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Smile Thru This sees "Life in a Rearview Mirror"
By Heather Leszczewicz
OMC Reporter
E-mail author | Author bio
More articles by Heather Leszczewicz
Published July 27, 2006 at 5:15 a.m.
Milwaukee indie band Smile Thru This -- currently comprising Josh Sanders on vocals and guitar, Jim Boettcher on drums, Kyle Foucie on bass and Mike Marsden on lead guitar -- decided to be clever rather than serious when it came to its Myspace page. According to the non-traditional profile, the band members live off of Boston crème donuts, Caribou Coffee Caramel Coolers, ideas like getting an endorsement deal from Wal-Mart and poking fun at former Creed frontman Scott Stapp.
"Going through Myspace I found Motion City Soundtrack, and they had some guy writing a really clever bio, really funny and well written. I thought that was cooler that any other band," says Sanders. "So many bands take themselves seriously, in some sense I do too. So A lot of my songs are serious. This is one place we can put our humor. Everything in there is true except about Pete (the band's former keyboardist)."
Smile Thru This shows how serious it as a band through its music. After coming in at 18 in the country on CMJ radio with its last CD, "Anywhere Without You," and opening for some of the band's heroes like Shinedown and Matchbook Romance, tomorrow marks the next phase in the band's musical adventure. Smile Thru This will be rocking the airwaves and live as its fourth studio album, "Life in a Rearview Mirror," releases.
The band took the opportunity last month to head down to Nashville to record the CD with producer Nathan Thomas.
"For the recording process, we drove to Nashville. The drum tracks were recorded in an office management place. They manage Avril Lavigne, the Barenaked Ladies and have acoustic acts play there sometimes," says Boettcher. "We tracked the drums in there and the rest in the producer's house. It was kind of an interesting deal; I've never done that before."
The result of the process was a seven-track album which all the band members say is a step forward in what they'd like to achieve.
Sanders says that this CD has a musical maturity to it; in essence the band is showing how it has grown with a more sophisticated sound along with catchier songs, crafty guitar skills and inspiring piano playing.
"I think it's one of the best CDs they've come out with; the musicianship is up there," says Marsden, who's actually a hired player working with Smile for recording and touring purposes. "I think it was well written. They wrote some good songs, good lyrics."
Foucie says that "Life" is "tasty sounding."
To promote "Life," the band will be doing a showcase on Kramp and Adler in the Morning on 102.1 at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
"It's going to be a Q&A thing, playing tunes off the record," Foucie says.
Boettcher says that this is more than just a radio show, it's a large amount of exposure he's never experienced with a band before.
"I think it's an excellent opportunity. It's great that they're (The Brew 102.1) actually doing that during the primetime hour. No body does that. Hopefully it'll bring people out to the CD release show that night," he says.
The CD release party kicks off at The Rave at 8 p.m.
"Friday at The Rave, we have three really amazing bands opening for us. My Disaster March, Fourth Effect will be there and Bosio. So there's definitely a lot of good bands there," Sanders says.
"I'm really excited that we're finally getting someplace with this band cause we have a lot to offer," Boettcher says. "I'm glad that people are giving us an opportunity to showcase that. Watch out for us. Big things will happening soon."
- Onmilwaukee.com
Discography
EP - soon to come!
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Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Bio
To the average American, the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is primarily known for: The Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee Brewers, and Harley Davidson motorcycles. However, My Disaster March is emerging on the Milwaukee Music scene and is poised to top that list.
My Disaster March began in the fall of 2005, rising from the ashes of another promising band, American Blackout. American Blackout underwent several personnel changes before settling on their current lineup:
Kirk Thode (Vocals)
Mike Dentice (Guitar)
Mark Speer (Guitar)
Nick Blaubach (Bass, Vocals)
Brian Farvour (Drums)
After the addition of a new lead singer, the group is now armed with an improved arsenal of catchy and intelligent pop-rock songs. Already receiving praise in the local scene for their energetic stage performance and no-frills rock attitude, MDM seems poised for bigger and brighter endeavors.
In M.D.M¡¦s short time together, the band has recorded several demos in preparation of an upcoming LP, and has already shared the stage with a number of other well-known local acts at a number of venues, including;
„Ò Bosio - The Rave
„Ò Smile Thru This - The Rave
„Ò Forth Effect - The Rave
„Ò Moonshine Sway - Live
„Ò Coppola - Panther Palooza
„Ò And many more¡K.
These optimistic rockers have kept their heads up throughout the duration, consistently exciting audiences despite the transition from American Blackout to My Disaster March. My Disaster March is just getting warmed up, and this hungry and eager band is ready to take on Milwaukee and beyond.
Where do they get these catchy names?
In the old time circus, 'the disaster march' was what the performers called the Star Spangled Banner, as it was the song played during a case of extreme emergency. Once the notes rang out, the performers knew something was going wrong, but the audience was left clueless and left to assume all was well. Such a metaphor fits accordingly for up and coming Milwaukee rock outfit My Disaster March. The band has undergone a variety of trials and tribulations throughout the past few years, including multiple member changes, reforming the group a variety of different times, and all the other expected misfortunes of being in a band.
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