Edwardsville Scene » Bands

AudioViral at The Stagger Inn Again

Muireann — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:00:04 +0000

If checking out new rock is your thing, don’t miss AudioViral at The Stagger Inn Again on Saturday, May 15. The four St. Louis boys come to Edwardsville after a successful December debut on their local, St. Louis, music circuit.

Doors open at 9 pm. This is a 21+ event. Listen to them here.

Not impossible, just improbable: Edwardsville’s Resoldered

Editor — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:43:12 +0000

Classic punk rocker Paul Weller makes it pretty clear in his song “Burning Sky.” Young rockers grow up, put on suits and sell out.

“Cause we’ve all grown up, and we’ve got our own lives, and the values that we shared once upon a time seem stupid now ‘cause the rent must be paid.”

The implication is, either you’re punk and you don’t worry about things like paying the rent, or you become part of the rat race.

If Resoldered ever heard this song, they never paid it much mind. The middle-aged, Edwardsville post-punk band’s newest album, Everybody In Between, starts off at a blazing pace with “You Failed Me.” This melodic post-punk song blows away any expectations you might have of working suits getting together to play in a band.

The rest of the album, which will officially be released April 24, matches the high expectations “You Failed Me” sets up, without falling into the repetivieness of some genre punk. And, probably an advantage of having middle-aged song writer who’s also a sociology professor, the lyrics are good, ranging from funny in “Can’t Stand” to poigniant in “I Won’t Die For You.”

Resoldered tries to avoid a genre label, in fact, but tend to compare themselves to classics like NoFX and Descendents. Story continues after video.

Listening to the new album, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that what they’ve done is the opposite of selling out.

When Edwardsville Scene met with bass player Doug Allen and guitarist/songwriter Dave Kauzlarich at Sacred Grounds last month, they made it clear they’re happy with their day jobs as teachers.

“This is not about getting signed,” says Dave.

Resoldered isn’t trying to come up with the next big hit, they’re just looking for a creative outlet.

“I think that’s what’s different for us,” says Doug. “We just do what we like to do. We have a lot of artistic freedom.”

The funny thing is that by not worrying about getting famous or getting signed, the band seems to have found a back door to the “don’t give a damn” punk attitude that Weller felt was essential.

And it’s paying off.

“We’ve started getting the respect of other bands” Dave says.

The night after The Ataris played Letterman, Resoldered got to open for them in St. Louis. They’ve also had the chance to play for other national acts, including Hurts to Laugh and Voice of Addition.

Resoldered got together a few years ago, of course, when Doug and Dave met through their kids at the Edwardsville YMCA, and eventually discovered they both had played some music in the past.

After that, the band congealed somewhat slowly.

“We went throught drummers like Spinal Tap,” Dave says. They even played a gig for friends using a drum machine. Finally, Dave prevailed on a former student, Paul Saunders, to become the band’s drummer.

The band officially formed in summer of 2008, and a year later had to replace orignal lead singer Cory Blad with Jason Hodge. Even now, they say getting a band practice together “is like convening a NATO summit” when everyone’s trying to juggle families and day jobs, and still make the band work.

In then end, their own lyrics sum up the feeling you might get discovering great post-punk (or whatever you want to call them) music coming from a middle-aged band in Edwardsville.

“It’s not impossible, just improbable.”

Resoldered officially released their new album, Everybody in Between on April 24 at the Firebird in downtown St. Louis at 8 pm. We hope they’ll play Edwardsville soon. You can buy the new album here. If you enjoyed this story, share it! Just scroll back up to the top and click on the Twitter and FaceBook share buttons to spread the word.

Luster plays Edwardsville

Editor — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:45:33 +0000

by Ryan Balfanz

Edwardsville, Illinois- Luster, an Elmhurst, Illinois band that plays The Stagger Inn on February 27, at 10 pm, has been polishing their sound since at least 2000. Even to this day their lineup is slightly volatile, and their live performances evoke strong reactions reactions from their audience.

