Atomic Flea attacks lake shoreline

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Atomic Flea

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WORTHINGTON — Atomic fleas are infesting Worthington! Not really — well sort of.

The band Atomic Flea will make its debut in the Unvarnished Music Festival at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“We were originally going to go by ‘The Atomic Goats,’” Eric Kreidler, the lead singer-songwriter, joked as he elaborated on the band name. “We were about to perform as the opening band for The Edgar Winter Group when we realized we didn’t have a name. We liked the word ‘atomic,’ and we liked the double meaning of flea (flee). It was really just a random name.”

“Random” seems to be a motif in the history of Atomic Flea.

“I’ve known my band members since college days in Notre Dame, but it wasn’t until I randomly bumped into Eric Kreidler in a downtown Minneapolis skyway that we formed what is now Atomic Flea,” fellow Flea and lead guitar Mike Senkovich summed up of the band’s history. “Our first performances were at the 400 bar in Minneapolis. Our boss at the time said that we didn’t suck and didn’t cause any trouble — that was his way of telling us we were a good fit for regular shows.”

Atomic Flea consists of Kreidler, Mike Senkovich, Dawn Bentley (violin) and John Hizon (bass). This wasn’t always the band’s lineup, however.

“We started off as an average pop-rock group during our first 10 to 12 years,” Kreidler explained about the band’s past. “We seemed to go through several phases ,but it wasn’t until we lost a drum player and recruited a violinist where we became more of a folk band. It added a melodic element we never had in our band, and it really rejuvenated not only our genre but our songwriting as well.”

All band members seem to appreciate what Bentley brings to the table.

“She adds an ambient sound and just an all-around spectacular addition to our group,” Senkovich praised.

Kreidler and Senkovich, being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist, respectively, are the natural faces of the band, but they insist their atomic arthropod associates “have an equal share of parts to do with the success of this band — it really takes teamwork to survive for 15 years.”

But they’ve done more than merely survive.The band has released four albums and is almost done with its fifth.

“We don’t really have a designated name yet,” Kreidler said. “My personal favorite song on the album is ‘Over Chicago.’ We usually name our CDs after our songs, so we’ll see if that’s what it winds up being.”

If the past is any indicator of the future, Atomic Flea will wait until the final moment to mark the name of its masterpiece.

Kreidler made it clear that Atomic Flea is ambitious as ever — still writing, still performing and most of all still having fun.

“We’re super-psyched!” Senkovich exclaimed.

“We’re in a kind of good, happy place,” Kreidler concluded.

To hear a music clip from Atomic Flea, go to www.dglobe.com.

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