So, I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted a blog, and for that, all I can do other than to blame myself is to blame my bandmates, who don’t like to write much more than music.  If you’d like to hear about The Superficials from one of the three other perspectives in the band, then please, let us know.  I’m hoping that your petition may one day result in an op-ed by Matthew Togger, but I’m not holding my breath.  Needless to say, the following will once again be penned by the lowly bassist, and I shall chronicle the first part of his week for you now.  The second part will come later, and shall be entitled “Our Street Team is Made up of Street People”.

The tale begins long ago (last Tuesday) in a place far, far away (east Nashville)… We were slated to play on inauguration night at The 5 Spot, which had us slightly concerned, as we hadn’t been in touch with the proprietors in a while, and it was to be an unseasonably frigid weeknight on the east side of town.  These fears were allayed quickly, however, as our friends Leslie Dysinger and Quinlan showed up to perform, with fans in tow.  The show began in a lovely fashion, with Leslie performing her consummate folky songs to a room of courteous listeners.  Then, Quinlan took the stage with his ultra-hep band, rocking away with a style akin to Coldplay, but better.

As we took the stage and tuned up, an intoxicated woman approached us and asked if she could take the mic to make a “very important announcement”.  We obliged, and she quieted the audience by paging her boyfriend.  Once she found him, she then utterly silenced the crowd by asking for his hand in marriage.  After what seemed like 2 minutes of an uneasy stillness, the blitzed beau finally capitulated (probably out of fear embarrassment), and seizing that immediate opportunity, Tripp chunked out the chords of our first song.  

It seemed like a typical set.  Unbeknownst to us, the soon-to-be newlywed couple had managed to accrue a bar tab that would’ve put Nick Nolte to shame, and unfortunately had not one, but both of their credit cards declined, which resulted in their subsequent ejection from the tavern.  After we’d finished, I walked over to the area where the performers had placed their stuff, and sought out my coat, which oddly was nowhere to be found.  I thought “Could someone have really walked out with my coat (and the shirt that was sitting on top of it)?”  Of course, the reactions elicited from my friends were typical, “Nobody took your jacket…I’m sure you just lost it…Have you been drinking?”  Eventually, I’d searched the whole place, and even asked Todd (the owner) if he might’ve seen it.  No luck.  Then, Tripp suggested that it might’ve been accidentally picked up by Quinlan, who was now at the bar next door enjoying a beverage or two.  So, I make the cold trek to the Red Door Saloon, and naively ask Quinlan if he’s seen my coat.  He responds (in the cordial tone one uses when celebrating a good gig):

“No friend, I have not seen your jacket. BUT I WILL HELP YOU FIND IT…and if we can’t find it, I have an extra jacket that you can borrow.”


 I told him that it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted on coming with me back to The 5 Spot.  I watched as he nobly scoured the bar just as I had done minutes earlier, and as before, no jacket appeared.  Then, he walked over to an empty table, picked up another coat on a barstool, and said, “Here!  Here’s my extra jacket!” insisting that I put it on immediately.

Now, it was obvious that Quinlan and I aren’t of the same physical stature, but despite this concession, the coat still felt strange.  Coming up to my chest and puffing out, it felt like a lifejacket with sleeves.  When I expressed my concern, Quinlan was quick to ignore it, and told me numerous times that the jacket I was donning was very “expensive” and “sexy.”  He also kindly told me to keep it “as long as I need it.”

Shortly thereafter, we began to pack up our equipment.  As we brought our gear out of the back door into the small parking lot, I noticed that the brown shirt I’d laid atop my missing coat was lying on the asphalt.  This served as confirmation that I hadn’t merely misplaced my coat, because I had not been outside behind the club since well before the show.  Now that my theft accusation had been proven correct, Matthew and I searched the area to see if it hadn’t been thrown in a dumpster of something like that.

Needless to say, my coat had gone the way of the buffalo.  I thought to myself, “Oh well, I hope whoever took it needed it more than me.”  Then I realized that it was 20 degrees outside and couldn’t think of anyone who needed a jacket more than me at that particular moment.  The funny part, however, is how long it took me to realize that the zipper on the vest I was wearing that Quinlan picked up off of the barstool was on the “wrong side.”

Yes indeed, Quinlan had outfitted me in an “expensive and sexy” ladies’ jacket…and yes, I wore it all the way home.  Of course, when we got back to the bungalow, we were all in hysterics about the whole thing.  Did Quinlan own a ladies’ jacket?  Was he just trying to do a good deed?  Or was he completely messing with me?  The World may never know.  Or I could just ask him next time I see him.  After all, he does live right down the street from us.

