I think early on it was their vocals, but they have vastly improved on that so it is no longer an issue. They have had the inner ear moniters for a couple of years now, and that really took them to a new level of playing together. Those also helped reduce the stage noise so that their vocals came out much clearer without the amps bleeding into the mics too much. They also changed the name of the band so that muddles things a little while opening doors like Moe.down for them. Now I just think they have to keep playing all over the place to increase their recognition.
I think the main problem is that this genre of music doesn\'t really lend itself to blowing up. Any underground grassroots music movement is going to be slow going. Yes they have been around for 7+ years, but in reality their band is still very young. At least in an underground sense. If they were poppier and got radio play, they may have the ability to blow up and be signed by Sony or something. Then Sony would negotiate with radio stations so they would play The Breakfast. But that\'s not the band we know and love.
It\'s a slow process. They gather more fans as they play more gigs. They have improved their equipment, they have improved their song writing skills, they have improved their ability to play off of each other, and they will only get better. I know, how can they get better? Well they do all the time.
Actually that\'s one of the best things about them going on tour (besides promoting the band). They spend so much time together and play almost every night. This makes them play so well with each other. It\'s probably better than practicing.
I love it when they come back home after a tour. Every time they do they are almost exponentially better. Maybe it\'s because I haven\'t heard them in a while but I don\'t think so. Touring seems to me like Breakfast Boot Camp. As long as they keep touring, keep writing great music, and keep weaving ridiculous jams with almost radioactive levels of Ser Face Ownage, they\'ll keep growing.
Look at the growth they\'ve experienced since the release of Real Radio. They just have to keep plugging along. Maybe next show they\'ll pick up 2 or 3 die-hards. They\'ll try to get their friends to go to a show, much in the same manner that we do. Then next week they may pick up another 3-4 fans. Then in a month they\'ll have 12 new fans and they\'ll sign up on .info to get the scoop and talk to geeks like us. Then before you know it we\'ll be paying for more tickets than covers.
As for me, I\'m enjoying the fact that I get to enjoy the band in these intimate venues. There will come a day when we\'ll be pining for the old days when the band had to walk through the crowd to get to the stage (or more appropriately, playing area) and we could shake their hands without needing a VIP pass like Wayne and Garth at an Alice Cooper show. Their day will come, let\'s just enjoy what we\'ve got going now.