It was a cold January night when Luster happened to find themselves playing at Stagger Inn last, during open-mic night. The group, who themselves are admittedly hard to pigeon hole into just one genre, made their way onto the stage by happenstance and left with a horde of new fans.

They really rocked the crowd that night. (Story continues below video).

By the time they had finished their set people were suffocating them, trying to get a word or two in with the band. A just about broke or nearly broke college student was more than happy to shell out 10 bucks to take Luster home with them. I, too, was eager to go home with something fresh to listen to.

After most of the newly-minted Luster fans chatted with the band, I got a few words in with Jeremy Mederich, lead vocals & bassist, and Robbie Senti who dabbles in keyboards, guitars and vocals, who I had the pleasure of sharing bottles of Stag with. A few weeks later we were able to meet at Sacred Grounds, as they were passing through town between gigs.

Robbie, as just mentioned, is somewhat of a jack of all trades. As it turns out, they all are multi-facetted and multi-talented musicians. For a time, the members of Luster were frequently seen switching instruments during live performances, says Bryan, the drummer who is also Jeremy’s brother.

Jonathan Brubaker, guitars and backing vocals, agrees that Luster is still settling into their groove. He also pointed out that Luster is somewhat of twisted system when is comes to their family tree of members. Not only are Jeremy and Bryan brothers, the two along with Jonathan referred to Robbie as their incestual grandchild because he was originally just a fan.

The Luster lineup has been in flux over the past decade. Jeremy and Bryan were around in the beginning, but with a different bassist and drummer. Former drummer Luke left the band back in 2005 after Jonathan joined near the end of 2004. Luke’s departure left the band cycling through various drummers for awhile. Eventually Bryan swtiched from playing guitar to banging on the toms and crashing the symbols, and still does to this day.

Between 2006 and 2009 Robbie started to fill in on bass when needed, but he wasn’t officially a member of the band. Also around that time Jeremy started to focus more on bass guitar, while still maintaing his role as lead vocalist. Somewhat oddly, Robbie began to play more keys, but so did Jonathan and Bryan.

After much hullabaloo, Luster finally solidified their lineup in 2009. Bryan, who is a natural drummer, easily filled that role. Jeremy now picks of his bass and leaves the guitar to Jonathan. Around that time Robbie became and official member of the band, rounding out their ‘final lineup,’ as Jeremy calls it.

Luster may have seen a lot of change of the last decade, but one thing is certain, they all agree that it was for the best. Now that they have settled into their current incarnation it’s obvious that there are only great things to come.

Luster is constantly touring and growing their fan-base. If you were unlucky enough to miss their first show, clear your calendar now because they are sure to blow you away just as they did back in January. Oh, and by the way, bring 10 bucks because I’m sure you’ll want a copy of their album, Run from Dogs.

Get more info on Luster.

The Good Fight: Kentucky Knife Fight Keeps Bringing It

Paul Peters — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:58:02 +0000

story by Paul Peters, cover photo by Peter Wochniak

I first heard about Kentucky Knife Fight a few years ago when my brother told me a story about a great band he saw at The Stagger Inn, a crazy combo of 1970s punk and George Thorogood.

At a point during the show where the music had reached a frenzy, he told me, the raucous crowd lifted lead singer Jason Holler into the air, while he continued singing. They lifted him so high that they almost stuck his head into a ceiling fan. He managed to somehow avoid it, and get back onto the stage, without ever missing a beat. (Click for info on Kentucky Knife Fight’s next show).

Holler says this wasn’t exactly the band he and bass player Jason Koenig set out to create in 2005 after seeing a Woodbox Gang show at The Stagger.

“They’re like a dark, dark blue grass band,” he says, describing Woodbox. “We decided we wanted to do something in the same vein, but at the same time we were listening to a lot of Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, early punk rock music, and 90s stuff like the Murder City Devils. We kind of wanted to do something like dark blue grass with an early punk lean, and before we knew it, things kind of changed and we became nowhere near the realm of bluegrass music.”

