One of the brightest stars in the local music sky has to be Everything, Now! The Muncie-turned-Indy act continue to grab from seemingly every genre to create a sound as diverse yet cohesive as anything on the national scene. Their latest, Spatially Severed, is a real indie rock treat and if the right pieces fall into place, the band should find themselves poised for bigger things.

We recently sat down with Jon Rogers, the band’s principal songwriter, to discuss the local scene and get his take on venues, other bands and how he maintains hope for the future.

Indy.com: As a local band, what’s your take on the Indy music scene?

Jon Rogers: I only moved here a couple years ago after living in Muncie for several years. I only know that I see a lot of really great bands with a lot of great people within those bands. I probably don’t get out as much as I should but I do find there are some great bands in town that I didn’t know about before I moved here, such as Marmoset, Ammo Joy and others. I don’t really know much about the Indianapolis music scene though. I think it’s moving toward house shows and less about bar shows. I’m not a big fan of the bars around here, especially for shows. Most of them are punk rock venues, so it’s harder for non punk bands to play.

Indy.com: Where’s the best place for you guys to play on a local level?

Jon: The Melody Inn, which is a punk bar, and Radio Radio has been good. They’ve always treated us really well, but even that’s kind of a punk rock bar. There are a few other places, but those are my favorites at the moment. We’ve had a good year playing at those a lot.

Indy.com: As a musician, what are some steps to improve the local music scene?

Jon: Well, I do think there are some good things happening. I think house shows are picking up and I think that’s where rock and roll belongs in Indianapolis. House shows are always a good show for the band and the people who go there. It cuts out the middle man a little bit, but I think there will always be a few good bars around for shows, too. The other thing is that I think some labels around here are doing good things – Joyful Noise, Musical Family Tree, Standard Recording. Plus you have some great acts from around here like Grampall Jookabox, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s and Everthus the Deadbeats.

Hopefully people will start getting a little more interested in Indianapolis as a town where you can find good music. But if not, I don’t think that will bother anybody that much anyway, because it seems like a town where there’s always been good bands with people who appreciate that even if the national level doesn’t give us that attention.

Indy.com: That’s what I was wondering – if the local scene was helping you break through to a national level at all?

Jon: That’s the hard part. We’ve been touring for five years off and on and it changes depending on where you go. I don’t think it’s bad. I think there are a lot of places for bands to play and a million bands out there. But breaking on a national scale is so hard to do. You have to have the right people at the right label and the right money and all that shit. I don’t know. I think that Indianapolis is at a point right now in its music scene that it could get a lot bigger, if people find the bands that are a bit more obscure. The Impossible Shapes just broke up but they had a decade of fantastic albums. So if some of these guys can get a major label deal or a TV spot, that would be good.