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They are an aspiring graphic artist, a former Procter & Gamble employee, and a devotee of Kurt Vonnegut. They are also the local band called Post-Haste, a two-year-old outfit composed of drummer Gregory Mills, bassist Mike Fair and guitarist/vocalist Mike Winters.
Mills and Winters, both 24, are Mason natives and longtime friends who have been playing in bands since their high school days. Mills and Winters met Fair, 21, while playing a show in Clifton along with The Throbs, Fair's band.
"We heard him play and thought he would be a good match for us," Mills said.
Each band member has his role. Mills, a graphic arts major at UC, puts his technical expertise to use, editing and mixing their recordings on his four-track. Ex-Proctoid Winters does most of the songwriting for the band, and Fair, an NKU English major whose favorite Vonnegut work is Deadeye Dick, arranges most of the guitar parts.
To date, Post-Haste has released two self-produced albums, one self-titled and the other called Stormtrooper Percussion Unit. Listening to Stormtrooper, with its hypnotic guitar work and stream-of-consciousness lyrics, one can hear a resemblance to Dayton's Guided by Voices, a Post-Haste favorite.
"There is kind of an upside and a downside to recording on a four-track," Mills said. "We kind of like the gritty, raw sound you get on a four-track, but obviously you are limited as to what you can do to get a certain sound when recording."
The band looks to release another album this summer, a two-disc set tentatively titled Adventures of a Mathematician.
The band cut their teeth with several shows at Sudsy Malone's, but like many up-and-coming bands mourned the loss of Sudsy's as a venue when they stopped hosting live music.
"It was a big loss for a lot of bands like us," Winters said. "Sudsy's was always willing to give a new band a chance, if they played good music. There are still a lot of good venues around town to play, but we played some great shows there."
The band will get the chance to try out a new venue on Thursday, April 20, playing in the third slot of a four-band show at The Overflow in the Main Street entertainment district downtown. Other bands on the bill include headliner Readymaid, The Throbs, and Hector Rides Again.
"We are looking forward to the show," Winters said. "Playing on Main Street is definitely a different thing for us. These are four bands that are still relatively unknown in town, but we see this as a terrific opportunity to possibly gain a new audience."
Post-Haste has played one out-of-town gig to date, at the legendary Lounge Ax, Chicago's equivalent to Sudsy's. This came about from Mills sending a demo to the booking agent at the club, who liked their sound.
"This was definitely a great time," Fair said. "Going on the road and staying in a hotel was definitely a new thing for us. But we got a good response from the audience, and having the chance to branch out and play for a new crowd is a definitely a positive for getting your name out."
To date, the band is still looking to sign with a local record label. They have talked to reps from Cincinnati's Deary Me Records, and could possibly be included on a Deary Me compilation.
"Of course, it is every band's goal to get signed to a label," Mills said. "To a large extent, succeeding in this business comes down to who you know."
With the easy accessibility of technology, there are more possibilities for musicians to get the word out on their band, Fair said.
For now, the band intends to land gigs at other clubs around town, as well as getting copies of their latest CD into more hands. In the band's perfect world, they would like to sign with a larger indie label, on the order of Merge or Matador.
"Yes, we would like to grow to the point where we are touring regularly," Mills said. "Being an Indie band usually means keeping your day jobs, but at that level you have more ownership of your own music."
POST-HASTE will be at The Overflow on April 20.