Eyes Lips Eyes Final Show - Part 2

After some years of performing randomly at parties they decided to expand it to a full band in 2004/2005. They added Adam Orton (bass) and Trevor Goss (drums). Their first show as an official band was at a Mexican restaurant.  About 20 people who were mostly friends or family of the band showed up. Tony was so juiced full of energy that on the opening song he proceeded to break the microphone stand after the first 20 seconds.

Performance at OZZ in Provo

After that first show I knew that a lot of people would hesitate to dance to their music, so I took it upon myself to dance the entire show no matter if anyone came up with me or not. (there were quite a few shows where I was by myself the whole time) I remember one show at a place called Steamers, that hosted mostly hardcore metal bands. The ceiling had blood on it from the night before.  The only audience was me, the owner and I think one other person. One thing that I remember telling Spencer a long time ago was to always play a great, energetic show no matter what, as if there were 500 moshing people in the room. For the most part that's exactly what they did. I had to dance around to get them going sometimes of course.                                                                                                                                                            

The picture might actually be from Steamers

This went on for about a little over a year, playing random shows, gaining a following, but not a serious one. Tony would still roam the crowd and try and embarrass and do what he could to make people uncomfortable. He was very energetic, but a bit raw.

 After a while it seemed apparent that they needed a change in order to be taken seriously.  The song writing needed to be sharpened, their performances needed to be tightened and basically needed to start from scratch.  Tony informed the drummer (Trevor) that his services were no longer needed after taking him out for a milkshake. Adam (bass) left on his own. It was back to the original duo once again in the fall of 2006. It would take them a year before they reformed. During this time, Tony and Spencer both wrote. Their approach was more serious, more edgy but still fun and energetic. They met their new drummer Thomas Carroll) the year before when they had played a battle of the bands the year before and he was playing for a different band. He was impressed with the band and agreed to join. The bassist was harder to find. Spencer knew a classmate name Aaron Hatch but hadn't really played bass before. He quickly learned before their first show in the fall of 2007. They also added a backup singer and someone to help compliment Tony, this was Hilary Hathaway.

 Their first show was at a house party. They only had a handful of prepared songs but you could tell that this was different. The crowd responded very positively to it, they weren't confused on what had just happened. They were no longer a joke band. This was very exciting for me personally. The next show that I remember was the battle of the bands at Muse Music in Provo. Their set was packed with people wanting to dance. They first song was Hola May which was on the first song that the full band had written together. It was their most edgy song to date with a driving bass and punchy guitar hook.  They wanted me and another friend to wave some flashlights around at the band which kind of turned out cool.  The crowd thought so as well as they were chosen as the winners.

Their was some reluctance to go full electric acoustic since they had always been acoustic, but Spencer added a little pickup on the original guitar that gave it a very unique sound. He also remained sitting which I thought was really cool and unique. No other band did that. No bands banged the crap out of garbage can, beat to death a little tikes mini piano, use the little piano to beat the garbage can to death and use a diving flipper as an instrument. Their whole approach was very refreshing.

 I went to every show no matter what.  I loved the energy they brought, it was kind of addicting to me.   I've been made fun of for being the "#1 fan" but I didn't really care.  I loved the music.

After the success of the the battle of the bands, it kind of put them on the map as a legitimate band in the valley.  They would often open for other bands and wear the crowd out for the headliner.

                   --- To be continued---

Eyes Lips Eyes Final Show

A couple of weeks ago, the band Eyes Lips Eyes announced their final show, which is Oct 4th at Velour. This has brought a lot of different emotions from me. I am related directly to the band as the guitar player Spencer is my brother and the lead singer, Tony, is my cousin. It was always really cool to have a band that I really enjoyed the music of but also that I knew and was related to. It made the experience very exciting and it didn't help that a lot of the music that they created was fun and the shows they played were some of the more energetic and fun shows I've ever experienced. I'd love to go through the the beginning years when Elizabethan Report was just Spencer and Tony and on through the middle years and on to the end. This is just a short biographical view of the band from my perspective.

 Elizabethan Report was created as joke almost. Tony wanted to start writing as a sort of a college writing project for a class he was taking. Tony was 22 and Spencer was 18, just fresh out of high school in 2002. Already in a band himself, Spencer, an already phenom at the bass wanted to improve his guitar skills. I had received an acoustic guitar for Christmas several years previous and had never used, so Spence scooped that up to use. Spencer and Tony came up with their first song, "BYU Accousa-rock" to play at parties. This was in mockery of the number of
mediocre acoustic-rock BYU bands that littered the area at the time, the use of an acoustic guitar to woo women at parties, and to poke fun at some at BYU's honor code rules. This grew from one song to a few songs with Tony writing all of the lyrics and Spencer writing all of the melodies on the guitar. Tony's lyrics were often morbid, poetic, with a lot of alliteration involved, with odd phrases and words.  Spencer's melodies were fast and aggressive to fill all of the space with no bass or drums.  One song, named "Brassy Fist" had a fun, mellow melody throughout the song until the finale when it erupts into a hardcore death-metal rock ballad growling and yelling at the crowd and then stopping and exclaiming "love" at the end which seemed to always.  My favorite among the early writings was Invasive Orange and Carolina's Cut as the songs seemed to be more lively and a cut above the rest.  Watching Spence play the guitar on Carolina's Cut live at break neck speeds was a sight to see.  As with a lot of live performances, songs are sped up and I couldn't believe he could play and strum so fast.  I was always amazed.


