Image by: Dina Kelberman

And That's How the Band Broke Up

From: Erin Gleeson
Series: Erin Gleeson Podcast
Length: 10:58

Bob and his band showed up in Charleston, but no one -- not even the venue -- knew they were coming. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: And That's How the Band Broke Up
From: Erin Gleeson

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When Bob O’Brien was a kid, he was a competitive speller. He was a regional champion, ranked 18th in the country. But as he grew up, he turned his back on conventional spelling and a traditional way of life. He got involved in playing music, and opted for an unorthodox approach to that too. Despite that, his background in order and details still has an influence; he’s very particular and dogmatic about the kind of life he wants to live.

In 2006, when his band was on a two-week tour of house venues and DIY music clubs, they rolled into Charleston and arrived at the house they were supposed to perform in that night. Unfortunately, no one in the house knew about the show, and Bob’s only contact in town was MIA. What do you do when you travel hundreds of miles to perform in a place where no one was even expecting you to be there?

More importantly, how do you find order in the DIY music scene when that world is inherently unpredictable?

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Piece Description

When Bob O’Brien was a kid, he was a competitive speller. He was a regional champion, ranked 18th in the country. But as he grew up, he turned his back on conventional spelling and a traditional way of life. He got involved in playing music, and opted for an unorthodox approach to that too. Despite that, his background in order and details still has an influence; he’s very particular and dogmatic about the kind of life he wants to live.

In 2006, when his band was on a two-week tour of house venues and DIY music clubs, they rolled into Charleston and arrived at the house they were supposed to perform in that night. Unfortunately, no one in the house knew about the show, and Bob’s only contact in town was MIA. What do you do when you travel hundreds of miles to perform in a place where no one was even expecting you to be there?

More importantly, how do you find order in the DIY music scene when that world is inherently unpredictable?

Musical Works

Title	Artist	Album	Label	Year	Length
Gold	Height	Utility Fog.	self-released	2006	02:14
This Will Be Our Year	Nathan Clevenger	unreleased.	none	2011	01:57
Operation Other Half	Robert Inevitable and the Static	Mouth Full of Blackbirds.	Standard Oil Records	2005	02:33
Fleabomb	Nathan Clevenger	unreleased.	none	2011	02:52
Mouth	Robert Inevitable and the Static	Mouth Full of Blackbirds.	Standard Oil Records	2005	02:44
Screwdriver	Nuclear Power Pants	Wicked Eats the Warrior.	Wham City Records	2009	02:25
Graveyard	Nuclear Power Pants	Wicked Eats the Warrior.	Wham City Records	2009	01:51