Anna Chandler, 22, is from Greenville, South Carolina. She has a lizard named Princess who went missing for eight days before being found (alive) in a pillowcase—Princess likes dark places. Chandler also enjoys working out and watching “The Golden Girls,” simultaneously. She is vocalist and songwriter for General O, as well as player of various instruments: singing saw, accordion, marimba, glockenspiel, and various other keyed things. She played bass and guitar many years ago, but the keys have taken over.

Devin Smith, 21, is from Mount Carmel, Illinois. He has a new kitten named Big Boy Murder Face, who is currently at the vet waiting to “get his balls taken off” but has to wait because the tiny kitten isn’t over the two pound mark. Smith, when not playing with Big Boy Murder Face, acts as vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the band.

Duncan Iaria, 23, is from Florence, Alabama, but will tell you that he grew up in Portland because it sounds cooler. He is in the Gold League in StarCraft II and has the nickname Captain Beat-off, which was given to him by Smith because of Iaria’s skills as General O’s drummer. Iaria in turn gave Smith a nickname of his own—Baby Devo—for Smith’s baby face.

Jack Horner, 21, is from Montgomery, New York. Horner—Chandler calls him Jack-ay!, usually in repetitive, quick succession—has a habit of actually helping his friends move when they ask him to, so he gets calls almost every weekend from someone he knows in Savannah who needs his assistance. He plays bass for the band and also marimba on a few tracks of their upcoming album, “Whistle the Dirges,” which currently does not have a release date.

The band was, “birthed from the belly of a whale,” says Iaria.

“Yes, birth from the belly of a whale. Partially, anyway,” says Chandler. “I wanted to contribute to this compilation that was doing covers of bands from the Elephant 6 Collective, and Devin and I played guitar, like, once together. He came over to my room and played guitar and we sang together, and then we just found out we really clicked and started sharing our original songs on the porch.”

“I think you just quoted the Myspace,” says Smith.

“I did quote the Myspace!” Chandler laughs with the rest of the band. “Then we just kept playing together from then on.”

Iaria and Horner joined the band after seeing Chandler and Smith perform at ZunziFest on October 3, 2009.

“Jack was drunk and fell in love with us,” says Smith.

“Jack was drunk and asked if he could be our bassist,” says Chandler.

Horner laughs. “I transferred to SCAD last fall, and I knew these guys through a couple friends. I heard them play at her house actually.” He points at Chandler.

“Yeah,” she says.

Horner continues. “It was after a party. They were playing their song, ‘Red Hot,’ and I was like, I totally love this song. A month later, I heard them play at ZunziFest and apparently was drunk and asked them if I could play with them.”

Chandler grins. “Several others asked us if they could play, but with Jack, it was true love.”
Smith pauses and then, “Duncan . . .”

Iaria laughs. “You can’t not think about Captain Beat-off.”

The band cracks up.

“Well, we had another drummer at first, until about February,” says Smith.

“Until I saw you guys at ZunziFest and I was like, I’m gonna play with them.” Iaria grins.

“Our old drummer, Kellan [Stover], is more of a singer songwriter and he was playing drums for us,” says Smith. “But it wasn’t really his passion. And. . .”

“We were gettin’ serious,” says Chandler.

“So we picked up Duncan from another band that I knew of through friends,” says Smith. “I stole him. Nah, we share.”

“You meet a lot of musicians,” says Chandler, “but we all clicked in a very unique way. And kind of get each other. Especially Devin and I, we totally have the same . . .”

“We all hang out and drink and eat cheesy hot dogs together,” Smith says, giving a wide grin.

“I hear of all these successful bands that hate everybody who’s in their band,” says Chandler. “I don’t get how they function. And that’s gotta—”

“Suck,” says Smith.

“I can’t understand being in a band without being friends with them,” says Horner.

“It seems like it would be purely professional at that level,” says Iaria, “and I don’t think that’s exactly why we do it. Because we sure don’t make any muh-nay.”

One reason they do it? Their sound.

“Our music can be melancholy,” says Chandler.

“I don’t think anyone has ever described us as melancholy before,” says Smith.

“In some of our new tracks,” says Chandler, pushing herself into the couch a little more, “we get a little . . .”

“We get pretty rock ‘n’ roll,” says Smith.

“Some of it can be really high-rangey, a litte pop-y,” says Chandler. “Devin and I are both way drugged up on Modest Mouse, so it’s always gonna be that air of the melancholy.”

“What was it that your teacher or someone said?” Smith asks Chandler.

“Oh yeah! My teacher!” says Chandler. “We played at the MFA opening house show and Alan Drummond, an illustration professor, was giving me a critique and whipped out my band name and said he loved ‘the beautiful chaos but the complex togetherness and tightness of our music.’ Someone once told us that each song . . . we don’t always . . . we’re not very structured, a lot of times, and someone told us that they’re like little adventures where you don’t know where you’re going. Which I liked that.”

Smith adopts a southern accent. “Lil’ ‘ventures, but we just don’t know where we’re goin’.”
Iaria laughs. “A lot of people who have heard the recordings say that it just sounds like we’re having a lot of fun.”

“Yeah,” says Chandler. “Fun with a little sense of recklessness but also . . . .”

Smith continues. “We don’t play sloppy, but it’s—”

“It’s multi-layered,” says Chandler.

Smith: “Like three-part harmonies and—”

Chandler: “. . . marimba . . .”

“Crazy instruments like a glockenspiel,” Smith finishes.

“It seems all over the place, but it comes together,” says Chandler.

Stephanie Augello, the photographer for their informal photoshoot enters and overhears their conversation. “Toy chest,” Augello says. “That’s what I thought when I saw you.”

“Yeah, toy chest,” says Chandler.

It’s time for the photos—this particular waiting time is over. But General O has a few more things to wait on. As mentioned before, they are currently recording their first LP, “Whistle the Dirges.” With tracks like, “Hush Animal Parade”—Chandler jumps with excitement when it gets to “the big part with the horns!”—and “Sick Sick Lover”—their take on a gospel chain gang song—the twelve track album will be mastered in either October or January. A lot hinges on the album. It could be an open door to distribution, more shows in Atlanta and Athens, and maybe even fame.

They love to perform and have played almost every music venue in Savannah: Tantra Lounge, The Wormhole, Hangfire, Desoto Row, LiveWire, at the SCAD Record Fair with Nana Grizol. Their love for performance makes the unknown location of their upcoming show the biggest thing they are waiting on right now. However, Chandler assures that the show on Tuesday, August 3 with Besides Daniel will go on. It’s just another little adventure in which they don’t know exactly where they’re going.