The Reincarnation of Nine Mile Island

            I am not sure how to begin, my band, Nine Mile Island, started freshman year of high school. We were just a random group of friends, not great friends or anything, but the kind of people that you only hang out with at school. We started out with a few covers and a really terrible original or two, and it was pretty much just an excuse to goof off and hang out with some people. We quickly became great friends, adding others to the band along the way just to keep all of us included in some way when we would shows. The addition of a “manager,” a fellow who does blacksmithing and occasionally played the tambourine and a serious guitarist joined our group, the first because he wanted to be included backstage and the other because we needed a second guitarist who could play solos.

This is when we started to get serious, or at least form a semi-legitimate band. We actually started writing songs, but most practices only lasted about half an hour, after that we would all go down to the river to swim. Somehow, people seemed to like our songs and we actually amassed a following. Ranging from middle school girls to grandmothers and grandfathers, we had a strange audience at shows. We then started to write more songs and get better gigs.

Being too young to play at bars, we were forced to play birthday parties, festivals, and small venues that allow underage shows. Many times we struggled to sell tickets and got little in return, but we were playing for larger and larger crowds that actually liked our music. Eventually, it got boring and difficult playing in the same places repeatedly and trying to sell tickets to your friends who had seen you perform again and again. Due to our growing popularity, we were offered a shot at playing one of the biggest venues in Richmond called The National.

Going up on the same stage that artists like the Smashing Pumpkins and Paul Simon was a huge deal for us and we busted ass trying to sell tickets to that show. It was one of the most incredible times of my life and one of my fondest memories. We ended up doing it a second time later on and gained access to the newly refurbished headliner’s suite. This night was hands down the coolest night of my life, and Snoop Dogg playing the night after us. Since then, we have recorded and lost some of the excitement that we once had. Everybody had gone to a different school and the band was seeming to come to an end until today, three of us agreed to start writing songs again and for the first time in a very long time I have been truly excited to start playing music again and getting back to the energy level that we once had. 

http://www.reverbnation.com/ninemileisland