The Personal Touch of the Internet: Mighty Ships Call It Quits
Photograph by Brownbear Creative
Since the dawn of the Internet, to "know" someone has taken on a multitude of different meanings. What was once interacting with a person in the flesh has changed to a handful of email exchanges or Facebook messages. But who's to argue that either has more significant meaning than the other?
Three weeks ago, Mighty Ships announced that Rawr! Rawr! Rawr! Fest will be the band's last show for the foreseeable future. There were many reasons for the dismemberment, but geographical distances between band members and wanting to work on other aspects of life were key issues. "I'm 24, and have basically spent the majority of my weekends since I was 15 playing shows," frontman Tyler Bachman explained in the band's Facebook post. "I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I've missed a lot and there are a few other areas of my life I'd like to take care of for awhile. To me, this seems like the right time.
Throughout their existence, Mighty Ships has released a handful of demos, an album — The Coastal Midwest — and have played notable shows with the Cardboard Swords, Secret Stuff, Prawn, and other emo legends. The most significant show for the band occurred in 2014 on the second night their 10 night tour. They were at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas, opening for a band called Sovereign States, which happened to be having their last show as a band that night.
"They put out an incredible EP that we knew every word to. We sang along with them all night and even got up on stage with them at one point," Bachman noted. "After that they did this thing called 'Taking Back Mondays,' which was basically live band karaoke of every 2000s pop-punk song you ever knew. Two hours of that, some beers, and no voice later, it was the best night. I always thought 'shit, what a great night to go out on."
Although our paths have never crossed in the physical world, our endless email threads and countless Facebook messages with Mighty Ships has been enough to form a friendship and a mutual respect for each other's craft. We're Trying Records would be an even smaller, DIT label without all of their tasty tunes.
Rawr! Rawr! Rawr! Fest is being held on April 2 at the Normal Community West High School at 6 pm.