After nearly three years of no live work, the core lineup of Fragile Porcelain Mice will return for its traditional Thanksgiving night show, in the venue that’s been home for a several, recent-vintage FPM gigs, Pop’s. The band (vocalist Scott Randall, drummer Mark A. Heinz, guitarist Tim O’Saben and bassist Dave Winkeler) will be joined by one, special, mystery guest onstage but will otherwise play a reunion set with the group’s classic lineup. In addition, the band Bent, last seen sharing a stage with Judge Nothing in April of 2012, will share the bill, reuniting two of the best St. Louis groups of their era.
Fragile, itself, hasn’t been active since December of 2011, when it played a 20th anniversary show at Pop’s, a lively evening that saw the group dust off all of the tracks that made them a popular draw in St. Louis during the 1990s and early 2000s. (Wanna watch that show? You can, here.)
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This time out, a simple catalyst was at play. “The impetus for the show was that everyone was available,” Randall says. “That’s about it. We talked earlier in the year about doing a show, and thought it might be nice to play on Thanksgiving again. For me, it always feels weird not playing a show on Thanksgiving.”
To prep for the gig, the hard rock group’s “been meeting once a week, with a couple of exceptions, for the past two months. It took a few rehearsals to knock the rust off, but for the most part they have been really productive and, dare I say, fun. On occasion we would have to listen to our old records to make sure we knew or remember certain parts. As far as warming up to each other, we just picked up where we left off. We’re all goofballs.”
Playing at Pop’s was a natural, Randall says, as “Pop’s has really been great to work with. They have great sound and promote the show. Plus they serve beer in plastic bottles. That will be beneficial to our health, just in case we really suck. No chicken wire necessary with plastic bottles.”
As a group that’s typically brought a few choice covers to each gig, Randall says “we have a couple in mind, one, or part of one for sure. But when you share a bill with Bent (who on top of writing great songs of their own also is one of the best cover bands in the game) we look like amateurs when it comes to covers. We are playing some songs we haven’t played in a while. One in particular we haven’t played in nearly 20 years.”
While not exactly active these days, FPM’s members have been busy in a variety of activities. Musical, sure, but also spanning other life interests.
“Dave is currently playing in The Potomac Accord, Randall says. “He’s been gigging around town. Tim has been busy with his Tim-O & Harley Podcast. Mark is looking to start playing music with other musicians, while Dave and I will hopefully be recording and playing out with the R6 Implant in 2015.”
But there’s something special when these four get together. It was true for 2011’s anniversary show and will likely be true, again, next week. Though the nights together are relatively infrequent, the memories (and, Randall suggests, tweaked muscles) tend to last.
“As far as right after the show, it is a little hard to come down from that high,” Randall admits. “It sounds cliché, but it’s such an amazing feeling playing music you wrote in front of people who enjoy it. Let’s face it, we ain’t getting any younger. This might be the last time we experience this. We don’t take it for granted. As far as aches and pains, let’s say the recovery time is a little longer than it was in the ’90s. More ointments and liniments.”
True for the band, true for the fans. See you in the pit.
For more info on the show, go to popsrocks.com.
