Cincinnati band Orchid in the Ivy has only one cover, Midnight Oil’s “Burning Beds,” among the three albums and two EPs, almost 50 tracks, they have put out since forming in 2013.
Their “Burning Beds” is not at all like the sedate, measured, summer evening Midnight Oil contemplation of the world. The Orchid “Burning Beds” regards the world from the middle of a fast, loud, raucous punk-rock wildfire.
“I love the bass line,” said Brett Scharf, one of the band’s two founding members. “It has such a groove to it. We didn't change the structure of it, but we really sped it up and gave it more of a punk, hard rock feel.”
How can we dance when our earth is turnin’?
How do we sleep while our beds are burnin’?
How can we dance when our earth is turnin’?
How do we sleep while our beds are burnin’?
They also cut about two minutes off the 5-minute-long original.
Since first appearing on that 2013 album, Minus One, the song has become a staple in their performances. Their audiences like it and expect it, which is one reason the band has released a remix of it in advance of their push into a new phase of their career.
“It’s always done really well wherever we play it, and everybody knows us by doing ‘Beds Are Burning.’ We got an EP coming up, so we’re releasing one song at a time, and we thought it might be a good introduction to lead with something that people know, but it’s got a different twist on it.”
“I don’t really like covers being done where they sound just like the original,” said Brett. “What’s the point, you know? We put our own spin on this. We sped it up and added some distortion to the bass, and I thought it had a great groove.”
They remixed their own original cover to bring the vocals up and out front more. It is a rock track that sweeps you up as it flies through and carries you down the line.
“It always did very well, but we never pushed it really hard in the past. So, as a lead-in to this EP, we thought it’s something people could recognize and jump on as we start releasing the other stuff.”
The musical torch they take to the burning of beds is also a better fit with the world vibe of 2025.
“The lyrics, you know — the beds are burning. Right now, with politics and all, it seems like it’s just — God, you can’t even keep up one day to the next! If you read it every day, you’re just going to be depressed. So, the whole beds are burning thing, it just resonated.”
The band is Brett, vocals and guitar, Mark Schulti, drums, and Chris Saalfeld, bass. Brett was in the band Spindle and toured with Fallout Boy, Motion City Soundtrack and Plain White T’s. After that, he returned to Cincinnati and formed Rosemary Device, which is where he met Mark Schulti, formerly a member of the band Krinj.
Rosemary Device’s singer left for New York, so Brett decided to take a shot at vocals. Brett’s voice is a high baritone with an edge, perfect for the rock they love, and after he and Mark recorded a song, they thought they were on to something but needed a bass player.
They recruited Chris, who Brett met in college when they were music majors together. Both are classically trained guitarists.
The result: “We are a three-piece band kind of like Nirvana — a three-piece powerhouse.”
The band is a candidate to be picked up by a booking agent, and preparing for that they are building their next EP.
“We feel like we’ve got something really good here, and we’re excited about it. I think the EP is really phenomenal.”
He said the band has been developing its sound, and for the EP has circled back in the direction of “some of our earlier stuff, because we really like that sound.”
“It feels very personal, and this one’s got a lot of energy. We always talk about some of our favorite bands, the three or four bands that we really like, influences like Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Bayside. We’re in that genre of bands.”
They perform four or five times a year, he said, mainly in the tri-state area around Cincinnati.
“We’d love to tour more, but we really need a booking agent so we can get out there and get on some good shows. We really need to be on some decent tours, and that’s what we’re hoping happens here.”
The plan is to release a single every six to eight weeks until they have the five for the EP (“Burning Beds” will remain a stand-alone).
“I’ve toured in the past, and I’ve played for the cigarette machine and the pool table before. I’ve already done that, so, this time around, I’d like to have more support before we hit the road.”
He would like, he says, “to be the biggest band in the world,” but what he really wants is “musically driven” fans.
“I would love to tour, and I want fans that are musically driven — they’re not there because they saw it on some TikTok. They’re there because they love music, and they’re diving into it.”
They are worth the leap. Dive in and connect to Orchid in the Ivy on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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