Econo is going away for a while. My best friend Jamil and I started this band because we were tired of making music that would never be heard because we couldn't depend on anyone to come through long enough to solidify a lineup for our old band, The Veils of Ignorance.
We both loved the Minutemen and the way D. Boon and Mike Watt were this force. We figured we could harness our friendship and move forward as a duo. I strapped on the guitar and Jamil picked up drums, leaving his bass behind. We found something good in that lineup. Eventually our friend Paul came to jam with us and we had a 3-piece.
Jamil is big into Urban Harvest and the idea that people can still create food for themselves within the city limits, so we got involved with the Community Garden at Bill Hicks Resurrection Laboratory. For our first show, we played a benefit show for the garden with Two-Star Symphony and Chim Charoo. It was an amazing night. We may have been a mess, but we had fun, you know? That was always the point.
Jamil and I regrouped as a duo and began playing shows all over Houston together. We always seemed to end up at Super Happy Funland to fill any void Brian needed filled. It was great, I loved playing there and the atmosphere was wonderful. I don't believe anyone has done more to keep live music moving forward in Houston than the folks at Super Happy Funland. No matter why, you could always find a place to play there.
After a great day after Thanksgiving show where we pulled a substantial audience at SHFL, Jamil decided he'd like to return to bass and we added my old friend Tom McMurray on drums. We rented a space at Francisco's and tried to make it a real deal.
I won't say it was a complete failure, but putting money in the equation definitely caused issues and Jamil's move to bass put a wrench in our chemistry. After a month, Jamil quit. He eventually came back and we played 3 shows, then split again. The original vision sort of died during that period.
I wanted to move forward, since I had written all these songs and really hoped to record them. We posted "Bassist Wanted" ads all over the net and eventually found Jay Culver. He was a killer bassist, but I don't think he really liked the content of the songs. I've never been one to pull punches or feign subtlety.
I was deadset on getting the CD done, so I wrote SHFL in early May to set up a CD release show for July 14th. Then, at the end of May, we began recording. We knocked out the instrument tracks in 1 day and then spent another couple of days doing vocals. What we ended up with was The Recession EP. The title was something Jamil and I had thought of using in the past when we worked on demos. We had the total roots rock mentality about the music and really the sound until Tom punked it up.
The lyrics were always downer in essence, but I always wrote them from a positive mindset of wanting change.
When the EP was recorded, Jay quit due to being too busy at work for a band or that was the reason he gave us. He currently plays in a cover band here in Houston, so you can probably see him out and about in the La Porte area.
Luckily, my old friend/Tom's former bandmate Casey came back from travelling abroad. He was bored hanging around Beaumont, so he came up on weekends to practice and play bass. His first day of practice with us was July 14th! He came in the morning of the first show and within 8 hours was on stage playing. It was a blast and at this point, the band was more about having fun than anything.
With Casey in the band, we played in Beaumont and Austin. It was great to get out on the road. We also played a benefit for Hunter Ward (Dropouts/Poor Dumb Bastards) who Tom used to play with. It was a lot of fun to be on the stage at the Meridian where so many bands I've dug have played. We also put on a benefit for Violet Russell, who is the daughter of my college roommate who is suffering from various physical ailments. The idea of giving back to the community was key for me from the beginning.
In January, Casey announced he was going back on the road so the band was losing another bassist. So, we decided to shut it down.
We played a weekend mini-tour of Beaumont and Houston on February 1-2, 2008. We played our final show with Micah Omega and Electrick at Notsuoh. We played the best show we played ever, oddly enough. At the time, I wanted nothing more than to keep going, but as time goes by, I realize I wouldn't want to tarnish those last moments by doing a one off here or there.
Econo is still dear to me, I personally made every CD we ever sold by hand, I handled everything, wrote all the songs and loved every moment of playing live. At times the moments between the shows could be dramatic, but in the end, it was completely worth it. It was achieving a goal I've had for a long time.
One day Econo could come back with a new supporting cast, but for now, it rests. I will work on "econo songs" still and will post demos, etc. But as far as live shows go, it will be a long while. I've got a teacher's certification to get and a lot more to do. Check out my solo "band", Poledo. Hope to see you all around.
- Samuel Barker
List of Bands We've Played With:
Micah Omega
Electricks
The Delta Block
Death Hell Battletank
The Dickins
Hit By A Car
500 Megatons of Boogie
The Squishees
End of a Year
Two-Star Symphony
Chim Charoo
Organ Failure
Uncomfortable Jams
Voluptuous Tusk
The Dimes
The Bluebirds
Piss, Shit, Fuck
Fire Knife
Dirty Leg
and more I can't remember...
List of Venues We've Played:
Bill Hicks Resurrection Laboratory (RIP)
Super Happy Funland
The Harbour (Baytown, TX - RIP)
Notsuoh
Gravity Bar (Galveston, TX)
The Vortex (Beaumont, TX)
Full Throttle Coffee House (Spring, TX - RIP)
The Parlor (Austin, TX)
Westheimer Block Party
Meridian
Dead Baby Distro/Southmore House
Check out a live video from our Halloween Show @ The Parlor in Austin, TX. Probably the most fun show we played.
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