How to go
Who: Shrug
Where: Canal Public House, 308 E. First St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Cost: $5
More info: 937-461-9343 or www.canalpublichouse.com
Artist info: www.shrug.bandcamp.com
“Friends,” one of the top sitcoms of the 1990s, premiered on NBC on Sept. 22, 1994. That same evening, a new acoustic trio called Shrug made its low-key debut at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton on a bill that included New York band Stigmata-a-Go-Go.
Two decades later, Chandler, Phoebe and the rest of the sitcom crew are in syndication on cable television and Shrug has become one of Dayton’s most enduring original bands. The group celebrates its 20th anniversary with a performance at Canal Public House on Friday, Sept. 19.
Founding members Tod Weidner (vocals, guitar), who also plays bass for Motel Beds, and Dan Stahl (drums) recently discussed Shrug’s longevity.
Staying power
Stahl: “It doesn’t seem like 20 years. You wake up and it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, it’s been 20 years.’ ”
Weidner: “Then you look around and all the bands we started with have either fallen by the wayside or people have moved on to different things. The only one I’m sure is still around is Legbone.”
Stahl: “Guided by Voices is still playing, but they broke up for a while.”
Weidner: “That’s a different thing.”
Stahl: “Yeah, I call those the successful bands.”
Scaling back
Weidner: “We’ve dialed back the number of shows we play, but we never actually stopped. It was just a gradual thing. I got busy with the Pink Floyd tribute for a while and that that took me out of town on a lot of weekends. At the same time the other guys started playing with Jesse Remnant in Human Cannonball. That made me feel better to know they weren’t just waiting for me to come back to town.”
Stahl: “When you first get in a band, it’s like your gang, but it’s not like a marriage because you can go out and play with other people.”
Weidner: “We cheat on each other all the time.”
A steady pace
Weidner: “We’ve never been the cool band that did all the cool drugs. If there was a corner table in the cafeteria, that’s where our band is. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because I have a lot of friends in the cool bands and bands that have been fashionable and I’ve gone to a lot of memorial shows, too. I’d rather have some longevity and just kind of quietly chug along. I think back and we were playing Canal Street every five weeks for like 13 years and our following never waned. I’m kind of flabbergasted. Every band should be so lucky.”
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