Consider Me Spilled

SXSW: the penultimate music festival for industry gurus, nervous musicians, and music geeks. Justin Finney, a member of the latter category, was enjoying the sounds of said festival with some friends when a revelation struck him: "Why aren’t I doing this? I play an instrument!” This mental germ was the beginning of Consider Me Spilled. But there was one minor detail precluding the dream from becoming a reality: he didn’t know any musicians. Quite discouraging indeed, especially in a city dubbed the “Music Capital of the World,” but our reclusive hero devised a plan with a little tool called the Internet.

Finding a replacement guitarist or additional triangle ringer is commonplace on Craig’s List, but an entire band? Few are so naïve or optimistic enough to set such a lofty goal, and no one ever gave Justin credit for his optimism. Nonetheless, he placed the ad, and three months later, found himself rehearsing in a rented room with a full complement: bass, drums, vocals, guitars. Maybe most shocking of all though was the fact that besides being adept musicians, all three of his mates were also very decent and intelligent human beings, thus breaking with the timeless trend of misogynistic “dudes” prevalent in modern rock music.

Ariel Sauceda, lead singer and guitarist, brought to the group a lyrical pen sweet enough to sway the hardest of hearts, penetrate the densest of minds, and set fire to the most frigid of loins. Aided by his catchy guitar hooks, his song-writing ability matched perfectly with Justin’s. As for the rhythm section, Michael Kuntzman eats bass strings for breakfast and defecates symphonies. Never mind. Just listen to his playing on the tracks. You’ll get it. Finally, Brian Melinat is as accomplished a beat-maker as he is a runner. His drumming is as hard-hitting as his feet on the trail, almost as hard as it was for the band to tell him he wasn’t going to win the Wheaties endorsement.

Together these four have set out on a journey to have fun and make people dance (and perhaps expand someone’s consciousness if things go well.) Go ahead and give them a try. They’d like to prove themselves— and they’ll clean the bathrooms of your bar or studio after finishing their set. *

*Please don’t ask them to actually do this.