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As usual, a typical campus conversation this week involves the infamous Freakfest of a Madison Halloween. “What are you going to be”? and “What are you doing for Halloween”? should be conjuring up a case of d?j? vu by now, so maybe it’s time to respond a little differently and put the focus on something uncommon. For instance, maybe change up the respective answers to “concert-goer!” and “going to the Free Moral Agents Show!”

For those who haven’t heard of Free Moral Agents yet, it’s time to get wise. The group was originally the solo effort of Mars Volta keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens. He started the group as an endeavor into hip-hop producing. Following a mellow, key-heavy album laden with collaborations, the desire to perform beckoned him back to touring, as he told The Badger Herald on his way to a show the same evening in Delaware.

“I missed being able to play live shows, so I started looking around for people who might want to play live with me,” he said.

The search turned out to be a quick and painless procedure. Rounding up a group of five or so friends is simple no matter where you are, and in Long Beach, for Ikey, the choice activity among friends happens to be playing music. A fond, matter-of-fact tone entered Ikey’s voice when he recounted that he’d “known all these people for a long time” and “when [he] would come home from touring with The Mars Volta, these are the people who [he] would hang out with. And they are all great musicians in their own respects.”

Music and established rapport brought the five together with an effortless chemistry. Free Moral Agents got serious with an “agreed-upon aesthetic” that allowed each member to contribute his or her own flavor to the mix.
That mix would be incomplete without long-time friend of Ikey and fellow musician, Mendee Ichikawa. She was more than happy to fill the singer, songwriter and guitar roles, even as a newcomer to the limelight.

“Actually, the first time I ever performed on stage was with the band; with Free Moral Agents,” she said.

Mendee noted that while the first couple of performances were intimidating, the nerves have morphed into an energy that inevitably shows itself in a fierce stage presence. For a serious musician who had been playing guitar and writing since elementary school, the move to a touring band was a logical step. It wasn’t just logic, it was a natural accumulation of musical passion and camaraderie.

The inter-band rapport is sure to show itself on stage this Sunday, Halloween night, when Free Moral Agents work the crowd at the Frequency (8 p.m., tickets are $7). And they definitely know how to put on a show. Says who? Says Ikey:

“At a show, people will recognize a particular song from the record… but they get to hear it fresh. At a show, people want to dance, they want to party, and we like to do the same thing.”

In the post-Freakfest grind, don’t let the weariness get the best of you. Free Moral Agents have been on a nonstop touring schedule with little room to breathe; night after night, they pull it off. As Mendee comments, “Even if you’re tired, you get an energy on stage that keeps you going.”

There is no doubt that energy will be transferred to the dance floor while Free Moral Agents bring a lush atmosphere and underlying hip-hop influence for just the right Halloween treat. No trick.