The meaning of the word “alcove” is open to interpretation.
Evan Fleischer describes it as a recess present in nature or architecture. To his band named for the recess, it represents a space to be filled with its unique noise.
Alcove, the classic indie rock band formerly known as Sigs Inside, recently started a new chapter, one with new music and memories in store. With two members graduating this semester, including Fleischer, the lead vocalist and guitarist, the band felt it was time to lean into maturity and explore a new path.
“It was a time amongst all of us to want to move in a more professional direction in a name that we felt more passionate about to release music under,” Fleischer said.
Fleischer, a 21-year-old UF mass communications graduate student, has been part of the band since its inception in 2022. Sigs Inside frequented venues like High Dive and played fraternity house shows early in its career.
In the beginning, drummer Reese Watkins said he and Fleischer were just having fun. That is, until he realized they had something special.
Watkins, a 21-year-old UF finance senior, said the current organization of the group has yielded its strongest chemistry yet. Sigs Inside took on many iterations over its career, with members coming and going and the bandmates swapping instruments among themselves. But today’s lineup is the one they hope sticks.
“We're at this peak where everyone's in the right position, and this is where we're taking it as seriously as possible,” Watkins said.
The band members bring various musical influences to the table: Fleischer was raised on Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Watkins loves pop punk, guitarist Max Addiego’s biggest inspirations are Radiohead and Pink Floyd and bassist Kai Beres comes from a hard rock background.
It was a bit offbeat for Beres, a 20-year-old UF music business and entrepreneurship sophomore, to transition from a borderline-metal band to Sigs Inside. But the band welcomes his and all the other members’ unique styles, and it fosters a safe and honest space for ideas to be dispersed.
Watkins was the main composer and songwriter of the band’s two singles, “Roses” and “December,” released in June 2023 and March 2024, respectively. Both he and Beres have in-house setups for recording music, but they seek finishing touches from Paul Lapinski at My Platinum Sound, a recording studio in Jacksonville.
Lapinski, the studio’s chief engineer, has worked with many artists over his 30 years in the business, from Alicia Keys to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. But Alcove’s attention to detail and dynamic style impressed him — and they’re traits that set the band apart.
“It's something I hadn't really experienced much in all my years — a band that just really crafted every single note of a song like they did,” Lapinski said.
The band will revisit the studio twice next month to finalize “Before I Leave,” a track Alcove has played live over the years and one Lapinski is especially excited to bring to fruition.
Though challenging to rerelease music under a new name on streaming platforms, Alcove seeks to have its singles back online soon. The band also hopes to release its first EP by the end of the semester.
Another exciting venture for Alcove this Spring is becoming a campaign artist for Swamp Records. The band is excited to grow its media presence, roll out new music and maybe even film its first music video with the help of the popular student-run music industry organization.
Lauren Patton, a friend of Fleischer for around 10 years, recalled the first time she saw Sigs Inside. It was at the Sigma Chi fraternity house before the homecoming football game in 2022, her freshman year.
From seeing the band at that tailgate show to singing guest vocals for them at the High Dive for her sorority’s parents weekend event, Patton has watched the band grow before her eyes.
The 22-year-old UF architecture senior said she is most impressed by how broad of a community Alcove has been able to foster.
“They've spread themselves out into every corner of the Gainesville music scene that they could,” she said.
In just three short years, Sigs Inside said farewell to founding members who graduated, venues that closed like JJ’s Tavern and some of its favorite bands that came to an end like Southbound 441. But all those conclusions have led to a new beginning.
Though Fleischer and Watkins graduate this semester, the main reason behind becoming Alcove was to make something that would last a long time.
Lungfish, School Dogs and The Dwellers were a few of the new names the band was bouncing around. Nothing stuck quite like Alcove.
“Crafting a brand around something more serious was the goal,” Beres said, reflecting on the band’s new chapter.
Laughingly, Fleischer added, “We don’t take things too seriously, though.”
Contact Isabel Kraby at ikraby@alligator.org. Follow her on X @isabelgkraby.
Isabel is a general assignment reporter for The Avenue and is starting her first semester with The Alligator. She is a junior journalism student and transferred to UF from Daytona State College after her freshman year. When she's not writing for Ave, she loves going to concerts, crocheting and designing spreads for Rowdy Magazine.
