Photograph by Thomas Crone
We’ve all met members of a musical tribe. They can be time-tested (Deadheads) or ridiculous (Juggalos), but they’re united by a common sense of understanding, possessing a vision that all the rest of the world’s missing. There’s this band, you see, and if only people would understand...
Fragile Porcelain Mice fans are a small but hardy lot, primarily found in the greater St. Louis region, with a good chunk of true believers scattered on the east side of the river, close to the band’s homebase of Belleville. Though Fragile may not’ve burst forth from our area with tons of notoriety on a national level, locally they’re revered. Not by critics, necessarily; after all, this was a band without the right haircuts, who didn’t hang out in the hippest clubs or attach themselves at the hip to the local tastemakers. Instead, the quartet attacked something more pure: by simply playing, they’ve won the admiration of most every musician that’s ever heard them. Their individual chops guaranteed that. And this is pure, too: FPM won the admiration of a group of fans who’ve never let them forget that they mattered. Their ferocious stage-shows and occasional albums guaranteed that, as well.
It’s been 20 years since Fragile Porcelain Mice began playing under that name, morphing from a slightly different lineup in their post-punk teen group, Dementia 13. Working through the usual allotment of hall parties, bowling alleys, cafes and oddball opening slots, the group soon found a footing, climbing from support status into one of the most-fearsome live bands to call greater St. Louis home. Born at a time when hard rock labels like Amphetamine Reptile, SubPop and Touch and Go were making inroads into the alternative rock scene, Fragile wed punk, metal and touch of funk into a tight, cohesive meld that was spread out over four albums and an EP, giving them a certain exalted status in town, even as national labels were curiously, even foolishly, only nibbling at their offerings.
Over their two decades, the band hit upon a hiatus or two, though none lasted as long as the current three-year gap in live gigs. Even when guitarist Tim O’Saben left the group to join a resurgent Ultraman, the band soldiered on, bringing in not one, but two replacement guitarists. In time, O’Saben returned to the fold and the band settled into a groove of releasing a record every so often, each one featuring a song or two that would become trademarks of the band’s high-energy sets, each equally stamped by all four core members: O’Saben, with the slashing, ringing guitars; Dave Winkeler, with his eye-popping fretwork on bass; Mark Heinz, who kept time, in a precise lock-step with his rhythm section partner; and vocalist Scott Randall, whose stage attire and on-mic chatter with the audience always presented a quirky, hometown, “we care a lot” charm.
See? The Mice loved their audience and the audience gave it back in spades. Even the pit, which could get plenty volatile during the closing handful of songs each night, had a certain respect factor. If you entered it and hit the floor, there’d be a hand there to bring you back up; if the temperature exceeded boil, Randall would be the first to remind the crowd of the meaning of common decency. At FPM shows, the pit’s the emotional center of the audience, no doubt, a roiling, careening beast, but one with limits. It’s always been that way, and, lo!, it will be one more time.
On Friday, December 16, the band will give and get respect, as they headline a three-band bill at Pop’s, featuring Dibase and longtime sparring partners NIL8 from Springfield, IL. The show will offer fans a chance to reconvene at a club that’s welcomed the band for numerous, memorable shows, celebrating the 20 years that everyone’s known one another. For true fans, it’ll be a concert of the year contender, a chance to tap into youth while taking that one, last, maybe-a-bit-halting step into the stagefront madness. For the band, it’s a chance to reconnect, to honor the fact that everyone’s got post-FPM projects, but that there’s still something out there missing since the group’s decision to pass on their traditional Thanksgiving show in 2009, after some quiet months prior to that.
We checked in with Winkeler and O’Saben. Asked them some questions about the basics. Here’s what we learned.
How did this anniversary show come together? Who talked to whom, and how did discussions pull together into a show?
Winkeler: I think all of us really wanted to do a show again, but it needed to make sense. Pop's actually approached us and that started the ball rolling.
O’Saben: There was talk amongst the band of getting together to do a 20th anniversary show for Thanksgiving. We didn't really think it would happen this year, and ditched the idea. Then Pop's approached us about a week after we decided not to do Thanksgiving. We regrouped and decided to play, since Pop's asked, and we knew they would help make it a smooth and easy-going show. Since we had all just made our family plans for Thanksgiving already, we decided to it, but around Christmas instead of Thanksgiving.