 Instead of just singing, Tony decided to add another element, which was to get in people's faces and make them as uncomfortable as possible. I remember a specific party that was held at my parents house which involved a bunch of my married friends. Spencer and Tony showed up and decided to serenade the group with a song or two. This was a pretty conservative group that wasn't really excited to have Tony licking their faces and grinding up on them. The room had 15 or so people to begin and by the end of their second song the room was empty except for me. There was a lot of apologizing afterward, but I loved it.

 -To be continued-

Mixtape Friday

Its been a while since my last post, but I threw together a mix that I hope you'll enjoy it.  A little sun splashed Indie pop to enjoy the last of the summer weather before the cooler fall weather comes.

Mixtape Friday

Even though I'm no longer in school, its hard not to have some nostalgia when the end of summer is here and school is starting and you look up in the mountains and see some color changes. It was a season of change literally with the weather but also with the new people you would see, the new classes you had, a new grade you were in. It was a really fun time, but it was also a little nerve wracking with all the unfamiliarity and unknown around you. I have a strong association with some music when school started. I've made a mix tape in honor of those seasons of change, which include songs I remember listening to when I was in high school and early college (bear in mind that some of these are guilty pleasures that are only listened to for pure nostalgia reasons) to some that remind me of those times. Boyz II Men, Amy Grant, Paula Abdul, Jesus Jones and REM's Shining Happy People....all of these songs remind me of not being able to go to sleep the days before school (I think i was going into middle school at the time) and the radio station KISN 97.1 played these songs over and over....and over again it seemed.  Anyway, enjoy.

Beck in Concert

Tonight I will be seeing Beck in Concert for the first time.  I've been looking forward to one of his concerts for the past 18 years.  I would consider Beck my musical idol.  His style, his talent, his song writing, just everything about him is awesome.  This is the first time he's toured through Utah in 14 or 15 years.  The last time he was here was in support of the Midnight Vultures tour back in 1999 or 2000 which would have been crazy awesome to see.

I've wondered what my ultimate Beck concert would be if I were to see him live. It appears that he's been playing about 20-22 songs per concert from the previous shows on this tour.  So I've compiled my ultimate Beck concert playlist.  Bear in mind this playlist is not reasonable.  They are simply songs that I would love to hear live.





1.  F###in with my head
2. Mixed Bizness
3. Elevator Music
4. Tropicailia
5. Dead Weight
6. Diamond Bullocks
7. Que' Onda Guero
8. Nicotine and Gravy
9. Hot Wax
10. Soul Suckin' Jerk
11. Jack-Ass
12. Think I'm in Love
13. Bottle of Blues
14. Broken Train
15. The Golden Age
16. Sissyneck
17. Beer Can
18. E-Pro
19. Where It's At

Encore:

20. Devil's Haircut
21. New Pollution
22. Debra

Here is the actual songs if you want to listen to it.  I hope to follow up this post with a concert review.

Mixtape Friday

Well its August.  No matter how long I've been out of school, I still get that feeling of school coming back in session, needing to go buy some new clothes and trapper keepers and pencils and pens.  The carefree days and nights coming to an end.  Nights are becoming a little cooler.....days are shortening.....the fall will be here in a month or so.  I hope this mix helps you reflect on the fun summer and the times ahead.

Summer's over from RubenFarr on 8tracks Radio.

Album Review: Eyes Lips Eyes

Well its been approximately two years since the last release of new music from Los Angeles' Eyes Lips Eyes.  After recording the album, the band had a long hiatus to pursue other individual music projects and tackle life challenges.  They have finally given their fans the long awaited swig of music.

The album 'Place to Be' was put out earlier today and for those that pledged during the Kickstarter for the album they received it a little earlier.


It starts out with familiar song 'Never Alone'.  For die-hard fans, this will be a song heard from years ago when they put out an album on their own.  It kicks into high gear and into new territory with the spastic and fun 'Itty Bitty' with its catchy 'ooo's' and 'aahhhh's'.

Their single 'Hollywood' is their most polished number that has a very catchy and bubbly guitar hook.  Their most recognizable song 'Tickle makes the cut as well with its jangley guitars and sing-able chorus.  The album then shifts into a different gear and drops the happy honey glazed tunes.

The next song, and my favorite from the album 'Old', brings its primal repetitive guitar riff coupled with a powerful driving bass crashing drums that make you want to jump around and throw chairs through walls....in the most positive way possible.  From that description you'd think its some Rage against the Machine rip off, but not so.  Although its not mellow, its not something that's out of control either.  Its theme is more contemplative as it speaks of the natural reflection of one's life thinking that "I'm old, I'm as old as I've ever been........and I'll never be this young again."  Here is the song below.  Take a listen, punch a brick wall with your bare fists.

The surprise of the album was 'Getting Late'.  The song's first five seconds leads you to believe that it will be another mellow pop song until hits the gas and doesn't stop.  Its a song that as dance-able as any out there.  The added element of the cow bell really keeps the party going throughout.

"A-OK is a simple speedy rocker that will have you yelling with the background singers during the chorus.  The final song "Language Lessons", its a late at night driver.  Its not something that you'll fall asleep to, but will keep you going with its echoed thumping bass that keeps the pace.  Mix that with the accented and atmospheric guitar hooks that add flavor and it'll have your foot tapping non-stop.

I've always considered Eyes Lips Eyes to be a live band that you must see live to gain the full experience, but this album you catch some very real glimpses of what that's like and it comes as close as you possibly can.