German runway songs12/25/2023 ![]() ![]() Of course, Howell admits there was a time when all the frustrations of playing live were tougher to cope with. Howell sings the verses over mournfully ringing guitars, maybe taking a cue from Bob Seger’s great tour-weary anthem “ Turn The Page.” But the imagery here plays up the absurdity and smallness of the situation: “Bass cabinet measures 100 watts / Guitarist is cracking, poppin’ dirty pots / The amplifiers are real big and loud / But they’re bigger than us, so we’re not that proud / Facebook ‘interesteds’ forsaking me / Analytics, demographics don’t mean a thing / How can we tempt some middle-aged fans? / We’ll play for next to no one ’cause we’re bands playing for other bands.” Rest Area Relief by The German Art Students This one steers clear of bitterness and self-pity, using the band’s humor and perspective to paint a picture of inverted glory: “The crowd fills with no one / Beer tickets for four / More people on the guest list / Than paid at the door,” Larson and Howell shout over the sweeping power chords of the chorus. ![]() That’s thanks in part to the engineering and mixing work of Bobby Hussy, who recorded the sessions at his Madison studio and was well-equipped to capture the raw immediacy of their live sets.Įven though GAS has never been a hard-touring outfit, they capture the fatigue and disappointment musicians can experience on the road with the EP’s closing track, “Bands Playing For Other Bands.” There’s all kinds of ways a song about how no one showed up to your gig could go wrong and leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. ![]() Despite that easygoing and wise attitude, the EP has a sharp bite to it. We’ll go play these cities that we haven’t played in forever,’ and we just have fun doing the playing and hanging out and the adventure of it,” Ballwahn says. “We have the perspective that when we do these things we’re not really in it to make money, we just kind of think, ‘Oh, yeah, this will be a fun thing to do. The ups and downs might have been a little harder on younger musicians without their experience, or on a more career-minded band. One motel stay went very badly, but otherwise the four longtime friends and bandmates came home with good memories. Some shows were successful, some were a bust, some bills were with random bands that made sense, some with random bands that didn’t. Three of the EP’s four songs grew out of a short tour The German Art Students took in 2017 through Iowa and then Kansas. The four members-drummer Randy Ballwahn, guitarist/vocalist Annelies Howell, bassist/vocalist Andy Larson, and guitarist/vocalist Kirk Wall-have also developed a sense of humor about simply being in a band, and that’s what powers most of their newly released EP, Rest Area Relief. ![]()
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