Back in January 2008, local musician Josh Krautwurst was on the cover of The Beat. Readers learned and familiarized themselves with Krautwurst’s solo ambition and talents. Now Krautwurst has teamed together with Corey Blackburn and Joey Martin to form one of Wilmington’s finest and least serious Indie bands, Fractal Farm.

The trio certainly takes their music seriously but when one sits with them, it is evident how their humor and personalities mesh well with each other and influence the music.

To know what Fractal Farm is, the members have their own individual answers:

"I don’t want to talk about it," says guitarist/keyboardist Corey Blackburn.

"We are a giant squid that breathes fire and has 11 testicles, though the number is subject to change," explains guitarist Josh Krautwurst.

"Apparently I’m a race car driver, but I’m definitely not a rock star," shrugs drummer Joey Martin.

In all seriousness, though, Fractal Farm was formed after Krautwurst returned to Wilmington from European backpacking adventures in the fall of 2008. All three had met in the summer and – following Krautwurst’s homecoming – Fractal Farm somehow immediately came together. Drummer Joey Martin came a little later after their previous drummer, Lou, from local rock band Coup de Grace, left.

While Fractal Farm does not particularly approve of being coined a "Math Rock band," they admit their affection for the genre and point out the influence in their material. On their Facebook page, it is posted that "Fractal Farm creates complicated indie-math rock which slips confusing folk, psychedelic, pop, and avant-garde influences under the radar when you least expect it. The result of this fusion is music which is uniquely enjoyable, energetic, and occasionally completely incomprehensible."

As far as the Wilmington scene goes, they have attracted large crowds at The Juggling Gypsy, Parallelogram, The Soapbox and the occasional house party.

"Wilmington treats us well, despite it not really being the best place for a performing band that wants to last and sustain," says Krautwurst. "I don’t hate it here or anything, but for a band that wants to continue for a while, they have to move on and out of places like Wilmington."

Luckily, Fractal Farm is doing an East Coast tour in May, first playing a few North Carolina venues and then continuing up North, even securing a prominent date in New York’s Knitting Factory. According to the band, more dates could be tacked on to their schedule if all goes well.