March 2004 – Saw The Dears at SXSW. My first year there, my first experience with the band. Somebody said, before we saw them, that they are like “The Smiths meet Pink Floyd”. We all leave Emo’s impressed.

March 2006 (I think) – Make it a point to see The Dears at SXSW again even though they are playing my least favorite club. They aren’t scheduled to go on until 1am but I figure I’ll tough it out. They start soundchecking about 5 ’til 1 and continue on for about 10 minutes. Then they proceed to open with an instrumental that felt like it lasted another 10 minutes. I left, totally disappointed.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 – I feel like The Dears owe me one. This is their chance to make it up and, truthfully, I’m not too worried. The new CD, Missles, is a good one even though it originally was supposed to be a Murray Lightburn solo CD from what I’ve read.

Great Northern (read my fresh-off-the-presses interview with them) and Eulogies (read my Dec.’08 interview) open the EARLY show at Skully’s (doors at 6:30, show done around 10pm).

This Fine Progression by Eulogies
Houses by Great Northern

This is the most things we’ve ever given away in one contest, it sort of looks like we robbed someone. But we didn’t.

Dangerbird bands Eulogies and The Dears are currently touring with Great Northern. They’ll be performing at Skully’s in Columbus on May 10. To celebrate, we’ve got a gigantic giveaway:

-(2) tickets to show (guest list at venue’s will call)
-(1) Eulogies “Tempted to Do Nothing” vinyldisc
-(1) Eulogies “Here Anonymous” on vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Money Babies” / “Threats” 7” Vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Missiles” CD
-(1) Eulogies shirt
-(1) Dangerbird hoodie

This contest is open only to the Columbus Ohio area. We want to make sure you can use the tickets. A winner will be randomly selected. To enter, send an e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject title “EULOGIESTHEDEARSGREATHNORTHERN.” In the body of the e-mail, include your name and mailing address.

I’m a fan of all three of these bands, so I’m super excited to see them all on one bill. I posted links to MP3s on the top of the post, but keep reading to hear more from Eulogies.

Wednesday night’s show at The Basement (391 Neil Ave.) features The Duke Spirit, Eulogies, and The Black Fortys and while it won’t be as wall-to-wall packed as this week’s Fallout Boy show, expect a great turnout.

Eulogies are fronted by Peter Walker who co-owns Dangerbird Records, the label responsible for Silversun Pickups, Sea Wolf, and the new Dears record among others (how’s that for indie cred?) and the band will be making their second Columbus appearance in a week having opened for Darker My Love last Wednesday at The Summit.

Peter answered some questions I sent him the other night via e-mail. Check ‘em out – as well as a Eulogies video – after the jump.

Is the touring you’re doing now to support the new EP, to play markets you might have missed when touring for the first album, an opportunity to road test new material, or a combination of all of the above?

Definitely a combo job — the best part being playing in cities we have yet to visit. We’re touring in support of our EP and road testing a lot of tunes from an upcoming LP.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of money to make in the music industry these days. Will you wind up making any money on this tour?

Probably not, although we jumped off the tour and did a show of our own in Michigan which greatly helps the balance of black and red for us.

Can you give fans an idea of what type of merch you’re selling and the general price range so that, should they be looking to pick up any holiday gifts for friends/family, they’ll know how much cash to bring to the show this Wednesday?

$5 vinyl disc EPs (this is a CD with a vinyl single on the top)!
$10 full-length debut CD
$3 7″ vinyl picture disc
Yay!

Can you make any generalizations about the differences/similarities that you see in the fanbases of Darker My Love and The Duke Spirit?

We’re still getting to know both audiences, but I think the real variable is where you are – some people just like to check out new music more than others. Some people like to show support by buying a CD at a show.

I’ve had a hard time comparing Eulogies sound to other bands. What bands – if any – do you typically get compared to? What’s the most inaccurate comparison you can remember receiving?

I guess I haven’t heard any in a while, but one of the stranger ones might have been Huey Lewis.

Are the Peter Walker solo days a thing of the past or are you continually writing songs that wouldn’t work for Eulogies but would be representative of your solo material?

I have a lot of songs that never made it to the Eulogies table but I’m not sure what they have in store for themselves.

