review: too busy being bored

by David Lion Rattiner

There is a group of boys in Sag Harbor that is creating quite a buzz. Their band name is Too Busy Being Bored and at just fourteen years old, these boys have put together a band with a dedicated following that others spend years trying to do.

And that following showed up at the Stephen Talkhouse last weekend in Amagansett in the middle of January. For an 8 p.m. show, open to all ages and a $10 cover, about 200 people showed up. Amagansett hasn’t seen that many people at that hour since July. Parents brought their kids, who ran around with TBBB t-shirts, the bar was busy with orders for Coca-Cola and when TBBB came out, their supporters to cheered wildly.

A part of you believes that these kids can’t be for real when you hear about them. When they came out on stage, I couldn’t help but think that the hype surrounding them was coming from simply a well connected group of parents showing up to support their kids and friends who have a garage band. But when Peter Landi, David Horn, Forrest Gray, George Hoglund, Tucker Ruiz and Owen Preiato hit the stage, not only was I impressed with their talent as performers and as artists, but I also really had a great time listening to the original music that they have developed almost entirely in Forrest Gray’s (the son of Spalding Gray) basement. These boys are for real and their music is carrying them through. When you see them live, you walk away saying, “Wow, they were really a good band.”

Their reputation was solidified by their performance at a New York City venue called The Knitting Factory, where they competed in a Battle of the Bands and won. This competition drew over 45 bands of all ages, and these six dudes from Sag Harbor won it.

Just how did all of this happen? “It’s amazing the power of a t-shirt,” says the band’s manager, lovingly called Dave O. He also writes the lyrics to the songs that they play. Dave, who is from Los Angeles and is a music teacher, enjoyed playing music with Forrest Gray and watched the band develop from the beginning inside of their makeshift jam studio in his basement.
What makes this story truly amazing is the young age of the band members and what they have been able to accomplish in such a short time. You might say, it could be moving too fast for them and they might burn out because of it. But there is a sense of awareness of such issues. They know that they are young and just freshman in high school. They are aware that things can change, but that doesn’t bother them nor anybody else, because the bottom line is that they enjoy playing together and the six of them are on a journey that is taking them somewhere. Is it all laid out for them? Of course not, but they are enjoying the ride and that is what it is all about for anybody. They are just out there having fun, being inspired by Nirvana and putting out shows for their friends and fans. It’s really a very special thing that is attracting just about everybody that hears about it. And so they are enjoying being rock stars, but not too much.

By just playing shows, utilizing myspace.com and word of mouth, Too Busy Being Bored now has a real following, including of course, groupies who follow them around from show to show. It’s not easy being a rock star.

This phrase rings true, especially when you are a high school student and need to juggle getting good grades and being a rock star at the same time. The band finds themselves at a practice session along with their schoolbooks, many times doing their homework in between practicing their songs. According to every parent that I met at the Stephen Talkhouse show, the boys are focused not only on their music but on their school as well. “They take things seriously, they are not letting anything go to their heads,” said Forrest’s mother. “I really feel like they are doing something with this. I really just have a feeling about it.”

It’s more than just a feeling. Too Busy Being Bored sold out of the merchandise they brought to their show, including t-shirts and chocolate in the shape of a guitar. They also had members of the press at their show, including a reporter for The New York Times. If there is a band out there that has a shot for putting out a record and being able to sell it, these kids are it.