Target Market Blog

2010-04-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

It was 2005. The five of us had just packed into our 1990 conversion van en route to our first, last, and only tour, when our van betrayed us and ate the mix-tape I had made especially for the occasion. As a group, Target Market are not a superstitious people; but we should have seen this as a bad omen. What followed were two weeks of haphazardly thrown together shows, two weeks of hoping...maybe...we'd be paid at the end of the night, two weeks of raw-dieting (cold hot pockets: not so tasty), in towns that one would have to squint to be able to see on a map. We built enough "character" on the trip to fill the St. Louis skyline. Perhaps it would be fair to accuse us of being lovers of self-deprivation, because, against all odds, we had FUN!

We would spend the next few years writing and recording records, playing the occasional weekend in Anywheresville, Midwest, and forever trying to get back on the road. We made a long series of dubious business decisions and involved ourselves with good people, but people who, in the end, were up against it...the same as us...just as helpless and alone in the vast ocean of micro-level MySpace indie bands. Perhaps I'm over-analyzing here, because, at the same time, we never took ourselves very seriously, either. In fact, we wanted our last show to go unannounced. We wanted simply to fade away like that guy at the party who leaves without saying goodbye. What changed our minds was the people's reaction to this news.

People kept urging us to have a last show (we should have held out for the lucrative reunion tour...that would've been something...to have our second tour BE our reunion tour) and it made us realize that perhaps...maybe...we actually meant something to the city of St. Louis. Bands of our size often feel compelled to tour the world; but, in most cases, touring simply does not make practical sense...wouldn't be prudent. After all of those years spent longing for the road, I feel content, in the end, to have been primarily a St. Louis band. We love our city (we love the suburbs a little more...but they lack rock clubs). It's like that Taylor Swift song...what we've been looking for has been here the whole time.

We feel proud that a young James Bishop, who, with Say Panther, has written some of our favorite pop songs ever, was in the audience at some of our earliest shows. We feel proud that, every summer, we've been able to drive four hours south of St. Louis to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to play alongside Stewart Copeland and see him develop into a 21st century Paul Westerberg; even if his band, the Lake, forced us out of a world of guitarmonies in which we could not compete. We feel proud that we are able to share the stage with these two juggernauts...but also thoroughly intimidated (who wants to play after that, really?)

Regardless, we hope to see you there this Saturday, April 3rd, at Off Broadway. We will have all of our merch there for free (we have boxes upon boxes of CDs...I guess we thought the CD would be a lasting medium...who knew?...even if you don't remember us when were gone, the Earth will remember us by the pounds and pounds of CD plastic rotting on its surface). This is the last time you'll have to miss that episode of the Office to come see your friends play. This is the last time you'll have to spend the money that you don't have for the price of admission. Come see us...even if you'd prefer a quiet evening...because you won't get to ever again.

Weiner Dog Chases Carrot

2009-07-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Target Market garage sale (well, really it was more of a driveway sale) was a sucess! Items were priced to move, and move they did. We even had a guest appearance by the ghost of Billy Mays. To our surprise, he's actually a little less scary in ghost form. It was super busy in the first half of the day, but seemed to die down in the afternoon. By then, we had a "Free Stuff" sign posted in front of our house and even then, our picked-over-junk didn't seem to arouse any interest. For some reason, people don't care about the Nordic Track, or Pearl Jam bootlegs, or any other relics from the 90's anymore. I guess the Nordic Track looks a little less appealing without a roided out, shouting man with a curly ponytail demonstrating its usefulness. Anyway, we made at least enough money to get our drink on at the Schlafly Tap room that night whilst watching the Lake, who, with the addition of second guitarist Ben, has gone from awesome to REALLY FUCKIN' AWESOME!

Thank you for everyone who came to our garage sale, and a big "I told you so" to anyone who did not.

Perhaps if we had been selling a Nordic Track treadmill...

-Nathan

Our Things Could Be Your Things

2009-07-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone (i.e. no one, or, hi mom). It has been a little while since we have blogged on this blog on this blog-site in this blogosphere in this blogiverse. Mostly, we have been trying to squeeze out a 25th hour from the 24 hour cable news Michael Jackson coverage. During commercial breaks we have been practicing/writing, filming our episode of MTV Cribz (yes, that MTV Cribz), preparing to move out of our house, and for the subsequent tour to follow. I (Nathan) will be moving out a week early, as I am visiting my grandfather in Oregon. He is a farmer for the state of California.

