Dedicating a few paragraphs here to a band like Volumen is a kind of ridiculous thing in a number of ways, here's why: I can't think of any other Missoula band over the last roughly 20 years that inspired the same kind of love, had the same kind of weird pockets of mostly upper-teenage boys willing to put duct tape Vs on themselves and offer their allegiance, and that's released as great a body of music. Like the Fireballs of Freedom, there are probably thousands of stories to go along with the band, and they're better told in person where the inflections, facial expressions, hand gestures, Prince impersonations all can get their due.
Volumen started at some point in the middle-latish '90s when childhood friends Shane Hickey and Doug Smith decided to end their Laramie, Wyoming band (Some Kind of Cream) and move to a weird mountain hamlet called Missoula, Montana. Shane and Doug used to play along with a drum machine, drew as much inspiration from Motherbaugh/Casale as they did Gene/Dean, and Bowie. Shane was and is a science fiction reader and Doug used to be a member of Up With People. Like a lot of bands without legitimate, human rhythm sections, their audience was "under capitalized."
Volumen a Total Fest IV in 2005.
Luck would intervene in the form of three individuals, Bryan Hickey, Bob Marshall and Chris Bacon who would help to form a five-piece band with five of the most psychically-meant-to-be-playing-music-together individuals that really I've ever encountered. From there, lots of things would happen in quick succession: They'd record their first official output, How Do You Spell, go on tour, and begin regularly playing at Jay's Upstairs often, using an ironing board as keyboard stand. That all would continue for a lot of years. They would purchase an old ambulance with a working light rack, install an Atari and drive it around, getting approximately 9 miles to the gallon. They'd regularly record, tour, play in Missoula, and around the region etc.
Food shopping in Estonia.
In 2002, at the urging of Bryan Giles from then Last of the Juanitas, now Red Fang (who said something like, "they're like the Beatles, man. You should put something out!"), I encouraged the band to go record with Tim Green in San Francisco, and released a kind of 30 minute mini-LP of their stuff called Cries From Space. I still love how Tim recorded them. In 2003, Andy Smetanka and I helped book/roadie for an Eastern European (Baltic) tour, that started in Finland and went as far south as Vilnius Lithuania. they learned the Finish and Latvian National Anthems and played them amazingly, in a highly-engineered (by Smetanka and me) attempt to win the interest of a stoic audiences. It turned out not to be terribly necessary, but was fun to watch regardless. As time went on lives became filled with different family and work responsibilities, and I don't know what the official word was, but they stopped playing much, and then altogether in 2009 about six years ago.
Volumen Army Recruits.
Like I said, Volumen inspired fan loyalty like I've never seen. And that loyalty translated to large audiences who'd regularly turn out for Volumen shows. They bankrolled the Baltic tour largely on money saved from shows. I think the fan loyalty can be attributed to simple things: 1) they're a really tight, well-rehearsed band with a great sense of melody 2) they're fun as hell to dance/sing/party along to. When I decided this would be the last Total Fest a few months ago, I also decided that having Volumen play it would help it go out with the kind of bang I wanted. Volumen played the first Total Fest in 2002, and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to ask them to consider it. Luckily, they said yes!
Some stats:
-Number of people officially enrolled in the Volumen Army: 54
-Last time in Estonia: 2003.
-Last album: Skipper of Reverses (2009)
-Last show, April 28, 2009.
-# of Volumen-owned/operated businesses that directly support Total Fest: 4
And may we be so bold as to suggest that as a Total Fest show-goer, 1) you're the beneficiary of a pretty solid heap of Missoula-flavored community support; and 2) you can show your support by showing our supporters your support in return.
Frankly, you'll be getting better pizza/beer/coffee/clothes/cheez-steaks/books/katanas in the process, and you'll be showing some appreciation for the killer local businesses that make Total Fest all-ages, and possible at all. Each Total Fest poster lists the businesses that help Total Fest happen, so if you're from here or not, and like what Total Fest is/does, please vote with your wallet!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
BOARDS, CLOTHES AND SMILES: MISSOULA'S EoW SHREDS TOTAL FEST
One of the great things about the Missoula businesses that help support Total Fest is that many of them are owned and fronted by some of the same people who help craft the landscape of Missoula's music scene. Edge of the World is one of the handfuls of sponsors whose manager Chris Bacon is not only a fixture of Missoula's punk past and present (Volumen, Bacon & Egg) but also is on the front lines of Missoula and Montana's skateboarding / snowboarding culture. It's a hard gig to maintain, but Edge of the World and BOMB Sk8boards puts their best feet forward to provide a statewide support network for boarders, while also keeping them in some of the finest duds this side of the Mississippi. If you're in need of anything, you should consider stopping by EoW and having them help you equip yourself before saddling yourself into the recliner that has seen better days and perusing the internet for a quick fix.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
BACON AND EGG: SIZZLING TOTAL FEST The dudes of Bacon and Egg are a known quantity in these parts. Chris Bacon's been the president of the Missoula Skatepark Association since it's inception, and helped them raise over a million dollars to build our town's skatepark. Bacon plays keys and yelps in Volumen, and runs our skateshop, Edge of the World, too. Bob Marshall's the man behind the best Pizza in the west, Biga Pizza. Bob's also the drummer in Volumen. They've been in Missoula bands collectively for probably around 30 years.
Bacon and Egg is the band that grew out to the fact that once Volumen practices end, these guys wanted to continue rocking, and work out some of their own songs in the process. It's an excellent drum-machine driven, church keyboard fortified, guitar-blaze, replete with double vocal duties, songs about the malls and dirt bikes of their youths, and a hell of a lot of fun.
