Dan Bell Goes For Fifty Show @ Rumba Cafe 2/7/2020

Since it's Templeton week here at the blog, it's good timing to mention the upcoming "Dan Bell Goes For Fifty" show at Rumba Cafe on March 7th. In addition to Templeton, Dan beat the skins for Punchbug, The Last Hotel, Stonevelvet, and Miranda Sound.

We Want Action Compilation

In 2003 We Want Action, the label run by Relay Recording put out a compilation documenting the various bands on the label or that had recorded at the studio. It's a great time-capsule of 2003 Columbus, with bands such as Tiara, Denovo, Kopaz, The Sun, Templeton, Silencio, Miranda Sound, Frotiva, 84 Nash and The Last Hotel all contributing tracks.

Video: If You Want My Love - Cheap Painters

Here's a fun nugget from Columbus music history past. At Workbook Studio, there was an ongoing in-house recording project called the "Cheap Painters," which was doing Cheap Trick songs in the style of the Red House Painters. In this case, it's Dan Gerken and Billy Peake of Miranda Sound, along with Neal Schmitt of Workbook and Pretty Mighty Mighty, and Jay Macke.

 

Video: Fight by Miranda Sound at Independents' Day 2017

Denver Post: Ohio’s Miranda Sound puts its angst to work

When Miranda Sound was active, they were active, as in getting around the country. When they released their self-titled album in 2008, they toured out west. Here is part of an article from the Denver Post:

Billy Peake and Dan Gerken do little to dismiss the notion that the best art is made under conditions of duress. 

It’s a cliché for a reason, as countless musicians have found inspiration in the physical and emotional threshing of their lives. 

Peake and Gerken, who share singer/guitarist duties in the Ohio post-punk quartet Miranda Sound, will tell you their new record better reflects their onstage sound, that it’s a culmination of their nearly eight-year run together. 

That’s true, but it obscures the fact that “Western Reserve,” released in July on Sunken Treasure Records, came kicking and screaming into the world after a violent conception. 

“We had a crazy couple years with our personal lives, and we set out to make an extremely honest, direct and energetic record,” Peake said this week from a tour stop in Houston. “The production wasn’t as pretty as it’s been in the past, and we didn’t do a lot of crazy instrumentation and overdubs.”

New Additions: Engaged In Labor by Miranda Sound

Not true at all. I've owned this since it came out. When I was active in the Columbus music scene from around 1998/99 to 2008, Miranda Sound were the band we were closest friends with, having gone to college with Billy, Dan G. and Sean. But here's the thing when your in a band playing with lots of bands, you don't spend a ton of time listening to other records. I was listening to new releases maybe once or twice, then moving onto the next thing. So, while I dug this, I hadn't actually put it on in a long time. Glad I did, because it was like discovering a new band. The track "Midas" was always a favorite, both personally and for crowds, but the rest of the record ebbs and flows so well, it's worthy of checking out either again or for the first time.

Know Yer Band: Miranda Sound

Band: Miranda Sound

Members
Vocals/Guitar - Billy Peake
Vocals/Guitar/Keys - Dan Gerken
Bass/Keys - Sean Sefcik
Drums/Percussion - Scott Haynes/Dan Bell

Releases
2001 - Baby Inertia album (Reverbose)
2002 - Baby Inertia (re-release) album (Standard Recording Company)
2002 - Engaged In Labor album (Standard Recording Company)
2005 - Donewaiting.com Volume No1 Tiara vs Miranda Sound split album (Donewaiting.com)
2006 - Western Reserve album (Sunken Treasure)
2008 - Miranda Sound album (Sunken Treasure)

Radio Free Tobias: Some Q & A with Eric Rottmayer

Back in 2005, Tiara was a busy band, releasing both a new album (Chained To The Crown) and a split 12" with Miranda Sound thanks to Donewaiting.com. Around that time, lead singer/guitarist Eric Rottmayer conducted an interview with the blog Radio Free Tobias, here's some of that:

RFT: It seems to me like a lot of people listen to it (straight pop-rock type stuff), but there aren't a lot of people playing it.  

Eric: Yeah, I know. I don’t really know the reason for that, but that’s how it’s always been. The Columbus scene has always been kind of strange, I think. For us, at least, we started playing in a totally straightedge, punk rock house, and that’s where we played our first show, it's called the Neil House. And that was strictly out of necessity, I mean, that was the place we could play. We made friends with some of those people because they accepted us into that scene. We weren't playing punk rock at all. But it helped us get out foot into the door, meeting a lot of people. We were sort of accepted even though we were playing a lot of pop things. We would have people boo us. I mean, we don’t really fit into a lot of these different things, so some night we would be booed, and some nights someone would come up, out of the blue, some crazy punk rock kid would come up on stage and be like "I really understand what you’re doing". And that was really cool. So, it's hard if you’re really trying to do something that’s not typical. It wasn’t that we were really trying to do something that wasn’t typical; we were just doing what we liked.