Just like on Friday, we woke up pretty early on Saturday, and it was essentially the same drill.  Of course, afterwards, we sat at the bar for a bit, where we met a few interesting people.  I noticed a guy two stools down who looked somewhat familiar.  He was the Roland product specialist at the event.  As we got to talking, we not only found out that CJ (Craig Jones) is from ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Nashville, but that he's pals with our producer, and we've partied together right next door to our house. It's interesting to travel 3,000 miles across the country just to have someone sit next to you at a bar that's literally been in your backyard...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

It wasn't until we got back to Hollywood that night that the most interesting thing happened, however.  While were trying to get back to Raj's, I noticed that traffic was slower on Hollywood Blvd. than it usually is.  This totally sucked, since we were both so tired (Paul was literally struggling to keep his eyes awake), and we'd already been driving for an hour.  As we crept towards the intersection at Highland, all of a sudden a bunch of LAPD in riot gear came out of nowhere, and proceeded to force us onto Franklin Boulevard.  Right as we were about to turn, we heard this incredible roar coming from down the hill, and from our left, thousands of protesters, angry at the passage of California Prop. 8 (a ban on same-sex marriage), flooded the intersection and succeeded in shutting Hollywood Blvd. down.  It took us another half-hour to make it to Raj's, where Paul immediately proceeded to crash on the couch. 

 

It was at this point when Raj told me that there were more friends awaiting us at a bar a few blocks away that wanted to meet me.  It was one of those I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead moments.  I told him about what was going on in the streets, which served to fuel our interest in heading out even more.  When we got down to Hollywood and Highland (which we had to cross to get to the bar), the police had already marked off the perimeter, clubs drawn and helmets on, and would not let us pass.  There were more cops than I have ever seen in one place, EVER.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there were at least 50 cruisers parked on our side of the street, another 50 or so motorcycles, even more LAPD on bicycles, a S.W.A.T. van, TWO helicopters in the air (which Angelinos affectionately call ghetto birds), 4 or 5 unmarked Dodge Chargers, and two golf carts on steroids.  As we stood there contemplating what to do next, things were getting tense.  I remember not only protesters shouting things at the cops, but locals on the other side of the police line getting angry. 

 

Not long afterwards, Raj remembered a back alley that we could try to use to get around the cops.  Surprisingly, it worked, and we noticed that two officers on bicycles came to shut the alley down right behind us.  Then we realized that we'd inadvertently landed right in the middle of the protesters.  Then, as if in a movie, we heard yet another roar coming from the direction of downtown.  Soon, hundreds more protesters came to join the others.  As soon as they came into each others view, there was a deafening cacophony of jubilation.  Now, realizing that our chances of a successful rendezvous were slim, Raj and I decided to remain in the thick of the action, to watch the events unfold. 

 

The air was absolutely electric.  It was nothing like I'd seen before, and it felt like at any minute anything could happen…the protesters might disperse, the cops might start shooting tear gas, no one could tell.  Like a moron, I forgot my camera, but Raj snapped a picture on his cell phone that I've included in our photo gallery.  The photo really doesn't do the situation justice, however.  The same goes for the news footage.  I'm sure many of you saw reports about the protests, but I saw no film accurately representing the sheer amount of lethal force present.  It was frightening, and a little disconcerting for me, as I don't really like to see heads getting cracked anywhere, especially in my homeland.

 

Luckily, no heads were cracked that I saw, and after a couple of hours things started to die down.  Raj and I walked into a place with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves décor, had a couple of brews, and headed back.

Because we had to be at the airport somewhat early, we didn't manage to make it back for the conference on Sunday.  Instead, we woke up, watched some of the Titans game (we got to see the rest at the airport…good thing about L.A., no NFL team, and nobody wants to watch Oakland, so they broadcast the Tennessee game there) and got a quick bite to eat.  On the way back, Paul rued that he hadn't the opportunity to take many pictures.  Unfortunately, our route didn't bring us by a whole lot of famous landmarks, but I suggested he take pictures from the car as we rode down La Cienaga Boulevard.  So, if you were wondering about most of the pics in the gallery, well, that's when they were taken.

