They sing punk rock songs about purgatory, robots, the future and the risks of drinking purple Kool-Aid. They also happen to work in the E-Learning department and are responsible for the OU’s online course environment —Moodle.

The members of the self proclaimed “geek rock” band Stroller Coaster, Nic Bongers, Johnny Coughlin, Shaun Moore and Jim Wood, are preparing for the release of their first EP at the end of the month.

“It’s peppy, it’s not like dark punk-rock music. It’s got some drive to it. It’s closer to Blink-182 than The Sex Pistols,” rhythm guitarist Bongers said. “It’s not raw leather jacket punk-rock. It’s more melodic.”

The EP, titled “2500 A.D.,” includes six tracks and was recorded with the help of producer Kevin Sharpe at Metro37 in Rochester Hills.

For Stroller Coaster, the recording process was a new experience. Although the band formed in 2007 and started performing live in 2009, this EP marks their first time in the studio.

“We refined a lot of stuff in the studio. Once we got there, we had to look at everything in a more intricate way. We realized exactly how we wanted each note to be,” said Moore, the bassist and vocalist.

For Bongers, who trains faculty to use Moodle and serves as a graphic designer for the program, Sharpe’s methods were beneficial to Stroller Coaster’s sound.

“Kevin (Sharpe) did this cool thing in the final mix process where he put our cuts to tape, which is an old-school way of mastering something. It gave the music a more organic and full sound,” he said. “There was a noticeable difference between burning it to a CD from the computer and burning it from tape. It’s blending new technology with the old way of mastering — I think it sounds really good.”

Coughlin, the lead guitarist and vocalist, serves as songwriter for Stroller Coaster and senior systems analyst in the E-Learning department where he is part of the Moodle programming team. He credits the band’s direct interpretation of lyrics with his own technical background.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever going to listen to my lyrics and not know what I’m talking about,” Coughlin said. “It’s very literal — I’m a computer guy and I’m analytical — that’s just the way my brain works.”

As fellow members of the E-Learning and Instructional Support department, Moore and Bongers share a similar technical background. Moore is the manager of support services and Bongers serves as the program’s graphic designer and conducts faculty training.

“We work in the library — but that doesn’t make us librarians,” Moore said. “We work in the penthouse of the library. We always have music going in our offices and keep guitars at work. It’s different in Moodle land.”

To promote their upcoming EP, Stroller Coaster is planning a CD release party and hopes to start performing again.

“We’re know a lot of our fan nucleus is around OU, and we’re looking at doing a show on or near campus, and then we usually gig around Hamtramck,” Bongers said. “We’re always looking for other OU bands to play with, and we’ve got a Facebook page —Bands at OU — to bring groups together.”

They have previously performed at an OU homecoming and at venues across Metro Detroit. The band describes their live shows as light-hearted and interactive.

“We try to get the audience involved, we encourage banter and want people to come up and dance with us,” Moore said.

Stroller Coaster also uses a theremin at shows, and notes that audiences positively react to the instrument and its unusual sound.  The theremin is most often recognized in The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” or the Star Trek theme song.

“A theremin is the only instrument that you don’t touch. There’s basically an antenna that comes up and the closer you get to it, the higher the pitch goes,” Bongers said. “People love them because they’re so interactive. It’s something they haven’t seen before and it sounds kind of weird.”

After the release of “2500 A.D.,” Stroller Coaster plans on writing 8-10 additional songs to record a complete album.

“There’s enough variety across the six songs so that everyone will find one they think is catchy. We’re concentrating on mixing it up a little bit,” Coughlin said. “We do have love songs and some more contemplative type stuff, but the things people are going to remember are the off the wall songs.”

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Contact Senior Reporter Katie Williams via email at [email protected]