Real Drums Forever
Ultimate Fakebook to play last show after eight years together
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Ultimate Fakebook is (L to R) Bill McShane, Nick Colby and Eric Melin
If there was ever a band that exemplified the rock and roll dream, it was Ultimate Fakebook.
From the music -- hyper power pop performed with an exuberant, Spinal Tap-worthy stage presence -- to the VH1-ready stories about major label heartbreak and accounting woes, UFB endured the ups and downs of band life with an unflinching dedication to reaching its fans.
Now, after eight years of touring and making records, one of Lawrence's flagship bands is breaking up.
"It's hard for me to even say the words out loud," said UFB guitarist Bill McShane. "It's been all I've put all my energy towards for years, so it's just weird. At the same time, I do think it's for the best."
"I think (our fans) know that we gave it our all. They know we weren't just doing it for kicks; that we lived it, we absolutely meant every last second of it."
Better to burn out...
Ultimate Fakebook -- McShane, bassist Nick Colby and drummer Eric Melin -- formed in Manhattan in 1996 and quickly earned a devoted regional following with its energetic live shows and Cheap Trick-inspired power pop. The band released its first album -- Electric Kissing Parties -- in 1998, and the single "Far, Far Away" became a mini-hit on 105.9 The Lazer. A short-lived major label deal and tours with heavy hitters like The Get Up Kids and Sloan ensued, earning the band fans across the country.
Ultimate Fakebook / Motion City Soundtrack / Schatzi
- When: Saturday, March 6, 2004, 10 p.m.
- Where: The Bottleneck, 737 N.H., Lawrence
- Cost: $7
- Age limit: All ages
Though each member expressed different reasons for UFB's break up, one common consensus was that the band was no longer operating at the level envisioned by its founders.
"We all had the philosophy with the band that it was an all-or-nothing deal," McShane said. "Once it got to the point where giving it our all was almost impossible to physically do, I didn't want to half-ass it."
McShane also said he felt burnt out by constant touring (the band often spent more than half the year on the road).
"At a certain point it just became about doing the same things every night at a bar," he said. "I just kind of want to enjoy life -- to be in one place where I can actually hang out with my friends and my lady and do things."
The nail in the proverbial rock and roll coffin, however, may have been the $6,000 each band member owed in back taxes and fines as a result of not paying any taxes in 2000 or 2001.
Photo by Chad Sparks
Melin attributed most of the band's financial woes to poor management, but admitted he wished the band had paid closer attention to its accounting.
"If you've ever met a band before that has no business sense ... that would be us. We needed somebody else to do all that for us because we were only interested in playing music and going on tour and having fun," he said. "Every nightmare you've ever seen on VH1 -- if you're not careful, it WILL come true."
Melin, who is now working two jobs to help pay off the debt, said he hoped the band's farewell show at The Bottleneck would help alleviate some of its nagging financial woes.
"You can call it the Farewell Show or you can call it the Tax Relief Fund Show," Melin said. "Because when it's over with and we sell the van, that'll be the last thing, and whatever we still don't have paid off we're going to have to pay off individually."
2 Legit (still quit)
Things might be different had Ultimate Fakebook stayed with major label Sony 550/Epic. The band was on the verge of breaking into the mainstream in 2000 when that label re-released the band's album "This Will Be Laughing Week" and helped get the single "Tell Me What You Want" into regular rotation on more than 70 commercial radio stations.
Though radio play boosted the group's popularity and made for some good memories (the group still recalls driving through New York City and hearing the song on the radio), the impact was a drop-in-the-bucket by major label standards and forecasted the band's eventual dismissal from the label.
Though UFB left with a healthy severance check and quickly signed on with indie label Initial Records for 2002's "Open Up And Say Awesome," the band found it increasingly harder to sell records and draw audiences without major-label support.
"You can't really underestimate the power of marketing," McShane said. "I don't want to sound like I'm slagging (Initial Records) or anything, but I just think that was something we were maybe naïve about. We thought that our fan base that had found out about us while we were on a major label with full distribution everywhere and radio play would still be able to hear about our record coming out on a really small independent label."
Though being dropped from Sony 550/Epic was a disappointment, the band still looks back fondly on the experience.
UFB's 2002 promo shot from Sony/550
"We knew there were no guarantees," McShane said. "It was just the idea that we had made our stupid little band get to that point on sheer willpower, being out here in the middle of nowhere in Kansas."
"It was just like, 'Wow, we made it; we actually made this thing legit.'"
When I'm With You, I'm OK
The announcement of a breakup touched off an outpouring of fan support on the band's message board. Well-wishers from across the country expressed gratitude for the band's head-rushing live shows and anthemic albums.
"Ever since (I first heard their songs on the radio) I've had nothing but the utmost faith that all they needed was one more chance," wrote a user by the screen name of 'Rhino.' "Everything they play is so energetic and genuine. Much unlike anything else you hear anymore."
The announcement also saddened members of the local music scene, such as Anything But Joey guitarist Bryan Chesen.
"I felt that they literally had everything going for them; they just didn't get the luck," said Chesen, whose band had played with UFB on multiple occasions in the past year. "I'm really happy that we got to play the shows that we did with them. That was probably one of my biggest goals as a band, ever -- to be able to play with Ultimate Fakebook."
Longtime friend Ron Hayes, who courted Melin for his band Kill Creek prior to Melin joining UFB, said he mixed feelings about the band's break up but faith that good things would come from it.
"There's something noble about the way they're doing it," Hayes said. "It's sad, obviously ... but I've known those guys for a real long time so the only thing I care about is that they're happy."
When it comes to remembering UFB for what the band did best, friend and roommate Kliph Scurlock (who now drums for The Flaming Lips) may have said it best:
"Even when they were f***in' shitty drunk they were always awesome live," Scurlock said. "I always appreciated that. I could go see them anytime and know that I was going to have a good time and get rocked."
Chin up
As the band gets ready for its final shows, its members are trying to stay upbeat.
"The reason that we're having these shows at the end is so that we can have fun and celebrate what we accomplished instead of being all poopy," Melin said. "While everybody else was doing normal things we were doing our own thing and it was f***ing awesome."
McShane seconded Melin's positivism.
"I don't want to sound like I'm bitching or complaining because I felt completely lucky at every stage of the game to have anybody watching us," McShane said. "There's plenty of kids we talked to and they were like, 'You were the first band I ever saw live,' and that to me is a huge thing, because I totally remember the first rock show I saw -- I mean, hello, look what it led to."
Though show will most likely be the last opportunity to hear the threesome play UFB songs, none of the members are ruling out the possibility of future collaborations.
To that end, Colby and Melin are already playing in a new band called Dead Girls Ruin Everything, which also features longtime friends Cameron Hawk and JoJo Longbottom (formerly of Podstar).
"There's a lot of opportunities for us to play music now," Melin said. "We can play in Cheap Trick and Queen tribute bands and we can play with our friends just for fun."
As for the possibility of a UFB reunion, Colby already has a plan.
"We're going to wait until VH1 Bands Reunited comes to us. By the time 20 years comes around that program will still be on the air and they'll be down to the C-list of bands that have broken up and we'll be right there," he said.
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