Episode LXXVI: Formed a Band

Perhaps you remember a post, quite some time ago, in which I discussed my ambitions of producing a full, legitimate CD of my music about United States Presidents. (Here was the post when I got one of those songs on National Public Radio.) Anyhow, I am still working on that project, steadily but slowly. In the meantime: I joined a band!


I met these folks here at KU in the summer of 2009, so I guess we've been together almost six months. The name of the band is New Inhabitants, and we are more or less an indie rock band, kind of like (if you are into modern music) Deathcab for Cutie.

If you like you can check out our website at www.newinhabitants.com, where there are some photos, info and a couple of embedded songs.

Here's a nice picture of (from foreground to background) the bassist (Daniel Webb), the guitarist/singer/songwriter (Tyler Jenkins) and yours truly, the pianist/guitarist/backup vocalist.


We have written a handful of songs, and have played maybe half a dozen shows here in Lawrence, in Kansas City and in Topeka. Below you will see our two moments of fame thus far:

(1) we played at the Beaumont (a really big venue [granted, we were just one of ten bands playing]) and even had tickets printed with the name of our band!


(2) One of the clubs we played at made their own chalkboard sign advertising our show (and of course they got our name wrong.)


We have done a few do-it-yourself recordings, which I think have turned out pretty well. Here's an mp3 of one of our songs. You can download it by clicking here or simply listen online here. (Actually, it's a cover song by the way.)

Finally, we played recently at a dive in Topeka, KS which happened to have a live streaming video online. Here is one of the songs we played; yes it's rough and yes it's raw, but it's the best video we have so far, and it gives you a decent idea of what the band is like in concert.