Achalachia Rocked Frailey’s
Oct 29, 2009 News
On Friday, October 23rd Achalachia played it’s first show at Frailey’s with Common Era. We really were not sure what to think of the show before we got there. The only thought I had in my head was, we are playing a bar and grill, an Applebee’s. We are going to split a bloomin-onion with a group of secretary’s and then clear the bar when we start playing. That was the furthest thing from the truth.
We arrived at Frailey’s with plenty of time to drink $1 draft beers and watch the crowd grow. Around 9pm the dinner crowd left and was replaced by the kids and the drinkers, and hopefully the music lovers. We met up with Common Era, the guys that set the whole thing up and headlined the show, and they told us where to load in our stuff.
Since there is no stage for bands at Frailey’s, we set up our gear right under the flat screen TV in the dining room. While we were setting up the dinner crowd was still finishing up their food, so we did our best not to disturb them. Once gone we tuned up and got ready to rock.
There was a large table directly in front of us that was empty when we started setting up, but it quickly filled up with eager music fans. I remember telling them that where they were sitting was going to be really loud and they should probably move. They laughed at me and told me they could handle it. Smiling, I turned around and turned up my amp a little more.
The show started, the room vibrated, the table cleared, people cheered, and we rocked. The show went off very well. The only problem was Nick broke a bass string. The bass player from Common Era let him borrow his bass and the show went on.
For over an hour we kicked Frailey’s ass, and when we were finished we sat back, drank $1 beer and watch Common Era. I personally had never seen them before, but Adam had and he told me they were good. Good was an understatement, Common Era is by far one of the better bands I’ve seen in the St. Louis area. This is definitely a band we would like to play more shows with.
All in all, Frailey’s was not the sterotypical rock show, being without a stage and having to provide our own PA and run our own sound, but it did rock. I don’t know if we will ever play there again, I would be happy if we did, but I will say, if we ever get a chance to play with Common Era again, we will.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Tags: Frailey's
The Wedding of Steve and Dana
Oct 21, 2009 News
Achalachia attended the wedding of two of our biggest fans and good friends, Steve and Dana last Saturday. It was a nice wedding as weddings go, but the best part was the band was able to get together and have a few beers, without playing a show, which doesn’t happen nearly enough.
We met Dana at a Nirvana Tribute show. Adam was running the sound, and I was just hanging out watching the show and the people. While sitting in the sound booth, because I don’t like large crowds, I noticed a girl sitting back there as well singing along with every song. During the break the three of us started talking and found that we were interested in the same type of music. Adam played an Achalachia song on the house speakers for her hoping to impress her and gain a fan. She asked if I was the singer, when I told her yes she told Adam to “find another one”.
Despite her apparent hatred for me and my band, or at least my singing voice, she started showing up to shows. And we quickly noticed that she was coming to EVERY show. We had a real fan. Eventually she started taking pictures for the band; she took many of the images you see on this site.
Eventually Dana met a boy named Steve and started dragging him along with her. I never knew if he liked the music or her, but I always hoped it was the music. Steve quickly became a favorite of every member of the band. He would help carry our gear on and off the stage, bag up the drums, and even help load our cars. He became indispensable for a band that routinely rocked hour-long sets and was exhausted afterwards.
My assumption is that whether or not Steve liked us at the beginning, we did grow on him. We even caught him on tape singing along with Personal Canary. Listen to the song
The day finally came when we got the news that Steve and Dana were engaged. It wasn’t a big surprise; they went everywhere together. But it was sad to see them go, they couldn’t attend as many shows with all of the wedding planning and other nonsense that comes with it. But now that the wedding is over, we hope to see them at future shows. And yeah, we get it; they are starting a new life together and won’t have time for some crappy St. Louis Rock Band, but who is going to take our pictures and carry our stuff.
Speaking for the band, I can honestly say that Achalachia wishes them the best of luck and enjoy being married; it’s great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.
Popularity: 35% [?]
Cicero’s Oct 15 Show Review
Oct 16, 2009 News
Four bands played the October 15th show at Cicero’s and it was by far one of the best shows Achalachia has ever had at Cicero’s.
The lineup started with mewXaq, pronounced muzak, you know, the elevator music. But they were anything but elevator music. MewXaq was a stripped down version of the full band BlueBeard, consisting of members Zack and Adam. With a folk sound but the power of modern rock, they reminded me of Beck. They were the perfect way to start a cold evening in St. Louis, with the ability to warm up the crowd and inspire the evening.
