Coming up this week are a few local acts you won’t want to miss. And hey, sitting in front of the computer all day gets old after a few years right? (more…)

In the opinion of this reviewer, pop music is not what it was. Bands today often lack the talent of the popular bands of the seventies and instead go for looks, shock value, and statements. This being the case, many of the more talented musicians get lost in the underground. Congratulations is one of those bands.

To date, Congratulations has played 37 shows in the 15 months they have been together, and I have been privileged to attend 34. Even in the early days when the band was confined to a smaller catalogue, each show felt different and unique due to the ability of the members to jam off into a tangent whenever they felt one coming. One of the beautiful things about those tangents? Even after the jam went far enough that the audience forgot what song they had left, it was always returned to seamlessly.

This is one of the many things that makes it such a pleasure to see Congratulations. Each member of the band has studied his instrument, or music, in an academic setting and could easily be making it as a ringer for another band. In fact, every single member of the band plays with other groups and plays a vital role as a leader in those. Although their training and musical taste is varied, it all comes together to bring the audience a sound that is entirely their own. One can spot the general love that all members of the band share for Frank Zappa’s complicated rhythms and off beat sense of humor, the intricate counter melodies and musicality of prog bands like Yes, a tongue-in-cheek country feel that pop bands like Cake utilize well, the variety of genre only rivaled by something like Ween, and (if you listen carefully) a friendly, lyric driven love song that even Paul McCartney would want to sing along with. So basically, it’s a sound that can’t be put into words, even by a talented lady such as myself.

The backgrounds of the band members are as different as the influences. Both Gaah(n) (keys and vocals) and Mike Beall (bass and backing vocals) grew up in Little Rock, where they played together as young as 14. Through the years they started a few projects, but for the 6 years previous to Congratulations played separately and took time to “grow up musically.” Through those years Gaah(n) developed his solo music and played with the Denton jam supergroup, BAGG, while Mike worked with Thinking Room, an indie band in Dallas and also had several blues and funk projects going. Brian Felker (guitar and vocals) played with Gaah(n) in Sol Kitchen, which is a Denton gang of top musicians (mostly jazz musicians, all funky) who vow to never record, never play outside of Denton, and never rehearse, while working on his degree at UNT in Music. Brian and Gaah(n) both handle most of the songwriting for Congratulations. Eric Rogers (percussion) is also a member of Sol Kitchen who used to play with thrash-funk band, Parallel Realty. Eric never plays drumset, and instead prefers to play auxiliary percussion, filling in with everything from marching quads to a sample pad. He’s currently studying music at UNT. Congratulations also recently acquired drummer Alan Eckert from jam band $9 Word. Alan is a everything from a jazz drummer to a jingle writer. A side note, I recently saw Alan at his second rehearsal with Congratulations… this kid is good.

Of all the Congratulations shows I’ve been to, I’ve never seen it empty. Even when the band played recently at Mardi Gras in Dallas they managed to pull a good crowd up from Denton, no easy feat. Within seconds the crowd is split into two groups, those that have to dance, and those that want to stay seated and try to figure out the polyrhythms and enjoy the talent. The band will often open with something fun, like “Delicious Part One,” only to transition into the funkier “Jiffy Pope,” and then pull back into “Delicious Part Two,” which has a driving jam leading to a few slow, high notes trailing off. By the end of what the band calls “Delipopecious,” the crowd is ready for anything next. Sometimes it may be “Woke Up Dead,” which starts like death-rock, and has an adorable, Beatlesque chorus, or “Failed Bit,” which can only be described as tongue-in-cheek bluegrass. Some songs showcase the extreme talent of certain members of the band. In the case of “Mr. Funkknuckle,” Mike Beall gets to come out of the background and show off just how good he is with his 6-string bass. Occassionally if Denton’s most talented mc, Soul Relentless is at the show, they’ll have a bass/rap duel that gets so intricate it’s hard to pull your jaw off the floor. Gaah(n) and Brian often choose to showcase each other and while Gaah(n)’s “Riga” lets Brian shred some faces off, Brian’s “Going to the Moll” leaves space for Gaah(n) to rock socks off. The band almost always makes sure there’s a drum jam between Eric and Alan in “Crack of Now,” among others, and the two play together so well, it sounds more like there’s one drummer with four hands.

It’s a shame that often these talented bands go so overlooked by everyone except the indie rockers and the festival crowds. These five men have worked hard to master their instruments and to play well together and it would be nice for more people to have the opportunity to hear them. Of course, last time I spoke to the lads they were trying to put a tour together. You won’t find them on the radio, they are too good to be noticed by pop pundits, but maybe one of these summers they’ll be playing a festival that you’ll be attending. Check them out, won’t you?

http://www.myspace.com/congratsmusic

Band Members:
Mike Beall (Bass, Vocals)
Alan Eckert (Drums)
Brian Felker (Guitar, Vocals)
Gaah(n) (Keys, Vocals)
Eric Rogers (Percussion)