Any new material for the gig, songs that hardcore fans might not know from the discs? Was there any material recorded and "in the can"?
O’Saben: Not really. Just a song, "Dead Weight,” which we had been playing but never recorded besides a couple of demos.
How long since the last gig? And how long was the longest time between shows during your couple of hiatus periods?
O’Saben: About three years. This is probably the longest. This is more of a "last show we never played" than us getting back together. Sort of a bookend show for us. Plus a lot of fans were asking for us to play one more time. It just took a while for the timing to make sense to us. There are no plans for any future shows at this time.
Winkeler: This is by far the longest break, so get the oxygen tanks ready.
With every bit of due respect to all of you and your current projects, what is the special connection y'all feel when playing together? When rehearsing or live gigging, how would you define the vibe you get from two decades of playing?
O’Saben: We've been playing so long together (most of us since high school) that it's like we can read each others' minds while we are playing. I find that unique to FPM, in my experience.
Winkeler: We just played together last week, for the first time in over two years, and it wasn't any more rusty that our last practice. I was really pleasantly surprised. There were a couple of parts we had to "re-learn," but we really flew through most of the tunes like it was yesterday. After playing together for this long, you can almost read the other guy's minds when we're playing the songs. Half the time you know where they're going to mess up, and I'm sure it’s likewise for me.
What's cool about playing Pop's?
O’Saben: Good sound, and they are very respectful and hospitable to bands. They really push their shows by way of a lot of advertising, too.
Winkeler: There are very few venues in town that spend the money on a proper sound system for their room and also spend money promoting their shows. This was key to us deciding to do this show.
Just you four, or Ian Baird, or others...?
Winkeler: This is really a throwback show. Just us four. No bells or whistles, really.
O’Saben: "Sir" Ian Baird is the man, though. There were shows where we wanted to play a couple of songs that were hard to pull off live, because I had multi-tracked guitar parts that didn't sound right with just me playing. Ian and I have been playing in bands for years now (he now plays drums in my band The Adoring Heirs with Rob Wagoner and Bryan Merry) and he is the best musician I know. He can play anything and play it well. Before he sat in with us the first time, he showed up to rehearse songs and nailed them the first time we practiced them. There weren't plans to have him play whole sets, but he did such a great job on the songs we asked him to play, that he just kind of kept playing along to more and more songs; and we were amazed how well he pulled them off. We just decided to let run with it and have him play entire sets with us. He sounded great, and it was fun to have him play. Plus, he's better looking than us, so I'm sure the ladies enjoyed it! Historically, we've asked a lot of friends over the years to sit in with us for various shows and they've all done a great job. They all helped bring to songs to life during shows in unique ways and we are forever grateful.
Describe, if you can, the feeling you get late in a set, when you play a "More Cop Shows" or "Concept of Grief" and the crowd just goes off. I'd imagine that's a pretty damned special feeling. If you could put it into words...
O’Saben: Truth be told, we've played those songs so many times that they are a chore to play in practice. However, when we play those songs live, we get such a reaction that it really sends a charge through us. The crowd is as much of a "band member" during those songs as we are. It's a very cool feeling, and very humbling to know our songs have that affect on people. It's what makes them still fun to play for us after all these years.
Winkeler: It's awesome. I'll sound corny saying it, but creating something that resonates like that with so many people is incredible. When you look out from the stage and see everyone singing along, you know you got that one right.
Anything I/the audience should know, not hinted at above?
O’Saben: Without all the people who still are interested in seeing us after all these years, this show would not be happening. To us, the audience is half of the show, and we are the other half. Everything we've done in 20 years was for the fans. We have always been humbled that people spent their hard-earned money to see us play. We want to give people the best show we can for them. I feel that this Pop's show is their show, more than ours. People come to escape life for a little while and be entertained. We intend to do our best to meet their expectations and hopefully even surpass them.
Winkeler: We'll play songs from all three full-length records as well as our EP Rut. Should be fairly comprehensive. Chandler Evans, who played with us for awhile, is in the first band, DiBiase; they're awesome as well. And then there’s NIL8, NIL8, NIL8! We hope to see all the old familiar faces and maybe a few new ones as well.
