You know that old joke, right? Another version: “You can take the bar band band out of the bar but … wait, no you can’t.” The New York Times profiled Brooklyn’s best bar band, starting at Momofuku’s Noodle Bar, where Franz and Tad debated the edibility of kelp and plankton, before moving to the East Village’s Hi-Fi where bassist Galen Polivka can be seen slinging PBR on rock trivia night.
Walking around the corner to Hi Fi, where Mr. Polivka tends bar between tours, the guys erupted in laughter when their song ?Stuck Between Stations? began playing.…
In a few days, the band would head out on a brief national tour. Though their schedule is picking up speed, the members have yet to quit their day jobs ? among them photo assistant and auto mechanic.
?We?ll stay on the road for as long as possible,? said Mr. Finn, taking off his black glasses and squinting at the neon light emanating from a nearby jukebox, ?so we don?t have to go back to real work.?
Bet your Budweiser we’re looking into doing a Quit Your Day Job with them. Who knew they STILL worked? Guess that amassing stockpiles of positive press and selling more records than your previous efforts combined — “52,000 and counting” — still ain’t enough to pay the bills. Next time you see ‘em out, buy ‘em a beer. Or at least leave ‘em a nice tip.
[Franz and Galen at The Hold Steady's show @ Irving Plaza 10/1/06.]
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I wish the best for these guys, and I also wish they’d remain a best kept secret. I wonder if Lifter Puller records will start seeing an upswing in sales (if you can still find them) once these guys break out massively. Anyone willing to put a bet down on whether they’ll be playing SNL this year?
Craig said that a Lifter Puller box set is in the works, but I haven’t heard any news about it in a while.
I have to admit that when I was at Hi-Fi Saturday night I punched in “Stevie Nix” on the jukebox so if anyone heard it around 3AM (about when I assume it got played, I moved on before then) I was responsible for it.
I would love to see them on SNL, but I’m not holding my breath.
it’s SO hilarious when the bar you work at sometimes plays your music when you happen to show up with the NY Times
HAHAHA
YOU GUYS KILL ME
*end this band now please*
That comment was funny, but not “ha ha” funny.
(in the theme of not mentioning who this band even is except for in the small photo caption…)
I wish this band would release some more good records. Their last was terrible.
Also, Lifter Puller broke up for a reason. They were a shitty (nee, practice) version of this band. Though, without LP, they would have never come to be, so I guess I can’t talk too much shit.