At The Bingo Hall

Country + Alt/Punk = ???
At The Bingo Hall's musical style won't be pinned down

When a country solo artist hooks up with the remains of a failed alternative rock band the hardest thing may be fitting the result into a category.

At the Bingo Hall, or ATBH for short, plays music it calls "very country influenced rock with a trumpet accent piece."

"They sound like a mix of Lynrd Skynrd and Weezer," fan Michael Esparza said.

If that combination makes you scratch your head, then join the crowd. People aren't' exactly sure where to put ATBH.

"This sounds like Hanson," friend of the band Adam Albreicht said when he first heard the band.

Both of these descriptions are accurate--but not precise. The band definitely has it's own style.

Ryan Tullock, singer/songwriter and guitar player, has been performing as a country solo artist for some time.

The remaining members were all members of Jim Broke, a failed alt-rock-punk garage band. Mike Mancuso (drums), Brian Light (bass), and David Myers (trumpet) were all excited to extend their grasp on music as a whole by branching out into the country side of rock while Ryan is moving to the harder more punk/alternative side.

ATBH came together when Mike and Brian started to play back up for Ryan after Jim Broke split. A little while later David was jamming with Mike, trying to start a ska band, and Ryan showed up to practice, so they all decided to jam.

Shortly after David was invited to join the band for a few songs and those few songs quickly grew into the majority.

The band members are all in different places as far as music goes. They like different styles of music, but the median is straight up rock. Ryan said his biggest musical influences are Johnny Cash and Shooter Jennings. Mike loves The Strokes and The Queens of The Stone Age, while David loves Catch 22 and Nirvana. Brian is a diehard Emery and Coheed and Cambria fan. All of these different musical influences mesh to create the musical fusion that is ATBH.

Before the merger both Jim Broke and Ryan had released independently recorded albums and EPs, but shortly after the creation of ATBH they decided that going with a professional recording would be a better choice than recording on their own.

Both bands had previously recorded with a friend's father, Steve Pitonak, who had a small recording studio set up in his basement. While they were happy with the basement albums' quality they thought that it would be better to go to a professional, so they looked around and found an affordable place that was right around the corner from home called Skool House Studios.

The band completed an amazing feat recording its entire 10-track album in a record 25 hours, which may seem like a long time, but in the recording industry one track can take up to that long, if not longer. The band had its first live performance at a sno cone stand. The concert was free, but the band was just happy to get its name out and sell a few CDs.

"This is the most expensive CD I've ever bought," Mike said, since it cost the band nearly $500 just to record; then even more to make CDs.

The CDs were being sold for $5; which works out to 50 cents a song--half the price of iTunes. Shortly after the "SnoCone Show" the band played a battle of the bands sponsored by Sisters of Notre Dame High School. While the band didn't win it was very excited to play for people that it didn't know.

The band hopes to extend their fan base out of its high school (Bayless High School and is trying to obtain shows at places such as the Creepy Crawl, Cicero's, the HI-Pointe and The Red Sea.

The band is also trying to spread its music online, via purevolume.com.

At the Bingo Hall is looking not to get famous, but have a good time making and playing music.

All of the members are involved with music in many parts of their lives. Mike, David, and Brian are involved in marching, symphonic, and pep band at their school. Ryan is still performing solo occasionally, but he says that ATBH is his first priority and is always writing and perfecting songs.

Look for At the Bingo Hall at a local venue near you.
- St. Louis Suburban Journal