Explaining how the band came across its unusual name, Holler says, “Somebody was giving me grief during a practice and I said ‘You don’t want to invite me to a Kentucky Knife Fight boy ‘cause you’ll lose.’” “That was around the time we were trying to figure out what our name was going to be. And I think it was Jason [Koenig] that said, ‘you know, we should just call ourselves Kentucky Knife Fight.’”

Since then, Holler says, the band has gotten grief from a few Georgians, “Who couldn’t understand why we didn’t call ourselves Georgia Knife Fight.”

Video of Kentucky Knife Fight, Woodbox Gang, Johnny Thunders and Murder City Devils (story continues below)

The band started off playing short sets at the Duck Tape Duo open mic night at The Stagger, and were soon offered to play a full show at The Stagger, which has been the start of many a local band.

In the last couple years, all but one of the band members have moved to St. Louis, where they have had a measure of success, playing bars in the city, and getting their 2008 album Wolf Crept the Children Slept named best self-released album in June of 2009 by readers of St. Louis alt-weekly The River Front Times.

The band currently has an album’s worth of unrecorded songs that it is playing live. Holler says these songs have now almost completely taken over the band’s live set.

He feels like there has been a progression since the last album.

“The older material we’re doing, we had songs where the lyrics were more catering to aggressive rock and roll. On the slower tempo songs I spent more time on the writing,” he says. “Now I’m trying to make it so that even our adrenline pumping rock-and-roll numbers have more well-written, or well-organized lyrics.”

In January, he says the band will tour, and after that, they plan to record a live EP with Firebrand Recording in St. Louis.

“After that our intentions are to record a full-length album,” he says, but they have no date set for recording the songs yet.

“It’s all monetary,” Holler says of their reason for sitting on 13 new songs. “We had been saving up for a new van, and kind of putting our ducks in a row.”

He says the band has been approached by some small labels, “but it wasn’t quite right, it wasn’t exactly what we wanted, and so we held off. We’re not waiting for some major label to sign some unknown band from St. Louis, but the labels we’ve been approached by, it just wasn’t the right marriage.”

It seems the band has it’s feet firmly planted on the ground, when it’s audience isn’t snatching them up into the air. With music like this, we hope they keep ascending, and keep avoiding those wily ceiling fans.

So Many Dynamos

Paul Peters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:20:47 +0000

So Many Dynamos (from left) Griffin Kay, Aaron Stovall, Nathan Bernaix, Clayton Kunstel. (Leanna Kaiser photo)

by Paul Peters

After getting into a van wreck while on tour just a few weeks ago, So Many Dynamos keyboardist and singer Aaron Stovall asked himself, “When are these things going to stop happening?”

So Many Dynamos got its start in Edwardsville in 2002, where the band shared a home until this past summer. They’ve gone from playing The Stagger Inn Again to playing sold out shows at places like the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. They’ve played hundreds of gigs around the country and have released three full-length albums. Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla produced their last album, The Loud Wars. They’ve opened for both Death Cab and Ra Ra Riot, and are now signed with Vagrant Records.

But “these things” keep happening. They include Guitarist Griffin Kay’s near-fatal staph infection in 2004, a gear theft that nearly brought down their 2006 tour, and another van wreck in 2007 that could have easily killed the entire band (but left them with only minor cuts and bruises). Between these bigger problems, there have been stage collapses, gear malfunctions and other more typical road band problems.

And things are still happening. When the band returned from tour this summer, guitarist Ryan Wasoba quit (find his explanation here).

Despite So Many Dynamos’ resilience to date, losing Wasoba seems like something that could seriously impact its ability to continue being the same band.

The problem is, they have a particular sound. So Many Dynamos manages to pack songs with electronic bleeps, guitar and keyboard riffs, vocals ranging from near-chanting to screaming, odd time signatures and break beats, without ever seeming like it’s just making a bunch of noise to cover up some fault.

