NORTH TONAWANDA —
With album sales approaching record lows, free music to be had nearly everywhere and mainstream radio leaning heavily toward Auto-Tuned vocals, now might be one of the worst times in the history of popular music for instrumental-heavy groups to enter the recording industry.
That, according to the members of Aqueous, is exactly why they must forge forward.
Speaking during a recent interview in the News office, guitarist/vocalist David Loss, percussionist Nick Sonricker, drummer Brad Darrall and bassist Evan McPhaden discussed the difficulties in achieving musical stardom and the downfall of much of modern music.
The band’s members — complemented by guitarist/vocalist Mike Gantzer, who couldn’t attend the interview — met while attending North Tonawanda High School. The young men described the band’s formation as “blues meets progressive,” as four of the young men quickly meshed and went down the jam band path (Sonricker, who has a recording studio in his basement, joined the group later on).
“No one even had to switch instruments,” Loss said. “It just kind of magically happened.”
Some level of success also happened fairly quickly, as Aqueous won the 2007 High School Rock Band Showcase at Niagara University. The band has since recorded a studio sampler and the first in a series of live albums, “Live Nugs: Volume 1,” while performing anywhere and everywhere in Western New York that it could, including attempts to fill numerous concert series slots this coming summer.
Finding gigs has been difficult at times, though, band members said. The task of self-promotion involves relentless searching for proper contacts, endless submissions of music and call ... after call ... after call.
“We’re still trying to figure it all out,” Darrall said. “We’re taking it more seriously this year ... organization is an underrated skill for a band.”
The fact that the group leans toward a free-flowing sort of jam band rock — “we’re not a three-minute band,” Darrall said in reference to song length — might not help.
“We’re not exactly fan-friendly,” Sonricker said.
Despite this, Aqueous has cultivated a core group of fans throughout the region. Some of their shows see hundreds of people in the audience — although the band has done its share of more sparsely populated concerts, as well.
“Maybe some nights there’s four people and they’re just sitting there. They may like it, but you don’t know,” Sonricker said.
But all of the group’s members quickly noted that they wouldn’t do anything differently. While smooth rock jams don’t heavily populate the radio airwaves, that’s the type of music Aqueous is best at.
”It’s impossible to make it if you are (a pop singer). The market’s flooded,” Darrall said. “If you’re not Nicole Richie, then good luck.”
Darrall cited knowing your audience as a key factor in finding music success. That, according to Loss, helped bands such as Phish and the Grateful Dead enjoy the longevity that those groups saw.
“You don’t hear of Fergie-heads,” Loss said. “(Straying from pop music) gives us a lot of freedom to do whatever we want.”
The band’s desires of late include a full-length studio album, a 12-song effort that Sonricker said is due out in the late summer. Aqueous also has started recording every live performance with the intention of releasing a new “Live Nugs” CD every three to four months, he said.
The band’s members have to juggle work, college and the rest of daily life with rehearsal and gig time. But the fact that the musicians are so young — they all will be only 21 by the time 2010 ends — gives them what they consider a vital head start.
“Some bars won’t let you play,” Sonricker said. “Most people don’t even get started until they’re 21.
“I think we’re continually improving. If you listen to our jams from a year ago, we’re 10 times better now.”
Features
March 18, 2010
NT-based jam band Aqueous looks to ride the wave to musical stardom
- Features
-
-
TOM'S CORNER:
The Gazette has partnered with local automotive expert Tom Torbjornsen to publish his weekly national column. Tom's Corner will appear in Thursday's editions.
-
Underwater craft helps Great Lakes researchers collect shoreline data
A couple of scientists looking to learn all they can about Lake Ontario visited the beach near the Oak Orchard Creek Lighthouse on Saturday morning. Before they left, they had gathered data using an AUV -- autonomous underwater vehicle.
-
TOM'S CORNER: A little bit of automotive alchemy
The Gazette has partnered with local automotive expert Tom Torbjornsen to publish his weekly national column. Tom's Corner will appear in Thursday's editions.
-
New monument revealed in memory of State Trooper Kevin Dobson
A new monument in memory of New York State Trooper Kevin Dobson was revealed Wednesday morning during a ceremony that family, friends and dozens of colleagues attended.
-
Seven ladies create Antique to Chic
Imagine a business where planning meetings include white wine and laughter, and the partners go shopping together and then sell their finds in a funky, chic storefront to people who adore the treasures they've collected.
-
Saturday's Niagara University graduation a family affair
When Aaron Sydor receives his undergraduate diploma on Saturday afternoon, his mother, Kathy, was waiting at the other side of the stage to congratulate him. Instead, she was right behind him, joining her son as a member of the Niagara University Class of 2013.
-
![NIA Tom T mug [Duplicate]](http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x266751175/g0300000000000000006773cec09154bbe123f18cf6fd93fc9a46e8947e.jpg "NIA Tom T mug [Duplicate]")
TOM’S CORNER: Quiet, it’s a secret ... I’m buying a car
Why it is that car sales people experience what seems to be the worse treatment of professional sales people in the world of business?
-
East about to be overrun by billions of cicadas
Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will crawl out of the earth after 17 years underground and overrun the East Coast. The insects will arrive in such numbers that people from North Carolina to Connecticut will be outnumbered roughly 600-to-1. Maybe more.
-
![NIA Tom T mug [Duplicate]](http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x701039085/g03000000000000000070f3e047db4b2cf94e001d182f0a038a39b673f6.jpg "NIA Tom T mug [Duplicate]")
TOM'S CORNER: How do you say the name of that car?
The Gazette has partnered with local automotive expert Tom Torbjornsen to publish his weekly national column. Tom's Corner will appear in Thursday's editions.
-
Control yourself: Biofeedback helps ease migraine pain and more
People who suffer from problems such as migraines and hypertension now have a new option to help control their symptoms thanks to the efforts of Jim Abbondanza, a psychology professor from Lewiston.
- More Features Headlines
-
Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty
Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists
Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers
Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness
"Be Ready": NOAA Warns of Busy Hurricane Season
SeaWorld: Penguins Are Coolest Thing in Florida
Obama Renews Call to Close Gitmo
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
