Liquor Bike

Liquor Bike
During the Fall of 1991, in the blue-collar city of Baltimore, David Koslowski had written and recorded some songs on a cheap ass tape recorder. He asked his roommate Colin Preston to buy a bass and form a band with him. Colin had never played an instrument before…it’s the classic punk rock story. The two would go onto generate a machine-like band known as Liquor Bike.  The roommates posted a flyer in various record stores looking for another guitarist & drummer. After several failed auditions the band brought in guitarist, Stefan Meyers, who was a friend from the local watering hole and recruited Eric Dixon, a metal drummer and record store clerk. The first incarnation of the band was complete. The group quickly set up shows playing its first at The Jar, a loft space in Baltimore and their second show was in Boston the next weekend. They were driven and ready to hit the road and put out records as soon as possible.

In the summer of 1992, after putting out a critically-acclaimed 6-song demo cassette, Liquor Bike were asked to put out a 7” single on San Francisco’s Penultimate Records. The single was well received and the group hit the road again. While on the road, they were asked to do a couple songs for some other indie labels like Uprising and Third World Underground. They recorded some tracks with Candy Machine’s Tony French. The band was then snagged up by local indie label, Merkin Records for the release of its first full-length. Before they hit the studio, Stefan was replaced by guitarist, Michael Gaitley. Eli Janney from Girls Against Boys jumped on board to produce Lowborne.Lowborne was a hard-hitting and in your face assault of punk-pop. Liquor Bike quickly hit the road to support the record, playing all over the East Coast and Midwest. Lowborne gained the attention of CMJ, receiving a glowing review. At this point, the band started getting hit up by every label from Atlantic to Columbia to Grass Records. The group played a few showcases in NYC, some labels walked out with their ears bleeding from the volume, others ate their dinner while the band sang their hearts out, but one woman stuck around and actually talked to the band after the show. Camille Sciara from Grass Records, which was part of Dutch East India wanted to sign the band on the spot. The following Monday the contract was faxed over and the band had a record deal.

While touring to support Lowborne, they played a pinnacle show at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, which was attended by Creature Booking’s Dean Van Lith. Creature was also home to L7, The Melvins, The Cows, Hammerhead, Helmet and many others. Dean loved the band and wanted to bring them into his stable. Liquor Bike agreed and signed on. Dean would work with the band until its demise. With a booking agent now in place, Liquor Bike began work on Neon Hoop Ride, their debut for Grass Records. They recorded with Drew Mazurek (Jawbox, Shudder To Think) at AmRep Recording Division in Minneapolis with the help of Tim Mac (Cows, Hammerhead, Helmet). Neon Hoop Ride was more bombastic and just pummeled the listener over the head. The band toured extensively in support of  Neon Hoop Ride, even hitting the West Coast for the first time. Playing shows with The Cows, Iowa Beef Experience, Alice Donut, SNFU, and fIREHOSE.

After a tour with Hammerhead and then another with Killdozer & Casper Brotzman, the band was ready to record its next record for Grass, but at this point the label had been sold to a multimillionaire who had ties to BMG. The next record was set to be released on Grass/BMG. Grass Records would eventually morph into Wind-Up Records and sadly release music by Creed and Evanescence. They decided to record at producer Drew Mazurek’s newly remodeled studio in Baltimore.  The Beauty of Falling Apart,  sounded huge and once again the band delivered some of its catchiest numbers. The band even started to experiment in the studio adding acoustic guitar and violin to tracks like “Old Fashioned,” 8 tracks of guitar to “Hi-Fi Sigh,” and David even sang falsetto through a fan on “Superface.” The end result was the band’s finest work. The Beauty of Falling Apart was set to be released in May ‘96 and the band was hitting the road for 6 weeks in support. They toured the East Coast with Gas Huffer and then branched out on their own, travelling all through the Midwest and out to the West Coast again. It was in the Midwest that the band received heartbreaking news, at a truckstop David had called their manager to find out where their record was and why there weren’t any posters up at the clubs they were playing and was informed that their A&R person had been fired and they were dropping most of her bands, including Liquor Bike. Being the troopers that they were Liquor Bike got back in the van and finished the next 4 weeks of the tour sans their new record and tour support.

The next 5 months were trying months for Liquor Bike, they had just recorded their best record, had a great booking agent, but no label to put out the release. David and their manager spent the next several months talking to labels and sending out copies of the record, but to no avail. In July of 1996, Mike Gaitley decided to leave the band and return to the working world. The band played one more final show with Mike. Eric, Colin and David wished Mike the best and began talks on how to fill his shoes. During this time, David made the crucial decision to end the band he had started. The band had succumb to The Beauty of Falling Apart in September, 1996.

 

DISCOGRAPHY
The Beauty of Falling ApartThe Beauty of Falling Apart
  • Full length CD
  • Released in 1998
    on Merkin Records
Neon Hoop RideNeon Hoop Ride
  • Full length CD
  • Released in 1994
    on Grass Records/BMG
LowborneLowborne
  • Full length CD
  • Released in 1993
    on Merkin Records