It’s quite clear, in fact, that beyond the effects pedals, drum triggers, lack of a bass player (Stovall provides the low-end on keys), and other aspects that would be novelties in some bands, the members of So Many Dynamos really know how to play their instruments and write good songs.

They use this ability (which, in an ideal world, would be the standard for any band) to write songs that change in unexpected ways from beginning to end, that manage to be both technically sophisticated and danceable, with lyrics that manage to be serious but still funny at times.

So Many Dynamos live (story continues below video)

But Wasoba was an integral part of the process that created this music. In fact, Stovall says, “[Wasoba] primarily did most of the song writing, and would kind of bring it into us, and the rest of us would kind of piece it together.”

So Wasoba’s leaving would seem like a heavy blow. But what may ultimately save So Many Dynamos is that, throughout their seven years of playing together, they’ve practically had an understudy waiting in the wings.

Nathan Bernaix sat in during one of the Dynamos’ first practices back in 2002.

His band, Target Market, has toured with the Dynamos on multiple occasions. There was even some mixing between the bands in the past, with Stovall sitting in on keyboards during Target Market shows, and Bernaix filling in for Kay when he got the staph infection.

When Wasoba began talking about leaving during the summer tour, Stovall says Bernaix was an easy choice.

Even Wasoba was in agreement, writing in his goodbye post on the band’s blog, “They asked how I felt about Nathan Bernaix from Target Market replacing me, and I said, ‘I feel great about that.’”

Stovall notes that he and Bernaix went to kindergarten together in Granite City, and have been friends ever since.

“Some bands post ads on Craigslist for auditions. There’s no way we could function like that,” Stovall says. “It’s just as important, if not more important, that the person fit with you socially and emotionally and psychologically. You don’t get the musical chemistry without all of those other things first.”

Bernaix will have to hit the ground running. The band is scheduled for a European tour this spring. It then hits the studio to record a new album next summer.

And, although he still has a tic of occasionally referring to the band as “them” rather than “us,” Bernaix seems ready to jump into his new role. He filled in for Wasoba on the band’s East Coast tour this Fall, which seems to have went smoothly.

And, he says, “We’ve written a little bit already,” he says. “It’s exciting.”

He’s also honest about the effect swapping him for Wasoba will have, “Ryan [Wasoba] had a strong voice in the song writing, so it will definitely be different.”

For his part, Stovall is positive about the potential changes Bernaix brings.

“The really neat thing about Nathan, is that he has always been – and in a weird way still is – the one person who has the most inside point of view, while still being an outsider,” says Stovall. “He has a good idea, from a fan’s point of view, what would be a natural progression.”

That Bernaix’ addition to the band would ultimately turn out to be a good thing would fit with So Many Dynamos story so far.

From each of their setbacks, Stovall says good things have sprouted, the most tangible example being their relationship with Death Cab for Cutie.

When the band’s guitars were stolen in Seattle during their 2006 tour, Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla lent them gear so they could finish the tour, after that he invited them to come record The Loud Wars in his studio, and they went on to open for the band.

“It almost gives me even more drive,” Stovall says of the band’s misfortunes. “It tests your will power.”

He comes up with a metaphor befittingly silly for So Many Dynamos: “It’s like dudes that surf and get attacked by sharks, and they’ll go surfing the next time, and they may have an arm missing.”

Check out So Many Dynamos in St. Louis this Friday (more here). Also, Bernaix continues playing with Target Market, whom you can catch November 19 in Edwardsville (more here).

How to Grow a Band with The Forefall

Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:20:40 +0000

Great band, great sound.

by Jesse Gernigin

Sitting down with The Forefall at a local Denny’s I get the chance to discuss their first album, what is behind their sound, and why they do what they do. Dan James, founder of the St. Louis band, is sitting across from me dressed in a sports jacket with a button up shirt.

Having heard them both live and recorded, I ask Dan what the band was going for when they wrote the music.

“Well,” he begins, “I wanted it to be a cross be Zeppelin and Radiohead.”

