Sheridan

Lincoln might not always feel like a small town with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln city campus, expanding city limits and a growing population, but you’re always able to find pockets of people who are only a person away from knowing the whole town. The band Sheridan is exactly that. Made up of three members from different parts of the city, they all are connected by their faith.

Christian Hale, Seth Bashford and Zach Lardy have been playing in churches across Lincoln since they were in high school and found each other through this spiritual network.

They belong to different places of worship around Lincoln, but play all around town with Sheridan and other bands such as VOTA and High Life as well as with soloists such as Jessica Nickels. The band has played together in churches across town as well as local outreach shows such as Arts Collective and Raise Your Voice. Recently they’ve played outside of Lincoln in Ord and Omaha and at VEGA in downtown Lincoln.

The music is popish; the band compares themselves to groups such as Owl City and Coldplay.

“It’s rock, pop kind of stuff,” Lardy said. “Super catchy and melodically, not too complicated and just fun to play.”

The band said the lyrics on their latest album, “Everything Feels Right,” are easy to remember.

“The thing that stuck with me was how some melodies and lyrics just got stuck in my head,” Hale said. “That’s when I felt that we had some really catchy stuff and like it or not, it stuck with me.”

Sheridan was formed by Lardy two years ago, but after his original pianist and guitar player moved out of town, Lardy began scoping out the local music scene for new talent. Hale and Bashford didn’t come in to the band together, but do have a personal history that takes them back to elementary school.

“I knew Seth from like second grade, when I first moved to Nebraska,” Hale said. “Even though I didn’t know Zach, I knew a bunch of people affiliated with them.”

Hale is a graduate of Lincoln Southwest High School’s class of 2012. He plays keyboard and background vocals. After knowing Lardy’s girlfriend Sydney King for most of high school, he was recommended to the band when they were in need of a new pianist two months ago. He’s studying music education at UNL and said the band has been a great opportunity to meet new people with exceptional talent.

“The pleasure of getting to know these guys and how they can play is awesome,” Hale said. “Being in such a small place you can find very talented guys that are really cool.”

Bashford is referred to by Hale and Lardy as “the most reliable guy (they) know.” After playing guitar at Lincoln Berean Church for many years, Hale and Lardy asked him to join the band last minute to fill in for their guitarist who left to record in Nashville, Tennessee.

“He played some insane solo once at the church and ended up in Sheridan,” said Lardy.

Aside from being a guitarist, Bashford is an electrical engineer and said he was a bit hesitant about joining the band.

“At first I was like, ‘oh, he just wants me to like his group on Facebook,’” Bashford said. “I met with Zach and thought it was pretty cool and said, ‘let’s give it a shot.’”

Lardy started Sheridan when he moved back to Lincoln from Minneapolis, after four years playing in a band he started called See for Dream. When Lardy came to Lincoln on a baseball scholarship, he said, his old band toured with his music without permission. He was also homeless for a period of time, he said, because an internship turned out to be much less helpful than he had expected. Though these experiences were hard, Lardy said his ability to write music was an outlet for him to come to terms with some of the issues he was facing.

“From losing that, to being a part of a church that couldn’t keep its promises and being homeless to being 500 miles away from my girlfriend; with all those experiences formed together I created ‘Just Biding Time,’” said Lardy. “It’s fun listening through the album, because I can remember each moment I started writing them.”

He said his faith never waned and that the music reflects his hope for a brighter future, both personally and for his music.

“I wrote thinking I was far away, where I wanted to be,” Lardy said. “There is a lot of hope, but also a lot of real passion in it too. The resounding thing is hope, and finding love throughout all of that.”

Because the music has been recorded and shared through social media, Lardy said his goal is to keep the music gaining momentum in the Lincoln music scene.

“I’m really shooting it towards radio and record labels,” Lardy said. “I think this music is really good, and a record label could definitely put it out for us.”

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