Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: The Verge

My Early Travels will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the 7th Street Underground with local bands Howard and Little Boy Junior. (Photo courtesy of My Early Travels)

The band My Early Travels draws its name from the title of a book by the same name. The band's drummer, Andy Butcher, said that they decided upon the name after a friend was tossing out titles of books.

"We wanted a name that wasn't taken and something that we wouldn't have to change very much to put it on the Internet," Butcher said. "Everyone in the band agreed that the title had a nice ring to it."

The book was "My Early Travels and Adventures in America and Asia" by Henry Stanley.

The band originally formed as a three-piece band in August of 2007, but quickly became a four-piece band within a few months.

My Early Travels' current lineup consists of Butcher (drummer), Michael Mathias (lead singer/guitarist), Austin McCraken (guitarist/vocalist) and Adam McDorman on (bassist). The band is influenced by '90s indie-rock bands such as Weezer and a Nebraska-based band named Criteria.

They currently have released one album " Sleeping On a Gold Mind," which was released on Sept. 27, 2008. The album's title comes from a discussion between guitarists Mathias and McCraken.

"After a show one night, they got to talking about how much we all have to be thankful for like our health and our families," Butcher said. "We really just started thinking about things we often take for granted, and from there the album's title was born."

The band was pleased with the way the album turned out.

"We have a friend who landed an internship with a guy from Indianapolis and through him, we were able to do all the initial tracking in his living room and his bedroom," Butcher said. "All things considered, we were able to put the EP out for a ridiculously low price and we really couldn't have asked for much more when it comes to the sound and overall production."

My Early Travels originates from Marion, Ind. and was able to get the show in Charleston after contacting a friend, Indiana musician John Davey, who then contacted a member of the Eastern Illinois University Musician's Coalition.

Butcher said that the band tries to play shows in their local area as well as outside the state. One of the main problems they have faced with shows in their area is finding bands that have varied sounds.

Aside from scheduling time to tour, My Early Travels plans to continue playing shows, as well as begin work on a new album.

"I think we will probably begin to track the new EP and continue to build a fan base around here," Butcher said.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.

Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.

Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.

If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.