endless mike and the beagle club

last night i had the pleasure of watching the finest band ever to hail from johnstown, PA.. endless mike and the beagle club.

the first time i heard the band was two years ago when olympia was first touring. we booked a show in western PA and we were lucky enough to share the stage with this amazing band.

why are they so amazing?

it's hard to describe. it's like they break every single rule of being in a band, but not out of rebellion, it's as if they didn't even know there were "rules" in the first place. first off, when i saw them last night, they played as a 15-piece, featuring every musician that played on the record. as if they were getting ready to leave for tour, and decided "hey everyone, just pile in!" and literally that's what they did. it didn't matter that it was going to be uncomfortable, or hot, or more expensive. it's like that didn't even cross anyone's mind.

there's no egos or fashion. literally, everyone in the band is from completely different walks of life. they're a combination of hippie dudes and regular dudes you'd never guess were in a band if you saw them walking down the street. there's a dude who looks like he walked right out of a straight edge hardcore band (and probably did) to play banjo in this folk collective. on top of that, they're some of the friendliest people. they all go out of their way to talk to people and if you talk to them long enough, they'll tell you to move to their town so you can hang out on a regular basis. and maybe join the band! that's the kind of dudes they are.

they don't want to be famous. they don't want to be on a bigger record label. they don't care how many t-shirt designs they have on sale. they just want to play music with their friends, go on tour, and share their music and message with whoever wants to listen.

i don't know why this impresses me so much, but it does. i guess that means i'm jaded.

i'm so used to navigating the politics of the music scene and the music industry and always trying to make it to that next plateau. always trying to get that bigger tour, get our name out there, make a little more money on tour. our intentions were good - we wanted to be able to support ourselves and make music on our terms and play it for people who cared, but to do so, we had to play the game.

it's nice to see a band that says "fuck it" and isn't playing the game. they're doing everything on their own terms, going broke in the process, and not caring about it. they just sing from the heart and let the rest of it sort itself out. it's a noble thing. i don't think i could do it personally, which is why i have so much admiration for these people who actively make that choice.

so three cheers for endless mike and the beagle club.

you can listen to endless mike here: http://www.myspace.com/beagleclub

if i had to pick one song to recommend, i would ask you to listen to "mr. miller's opus". i've never heard a song that more perfectly captures the more difficult moments of the last seven years of my life.

you can buy their record here: http://www.craftyrecords.net/