When I asked why he became focused and spoke directly at me without breaking gaze, “Because we are rock fundamentalists. We believe in a clean and full sound. Our music is there to explore the soundscape of the venue with musicians, not electronic filler.”

The Forefall (story continues below)

The Forefall’s music does have a full sound in which I hear hints of Radiohead. Not being a big Zeppelin fan I can’t comment on whether or not they achieved that, but I can say they do possess a full sound, one that filled the venue at Cicero’s without overwhelming it.

When I mentioned this Dan said, “Well it shouldn’t. We build all our own amps so we have a large amount of control on how people hear our work. Remember we aren’t there to be noise filler while people drink. The Forefall wants to engage the audience.”

I mention that a lot of bands seem to do that today by crossing the boundary between musician and entertainer. His lead singer, Justin Volker, a willowy southern Missourian who transplanted himself in St. Louis to finish his M.B.A pipes in, “We don’t want to become entertainers. We don’t want to cater to the audience. That shortens the audience’s attention span and makes them kings over you. Instead we are performers who let the audience decide how to experience our sound.”

“You can control what it sounds like,” Dan adds, “And you can engage them (the audience) but you have to let them think their own thoughts.”

“Yeah,” the Volker picks up, “You have to let the audience know you have faith in them.”

When asked about the future of the band they reply simply, “Play more shows, generate interest, work hard to get good reviews, rinse wash and repeat.”

I laugh at this. There is something organic about it. But then again there is just something organic about the Forefall. And how could there not be? What is not natural (i.e. organic) about a band that not only plans to grow over a period of time through hard work and exposure, but also builds all their own amps and doesn’t dilute their work with electronica.

Surely this is how you grow a band. The Forefall’s future promises to be an interesting one, and I for one, intend to watch it grow.

Check out The Forefall on MySpace for info on upcoming shows, their album and more on the band.

Halloween at Laurie’s

Editor — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:30:34 +0000

Laurie’s will start sidewalk service (weather permitting) at 4:30 pm on Halloween, in time for you to grab a bite and maybe polish off a few drinks before the parade. Starting at 9:30 pm, The Edge will be providing the tunes. There will be a costume contest, and of course lots of drink specials.

Drop by Drop

Editor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:03:48 +0000

by Paul Peters

For the last two years, if you’ve had the urge to do some seriously crazy, freak out, don’t-care-who’s-looking-at-me-or-what-they-think dancing in Edwardsville, you’ve gone out to see Aaron Kamm and the One Drops.
But as the improvised jam-driven reggae-blues trio nears its second year playing together, they’re starting to branch out, playing shows as far away as Austin, Texas, recording a new album and eyeing the national tour scene.
Not to worry though, Edwardsville isn’t losing the One Drops just yet.
“We’re all pretty much going to be here in Edwardsville for a while,” says drummer Sean Raila, explaining that the town will make a good home base for them when they’re on the road.
And just because they’ve recorded a new album doesn’t mean they’re going to go all studio band on us.
In fact, Raila says the new album is an attempt to capture the feel of their live shows in the studio.
These days, most bands go into the studio and lay down their tracks separately. Usually the bass and drums first, then guitar, then vocals. The result is clean and precise, if not a little cold, which works for some styles of music.
Others elect to play together, as they normally would in practice or at a show, using as few studio tricks as possible, which can often lend a little more soul to an album (think Black Crowes’ Southern Harmony and Musical Companion).
The One Drops elected to take the second approach, which seems like the natural choice for a band that brings a lot of energy to their live shows. According to Raila, they did make some minimalist additions to the recordings, including dubbed-in backup vocal harmonies by himself and bassist Andy Dorris (Normally, guitarist Aaron Kamm provides all vocals).
They expect the album (not yet titled) to come out in another month or so, giving Raila just enough time to learn how to juggle vocals in with his live drumming.
“I’m currently working on getting that ready,” says Raila. “My deadline is the release of the album.”

