Mopey Mumble-Mouse unleashed some sonic intensity at CHMR in anticipation of their cd-release party on July 4 at Distortion for I am Happy Being Nothing. Listen to the podcast.

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Errand Boy, Laptop Wizardy, and the End of America as We Know It

When I first heard about Errand Boy (a friend of mine became a fan of Errand Boy on Facebook), I had some idea of what to expect because I found him on Facebook and Myspace, listened to his tracks, which then led to my utter intrigue about this fellow from St. John’s who clearly marches to his own drummer, unlike so many of the jaded, apathetic youth that you’ll find lurking here in St. John’s, shrouded in black, moody apparel bemoaning their beliefs in lost freedoms and the entrapment that is downtown St. John’s, but after his incredible show last night, with about twenty of the aforementioned, jaded individuals standing around and staring at the vintage films that were meandering on by, I was simply blown away and left speechless as I, too, just stupidly stared at the images passing before me, so exquisitely accompanied by the rare duo that is Errand Boy.

Born and Raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with a brief stint over in Toronto taking a course in audio engineering, Bryan Melanson is one of the small handful of laptop musicians taking sprout downtown, though Errand Boy is the only live laptop act I’ve seen, which is a bit of a misnomer because I never actually saw the laptop. Bryan, with his shaggy hair and plaid shirt, was standing quietly in the corner, alternating between electric guitar and then drums, as Mike Myatt was also playing guitar on the opposite side, but I’ll tell you, a lot more sounds were deliciously pouring out of the speakers (at ridiculous levels, I might add–not the fault of Errand Boy, either) and all sorts of bands I love sprung to my mind: The Microphones/Mt. Eerie, Valley of the Giants, Do Make Say Think, Godspeed You Black Emperor, or any of the other Canadian post-rock outfits out there on the Constellation record label–and then–Mogwai. I told the sound guy there’s no reason the volume has to be as high as it was, but he ignored me, though he did answer my question about where the other sounds were coming from: they were plugged into an audio/midi interface that acted as a trigger, which then fed into the laptop and back out to the speakers (so I understand, at least.) 

As if this wasn’t enough, and I still looked around me, wondering what the hell these kids must be thinking of this unprecedented scene unraveling so smoothly before them like a snake slinking out of satin sheets, Errand Boy also had this huge white sheet suspended behind them, displaying arhived footage from the creative commons: there’s a neon sign advertising “Miss America of 1939″ and there’s a weathered film showing open fields and crops, biplanes, there’s one with a city transit system colored in sepia tones, there’s the Cyclone at Coney Island (where Woody Guthrie lived on Mermaid Avenue), there’s a black and white film from the 30’s of slickly-dressed folks out for a whirl on the big-band dance floor, and as you’re watching all these films, the Mogwai-meets-Microphones wall of sound is slamming your ears like a beautiful wave of sonic splendor, and I’m like, what the hell is this, this is incredible and no one’s here to see it!

Ah well, maybe you’ll take notice and try to catch them next time. You’re missing out if you don’t: big time. Errand Boy is the band in St. John’s you need to watch. 

Errand Boy’s myspace

Hi-leeHi-lo.mp3

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