Meet Indianapolis rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse Service

Ever since this fateful introduction, the pair of star-crossed lovers have traversed down a path of rock ‘n’ roll exploration, writing songs together as part of a project they now call Service.

“I was very obsessed with her singing,” Simins says. “I’ve made other records outside of the Blues Explosion — I’m always doing my own thing on the side. So I said, ‘I’d love to make a record with you. You have an amazing voice’”

He continues, “One thing led to another, and we ended up in New York working on some songs in my apartment. That’s how the band started.”

From the get-go, Simins and Weiss found that they worked together quite organically. “Immediately, writing together was like magic, and it still is to this day,” Simins says. “We’re each other’s muses for sure.” After a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion tour was canceled due to an illness in the band, Simins moved to Indianapolis and found he was fond of the city.

“He came, and it felt right,” Weiss says. “We went and got all his stuff in one weekend — we got the drums and everything.”

With Simins in Indy, Service began assembling its full-band lineup. Initially, Weiss called upon former We Are Hex guitarist Matt Hagan, along with other longtime Indy musicians John Zeps and Sharlene Birdsong. Eventually, though, Simins and Weiss were led to guitarist Mitch Geisinger, who made a quick impression on Simins.

“Not only did he mention James Brown — he also mentioned something that’s very much an obsession of mine, which is great country guitar players,” Simins says. “He mentioned Merle Travis. I was like, ‘You’re going to mention James Brown and Merle Travis the first time I ever meet you?’”

Since adding Geisinger into the mix, Service has established a core trio, while still interchanging members on other instruments. With their debut album, Drag Me, the band showcases a knack for packing a punch with every song.

“The three of us are very good at putting our egos aside and getting out of the way to make space for the song,” Weiss says. “Everybody wants what is best for the song. Russell will write a part, but he’s writing it for Mitch to shine. We do a nice dance that I’m not sure everyone does in a loud rock ‘n’ roll band.”

Recorded at three separate studios over the course of several years, Drag Me has been a long time in the making. As one might expect, the pandemic did not help with that process.

“I’m never going to put out a record if you can’t tour it,” Simins says. “That's what it’s all about. The pandemic came. The record was done, but we couldn’t tour it. It’d be the most frustrating thing to put out a record without being able to tour it.Then, it just sits there and doesn’t get the life it deserves.”

After a great deal of waiting, though, Service will finally release their debut album, Drag Me, on Friday, May 6, treating hometown fans to a slew of Indiana release shows in Lafayette (May 5 at the Spot Tavern), Bloomington (May 6 at Blockhouse) and Indianapolis (May 7 at Square Cat Vinyl). The album will be released via Bloomington-based label Let’s Pretend Records, which the band couldn’t be happier about.

“I’m a big fan of what Pete [at Let’s Pretend Records] is doing, and it’s an honor to share a label with some of the bands on the label,” Weiss says. “I really like the idea of being part of a local label that has real vision. He definitely has a sound that he’s looking for, and it feels great to be part of that family.”

In the coming months, Service plans to tour the Midwest and beyond in support of Drag Me, which is available here for pre-order.