Taking the stage of Silverlake’s trendy club Spaceland,
this month’s rock-band-in-residence, The Vacation, endeavors
to crack the hard shells of Los Angeles music-goers by presenting
enduring punk-rock music with an attention-grabbing
performance.
“We’re not afraid to make complete fools of
ourselves on stage,” said Vacation lead singer and front man
Ben Tegel, who expressed disapproval of rock bands who “stand
up there and look cool.”
“I get bored (of that),” Tegel said.
“I’ve seen that before.”
Tegel’s performances, which are rarely alcohol-free,
include climbing on tables and pianos, and getting into the faces
of audience members who are seated in their booths.
According to Tegel’s observations, it seems that many
music-goers in L.A. need to be woken up. He noted that audiences
from the Midwest, such as in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri,
are more energetic at live shows.
“(They) just go to bars, see bands and cut loose,”
said Tegel. “(But) people in L.A. have a jaded, cynical
attitude about seeing bands. They feel like they’ve seen it
all already.”
Although the band is grateful to be playing all month at
Spaceland, one of Silverlake’s most “coveted
gigs,” it is irked by the L.A. attitude.
“When you play in Silverlake, a lot of the people that are
going to come see you are in bands themselves,” Tegel said.
“When you’re in a band and you go to see another band,
you’re like “˜Oh yeah, they’re pretty good, but
we’re better.'”
The competitive nature of the local music scene means being a
“good” band isn’t always good enough. What makes
The Vacation special is the energy it carries straight from the
core of punk rock.
“Punk rock “˜n’ roll started with the idea that
“˜anyone could do this,'” Tegel said. “It
was more about the energy and the charisma that you could create
onstage than your musicianship. Certain musicians put too high of a
premium on musical competency, but rock “˜n’ roll is
supposed to be kinda dumb.”
The Vacation’s efforts have garnered attention. Although a
fledging band of only three years, it has recently released a
four-song EP on Fierce Panda Records ““ the British label that
first picked up Coldplay. The band played at the Reading and Leeds
festivals in England last year in front of several thousand
people.
Tegel said he feels The Vacation is building a fan base in
Hollywood, and the current gig is building recognition in
Silverlake. However, he isn’t counting on the prospects of
making it big ““ there isn’t money pouring in from the
mainstream consumer.
“The blame goes to the record companies who spend all
their money promoting disposal artists,” Tegel said.
“You kinda have to look for stuff that has any quality to it,
so it’s no wonder that people just take what they are
given.”