Is it hard to wear two hats – one as the singer of a band and one as the owner of a label?

Well, first of all, I’m co-owner, so that helps a bit. I keep my hats at the ready, but it’s usually my artist hat that dictates the rest. If I’m in the studio or on the road, that’s what I’m focusing on.

Ten or fifteen years ago, a label like Geffen might swoop in and buy a percentage (or all of) a label just to be able to put records by one band. Does the music industry operate this way today and if so, how many offers have you had due to the success of Silversun Pickups?

It’s something we don’t really talk about, probably because it’s not something we’re interested in.

What is your philosophy on signing bands? Are you actively looking? Do you only put out records by bands that your friends are in? If a label came along that wanted to put out a Eulogies record, would you consider that?

We’re always looking – and at the same time not at all. Sounds weird, but signing a band comes up for us pretty rarely and when it does there’s never a shortage of things to talk about. As far as the Eulogies go, I would love to release a record on another label – they’re the ones who pay for everything, right??

2009 will see a new full length from Eulogies. What are the plans surrounding that release? Will you still be looking to support more established bands or will you try a headlining tour? Will Dangerbird and/or Eulogies be leaving lasting impression at SXSW (ie – will you be doing a showcase and, if so, can you give me the scoop about Silversun Pickups potentially playing????)

Eulogies, Silversun, the One AM Radio and a handful of others will most likely play at a Dangerbird show in Austin next year. The Eulogies release will be building then, so we’re looking to support a band next spring. We’ll continue to branch off and play our own headlining shows as much as possible, as long as crazies like you are there to support us!

What do you have in store as far as Dangerbird goes for 2009?

We’re moving down the street in L.A. to some new digs. Also releasing records by Dappled Cities, Ed Laurie, Eulogies, Silversun Pickups, the One AM Radio, and there will be continued touring and recording from Sea Wolf, Darker My Love, and … more I’m sure!

Finally, not a question and I think I may have said this to you last week, but thanks for running a label that puts out such quality material (the new Dears record is amazing!).

I’m thankful to be involved. I adore that record, too!

Darker My Love, The Strange Boys, Eulogies
Wednesday, November 26
The Summit
18 and up; $10 at the door (surcharge for those under 21)

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CONTEST TIME – FIRST PERSON TO E-MAIL ATOMICNED@GMAIL.COM WILL BE ON THE GUEST LIST +1

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Ben’s having quite the week with his Benco Presents concerts. Following this past weekend’s Gregory and the Hawk and Marnie Stern shows, L.A.-based psychedelic rockers Darker My Love roll into town for a Thanksgiving Eve show. With a sound that is influenced by bands ranging from the Dandy Warhols and the Stone Roses to the Beatles and the Beach Boys, expect a full-on aural assault tomorrow night.

MP3: “All the Hurry and Wait”
Full album download: Darker My Love (band’s 1st CD)

Darker My Love is keeping an on-line tour diary although there wasn’t an entry the last time they played in town as part of the CD101 summerfest (along w/ Dr. Dog and VHS or Beta among others). I asked bassist/vocalist/heavily bearded Rob Barbato what they would have written about playing that show:

I ripped a ton of White Castles at the show because they had a White Castle there. It was really crazy because we had played a show in L.A. and then flown out directly to Columbus without any sleep. We got there, crashed out for a little bit, and then went to soundcheck. My girlfriend came out to that show because we went to Cape Cod afterwards before all this touring started. It was like our last hurrah. It was really fun and we’re psyched to be coming back to Columbus for sure. We played right before Dr. Dog and I think VHS or Beta played last. At the end of the Dandy Warhols tour we ended up hanging out with the Dr. Dog dudes in Denver because they played on the same night as us. They had the same situation in Columbus as us where they flew in and it was the last weekend they had before all their touring started.

CD101 is a great radio station. It’s few and far between; there are only a few stations in the country that will take as many chances as they do.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Also on the bill:
* The Strange Boys – Ben thinks the Summit/Bourbon St. crowd will LOVE these guys
* Eulogies – Fronted by Peter Walker (owner, Dangerbird Records); will be back in town opening for the Duke Spirit on Dec. 3 (The Basement)