 

All in all, it's really too soon to tell if the contacts we made at Taxi will be of any benefit in the future, but at the moment, it feels pretty good (In addition reuniting with NIAYH, LaFaMos Publicity has expressed interest in working with us).  Nonetheless, visiting good friends, eating the best Mexican food ever, and seeing an unprecedented spectacle on Saturday night was enough to make it all worthwhile as far as I'm concerned.  

A couple of weeks ago, Paul and I went as envoys to a conference called the Taxi Road Rally.  If you're not familiar with Taxi, it bills itself as "The World's Leading Independent A&R Company".  It's kind of like a club songwriters join to hock their intangible wares.  Basically, you pour through their "leads", send your stuff to things that fit your style, and wait for them to tear your beautiful new opus apart.  As you can imagine, 2,400 starving artists crowded into the LAX Westin can make for some interesting occurrences. 

When we got there, I was already dog tired.  I'd had something like 3 hours of sleep the night before, and I've always had trouble sleeping on planes.  I have no idea why.  Anyway, we got into town sometime around 10:30 in the morning, which gave us essentially the only real "down time" we had for our whole visit.  As we waited to meet our good friend Raj Sharma and the generous people at WEA Music in Burbank, Paul and I decided to head to a virtually deserted Venice Beach, where we enjoyed a liquid lunch and I bought a cheap substitute for the sunglasses I had so foolishly left behind in Nashville.  The best part was when Paul asked the diminutive Asian proprietor about their "return policy".  (He laughed in our faces)

Not long after piquing our appetites with the beverage Ben Franklin touted as proof that "God loves us and wants to be happy",  we decided it would be in our best interest to eat…and when I'm in L.A. and don't have much money, I head for one place…that's right, In-N-Out Burger.  We ended up at the one on Sunset in Hollywood, the one where Paris Hilton got a DUI.  It was still busy at 2:30 in the afternoon, but since Paul had never before ingested the greasy ambrosia that is the Double Double with Cheese, it was well worth it.  In fact, I'm could really go for INOB right now.  It's too bad we don't have them here, because I'm sure they would be uber-successful: A Christian Company in the buckle of the Bible belt serving fried food?  I mean, come on.  Someone needs to look into franchise information. 

After a meeting with Raj (whom I call by a corruption of his name, because that's the first way I learned it) at WEA, we did the very out-of-towner thing of trekking all the way back to LAX, to check in for the conference.  By the time we get there, we take our place in the back of line composed of hundreds of people who all look like they're sussing each other out.  It was a good thing that we were in the spot we were, because we soon met a couple of super nice guys from Wisconsin who'd been to these events before and kind of gave us the skinny on how the weekend would go.  It kept us from discounting the entire event and hauling ass out to Joshua Tree.

After we registered, we made the same long drive to Hollywood to crash at Raj's pad.  Although we were still fatigued, the excitement of Hollywood was too much to ignore, and we ended up having Margaritas while watching the action on the cluttered sidewalks.  Again, it didn't look like I was going to end up with much sleep.

Surprisingly, we had very little trouble getting up Friday morning.  We managed to get down to the conference on time, and spent the bulk of the day in seminars.  It soon became apparent to me that if there were any good contacts to be made, they would probably occur at the hotel bar.  We resolved to devote Saturday night to that endeavor.  The cool thing was when I noticed a big black bus with the words "NOW IS ALL YOU HAVE" written along the side.  The band, abbreviated NIAYH, ironically shared the same stage with us at Hempfest in Seattle two months ago.  It was great seeing them again.  We swapped CD's, which led to a mutual admiration, and we fully expect to make beautiful things happen when they roll through Tennessee this April.

When the day was done, we once again returned to Hollywood, where Raj insisted that we meet some work pals in Los Feliz at a place called Mexico City.  Bar none, the best Mexican food I've ever had.  For all of my friends who visit Los Angeles in the future, remember Mexico City.  You'll thank me for it.   

Hi friends,
Last night, as the votes were coming in, we were putting the finishing touches on our new studio recorded demo. Jim Lightman, who helped us make Lights sound so good, engineered and produced.
If you've seen us play, these songs aren't new to you but they are the first studio recordings of our current lineup. So yes, that is Matthew Togger on drums, not Erik or myself filling in (which we did on Lights while looking for a new drummer...).
The new tracks are "Five Days," "Somehow," and "Girl Don't You Slow It." The new, improved, full band versions are ready for your listening pleasure! Hope you all enjoy and let us know what you think!
Hope to see all you Nashville cats at the Basement on the 25th!

