The Best Band I Will Miss Out On

Before Pete Freedman took on his role as music editor for the Dallas Observer, the paper published an article where various people gave advice to the then future music editor. One of the contributors made the suggestion “don’t get in a relationship.” The reasoning was that by getting in a relationship, it would distract focus from the local music scene, and that one great band would come and go that he would have totally missed out on.

Here’s the reason I bring this up. Those of you who know me personally are aware that I have recently entered a relationship. I have found a woman that makes me genuinely happy and I am deliriously in love. I must confess, however, that this new relationship has distracted me from my blogging, as you may have gathered from my infrequent posts.

(For the record, work and financial stresses have also distracted me, so if anyone knows how I can blog full time for a living, my ears are wide open.)

Back to my original point, however. There are some great bands out about town that at the rate I’m going, I seem destined to never get to see. I figured I’d throw out a few nominees for The Best Band I Will Miss Out On. These are bands that I have every reason to believe are quality acts, but for some reason, I seem to keep missing shows by said acts.

Here are just a few potential nominees:

The Liking Strikes
They seem to be a particularly fitting place to start, since I was supposed to check them out the night of my first date with my girlfriend. Their sound leans very heavily on the pop side of things, but don’t let that scare you off. Songs like “Stupid Girl” (no relation to the Garbage song) are so dang catchy that even the most pretentious indie rock hipster will be unable to shake it out of his or her head. Word of mouth has it that they put on a mean acoustic set as well. Electric or non-electric, this is one band I hope gets moved over to the “seen” category very soon.

The O’s
Here’s what you need to know about the O’s. It features Taylor Young and John Pedigo. If you don’t know who those two musicians are, you need to get out more often. A lot will be expected of this duo, considering the fact that both artists seem incapable of being in a bad band. In fact, both musicians are talented enough that they could make a sucky band sound good. So while a lot will be expected from The O’s, I have no reason to believe they will do anything other than live up to the promise, and maybe even surpass it.

Cocky Americans
They say you can learn a lot about a person by the company they keep. Wonder if the same holds true for bands? If so, then Cocky Americans are in excellent shape. In recent months, they’ve played with Rahim Quazi, Somebody’s Darling, and the aforementioned Liking Strikes. They’re also playing at the Cavern this Friday with Fate Lions, another great band that I’ve been missing out on long before the GF. Oh, and the band makes good music. Can’t forget that detail.

Menkena
The band has used the phrase “acoustic shoegaze sound” in regards to their music. That would be a very dead on description. Imagine if Nick Drake was resurrected and became the front man for Lush for their first few CD’s, and that’s a good start for describing Menkena. I can’t promise how this will translate live, as neither Nick Drake nor pretty much any shoegaze band has had much in the way of stage presence. If the music can remain as beautiful onstage as it sounds recorded, however, this band definitely is worth checking out.

If you know of any great bands that you think I am missing out on, don’t be shy. Post a comment and let me know. Maybe I might even catch one of the bands you recommend. Granted, they can no longer be in the running for “Best Band I Will Miss Out On”, but I always prefer seeing good bands to missing out on good bands. I’m just funny that way.