Even the Odd aims to please in Midwest
By MARTA HEPLER-DRAHOS
Record-Eagle staff writer
December 3, 2004
TRAVERSE CITY - If their name doesn't grab you, their latest CD presentation might.
Packaged in a case made to look like a matchbook, complete with strike strip and a woman's phone number scribbled inside, Even the Odd's "Popular Among Van Owners" even comes with cigarette rolling papers.
It's a gimmick that ties in with the CD title, insists drummer Ryan Darnell.
"People who have vans are very stressed out. Either they have 15 kids or they're in a band," he said. "We're just saying, 'Here's a matchbook. Light a few candles to relieve stress if you don't smoke.'?"
The downstate rock 'n' roll band will relieve a little stress of their own when they play The Loading Dock in Traverse City Thursday, Dec. 9. They'll open for Zug Island, the "toxic rock" band inspired by the lump of land in the Detroit River that's home to steel mills and iron foundries.
On the rebound after a miserable debut with Maverick Records, ETO includes the 25-year-old Darnell, frontman Ben Hornbeck, 23, and bassist Joey V, 22.
Hornbeck and Darnell met while attending high school in Ortonville, north of Detroit, where they weren't exactly friends. Then Darnell tried out for Hornbeck's band, Innercorse, and the former bully became a buddy.
Although Innercorse eventually signed with Maverick Records, a CD recorded with Alice in Chains producer Dave Jerden was never released. The band disintegrated around 2000, then reemerged under a new name two years later.
Darnell hopes "Popular Among Van Owners," an energetic, upbeat recording released on the New York label Wrong Records, will succeed where its predecessor failed. The band hired a booking agent two months ago and is promoting the CD four or five days a week around the Midwest. They expect radio play and a tour to follow.
"It's definitely harder being a Midwest band," he said. "Us Midwest people are a lot harder to please. I think it's because we have four seasons; we have a lot more emotions to deal with. But once you win us over, we're really loyal."
