This is a different sounding collection of tunes from a band with a different approach to progressive pop. Humdrum is four guys in Saint Louis, Missouri: Mic Boshans, Dan Meehan, Paul Maguire, and Phil Strangman. There are so many one-shot bands out there on the planet...who have one basic song or idea and they beat it into the ground until no one is listening anymore. On Individual Man there are no easy canned goods. Instead of writing and recording generic music with the intent to sell it later, it is obvious that these guys are making music for all the right reasons. Some of the songs are loud, some soft, some mid-tempo...but the one thing you won't find here are samey predictable tunes. These songs weave around all over the place...and they feature some wonderfully smart and insightful lyrics (thankfully a lyric sheet is included because you will want to absorb the words). Lots of killer cuts here including "I'm Attractive," "Individual Man," "Earth Is So Reliable," and "For Everything Bad." Recommended. TOP PICK.
"In the last decades interest in hunger artists has declined considerably. Whereas in earlier days there was good money to be earned putting on major productions of this sort under one’s own management, nowadays that is totally impossible. Those were different times. Back then the hunger artist captured the attention of the entire city. From day to day while the fasting lasted, participation increased. Everyone wanted to see the hunger artist at least daily. During the final days there were people with subscription tickets who sat all day in front of the small barred cage. And there were even viewing hours at night, their impact heightened by torchlight. On fine days the cage was dragged out into the open air, and then the hunger artist was put on display particularly for the children. While for grown-ups the hunger artist was often merely a joke, something they participated in because it was fashionable, the children looked on amazed, their mouths open, holding each other’s hands for safety, as he sat there on scattered straw—spurning a chair—in a black tights, looking pale, with his ribs sticking out prominently, sometimes nodding politely, answering questions with a forced smile, even sticking his arm out through the bars to let people feel how emaciated he was, but then completely sinking back into himself, so that he paid no attention to anything, not even to what was so important to him, the striking of the clock, which was the single furnishing in the cage, merely looking out in front of him with his eyes almost shut and now and then sipping from a tiny glass of water to moisten his lips." - A Hunger Artist, Franz Kafka
Since no one really cares about hunger artists anymore we changed the band name to HUMDRUM.
For booking contact us via myspace or e-mail Mic Boshans at: michaelboshans@gmail.com
thanx paul! we dug you guys too. we were really enjoying your cd in the car today. hope we can play together again next time we come thru. and let us know if you ever come to colorado.
We're trying to set up a house show in August sometime. Does that sound interesting? It should, cause they rock. We'll let you know once we have something set up, or vice versa.
