Search - Fishboy :: Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll

Fishboy is a four-piece eccentric indie pop band from Denton, TX that began as the bedroom solo project of front man Eric Michener. He was given the nickname on a middle-school field trip after a dare to pluck and swallow a fish at the Dallas World Aquarium. Six years and several shoe boxes full of cassette tapes later, Michener moved from the suburbs to the Texas rock-and-roll Mecca of Denton with a handful of low budget recordings released by the close-knit Austin music collective Business Deal Records. It's here that the little project became a full-fledged rock band that has since taken on several forms, the most current of which meshes the band's lo-fi twee pop roots with a loud, energetic rhythm section topped with the occasional horn, piano, or organ, the result of which is somewhere along the lines of fellow Texans Daniel Johnston and Britt Daniel (Spoon) joining the Danielson Famile to play for Anthony Daniels (C3PO) and Daniel Day Lewis (moustache) as they both drink Jack Daniels on a Sunday afternoon. Since 2005 the band has toured across the nation more than a few times and has walked away with a couple of broken vans and a few gold nuggets, the first of which is a partnership with the Athens, Georgia label Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records. The second is a greater appreciation of their home, the folks that surround them, and the rich history of Texas music. These themes run deep through the band's new album, Albatross: How We Failed To Save The Lone Star State With The Power Of Rock And Roll, a record that Michener calls "a rock opera about how myself, the band, and the ghost of Buddy Holly attempt to save Texas by going on a tour/crime spree in order to perform all 8,030 of the songs I've written in my sleep since I was in the womb." As well as a new album, the next year will feature a 7" as part of the HHBTM Singles Club, appearances on HHBTM, Business Deal, and Asthmatic Kitty compilations, a trip to the 2007 CMJ new music festival, and a couple more of those US tours (the ghost of Buddy Holly has yet to be confirmed.)