today’s ride 🚋

i've been thinking about what a scene actually owes the bands inside it lately, mainly because i watched one of ours get put to rest this last weekend. nice try haters; it was not tenmonthsummer (i know you’re bummed…), our besties in latergator played their last show ever.

this past saturday, we played in a room in indianapolis called healer (which is a venue, yes, but the other half of the building is a maze of sculpture projects, shrines, gizmos and gadgets). the besties in best noodles in town played. and a band called that's what she said played their second show ever. that last band only exists, by the way, because their lead singer saw latergator open for bigger names in this scene and loved it so much that he said hot damn i need to start a band. just a kid who watched the right band on the right night and decided to pick up a guitar and hit up some friends.

so yeah. my band played a funeral this weekend. it wasn't ours. it was still a funeral.

if you’re not in a band or if you only ever go to shows for artists that are basically brands, let me explain something to you about local scenes: they don't run on talent, or hype, or even good songs (all those things are part of it, though). they run on people deciding, over and over, day after day, sometimes year after year, to just show up. often for no reward at all. healer exists because somebody decided a giant office space full of art installations should also be a venue. that’s what she said exists because somebody in a crowd decided watching wasn't enough anymore. latergator existed for years off the same fuel. it comes down to other bands helping load in gear, friends running your merch, partners waiting for you to come home after a long night of giving it everything. none of that is inevitable or guaranteed. all of it is chosen, constantly, by people in bands who have no real reason to do it other than the fact that they love this shit.

a scene doesn't survive because bands last forever. no band ever will. no band ever could. a scene survives because the bands in it now are building the foundations for the next one to come.

that’s what made me cry more than the goodbye itself. it wasn't just that latergator was ending. (i do, however, get really fucking emotional when any band ends.) it was watching, in the same room, on the same night, proof of exactly how much work it takes to keep something like this alive. a band only a few years into its existence, still finding its legs even on the last run, still being loved into shape by a room full of strangers, friends, and family as the last chord rings out. that's love, functioning as infrastructure.

it's part of why we named our new single "listening to kerosene heights makes me want to be a better person" after kerosene heights — a band out there right now, actively making incredible music and building a road for other bands in the scene. we owe it to this scene to get better for each other, and not just pay homage to legends of past, but give a nod to the band we might be sharing the bill with.

!!! THIS IS A QUICK ADVERTISEMENT FOR TENMONTHSUMMER’S NEW ACOUSTIC EP “MIDWESTERN HAIKUS” (yes, this is how the newsletter ACTUALLY got its name) COMING OUT THIS FRIDAY, 9/11. YOU CAN PRE-SAVE IT HERE. PLEASE DO THAT, IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME !!!

i don't want to end this on a bow, because the room didn't end on one either. grief and inheritance often stand next to each other on nights like these. we drove from chicago to indy that day for the show, and after screaming and sweating and jumping all night, we had a three-hour drive home staring down at us. normally we want to pack up and bounce as fast as we can, but watching latergator hugging people they might not see ever again, we scooped up our things a bit slower. what’s another fifteen minutes of saying what a show, what a fucking show to a group of three friends who left it all out on the stage?

from our last haiku, MANY of you said the following:

“wise words, awesome song, i love reading these. you have at least one (probably more) committed fan.”

“here for the 💩 emoji!!!”

“this rocked to read"

and while none of these are questions, i have made a highlighted and underlined note that y’all quite enjoyed when i was out here talking my 💩.

say less. well, actually, say more, please!

(send in your questions to [email protected] and maybe your question will be the star of the next newsletter!)

this week’s song is "true blues” by the legendary latergator, three best friends who rocked it together in indianapolis, indiana.

if you have the means and the time, go to a local show soon. and by that i mean like a venue or bar with no more than 100 capacity. i bet the ticket and the drinks will be super cheap. you’ll see how the love and community is built in these small rooms across these people that toil and sweat to make it happen. and who knows, you might just discover your new favorite band. hold onto them, cause they might be calling it next week.

if you don’t want to send in a question for deep dish with nish but still have thoughts, comments, concerns for my mental well-being after seeing this existential spiral caught on keyboard, talk to me! i love mail, even when it’s ‘e’.

liked what you read? tell someone about it! that beats me vageuposting into the void trying to fight an algorithm! 🤖

as always though, thanks for being here. 🙏

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