The A-OKs Are Back With A New Album, and They Haven’t Lost Their Beer Bong
by Tim Wenger
“Mark, whenever we’re on stage, he always goes ‘We are the A-OKs, and YOU are the A-OKs, and that is one of the biggest things we have always done is to make them a part of us.” Inspiring words from The A-OKs trumpet player Nicole Swan, describing front man (and husband) Mark Swan, and seeming in an instant to summarize the band’s attitude over their seven year rise up Denver’s ska and punk rock scenes by including their fans as their own. Perhaps that’s why their force unsuspecting journalists to hit the beer bong during interviews- after I proved to them I was worthy, everyone cheered. I felt welcome (and relieved-it’s been a while since college).
Their live shows are rowdy, loud, and often involve a good portion of male nudity mixed with the occasional on-stage broken bone. The group has has shared the stage with so many of the ska and punk world’s heroes, everyone from The Slackers to MxPx, that they’d need more fingers in order to count them all. This summer, The A-OKs will be bringing their self-described “ludicrous” stage show party across the country on their first coast-to-coast tour. “We’re really proud to announce that we are one of two bands headlining the Ska Revivial Tour,” says Mark Swan. “It’s going to be us and our good friends from Las Vegas Be Like Max.”
Last summer, the group played an opening slot on part of the ska revival tour, but took the promotion this year and signed up for a full month in the van. “Our last tour was based around doing the west coast leg, but this year we get to do the whole thing,” Mark says.
As they have never toured to the east coast, the group hopes to work with some of the region’s premiere ska bands locally to support the out of towners, with a similar concept on the west coast. “This is our first time heading further east than Council Bluffs, Iowa,” says trombonist Matt Sanchez. Dates for the tour are July 13-August 8. Local ska stars The Dendrites will be joining on select days.
Denver fans may have seen Be Like Max on the bill with The A-OKs a few times in the past- the two bands have been hosting each other in Vegas, Denver, and in-between for couple years now. “It’s fun going around with Be Like Max, it’s like a traveling circus because it’s two big bands,” says A-OKs guitarist Justin Cantrell. “When we meet together, it’s a lot of fun. There is a lot of different dynamics playing off between us.” The two bands have become close enough that A-OKs sax player Mark Malpezzi throws down some licks on the new Be Like Max album and will likely be jumping up to rock with the group on the upcoming tour.
Speaking of new albums, June 20 sees the release of Maybe Partying Will Help, the much-anticipated (as proven by the successful crowdfunding campaign) fourth offering from The A-OKs. Recorded at Black In Bluhm studio with Chris Fogal (of The Gamits), the record demonstrates a strong amount of musical maturity for the band while still maintaining their signature, frantic ska/punk energy. Celebrate with the band at the Bluebird Theatre that night- Get tickets here. “It’s being mixed and mastered by Steve Foote (Big D and the Kids Table),” says Nicole Swan.
These days, four releases is quite an accomplishment, one that the seven current band members aren’t taking lightly. I walked in to their band practice, and prior to being handed a lukewarm PBR, overheard Nicole Swan explaining a recent call to what I was led to believe was a promoter or booking agent surprised by the band’s level of accomplishment and perseverance. The current and former guys and gals in the group have all put in extreme personal sacrifice of both time and money to get the band to the level they currently play at, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight.
“One thing that we did that I noticed a lot of bands back in the day didn’t do was spend a day or two going around town with fliers, either printed from the venue or printed out of your own pocket, and making a day of posting it at every record store you come across, every sign post that seems to draw people’s attention,” Mark Swan says.
The modern age of social media have made it a bit easier, but The A-OKs have found that nothing beats some good ole’ fashioned street work. “Talk to people, make friends with everybody, go to pages of bands that are bigger than you and talk to them,” Swan says. “Don’t count on social media for everything, but when you get to a certain point where you have relationships based on your reputation, just be everyone’s friend.”
Bands like The A-OKs, who are certainly known for creating a sense of community at their shows, are the bands that make a scene coercive and whole. By becoming friends with everyone, and making their fans feel a part of the show, they have maximized the sense of their shows being the place to be in Denver.
“I remember in our early days, we had some interesting tactics,” laughs Sanchez. “There was a point where we were young and at least somewhat attractive, so it was, flirt with all the girls and maybe they’ll want to come see us. Another big thing that we did was that we were a ‘yes’ band. If we got offered a gig, we weren’t especially difficult to work with. We’d be like’ Oh, drink tickets? WE”RE IN!’”
“We talk to people, we give them stuff, we do whatever it takes just to make them feel comfortable at our shows, rather than completely ignore them and stay downstairs and do nothing,” Nicole Swan adds. “That’s how a lot of bands don’t get further than they do, because they just are that band on a show rather than becoming someone that (fans) like.”
But even with all this positivity and fun, the clouds still occasionally roll in. A band, especially one with seven members, has to make some tough calls now and then. Sometimes you have to say no, and sometimes you have to say good-bye. “I think the kicking a member out thing is probably one of the single hardest things of my entire life,” says Sanchez. “Because you think about it like, everyone here is making insane sacrifices to do this, and that person is doing that too. They went all in on the dream too, and to cut someone off from that, ugh.”
Like the saying goes, though, from sorrow comes strength. The A-OKs are, seven years later, a strong rock in the wall of Denver’s ska and punk communities and along with other groups like Potato Pirates and 3 Grams Over an Ounce (RIP) have helped the scene to become an inclusive one over the years, even with bands around them constantly forming and ending. “We kind of stepped into the scene at a moment it felt like it emploded,” says Sanchez. “In one summer, it felt like we lost The Rightaways, The Haggardies, 12 Cents For Marvin.”
Luckily for Denver, The A-OKs have done more than their part to fill the gap. It has been a hell of ride, even just watching these guys grow over the years, and their train shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. An A-OKs show is not an event you will soon forget and the seven members of the group are hard at work adding on to their laundry list of accomplishments and having fun the whole time. “Internally, one thing that we’ve always been pretty good at, and I think this is reflective of the album that we’ve done, is setting your goals, knowing what that next step is, stating your goals and having everyone on that same page,” says Cantrell. “What’s really been cool about this album is that everyone has done that. Whatever you want to do next, just remember that it’s going to be work and nothing is just going to happen for you.”
I’ll do a beer bong to that.
Online: facebook.com/theaoks
Category: Buzzworthy
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
 |
 |
