The Baton Rouge-based Secret Annexe brings a new meaning to the term “lineup change.”
The band, currently composed of Rob Mulhearn, Shelby Rushing, Kevin Carbo, Phil Gallagher, Kyle Bailey and Shelby Gallagher, has been active since 2001, but not always with the same members.
What sets Secret Annexe apart is its inconsistent membership — throughout the years, the band has switched members a number of times. There are different names in the liner notes of every record Secret Annexe has recorded. According to the band, there are different members playing at every show. At one point, the band had seven members.
Members of the ever-changing band also lend their talents to a diverse variety of shows. A variation of Secret Annexe has played every event from a Halloween themed wedding to a Velvet Underground cover show, not to mention its upcoming ‘90s R&B concert.
While the band plays a wide range of genres and covers, when it plays as Secret Annexe, it debuted its own material. Even though the band categorizes its music as rock, members make a point not to categorize the band exclusively as a rock band. Taking cues from grunge to metal, the Secret Annexe strives to tear down the walls that a genre creates. According to the band members, every album they’ve recorded has a different sound — the members aren’t out to restrict themselves.
The same goes for the band’s songwriting style.
“One person will come up with an idea and then we’ll sort of go nuts,” Mulhearn said.
Those ideas include a song based on a speech by Abraham Lincoln and a song entitled “Boris Karloff,” a nod to the actor who played Frankenstein’s monster.
In these songs, the band further breaks itself away from genre marks by using a wide variety of instruments. Secret Annexe has included violas, flutes and mandolins, among other instruments in their recordings. The band also frequently swaps instruments between members, further changing its dynamic. According to the band, the songs change when played live — sometimes they have a different feel altogether.
The band’s name, a distinct reference to Anne Frank’s hideout, came to Mulhearn when he was reading Frank’s diary for the first time. It also came, in part, from one of Mulhearn’s influences.
“I was listening to Neutral Milk Hotel a lot,” Mulhearn said.
The band Neutral Milk Hotel references Anne Frank in the song “Holland, 1945.”
While the band plays few shows, you can catch Secret Annexe at its “guilty pleasures night” at Chelsea’s on April 6.
“One person will come up with an idea and then we’ll sort of go nuts.”
