It Doesn’t Get More Bad-Ass Than This: Dave Hause
When rock and roll first dawned on me, it was through the mainstream. No, I was not lucky enough to have a cool older sibling that let me listen to their bangin’ awesome record collection, nor were my parents collectors of music outside of say, the Time Life Series.
While I was still in the single digits of age, I got the impression that rock stars were inaccessible celebrity gods high above the rest of us in some ethereal rock stratosphere where they basked in the love of their millions of fans and had their every whim fulfilled.
Who Needs Mainstream When You’ve Got Counter Culture?: Mikey Erg Of The Ergs
Golly, was I ever wrong! Eventually I figured out that while celebrity rock stars who rule mainstream airwaves did exist in a world apart from ours, it wasn’t really that great. They were actually not very free people at all, very unhappy in many cases directly due to the isolation their fame created, paradoxically alone despite their visage being emblazoned on hearts and minds everywhere.
Additionally, I also figured out that these artists, for the most part, were not people that I could relate to musically or otherwise, and I quickly became disenchanted with the whole concept of mainstream music, abandoning that showboat for a reliable seaworthy vessel known as indie rock.
Cheap Girls, With Ian Graham, Center
And thank Heavens to Betsy that I did, boy. Welcome to the world of going to a show only to find yourself standing next to the players in the band who, tired of the confines of their stuffy dressing rooms, spend time before or after a performance by hanging out in the venue in the same room you are.
And when you finally muster up the courage to buy them a beer or gush about how you listened to their record until it wore out and you had to buy a new one, the bands who are nice enough to spend a few minutes making music nerd conversation or even, gasp, having a beer with you, will always be my favorite.
That’s why when I read this post from The Bouncing Souls second-to-none management, the wonderrifical Kate Hiltz, I thought it was kind of the coolest thing I’d seen in a long time:
“Meet me and Dave Hause and Mikey Erg and Ian Graham and The Pete and our peeps at The Lanes on Thursday night. limited edition vinyl, first time ever “Meet Me At The Lanes” will be played live (and recorded!), not to mention the excellent opportunity to visit, gossip, get drunk, and act questionably. TREAT YOURSELF!”
The aforementioned musicians are all connected via The Souls own Chunksaah Records, and of course I wouldn’t expect anything less then amazing from this fan-minded band. While some bands like 30 Seconds To Mars actually make the fans buy into “Meet-And-Greets” in addition to paying for entry into the show, Chunksaah often thinks of fans, and artists frequently are found milling around amongst kids who are either eager to practically throw up their adoration, or stand by awestruck as they watch The Pete and the like order a beer next to them.
The Pete himself will be Djing in between sets, and I predict from my rock crystal ball that the show is going to be an especially memorable one. Judging from the past tendencies of this brotherly collective of artists to spend time on each other’s records and at each other’s shows, and even guesting with performances in each other’s sets, I think we’re in for some pretty rollicking good stuff!!
I know some of you will be falling all over yourselves when you see Ian, Mikey, Dave, Pete, and Kate hanging out at the iconic Asbury Lanes, but please don’t forget about me! I mean, I’m the one who told you about it and everything! Sheesh. Stars in your eyes and you didn’t even get to the club yet!
Catch ya on the flipside (which means at The Lanes tomorrow!)
XOXO
Ang
