Music
Press
".....arriving at the Pub at around 9:30 pm I was surprised to see the quaint littles watering hole packed to the gill and yet the was not on break but rather hadn't started yet. Already by far the largest crowd I had ever seen at the Pub, they were still steadily streaming in and by the time 3 Fantastic took the stage the club was packed inside and outside along the sidewalk where people were listening and watching through the open door. What tranpired over the next 50 minutes was in your face, straight ahead, high energy, loud modern rock 'n' roll. The place was rocking, the cash register was ringing and this enthusiastic large group of young people was cutting a rug modern rock 'n' roll style! The give you all they have to give for 45 to 50 minutes; to them its a sprint not a marathon. No dreamy 20 minute Grateful Dead songs just kick your booty revved up modern day rock 'n' roll..................."
-Jay Ross Martin III
- Conroe Courier
Again, lately I just can't express the sheer joy of receiving such great production quality recordings from unsigned and indie label bands. Three Fantastic are one of these bands- great warm sounding record and exeptional performance captured on the CD! I was putting off the review for a while looking at the cover that had me thinking that I just wont' enjoy this band, must've been the orange or the retro-styled picture of some asian kids holding tableclothes and a bird (or kites?) and on the back some dudes (the band) sitting at a table with leftovers. Looking at this I was just think badly recorded pop punk, but boy, was I surprised!
The band's sound is hard to describe- I hear some post punk and emo influences, some classic rock influences and even a bit of dance. The song "20000 Worlds Away" comines these for a great effect. There are moments that sound like Annie Lennox mixed in with moments along the lines of Primus. Definitely an interesting sound! The performances are all aces, Charles Peters' vocals work great with the arrangements, reminding me of a mix between Elvis and Glenn Danzig (also known as "Evil Elvis), so in that case it'd be a mix of good and evil Elvis. The rhythm section consisting of Evan Groeschel's (bass) and David Taschery (drums) is definitely slamming, while the guitars, synths and pianos performed by Kelly Doyle and Charles Peters weave interesting sound patterns. Wonderful band and my first 10 out of 10 score! All I can say is - GET THIS CD! - www.houstonbands.net
Three Fantastic's self titled album is reminiscent of engaging in conversation with a 14 year old undergoing intense puberty. The band remains questionably mellow for 41 seconds and screams with vulgarity for the next 23. This is not a bad thing- intriguing personality types peak at the time of adolescence.
A distinct sound for Three Fantastic is rather difficult to classify. This may account for either the band's applauded variety in style or their deperate search for a trademark sound. Regardless, the musical ambiguity of genre is perhaps the most appealing aspect.
Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored that Three Fantastic is indeed a fantastic listen. The album begins with "5 seconds," a clear auditory suggestion that the band is strictly metal. Two tracks later, however, seemingly calls for a second thanks to Mr. Roboto in "20,000 Worlds Away." The album literally shifts from a sound simelar to that of Metallica to one of the "Revenge of the Nerds" soundtrack.
Each song boasts an entirely different style of music and abruptly delves into a chorus that screams with both the guitar and vocals. And it is this unpredictable structure of the entire album that clings on to the listener like a first girlfriend.
The spontaneity is continued throughout the entire album. "Fantasy Son" is similar to the mature punk techniques of the Von Bondies, whereas "Etude de Pop" sounds more like a Total Request Live type of band like Simple Plan. The first 15 seconds of "I Have a Plan" could possibly rival guitar heartthrob Jason Mraz, while "the Consequence of Something Permanent" could revive the notes of Rufio.
Three Fantastic is for anyone seeking the acoustic serenade that screams out metal, swirled with a dab of '80s music and even a tease of jazz. It is perfect for the rebellious nobody-tells-me-what-to-do teenager who would skip the entire process of decision making.
-Jamie Callimquin - The Daily Californian(Berkeley)
Discography
Three Fantastic "swimming pool"-self produced and released in 2002.
Three Fantastic self titled LP "the orange album" 2005 available on i-tunes, amazon, cd baby, played on college radio, bla bla bla
.....and we're working on a new one.
Photos
Bio
Well, it began in 2001 as a bunch of high school chums dicking around with junk equipment in a now defunct rehearsal space in downtown Conroe called the PARC(still don’t know what it stood for). A crappy demo and several cases of beer later, we started playing some shows, with varied response and a whole lot of Frank Zappa, Steely Dan, the Doors, and Danzig comparisons from really drunk people at local dives. Nonetheless, we continued to play, write, evolve(I’m using the word liberally I guess), and at some point went from having a kind of novelty show including fake trees, silly songs about the legal system and fundamentalism, to being a vaguely experimental but mostly elemental rock band with a slight tendency towards the unusual.
In early 2003 we met this dude named Binky from New York who seemed interested in having us on the label he was starting. We had played a horrible show at The Galaxy Club in Dallas, and a couple of the guys from one of the bands on the bill, the Deaf Pedestrians, took a liking to us. Binky was their manager. He heard us and after several listens to our then record which he described as overwhelming(kind of a backhanded compliment I guess), he decided that we would be a good addition to his fledgling label. So, after grueling and slow contract negotiations, we were signed to his label, DotPointPeriod.
We then proceeded to make a record under the guidance and tutelage of Mike Gage, had the opportunity to work in a wonderful studio with vintage recording equipment (Palmyra Studios, Hurricane Sound) and hang out and hear kickass rock stories. Anyway, we learned a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of being on a label. We learned that being micromanaged sucks balls, recording to tape is awesome, and negotiating your way through the creative process is a painful and unsatisfying experience in a whole shitty cornucopia of ways. But oh well. Lessons learned.
After all this, and waiting nearly a year to release the record, our distribution company buckles and Binky’s partner is dismissed. So basically, our cd never gets a chance, our bass player moves to Dallas, and we are left with a bunch of merch and cd’s and a bit of a dire situation. Fast forward to present……………
We now have a bass player named Truman whom we are all very fond of, (we’ll always miss you Evan) writing lots and lots of new material which we are all excited about, preparing to record an entirely new album, playing shows regularly again, and even quite possibly going back on tour in the very near future. The band that introduced us to our label, the Deaf Pedestrians, are enjoying some mainstream success, so hopefully we can all laugh about this together with overpriced champagne and hookers in a tour bus sometime soon. Hahaha. Well, I don’t know about that, but if you see a van trailed by a haze of farts blasting Romanian folk music traveling cross country, it might be us. See ya around.
charles
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