Like much of America’s adolescent population, the bulk of my knowledge on Greek gods is limited to recently watching the teenybopper movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief a few months ago (I went with my family, lay off me!); however, it doesn’t take a history buff to know that Atlas was the god that literally carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. After talking to Shawn Hagood, drummer of the industrious, alternative band The Atlas Complex, it’s no shocker as to why they chose this particular name for their quartet. Despite what many people believe, not all hard working bands move to Brooklyn to make it big. Some bands like TAC stay near home, work three or more jobs, play open mic nights, and perform in other bands just to be able to fund their aspirations of a career in music.

Responsible people who only go out on the weekends are probably unaware that Fat Cat’s doesn’t just book cover bands. On a typical weeknight, you can watch a local band perform some original tunes on the venue’s intimate stage. This particular Tuesday night was no exception, as the The Atlas Complex performed their eclectic brand of rock music in front of a surprisingly well-sized weekday crowd. Considering that throughout the course of their set, the band meshes varying types of music such as indie, jam, funk, jazz-fusion, and r&b, it’s extremely difficult to limit them to a single genre. In fact, throughout the night they collaborated with other Broward acts — local hip hop group Da Teamsta’s and resident diva Liza Bennich — for some of their songs. Some my favorite tunes included Letters and Windows Of Light, but I also enjoyed their instrumental tracks that showcased their ability to play their respective instruments extremely well. Even if you don’t like the band’s music, which is difficult considering they span at least 5 different genres, it’s undeniable that these guys enjoy playing music and express it on stage via the energy they exude on stage.

Check out the band’s Myspace to listen to some of their more popular songs. In the meantime, enjoy the music video for their hit song DNA below.

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