Fortyminusone and State of Isaac plan to rock the house Sunday.

John Olsen, the lead guitarist and songwriter for State of Isaac, has been playing music with his family since a young age.

The Olsen family will perform along with another band, Fortyminusone at the Salisbury Church, 2350 Madison Ave.

Olsen, the lead singer and guitarist for State of Isaac, said they are very much a family band.

His brother, Lance Olsen, plays drums, and his cousin, Eric Olsen, plays bass.

Olsen said the family has been playing together ever since he can remember.

For more than five years, the band has been playing professionally under State of Isaac.

Olsen said he writes lyrics for the band and described their music as alternative rock, but with a very artsy feel.

“It’s not your everyday radio style,” he said. “As far as writing goes, music and lyrics are equally important to us. The music compliments the lyrics.”

Olsen said he wants people who listen to the music to focus on the sound.

“We use musical repetition often; we want people to close their eyes and feel the music,” Olsen said. “We want people to lose themselves.”

The band lets music and lyrics equally speak to the audience, Olsen said.

“Music is a language that everyone can equally understand,” he said.

Olsen said his motivation for writing is a personal thing that comes from journaling and short story writing.

Olsen said he uses elements from nature and the state of the world, the mind and the soul.

He said those elements are all moralistic.

Olsen said he wants to convey a message of ethics and everyday life and the emotions he feels go into the lyrics.

One of the bands songs, “The Magicians in the Tree Stump,” is about a tree.

Olsen said the tree’s experiences could be interpreted as human encounters.

“It is a parable of sorts really, between a tree and a person,” he said. “People don’t want to hold on to fear and hate.”

Olsen said those things could soak up the soul.

Craig Hunt, the guitarist for Fortyminusone, said he is looking forward to playing with State of Isaac, a band they have played with before.

He said Fortyminusone has been around since 1999.

The band formed in Oakland, which is where Hunt has lived all his life, he said.

He said the band has had the same four-person lineup for the last five years.

His wife, Heather Hunt, is the lead singer for the band.

Hunt said Todd Keating, the bass player, teaches chemistry at Charleston High School.

Their drummer, Aaron York, is an Eastern graduate, he said.

Hunt said the group regionally tours around and performs about 15 to 30 shows a year.

In the past year they have performed mostly in the Chicago, St. Louis and Evansville areas.

Hunt said the band’s target audience ranges from ages 50 to 60.

“We are looking for anyone who likes fun, original music,” he said.

Both bands, Fortyminusone and State of Isaac, will begin performing the free concert at 6 p.m.

Hunt said the passion to play music comes from interacting with people.

“We love people, and love being around people,” he said. “We try to promote a message of hope and love and deliver that to the people we play for.”

Dominique DeWeese can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].