In the meantime, to raise money for our tour, Target Market is having a garage sale. So, for you superfans out there who follow us on TMZ: here is your chance to pick up a copy of Ishmael once read by TM bassist Drew Mossman, or a chair once used to support the weight of drummer Joseph Winters, or perhaps a mustace trimmer witha stray hairs from the mustache of guitarist Clayton Parker. Do not let this opportunity pass you by! The sale is at the Target Market house (246 Coventry Place Edwardsville, Il. 62025) and will take place beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday July 18th. We will see you there!

The Evolution of So Many Dynamos

2009-06-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Over the past five years or so, Target Market and So Many Dynamos have played scores and scores of shows together. Some of us went to grade school with Dynamo members, some of went to high school with them, played in school band together, participated in wedding parties together, etc., etc. Our bands have taken road trips together (Ryan's balls were roaming), we have interchanged members in cases of absence (thanks Clayton); our bands even played a battle show together in Columbia Missouri wherein we set-up on opposite sides of a basement, with audience in the middle, and alternated songs, each song serving as an attempt to sink the others' battleship. Even on the occasions when our bands are not playing together, at least a few members of the band that isn't playing the show can usually be found in the front row. That is to say, we have seen So Many Dynamos hundreds of times. This is why, at this moment, Target Market, collectively, is so goddamn proud of our brotherband So Many Dynamos.

Over the years, these more experienced boys have served as a model for young, up-and-coming independent, Midwestern, aspiring touring bands such as ourselves. From their moment of inception in early 2003, we have seen So Many Dynamos do everything the right way; from booking their own tours, to helping local bands by creating compilations, releasing their records, and booking their shows. The Dynamos' aim from the beginning has been to create communities of like-minded bands, and they have succeeded greatly, creating a strong, nation spanning network of terrific bands such as Cinemechanica and Maps and Atlases. All of this, and I have yet to make mention of their music.

So Many Dynamos' music has always been energized with complicated drum beats, clever guitar interplay, and even more clever lyrics, but overall, So Many Dynamos' discography can be characterized by one common thread: growth. With The Loud Wars, the Dynamos have grown into a skin in which they seem to feel comfortable. They have taken some of their old tricks (spastic drums and guitars, dance beats, group vocals, angular key/bass, etc.), and refined them, but also expanded on lesser explored themes such as electronic feels (see: "New Bones") and good ole' fashioned riffs (see: every other song). This album is by far their most cohesive work to date both musically and lyrically. While previous work had the Dynamos nervous about the end of the world, on The Loud Wars Dynamos turn their attention toward both the transcendent possibilities and future of sound with self-referencing in abundance, while still using macro-level analogies such as evolution, religion, and seismology.

To borrow one of these metaphors, the history of So Many Dynamos has been one of evolution. Just as we humans bare little resemblance to our early evolutionary ancestors, the Vagrant Records-signed, serious live band So Many Dynamos of now bare little resemblance to the four teenagers I saw open for Dan Potthast almost seven years ago, but bare a lot of resemblance to the bands we all grew up idolizing. These boys have pulled themselves up from the bootstraps of their own Chuck Taylor's, and for that, we are goddamn proud of them. With that said: go see So Many Dynamos play The Loud Wars in its entirety tommorow, June 25th, at Vintage Vinyl at 9pm. Also, come see So Many Dynamos and Target Market play yet another show together, this one being of great significance as it is So Many Dynamos' CD release show for The Loud Wars. This show is happening on Saturday, June 27th, 8pm at the Firebird, and will feature another great artist the Dynamos introduced to this area, Emeror X.

Let this be our last sappy post for awhile.

-Nathan

Mutiny on the Belafonte

2009-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Salutations,

Target Market is playing a show at Vintage Vinyl on Friday for our CD release show. Check out the kind words about us on Vintage Vinyl's website. We just received a giant box full of CD's that are now, officially, for purchase.