A Taste of the One Drops (story continues below video)

Raila is excited about the new album and touring, and believes modern reggae-rock is moving forward.
“Right now, I see a huge uprising, if you will, with younger people of our generation really starting to take to these bands,” he says, citing bands like Pepper and The Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad.
These bands, says Raila, are, “Pulling their sound out of the early reggae songs of the 60s and 70s, taking that soundscape and bringing it to modern America.”
Edwardsville, he notes, is also experiencing a bit of a musical uprising, with bands like So Many Dynamos and Kentucky Knife Fight receiving more and more attention.
For the One Drops, none of whom are actually from Edwardsville, the town has been a great place musically, with the three of them getting started after various open mic jam sessions at The Stagger Inn Again, and playing with local musicians like Butch Moore and some of the current members of Knife Fight in the past.
In 2007, Raila says, “We were always up at the Stagger playing open mic nights, and it was really great, because there was a huge community of musicians, which lead Andy, myself and Aaron to meet and start putting together songs. I do think this town has a pretty unique community of musicians that network together. I really think Edwardsville has a special spot for musicians.”
Hopefully that special spot will keep bands like the One Drops playing in town, even as they grow.

Check out the One Drops next show this weekend. Listen to more of their music here.

Edwardsville’s Jazz Man

Editor — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:43:15 +0000

David Wiatrolik (center with guitar) at a jazz rehearsal.

by Jesse Gernigin

This isn’t my first time meeting guitarist David Wiatrolik.
We have seen each other in passing, either at gigs with his jazz band, The David Wiatrolik Trio, playing guitar for Kentucky Knife Fight, or just sippin’ coffee at Sacred Grounds. Although it is early on a Monday we have been talking for a while now. David stops suddenly, goes quiet, and looks off into the distance. I wonder what he is thinking, because up until now he has been talking at full tilt, smiling, and keeping an iron grip on our eye contact. But now he is alone for a second, suspended between two thoughts, one he was sharing and one he considers. Then he’s talking again, continuing on from where he stopped and saying nothing to acknowledge what it was that froze him mid-story.
Maybe David’s a robot. It sounds crazy, but consider the schedule he keeps. If he isn’t giving lessons or spending time with his girlfriend, he is either practicing or playing gigs with one of his bands, both of which have seen some measure of success.
Kentucky Knife Fight, an alt-country band with a healthy dose of punk, has received wide acclaim, and was awarded best self released album this year by the River Front Times.
David started his jazz trio as an undergraduate at SIUE, where he culled his friends and classmates to play in his band. The trio has played a lot of different venues from art shows at SIUE to Mangia in St. Louis, or Erato in downtown Edwardsville. The jazz trio produces a smooth sound with sultry bass lines and witty guitar riffs while avoiding the expected slowness made popular by Louis Armstong. The music is wonderful and adaptable; you can let it completely absorb you, eyes closed as you tap your foot to the rhythm, or subconsciously inspire you as the theme music to a great bar conversation.
“I just want to play,” he replies when I ask him about why he doesn’t focus on just one band. “Although jazz is what I go to school for, Kentucky Knife Fight is a lot of fun.”
David’s own sound is conscious of his technical talent but also moves comfortably with a secret inner rhythm, pulling together heady bass lines with the velvet smooth crooning of his guitar. David’s talent decries the histrionics of lesser talented technicians, choosing instead to allocate sound precisely when and where it is needed. I imagine that this is a large part of what originally attracted him to jazz is his natural storytelling ability. I say this because to me jazz and storytelling share a common trait. They both have a definite beginning and end and what happens in the middle depends on the audience’s perception, the artist’s technical talent, and the artist’s interpretation of it.
When asked about the future of what he hopes to do with jazz, he talks in terms of size.
“There just isn’t the money for big bands right now, so I’m playing shows with two guys instead of five,” he says.
Regardless of the current economy David has a positive out-look.
“I am lucky to play weddings and cover the local venues pretty regularly.”
David’s comments really opened my eyes to the constraints a bad economy can put on musicians.
When I pressed David on solutions he explained, “It would help if local musician’s banded together. I’m not saying we need picketing and to form Unions, but we must show a little tact and self control because it hurts all of us. We all play music cause we love it. For some it might be more of a hobby. But those of us who want to make a living out of it, we got to eat! It’s the same as any other profession that requires a skill. Lawyers, plumber’s, mechanics are all well organized professions and have set a ball park rate for performing their services in order to make a decent living, so should musicians.”
David’s myspace has further detail on his performance dates along with some mp3’s of his work. You can check out his next gig here.

