Skeeball. Hot dogs. Wii Sports. Those are the things this band is based on and maybe a few other infamous sports games.
Horse Bitch is a league of pirates, a post-apocalyptic warlord, Spock’s doppelganger and a disembodied brain in a jar. The band is composed of members Riley Merino, Alec Doniger, Ashley McKinney, Adam Cabrera, David Knodle, Olivia Shaw and Caleb Amelunke. Salt Lake City was their second stop on the West Coast tour, and it can only be described as a rambunctious, honky tonk jamboree. With a pair of Doc Martens and a cowboy hat, you were sure to fit in with the crowd. It was surely a night made for slow dancing and throwing yourself against a friend or stranger.
The band was formed in college; however, they all began in separate social groups. A bioengineering major met with music and English majors; McKinney described their meeting as “all of the cool people [finding] each other.” Now, Horse Bitch could not be formed overnight; it took a destined relationship between McKinney and Knodle’s sister, a self-proclaimed horse girl, to lock in the band’s name: Horse Bitch. They began releasing music and have since continued to create absurd, loud and creative music.
These guys go crazy
Some may call the band’s discography honky tonk emo, others may say Irish punk. But to the band, it’s just “music played with enthusiasm.” As an audience member, there isn’t any other way it could be described. Each musician wasn’t afraid to give it their all, even if they slipped over a cord or two.
“You guys are crazy punks … sometimes you have to be quiet,” Merino said mid-set. This was followed by the crowd setting their drinks aside and sitting criss-cross on the ground. As the music began to climax, a few audience members began crowd surfing, being carried by the short sea of people as Doniger sang through a melodic ballad.
This calm lasted for one song only. Everyone stood up immediately and resumed swinging dosey-doe and chicken fighting in the pit. Band members Merino, McKinney and Cabrera joined in on the fuss and dog-piled on stage as they riffed through the music. This controlled chaos can only be tied to the absurdity of the band’s music.
How to make an “UVA”
Sparks fly when Horse Bitch plays, on-stage and off-stage. Curated by seven very different brains, it’s as if each of them adds an identity to the band, the music and the heart of the show. Stylistically, they go nuts, but all in all, they’re like a family. Each one has a role to play, and it’s noticeable at every point of their creative process. Most notably in their recent 2024 release, “UVA.”
Riley said “UVA” (pronounced OOh-vah) was inspired by the Legend of Zelda game “The Wind Waker.” This is most noticeable in the opening tracks “Pirate Ride” and “Mountain Climbing.” While there are pirate-like influences throughout the album, the band continues influences from other video games and fantasy, sci-fi themes, keeping familiarity while inviting something new for the listeners.
“UVA” is also the band’s good luck charm. The album cover tells the story of its origin, which comes from a craft project–of sorts–the band does together. They call it “bonding time.” They take Gatorade bottles, or any kind of bottle you would get from a gas station, and “put things that are disgusting in it,” Knodle said. “Like, we put bugs in there. The bugs are always dead … [after a while] it starts to create its own ecosystem.” Thus, the “UVA” was born.
“We had like four really difficult shows in a row. And then we made the UVA,” Amelunke said. “The shows started going great … it’s almost like our religion.”
Now that “UVA” has been shared with the world, the religion and memory will live on between Horse Bitch and their fans.
The band is currently working on a new album and announced Wednesday that they’ll be back in Utah next month on Oct. 27 at Kilby Court. You can find out more about them at their website here.