Powder Hounds is two-pieced band formed in 2011 by Kent musicians Ryan Molnar and Andrew Bittaker.
The band’s name stems from its members’ pseudonyms: Ronnie “Rails” Hounds and Andy Powder, who together make a wave of power, raw energy and innovation.
Molnar, a.k.a. Ronnie Hounds, is in charge of the drums, noise and rhythmic summoning. Bittaker, or Andy Powder, sings, plays guitar and takes care of the feedback and fuzz.
“Ryan and I have been playing in bands together since high school,” Bittaker said, “but never in this arrangement.”
The singer studied classical guitar at Kent State University and played in various bands throughout his time in Kent. Molnar’s collaboration with Bittaker as Powder Hounds was the drummer’s first time playing the instrument.
“Ryan has been playing music in some form or another for more than ten years,” the singer said, “but he began playing drums more recently.”
Since Bittaker and Molnar are performing under stage names, the two members created a background story for the duo where they act as Ronnie Hounds and Andy Powder’s current managing and booking team.
Bittaker said the members decided to use alter egos to give themselves freedom, stating, “Andy and Ronnie are separate people from Andrew and Ryan; Andy Powder can do things Andrew Bittaker cannot.”
The band’s background story is also used for artistic freedom. However, Molnar and Bittaker have little information on where Powder and Hounds actually come from.
“Ronnie is a bit loony, and that Andy Powder just talks circles around you,” Molnar said. “Trying to get info out of those two is like trying to catch a tiger by its tail.”
As the story goes, Ronnie Hounds and Andy Powder are both from the bayou in New Orleans. They started playing together at the age of fourteen. The two were separated after Hounds was incarcerated in a mental hospital for unknown reasons.
“Ryan actually is crazy,” Bittaker said, “so this narrative gives him an excuse.”
Powder later helped Hounds escape from River Oaks Hospital in Louisiana. The band reformed under a full moon during a peyote excursion. The musicians then paid their way to Kent, Ohio by playing gypsy shows throughout the swamps of the Mississippi.
“As to why they came to Ohio, that is undetermined,” the drummer said. “We asked Ronnie and he replied, ‘Ain’t da same where dem seasons change,’ so you can interpret that.”
Powder Hounds is a combination of both members’ musical interests. There’s a spark of psychedelic-blues-rock with a hint of folk.
“We’re two parts crazy, plus one part blues-country,” Molnar said, “which equals 50s style blues-fuzz with a twangy-country liner.”
The band’s music is a combined effort of both musicians. Though the singer has a larger part in writing the lyrics, Molnar frequently adds to the process now and then.
“The tempos and melodies are also a combined effort,” Molnar said. “Powder and Hounds meet every night in the PowderHole, a storage unit used for practice”
Powder Hounds’ music definitely separates the band from the crowd of musicians swarming the local scene.
“With it being the wave of electronic music, people are all swinging towards dubstep and more pop-oriented culture,” the drummer said.
The members have managed to disconnect themselves from modern music and prefer to focus on artists like Robert Johnson and Elmore James.
“We listen to songs these guys were making in the 40s and 50s and we spin them twenty-first century style,” the drummer said. Bittaker agreed, adding, “We play blues because the devil told us to.”
Though the band’s story doesn’t compare to many other musicians in the area, the members have similar goals.
“We have a short term goal of recording our first full length album with Steve Albini in Chicago by the end of the summer,” Molnar said. “We also hope to have a few tours on the books by next year’s end.”
Powder Hounds recently recorded a four track demo at Kent’s Stone Tavern with the help of owner Louis—who would like to start recording bands out of the bar.
“He is great with live recording,” Molnar said. “We went in, mic’d up and took the whole thing in one take.”
Before Louis opened the Stone Tavern, both members of Powder Hounds were skeptical of the music scene.
“He [Louis] started making some efforts into getting live bands five nights a week,” Bittaker said. “Thanks to his ongoing efforts, Kent is the place to play.”
Powder Hounds’ live performances are not something to miss. The members confidently said the audience shouldn’t know what to expect because they don’t even know what’s going to happen.
Bittaker and Molnar practice the structure of the songs but their live performances come from instant reaction and feeling.
“It’s depends on our mood that night,” the singer said. “The show can go anywhere from crazy to entertaining to…CRAAAAAZY and entertaining.”
–Alisa Mamma
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