Curiosity, questions, and the super fun of the unknowable

Jesse — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:53:08 +0000

by Jesse Gernigin

Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship is a cage Corey Goodman has created to contain the creative force he unleashes nightly in clubs, bars and other venues. It would be easy to write off Corey’s creation as bombastic and his show a collection of shocking and uncomfortably funny moments, but to do so would be a disservice, a surrendering to that same force that makes you cringe as Corey smells your hair during the middle of a song whilst drinking from an audience member’s glass. What Corey has done with Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship is bring together a high energy and highly unique performance that relies just as much on channeling his inner man child as it does on his Buster Keaton antics.

Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship is a one man band, with Corey creating the music and performing. His music is an eclectic smooshing of electronica, sound effects, and madness. The music is played in the same manner as bands like GirlTalk, with the main thrust of the sound coming from a laptop whilst Corey performs. His schedule is pretty full and if you click over to his band’s Myspace page you can not only get a look at his upcoming dates, but also read some posts, watch some vlogs (You have to check out the one where the Metro East High School dance team performs to one of Corey’s song) and listen to some mp3s.

What is interesting is meeting Corey outside of his show, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, sneaks, and the occasional fanny pack. There is a lot I would like to know.

“Does he plan a show? Is it all impromptu? What comes first the music leading to the performance, or a performance demanding music to explain it?”

Not wanting to interrogate him, I instead take the chance to question him on the creation of his band, “It all started on a whim to do a one-off show with an old friend. He bailed at the last minute but since I had taken care to record the backing tracks, I played them and ran around singing. After that I started doing shows non-stop and named myself Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship. This all took place around October 2005 and hasn’t let up.” When I asked him about the future of SFYYRS he commented, “I am slowing down a bit…I don’t plan on getting big doing this…I’m slowly working on a new album, ‘O Yeah, O Baby, O Baby, O Yeah’ and redoing some older songs.”

Listening to Corey talk I can’t help but notice he emanates an underlying anxiety we all share, that one where you aren’t sure if you are saying to much or to little, speaking to fast or to slow, or generally boring the listener in the first place. This anxiety seems to possess Corey with its constant presence. I wonder if it is all an act, albeit an elaborate one. Perhaps, I muse, Corey is putting us all on. But I dismiss this idea and come to a deeper conclusion. Corey is battling his inner man child in a world condemning of such things. He battles his inner man child much the same way Will Ferrel does, the only difference being Will Ferrel does it on screen and Corey does it on stage.

And what do you see on stage? What lurks there beneath the surface of that elaborate name and that entirely too tight spandex outfit? I imagine there are a lot of answers I could give ranging from the one word descriptions, “Unknowable,” to the high-fructose laced descriptions of, “Towering titan talent works whimsical wonders,” and it would all be right, but no one entirely true. Instead I’ll say this. Seeing Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship is a choice to confront the unknowable. This sense of unknowable surrounds you as Corey looks around the stage, his eyes sharp. For a moment he plots out his madness and you feel a giddy tinge as he locks his gaze on you for a half moment, were you chosen, were you not? Only Corey knows what will happen next and this makes anticipation crawl cat-like up your back. Then the music starts and the anticipation rises, regardless of what happens next (whether it be Corey running a few laps around the stage, outside completely, or some other random things) you know it will be super fun.