The term “Americana” is relatively new to our vocabulary, with making it’s appearance in the first dictionary in 2011. The mere definition of the word states ‘Americana is a genre that has roots in early folk and country music.’ Well, folk is another genre that doesn’t immediately scream fashion. Bob Dylan certainly didn’t make waves with his shirt. And although Emmylou Harris and Joni Mitchell wore a lot of flowy dresses, it certainly doesn’t standout as a pure folk fashion trademark.
Enter Isaak and Tori Elker, Sophia Mae, and Dawson Redenius of Good Morning Bedlam. A Twin Cities band that takes elements from folk, Americana, bluegrass, and pop to innovatively pull a little from each. A listen through their newest album Lulu leaves you’ll be twirling back and forth on what you can tie them down as. Americana fashion is about resonating with the era of hard work and rustic living. It focuses on layers, hearty fabrics, country elements, and not making a splash with colors or cuts. It’s the clothes we can find at almost any style of store. So when Good Morning Bedlam comes on stage, you’re left with a twist.
“We like to keep our audience on their toes! Lots of people look at our instrument line up and expect one thing, but then they look at how we dress and suddenly they’re a little unsure about what they’re going to hear. That’s kind of how our music goes though. We have a wide variety of influences.”
-Tori Elker
That gamut of influences range from harmony forward indie-pop to funky Django Reinhardt. You can hear traces of old-timey influences, with modern splashes of Brandi Carlile Americana glam and even Pokey LaFarge’s seamless vintage vibes. Collectively Good Morning Bedlam mirrors that range in their clothing. They each bring a different dynamic in their appearance, drawing from personal pasts and experiences. This absence of uni-formality in their music matches their clothing. At the same time, there’s a weird mind-twist happening as cohesively, it always works all together.
“Honestly, I want to stand out in the crowd as a completely unique individual. That’s really what I strive for. I don’t wear something uniform, and that goes along with the genre as well. I don’t look like other folk bands, and we don’t sound like other folk bands,” shares Isaak.
Tori draws the start of her fashion sense from a childhood spent in community and high school theater and having a kindergarten teacher for a mother, which meant endless dress up clothes. Her older sister would make her own dresses out of t-shirts, adding even more options for her. Sophia loves the bright funky colors of 90’s fashion and the girl-who-lives-in-the-high-rise-and-does-pottery 90’s movie vibe. She pulls a lot of inspiration from movies, specifically from the 70’s-80’s. That translates to lots of rayon button up dresses, boxy tees, and high-waisted jeans.
Isaak is constantly balancing the expectations of what a folk band traditionally looks like and having envy for the pop artists that can dress as outrageously as they want. Pushing those two together while staying connected to the genre is tough, but energizes him to always stretch those borders.
“In
folk you have to ground yourself in something a little more organic than that, you have to do that somewhat more subtly or it looses touch with the lyrics and the instruments, which are organic themselves.”
-Isaak Elker
Remember that statement on how Americana fashion is about resonating with the era of hard work? You see touches of this blue collar workman theme in all of their outfits.
Isaak is wearing white cargo pants and gold chains from H&M, a purple button up tiger print shirt from Zara, and black work boots from Asos. All of it found on sale. He finds his clothing all over the place and isn’t tied to a specific method or store.
Tori’s Easter egg colored, long sleeved vintage dress and butterfly hoop earrings are from her favorite store, Everyday People Clothing Exchange in St. Paul. Her big platform boots are Doc Martens which provide a versatile, durable, and funky touch. Her necklace is an heirloom from her super stylish 80’s queen of a Grandma. Only recently has she been brave enough to wear such a thick chain.
She’s drawn to thrifting due to the weird and wild things you can find. Tori also ponders about where a piece of clothing has been and all the people that might have loved it before. That imaginative past always in her mind.
Sophia’s blue railroad striped oversized button down and vintage bright blue cuffed wrangler mom jeans are both pieces she found at Savers in Rochester. Her off brand chunky cream platform boots follow suit with the height-increasing band theme. Her jade heart necklace was found in a vintage shop while on tour. She also loves shopping at thrift stores, with Moth Oddities being a favorite. Sophia mixes thrifted stuff with modern pieces from shops like H&M and Urban Outfitters to put together outfits.
“I’m definitely inspired by the style of different people we meet on tour and other bands we see. I’m still figuring out how to dress in a way I really feel good, but if I can catch a vibe I like, I feel more confident and more expressive. I can be freer with what I try on stage because it helps me to be more comfortable in my own skin,” she states.
Dawson’s peach dress shirt came from Everyday People and his heeled boots from a thrift store in Eau Claire. The most important piece of his outfit is a brush polished trumpet that was gifted to him by a widowed wife of a musician from his hometown. Feeling empowered onstage is important to Dawson, as dressing good translates to playing good.
When you settle into their album Lulu, you begin to visually see that bond between cloth and note. The playful piano and trumpet in “Hold Me” resemble that zebra and peach shirt. “The Haunting” sounds like a movie soundtrack, revived from a 90’s romcom. While “Lulu” is that Easter egg that you search and search for, finding technicolor dreams and wishes left behind. And when you finally crack open the egg, there’s a core of decadent dresses and thick chained necklaces.
Traditional Americana clothing blatantly showcases the hard worker simplicity. But Good Morning Bedlam lives that aesthetic as one of the hardest working bands in the Twin Cities. Playing sometimes as a duo, sometimes as an extended group, but always traveling and sharing their music. That attitude is reflected in their clothing, with everyday pieces, sprinkles of flare, and no pretense in high label brands.
“I think that how we dress directly affects our mood and our own self perception, so I aim to dress fearlessly and fun-forward when I’m given the opportunity to be on a stage, because there is nothing more fun to me than performing these songs.”
-Tori Elker
Good Morning Bedlam pushes boundaries in their style and music. They wear glitter (gasp) onstage. They aren’t afraid of color. They thrive in a genre that isn’t known for fashion, unafraid to stand out and challenge the traditions. So that moment when they take the stage and your mind starts to flip, realize it’s an opportunity to open your eyes and ears to the possibility of stretching what you know.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Good Morning Bedlam and all the things we mentioned above.
Good Morning Bedlam website - Instagram - Lulu - Everyday People Clothing Exchange - Moth Oddities
