It’s hard for a band formed seven years ago by three college best friends to be anything short of fun. Mike Boren, Dave Satterwhite and Ryan Smith have seen and heard it all while on the road promoting their seventh record “Disappointer.”
“We once opened up for this High School band and our payout was how much the bar made,” Satterwhite said. “So we’re there at a bar whose only customers during the show are either the parents of the high schoolers who aren’t drinking or underage kids. We didn’t have a place to stay so we check into this cheap Super 7 motel, next day we wake up [and] realize we all have lice.”
Underneath all the fun and spontaneity that goes along with being on the road for weeks on end, comes a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft of music — something the guys simultaneously agree to be the key factor in their success.
Musically, the guys are very diverse. While they remain loyal to those who inspired them when Two Houses was first starting, they agree their biggest inspiration comes from the bands they meet while touring.
“Dave said it best the other night,” Boren said. “He talked about how playing with bands who are better than you inspire you to improve your sound and quality. I think we all stand by that.”
Satterwhite finds inspiration in other bands while on the road.
“It’s easy to get pretty complacent, to assume you’re a good band,” Satterwhite said. “But when you see other people who you have never met before have that drive, that energy we all have when we’re first starting, it’s pretty inspiring.”
On the road, the guys reflect on life’s funny way of getting them to be where they are today. Though all songs written by Two Houses are based on their personal experiences, struggles, and thoughts, the song that reveals most about them is the record’s title track “Disappointer.”
“It’s about self reflection and confession,” Satterwhite said. “it’s looking at yourself in the mirror in the midst of succeeding and maybe getting what you want, and trying to figure out if it’s a good thing or a dangerous thing.”
Two Houses fans will be ecstatic to hear that aside from their seventh record the band just released under Rad Girlfriend Records and Let’s Pretend Records labels, the guys are currently working and producing their next album titled “I Feel So Good I Can’t Stand Myself,” which will come out in 2016.
This new album will give fans an even more in-depth look and connection into the band’s history.
“It’s more about our past, looking at it and how it led you to where you are. It’s a way to examine that and try to figure out if those were good choices,” Boren said.
On any given show night, the crowd should expect to experience a fun, upbeat, music-loving, kind of night. The moment Two Houses steps on stage, they are committing fully to their sound, lyrics, and performance.
“At the end of it, we want and hope that people will walk away feeling energized and loving the time they spent watching us perform. Personally, I hope people are entertained and they get some sort of emotional catharsis out of it,” Satterwhite said.
You can catch Two Houses playing at Egan’s on Monday, November 2. For more information and tour dates, you can visit http://twohouses.bandcamp.com/
