By: Katy Lindenmuth
Good post-breakup advice: “Don’t get mad, get even.” Better post-breakup advice: “Don’t get mad, get a new band.” Take a cue from Ex-Boyfriends: In a slump after respective band falling-outs and love troubles, Colin Daly and Chris Ohnesorge recruited Peter Harb and pieced together a spunky new musical project. The proud-to-be-gay trio aptly christened themselves Ex-Boyfriends, a role they’d both played and witnessed.
Signed in 2003 by Absolutely Kosher, the San Francisco-based band is set to release a debut full-length album, Dear John, on Feb. 21. With audible influences like the Cars, Weezer, the Cure, and Alkaline Trio, the tempo of the record is far from broken-hearted. This threesome is clearly on the prowl with infectious hooks and off-the-charts danceability factor. Granted, some of their tunes aren’t much deeper than, say, a kiddie pool (sample lyric from “Stop, Drop ‘n Rock ‘n Roll”: “If you can’t shake that ass / You better bang your head / If you don’t feel like dancing / Rock out instead”). But the band’s undeniable charm overrides the occasional lyrical simplicity and, for the record, Rivers Cuomo and friends made it big with their radio-friendly color-coded albums, not the intensely personal Pinkerton.
Ex-Boyfriends are planning to tour in mid-March, heading out to SXSW in Austin and back. Finally, there’s a good time for Ex-Boyfriends to be in town.
Ex-Boyfriends tour dates:
2/18, Berkeley, CA (Act 1 and 2) 3/11, Pomona, CA (Needles and Pins)3/12, Los Angeles, CA (The Serious Store)3/13, Phoenix, AZ (Soul Invictus Artists Collaborative)3/15, Austin, TX (Habana Calle 6 Patio — SXSW)3/16, Austin, TX (End of an Ear — SXSW)3/17, Dallas, TX (Bar of Soap)3/18, Houston, TX (Super Happy Fun Land)3/19, Denton, TX (Mable Peabody’s Beauty Shop)3/20, Lawrence, KS (The Replay Lounge)3/21, Denver, CO (Marquis Theatre)3/22, Salt Lake City, UT (Kilby Court Gallery)3/23, Boise, ID (The Bouquet)3/24, Portland, OR (Towne Lounge)
