy “Throat Mtn” and the in-your-face “Howler Bathing.” The act is an active part of its hometown area’s DIY scene, where bands not only help one another get gigs but actively swap musicians to form different groups. This is the case with Mega Bog, which is Birgy’s main band. She’s also in iji, while one of her band mates is in Sundance Kids.

As far as what local fans can expect from the upcoming Mega Bog date, Birgy’s answer travels down familiar, if not clich d, territory.

“So some of our friends back in Seattle compare us to Nirvana a lot, because it gets really crazy and is really funny,” Birgy said. “We’re kind of treated in the same way but there are always these scenes that collide in Seattle, and we’re kind of in the scene that wants to do what feels good and feels right. I think our concerts are for people who are really grunge fans and want to get free and get stoked by something. I feel like it’s overwhelming music.”

Birgy said that feeling is akin to the emotions experienced in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, only with a “Bleach”-era motif. Still, it feels as though a band from Seattle embracing the Nirvana comparison is a bit too much on the nose.

“I think it’s more funny,” Birgy laughed.

So does that mean we’re going to hear a Nirvana cover like “Polly” or “About a Girl?”

She quipped, “Probably not.”