Tripp

Before I begin, I want to let you know that we're playing two shows pretty soon.  The first is tomorrow night (10/17) at Cafe Coco in Nashville.  We're only playing from 7-10 though, because we want to make it home to watch our pals Tim Montana and Jim Lightman appear as music guests on David Letterman.  

The second show will be the following Wednesday (10/22) at The End right down the street from Coco.  We'll be starting up around 11pm.

So anyway, I've always been aware of the warnings given with regards to posting personal information on the internet.  We've all read media accounts of people getting fired for posting compromising things online, and the worst part is that once it's on the web, it stays on the web.

Some of you may have noticed that Google recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.  In honor of this, they invited folks to search the oldest archives they have, which went back to 2001.  Naturally, being the narcisssist I am, I decided to search for "The Superficials" (by the way, "Sarah Palin" yielded absolutely no results), and here's what came up first.  It's an "interview" that I have absolutely no recollection of doing.  It looks like it's from the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, NC, and it contains a lot of stuff that I'm sure I didn't say (i.e. "playing pool" and "looking for trouble").  However, it contains enough info that I'm sure I had to have spoken with someone, I just can't remember it.  If any of you out there remember an "LP17" TV show from 2000 back in Raleigh, please let me know, I'd really like to find out who I talked to.

ABOUT THE BAND

We generally dig music. There's not a whole lot else we enjoy doing. -- Erik Lang, of the Superficials.

The Superficials is a Charlotte-based Rock/Pop band. The band is made up of Erik Lang, guitarist, bassist and vocals, and Tripp Hewell, guitarist, bassist and vocalist.

Lang described the group. "Our music is best described by what it's not. A lot of our music crosses genres. In general, we have a genre but a lot of our stuff is different. We have performed everything from Country, Rock, Blues, Funk and R&B."

The two musicians attended high school together and were in a band called the Vox Pops. After they graduated, their band was signed to Delusion Records and began touring, until the other band members went off to school. It was then that Lang and Hewell paired up, and stared to write and play together.

"We wrote soft pop music and made it into our side project and it blossomed into our main focus. We cut a demo and began playing around North Carolina, Ohio and New York," said Lang.

While chatting with a former band member of the Vox Pops, Lang came up with the name the "Superficials." Said Lang, "We were talking about how we could make ourselves [Vox Pops] more marketable. Pate jokingly suggested that we dress up like a boy band, change our name to the Superficials, and just do it for the chicks."

Lang explains to LP17.com why he enjoys music. "I used to like if for the money and the fame, but we generally dig music. There's not a whole lot else we enjoy doing. It's kind of cool. We now have some hard core fans. Just the idea that we can write something people can identify with is cool."

The Superficials write about traditional topics like love, but also like to write about other topics. "We have written parodies about cheerleaders, the state of Louisiana and past experiences with Texas police. I have been writing songs that aren't really happy. They are upbeat, but unhappy. If you listen to my songs, you would think I was bitter about something, but that's not the case. Tripp's songs are a lot more upbeat and happier."

The band was voted "Best New Band" in Charlotte by Creative Loafing, Charlotte's local arts and entertainment paper. They have also attended the South by Southwest Conference in Texas. The guys also are currently planning a trip to London to record some new material and are featured in an independent film called The Good Life, which is premiering in Philadelphia this month.

Their music is influenced by a range of musicians. "I'm influenced by The Beatles, Elliot Smith, Stevie Wonder, Radiohead, and Simon and Garfunkle. Tripp likes more modern bands like the Counting Crows and Belle and Sebastian," says Lang.

Lang has made his music first priority and has decided to put college on hold. But he is reevaluating his decision. "College has been a question on my mind recently. I'm twenty and Tripp is eighteen. Our age is an issue, and I have been thinking 'what should I be doing.' But I'd rather try music and fail, than not have tried at all, and sit in my room eating pizza wondering what that trip to London what have been like."

The Superficials feel they are different from other bands because of their acoustic style. Said Lang, "We don't fit a common rock genre. Our music focuses a lot on the words we say. Some bands get a groove and the words don't really matter. We write narratives and pay more attention to our lyrics." The Superficials have recently been compared to the band Fastball, which Lang somewhat agrees with.

In their travels, the Superficials have encountered some interesting situations. "We went to Texas to perform, and on the way back to North Carolina, our friends got arrested and thrown in jail. It was pretty funny. They were thrown in a 'Mayberry' jail that had a picture of Boss Hogg on the wall. They had to spend the night there with all of the Saturday night D.U.I's, and a guy that got kicked in the face by a cow, who kept passing out and yelling 'Where's my dogs?' And a lady that broke her hand beating on the wall," said Lang. This experience inluenced them to write a song about the event.

