How to go
Who: Astro Fang with The Raging Nathans and The Washington Beach Bums
Where: Hole in the Wall, 423 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Cost: $5
More info: 937-224-4888 or
Artist info: www.astrofang.bandcamp.com
The recent buzz around town is that Christian Roerig and Bryan Saunders are at odds. The former bandmates in Astro Fang, which is reuniting for a show at the Hole in the Wall on Friday, engaged in verbal skirmishes during more than one recent promo opportunity.
However, when Roerig and Saunders recently sat down on the second floor deck of the Tumbleweed Connection the longtime friends were cordial. They were more interested in discussing the upcoming Astro Fang reunion than dwelling on personal differences.
Here are excerpts from the conversation.
Celebrating the music
Saunders: “I am definitely looking forward to the show. It’s the first one we’ve played in three years that is just a show and not memorial for a friend who has passed.”
Roerig: “The last two or three times we’ve played it has been to honor the memories of friends and supporters of the band. We’re doing this one for the sake of throwing a party and celebrating the music.”
Saunders: “It will be a lot different of a vibe. We can just focus on putting on a good show and not being bummed out all night.”
Rotating drummers
Roerig: “(Astro Fang’s last drummer) Chris (Mengerink) will probably play the bulk of our set. (Original drummer) Colin (Croom) will obviously be able to play whatever he wants as long as we get a chance to rehearse. (Mid-period drummer John) Lakes will play some of the songs he’s recorded and written with us. We definitely wanted to celebrate the massive drum lineage of the band.”
Musical regrets
Saunders: “My only regret is we didn’t tour when we had the opportunity to do it and make some progress. We just weren’t thinking.”
Roerig: “We really didn’t have the facility to capitalize on the buzz or the record offers that were thrown our way. There are three by my count that we turned down by our own ineptitude. Obviously, the buzz around here was crazy. We’d get 300, 400 people through the door but our own egos kind of destroyed the band.”
Saunders: “We got lazy to an extent once we got really popular.”
Back on stage
Roerig: “We’ve taken so long off from doing a proper show we want to do something special and cool for people that have been supporting us for a while. Maybe people who haven’t seen us in a while will come out to a cool place and see songs that maybe mean something to them or had a certain place in their life at some point. I’m not trying to sound cocky, but we had some wild, memorable times. We’re hoping people will come revisit those with us.”
About the Author