The Constellations, from Atlanta, GA, was the second band to rock the evening. With 8 members in the band, this cross between 70’s rock, the Gorillaz and Tom Waits, had such a full sound that when a song was over you were left with the feeling of ‘what just happened to me’. With phenomenal musical ability and the commanding vocals of Elijah Jones, The Constellations is going to be a band you’ll hear about in the future.
Next up was The Cruel Cuts, and by far was one of the most absurd (in a good way) bands I’ve ever seen. With a great sound and funny lyrics, without paying attention you would never know that the bass player has his bass strung upside-down, which he passed off to the singer to play for other songs who turned it right-side-up. The lead singer, who is phenomenal on the guitar, didn’t look like your stereotypical rock star, but once he and the band started playing you could see the drive and focus that they have. The Cruel Cuts were able to keep the music and the evening going strong for the last band of the night.
Achalachia, yup that’s us, closed the show. Normally we don’t like ‘Headlining’ shows, not that we have a choice, because usually it’s later in the evening and most of the people go home before we even start. But we drew a decent crowd ourselves and the quality of the bands kept everyone at Cicero’s, that by the time it was our turn the room seemed relatively full.
I’m going under the assumption that we sounded pretty good, no one left halfway through the show, people were standing and jumping off the stage, and ultimately seemed to be having a good time. From my perspective, from the backside of the speakers, the set sounded powerful. Members of The Constellations and The Cruel Cuts stayed to watch the show, and the singer of The Constellations was right up front adding a dynamic that every performer needs, energy.
All in all it was a great show. A few cymbals fell during the performance and somehow in the anarchy that was the set, band members fell as well. If you were one of the unfortunate people that missed the show, you can follow Achalachia on Twitter for a play by play of the show until Achalachia hits the stage (sorry, cant do 2 things at once). And for show updates follow us on Facebook and MySpace as well as subscribe to our RSS Feed for Shows and News on Achalachia.com.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Tags: Cicero
First Show At The Library
Oct 1, 2009 News
So we had our first show at The Library and it’s definitely a venue I would like to play again. The sound is great, they installed nice new lights, the staff is helpful, the beer is cold, and because of the size of the room you would never know that it’s a smoking bar.
This was a last minute show, so that means we had to race to gather our gear and then race to get to the club at a reasonable time. In fact, I’m quite impressed with the band, we were able to pack all of our gear and get to the club in about an hour.
We arrived at the club around 6:30 Wednesday evening and began the long process of loading our gear in, and that’s when I remembered, The Library has tons of stairs to climb to get in the doors, which is the only draw back to the club that I’ve found. We lugged our 300 pounds worth of gear up the stairs without complaint because of the mild excitement of playing a new club. Moving as fast as we could so we could set up and open the show.
As we were loading in, The Library was finishing up the installation of their new lighting system. Which, once I saw the lights in action, I thought they looked amazing. We spoke with Sheri, the booking manager, and got settled in. She seemed grateful that we came to help out the club because of the dropout of another band.
One thing I will never understand is why a band would skip out on a show after they have confirmed. I understand that shit happens and things come up, but it seems like every time we play a show there is always a band missing.
I recognized a few of the bands from The Library’s open house, even one that wasn’t playing but just came out to support us, Common Era. I was really cool of them, apparently they were asked to play the show as well but couldn’t (so they didn’t confirm), but were curious of who was playing. When they found out we took the spot they came out.
As for the actual show, it wasn’t a crowded night, but a decent turnout for a Wednesday, and as usual, we rock the house. From a bands perspective, you could hear everything clearly through the monitors. From the crowd response, it must have sounded pretty good out there because people seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was told after the set, by a friend who goes to nearly every show, that the sound was better than most clubs.
Adam commented later, “One of the coolest parts for me was looking towards the backstage area while we were playing and only seeing some guy’s foot tapping along with Fellow.”
The way the stage is set up at The Library and the building is designed, people can be on any side of the stage. There is a loft area that wraps around the stage and the band room underneath that. Occasionally, someone on the loft behind the stage would talk to us during the set, and they let us know it sounded great up there as well. And it was really cool to have the other bands watching from behind the stage. I thought it really added to the experience, and at least for me, made the show better.
We finished our 40 minute set, unloaded our gear, and prepared to watch the other bands rock. The way the stage is designed, it makes it quick and easy for band transitions. Meaning there is less waiting for the audience. Meaning you get more music for your money. And the music is why you went to the venue in the first place.
All-in-all, The Library in Historic Soulard is an awesome venue to play and also being a local music fan, it’s a great place to see music. No matter if we are playing there or not, I suggest anyone interested in local music to visit The Library at least once and make up their own mind.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Tags: Last Minute Shows, Show Review, The Library