Lang and Hewell enjoy hanging out together. Lang tells LP17.com, "We like playing pool, watching movies, looking for trouble, hanging with friends, and going to live shows and concerts." Lang also enjoys producing in his spare time. "Charlotte has a big gospel scene. I have worked with Al, who plays bass with the Staple Singers. I find producing interesting. I'm not real technical but like creative input. Also, I have always thought I would make a pretty all right manager, too."

The members of the Superficials have learned from other bands about stage performance. Lang shares an experience that changed their outlook on themselves. "We played in Charlotte for a bunch of high school kids that loved us. The next weekend, we went to Atlanta, and saw a band called Flinch. After we saw them perform and watched their stage performance, we realized we didn't have any. It also made us realize that we weren't as good as we thought we were."

Lang advises any band to move to a location where their band will be heard and will get some exposure. He also says, "Do what makes you happy. Do what you enjoy and don't join a band for the wrong reasons."

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

The guys are leaving to record in England on November 22. They are planning to play the circuit and get some international exposure.

So, there it is.  more proof that nothing on the internet disappears. 

-Erik

Oh man oh man!
We just found out yesterday that we've been selected to play Seattle Hempfest!!!!!
It will be held August 16-17 at Myrtle Edwards Park on the beautiful Seattle waterfront.

Please check out the website to find out more about the festival and the cause.

Norm Stamper, former Seattle Police Chief, speaks at Hempfest

That's right, it's finally here!

Thursday night is the Lights release show at the Rutledge!

Just thought we'd share some cool things going on this week.

Tonight, from 7-9 (central), we'll be interviewed about the album and show on Radio Free Nashville. You can listen to a live stream on their site.

And on Thursday, if you happen to be one of our many friends and family members living (or traveling) elsewhere, you can watch the show live online at The Rutledge. The show should be getting started around 8:30.

And for those of you here in Nashville, or close enough for a quick road trip, we can't wait to see you Thursday. It's 10 dollars to get into the show, but get this, you get a copy of the album with admission. Pretty sweet, huh? And since we in the Superficials understand, if you simply can't afford a 10 dollar show, let us know, we'll work something out. Without you, the party's just not the same :)

See you Thursday! Can't Wait!
Tripp

Oh man, oh man are we ever excited. I know we've been saying for a while now that Lights is on the way. In fact, I believe we even said January. And it would be nice if I could say it was still going to be sometime in January, but we've had some very exciting developments in the last few days that are going to make this album so much better than we had ever expected.

We may have mentioned to some of you that a recording studio is being built in the house right next door to us. Well, the gentleman building that studio, Mr. Jim Lightman, has agreed to mix and master the album for us. Last night, we went in and got the first song mixed and let me tell you, it will be soooo worth the wait. We all left the studio last night feeling giddy. I swear the first song sounds radio ready and for a home recording, that's pretty mind-blowing.

So, just wanted to let you all know the news and say it's gonna take a little longer, but rest assured it is getting done.

The other big news is that we will definitely be recording in the studio later this year. And let me tell you, I simply cannot wait. If he can make our home recordings sound this good, the studio work is going to be incredible. So, like we said about a week ago, this year is going to be exciting to say the least.

Just a little reminder for you Nashvillians that we're playing Cafe Coco this Friday night (the 18th). Our friends Sabrina and Loney Ayres are also playing. The show should start around 7 and be over around 10, so come on out and we can all party afterwards. 10 on a Friday night, we should all just be getting started, right? Hope to see you there!

Tripp

And so we find ourselves in 2008,

And we find the song of the month is one week late,

And so this month, we give you two,

One from Lights and one brand new.

Okay, I'm done with the elementary rhyme sceme. Hope everyone is doing well out there. We're still hoping to get Lights out sometime this month. If anyone is getting too antsy, let us know. You can always stop by the Bungalow and have your own personal listening party, hehe. I mean, I'm just saying...

Ah, but that doesn't help you out-of-towners, does it? Okay, okay. We'll get it done soon, we promise :)

2008 should be a great year for the Superficials. As I already mentioned, we're releasing Lights, our latest home-recorded album and we're gearing up to record a studio album. Exciting things are in store and we intend to keep you all updated.

For all you Nashvillians, we're playing Cafe Coco Friday, Jan. 18th and plan to debut some new material. Hope to see you there.

Much Love

Tripp