Triple Lindy Proves the Live Music Scene is Scary Good

Triple Lindy drummer Nick Parisian, photographed Oct. 25 at The Fieldhouse in East Lansing. (Photos courtesy of Brent Feeman)

The weekend before Halloween in downtown East Lansing is always an adventure: sometimes a trick, other times a treat. Last Friday night the Fieldhouse (213 Ann St.) hosted 1980s cover band, Triple Lindy to a sold-out audience.

Triple Lindy (Brian Westrin, lead vocals; Nick Parisian, drums; Grant Hendrickson, keyboards, vocals; N8 Schuiling, guitar; Kyle Hoke, bass, vocals; Joe Kras, harmonica, private dancer) began as a project back in 2011. Though the lineup has slightly shifted since the beginning, lead singer Brian assures the heart of the band remains the same: providing a blend of high octane rock, new wave, and high fashion.

“One of the best parts of Triple Lindy, beyond wearing women’s pastel blazers, is bringing together collective talents to make it work,” Westrin said.

For the sold-out East Lansing crowd, their hard work and high fashion definitely seemed to be working.

“This is the first time the Fieldhouse has had a live band,” Parisian said, after the show. “The event was very well-received, and we’re already planning our next event there.”

The Halloween-themed event was promoted on the band’s and the Fieldhouse’s social media accounts, and tickets were available on Eventbrite. Throughout the night’s renditions of Tears for Fears, A-Ha, Starship, Loverboy, Rick Springfield, Cyndi Lauper, Queen, Def Leppard, and more. The crowd favorite appeared to be the Vanilla Ice/Queen “Under Pressure” medley. Plenty of costumed attendees let loose and traveled back to the days of big hair and blue eyeshadow, donning 80s prom and workout tape costumes. Dressing up is a major part of the fun, especially for Triple Lindy.

“Halloween is an event we all look forward to as it gives both us and the audience chance to delve into, and re-create their interpretation of TV personalities and pop icons, past or present,” Parisian said. “We usually stay true to the ’80s with our costume selections. This year’s theme for us was rock/pop starts whose body of work largely impacted the ’80s music, i.e. Freddie Mercury, George Michael, Elton John, Prince, Billy Gibbons (ZZ-Top).”

Triple Lindy guitarist N8 Schuiling.

Westrin spoke about the local music scene in East Lansing.

“When it comes to ’80s music, you have a particularly rich history here in town with the Mega 80s and Starfarm still very active,” he said. “You also have a bunch of performing musicians taking to the weeknights and weekends to perform in various iterations. It’s not difficult to find live music in our town. And the scene for new original music has started to grow as well.”

Parisian added he’s excited to see how the recent downtown developments give way to a growing music scene in the coming years.

“It seems a lot of the bar/restaurant establishments are upping the ante so to say, in trying to keep or differentiate themselves from the pack,” he said. “A revival of live music would be a great thing. When I was in college nearly 20 years ago, you could find live music every night of the week. The demand for live music certainly didn’t go unnoticed Friday night at the Fieldhouse.”