the Commodes
We're the Commodes from Denver, Colorado. We play Punk Rock and love what we do. We have a new CD out called "Cursed from the Beginning." Check out our website www.thecommodes.com.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Jimmy Savage, Drew Wells and Eric Wood couldn’t believe their eyes. “You guys! She’s actually wearing our shirt!!!” Jimmy exclaimed. In the middle of the smoke filled Ogden Theater, the three boys could see their band name, “the Commodes” scrawled across the front of a teenage girl’s shirt. This wasn’t any ordinary show either; it was Rancid, Tiger Army, and F-Minus. A show where mohawks are dyed the night before and everyone comes dressed in their best. But with what the Commodes have accomplished in their brief existence, it’s a surprise they weren’t on the tour’s bill.
The trio formed in 2000 and after playing dozens of successful shows, they released their debut EP “A Prelude to Toilet Rock” in 2002 which received nothing but a good response. AOL Radio, Netscape Radio, and Spinner.com put it on regular rotation resulting in four of the five songs landing on the Top 25 Modern Punk List. One of the songs “Cheers,” was voted by listeners to the number 7 spot, outranking well-known bands such as Green Day, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, and Rancid. Locally their debut met similar success. 106.7 KBPI (Colorado’s most popular rock station) played the Commodes demo CD in its entirety on Sunday nights for an entire month. The DJ referred to them as “an early day Green Day except fasterpretty good stuff.”
With the success of “A Prelude to Toilet Rock” the Commodes continued to play more successful shows at local venues such as the Ogden, the Gothic, the Bluebird, the Soiled Dove, Rock Island, and the Starlight. Dustin Lindenmayer also joined the band for a brief stint, but decided the life of a musician wasn’t the life for him.
In the snowy month of February, 2004, the Commodes went to the legendary 8 Houses Down recording studio to record their latest EP “Cursed from the Beginning” which was produced by Matt Vanleuven and Chris Fogal (the Gamits, producer of Love Me Destroyer’s “Black Heart Affair”). The CD is fast, intense, and pure punk rock. Eric’s machine gun drum beats define power while Drew’s intricate bass lines resemble Matt Freeman difficulty. The lyrics, written by Jimmy, display his dark, horror movie side but also scribe his sincere up beat power anthems, while his vocals leave little room for improvement. From start to finish, “Cursed from the Beginning” gets your fist pumping and your heart going; the true essence of punk rock.
To this day, the band is continuing their relentless work ethic and self promotion. Their hard work was recently paid off in a weird way when Colorado’s infamous show promoter, Maris the Great, “killed” them for his first television episode of ‘Dead as Fuck.’ The episode, which can be seen on his website, MarisTheGreat.com, has already received an audience throughout the country numbering far into the thousands.
While Jimmy (19-years-old), Drew (19) and Eric (20), still aren’t legally allowed into the bars they play, their dedication to their music is unstoppable. And as they say in Maris the Great’s ‘Dead as Fuck,’ the only level of success that they’ll be pleased with is world domination.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Yeah we play as much as we can. Mostly in Denver and will start touring this summer. We love playing and express that in our energetic live show.
Your musical influences
Bands like Rancid, AFI, Alkaline Trio, Green Day, the Lawrence Arms, NOFX, Tiger Army, Anti-Flag.
What equipment do you use?
Yamaha Drums. Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. Marshall Cabs. Ampeg Bass Cab. Peavey Nitrobass. Fender P-Bass. Epiphone Less Paul. D'Addario stings and .60 Dunlop Grey Picks (Nothing else).
Anything else?
Download our music!!!