We are all moving out of our house in August and , needless to say, I am feeling poignant about the move. This past year we have spent living together seems so short a time for 4 brothers to cohabitate. Even though we have been friends and band-mates for the last 5 years or so, this is the only opportunity we have had to really get to know each other in a do-your-dishes and lets-all-walk down-to-the-bar-because-there-is-nothing-to-do sort of way. While Nathan and I will be staying in Edwardsville, Clay will be moving to the St.Louis area and Drew is still undecided on his living situation. This is, by no means, the end of our band or friendship; actually, with the release of "Up on the Moon" , we feel more productive than ever. I feel regret that I'll no longer be able to bust in on Clay in the shower, drink whisky on our porch with Nathan, or hear/see Drew tumble down the stairs while sleepwalking in his undies. A sensitive thug like me is probably the last person people would imagine getting quasi-sappy on our blog, but here it is nonetheless.

All mushiness aside, we all have a scrupulous sense of dedication and work ethic. This is, by far, the most exciting release we have had and we are all eager to continue the momentum of our recent efforts and achievements. Keep an eye out for more write-ups, shows, and tours to come in the next couple months. I even hear there are talks of a new TM video to be filmed and released within the next month......

-Joe

For all you "fans" out there...

2009-06-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ventiladores- fans meaning like ceiling fans or maybe a window fan.

"Admiradores" is that word you were looking for, Mr. Bernaix, possibly "aficionados". From now on I'm checking all of our Spanish spelling and grammar; but you gotta love the enthusiasm.

Check out our youtube playlist with an entire performance from us + Aaron and Clayton from So Many Dynamos. It was taken from a show we did at Cicero's in July.

Woop x 2

-Joe

For Our Spanish Speaking Fans or Para Nuestro Español que Habla Ventiladores

2009-06-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Uno de los últimos fichajes del sello Afternoon Records es el cuarteto de Saint Louis, Missouri, Target Market, quienes acaban de publicar su nuevo álbum "Up On The Moon". Como adelanto del mismo nos ofrecen su primer single, "At the Point of Singularity", una bonita canción que nos pone sobre la pista de un grupo interesante. Podéis escuchar más canciones desde su MySpace, y si os gustan, se puede adquirir el disco desde la página oficial del sello discográfico. MySpace [...]

Target Market - At the Point of Singularity

2009-06-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

So, the annual Riverfront Times Music Showcase happened yesterday. I wish I could have seen more bands...literally, it turns out that it is impossible to see anything in the Delmar Lounge. We arrived just a few hours before our 11 o'clock time-slot and spent those hours cashing in our drunk tickets at Blueberry Hill (apparently we had just missed an amazing performance by solo noise act .e and failed to see Blind Eyes at Cicero's). The general mood of the attendees by that point seemed to be a blend of fatigue, optimism, and drunkenness; an "entertain me or get off the stage" feeling familiar to anyone who has ever attended such an event. Beautiful.
We played the Delmar Lounge, and for all that we missed, we did bear witness to a very special Say Panther show as it was Robbie's last performance with the band. Robbie will be missed greatly by St. Louis as a whole. However, he has promised that his new band will not be strangers to the St. Louis area (hugs and kissed to be shared upon reunion). We were sandwiched in between the ambient Feels-era Animal Collective stylings of Exercise and the veteran twee-rockers Bunnygrunt. During our set we encouraged the audience to voice their best heckles in between songs. By far the best heckle was, "You guys live together!" Yes. Yes we do.
P.S. In case you missed the show last night, here is a taste.

-Nathan

Like A (Blog) Virgin

2009-06-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

If you find yourself staring into your computer screen reading these words, presumably, you at least have some sort of vague idea about our band Target Market. However, if you are like most people you might be asking yourself, "Who or what the f*** is Target Market, some sort of Ponzi scheme?" Well, fear not, Target Market is a four-piece indie rock band from Edwardsville, Illinois with influences ranging from Pavement to whatever else is trendy at the moment. In addition to our Edwardsville base, Target Market also has a relationship with the twin-cities area via the kind folks at Afternoon Records. The founder of Afternoon Records, Ian Anderson (think Bill Gates in Ben Gibbard's clothing), actually informed us yesterday that our CDs, Up On the Moon, have just arrived error free and on time! They will be made available for purchase on June, 19th which just so happens to be the same day as our CD release show at the Vintage Vinyl on Delmar in U-City. Until then, you can buy a digital version of Up On the Moon on iTunes, and/or/neither catch us live in 3-D this Sunday, June 7th, at the Riverfront Times Music Showcase, 11pm at the Delmar Lounge. Target Market is nominated for Best Indie Band... you can vote here (vote for So Many Dynamos). We will be updating this blog periodically; making known our whereabouts, letting you buy our stuff, and serving as your overall barometer of cool.

-Nathan