August 23, 2002
By Jeremy Simon Special to The Gazette
EDITOR'S NOTE: Former Gazette music editor Jeremy Simon, now living in New York City, caught up with Colorado Springs band Accidental Superhero as they hit the Big Apple. The band's gigs were previewed in The Village Voice and the New York Post, which said they are "about to crack the big time."
Accidental Superhero turn heads in New York
NEW YORK - It's no mean feat to find the bathrooms at CBGBs.
The route is concealed behind a buffer to the left of the stage, and then you must snake past the band as it plays, sidling past the drummer for the next band (Knuckle Sandwich, on this particular night) as he sets up his kit.
And you haven't seen a fouler bathroom since "Trainspotting."
Foul bathrooms are a small price to pay for Colorado Springs homeboys Accidental Superhero, who last week played a 45-minute showcase of songs from their 1998 debut "Everyman" and a new demo CD they're shopping to major labels. They've had nibbles, but also hard luck. Now, their "The Way Down" track is on the MP3.com top 40 chart (between Linkin Park and Ja Rule).
Is this the moment for Accidental Superhero?
The band made the 2,000-mile trip to New York - for this and an Aug. 16 showcase at B.B. King's Bar and Grill - to find out.
As a second home for the Ramones and other bands of the '70s and '80s, CBGBs is a rock 'n' roll icon. But name aside, it's more grind than glamour: Accidental Superhero was saddled with an 8 p.m. slot (second of six bands that night) and a few sound glitches. Despite this, the crowd - which included several A&R reps from major labels - was enthusiastic, and the empty space in front of the band at the beginning of the set filled in substantially by the time they left the stage.
And the music?
Polished, intense, heavy without being sludgy. I can easily - easily - imagine hearing this band on KILO segued flawlessly amid any of 100 KILO bands.
I was a big fan of Accidental Superhero when I wrote about music for The Gazette from 1995 to 1998, and what I appreciated most about them then was their very individual and adroit sense of melody. I confess that although it is easier now for me to imagine Accidental Superhero on the radio, it is more difficult to imagine them on my stereo. But I never much listened to KILO, and I'm completely confident they will get what they came for in New York
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