Written: Jo Ann L. B. Duggins
Full Names: Dan Jenkins, Ted Alesio, Mike Keeling
Ages: Old enough to know better
Functions: Dan = guitar & vocals/ Ted = drums/ Mike = bass
Currently Residing: Lincoln, NE (Eastridge neighborhood)
Currently Listening to: Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
Current Release: Chord Jams (5 song EP)
I cannot take credit for discovering this band. Unfortunately. I must thank my fellow DJ on Mediumrare.com, KC, for without his keen ear, I would have never heard the force of Ideal Cleaners. When I hear this band I think about the time when Jawbox, Fugazi and Girls Against Boys were ruling my car stereo. Although these boys don't like to stray from their Nebraskan state, their music spans across my radio show as much as possible. They even are consistent with the whole "no need to sellout" philosophy. Just some dudes in a band...that kicks ass.
First off, when the hell are you guys going to tour and come here???
We don't get out of Nebraska much and when we do it's just for 2 or 3 days, wherever we can drive to and then drive back within a 2 or 3 day period. I think Minneapolis/Madison is the furthest we've gone. Weekend trips to Lawrence, KS and Iowa are easy to do. To address the question at hand, I don't think a trip that far east is in the cards. We'll just stick to our side of the Mississippi.
You guys definitely have a certain sound that is reminiscent of early 90s post punk, have you been influenced by bands during that time period and who were you listening to at that time?
Bands on Touch and Go Records and Dischord Records were big influences on me in the 90s, but I can't really speak for everyone. In fact, I know that wasn't really the case with the other guys. Between the three of us we listen to a very diverse bunch on bands and certainly don't always agree on what's good and what's not, but we happen to have enough common ground that we can play together and still sound like we're on the same page.
What kind of following do you have in Nebraska? What’s the scene like there as far as the musical culture?
We have a fairly decent following in both Lincoln and Omaha. The people that come see us play really seem to legitimately enjoy it, which is all you can ask for. Lincoln has tons of really talented musicians and bands and seems to be on a bit of an upswing these days. It's hard for us to separate ourselves from Omaha, where there are a lot of bands we love to play with. There are some good, solid venues in both cities, and even though one of Lincoln's best, Box Awesome, recently shut its doors, the other venues have made a visible effort to make up for it by being extremely flexible and welcoming. Overall, it's hard to beat the environment we have in Lincoln and Omaha. It'd be nice to get more people out to shows, but that's probably the case no matter where you go.
You guys put out 7”s which makes me smile….what’s your favorite 7” you own?
We've actually put out 2 7"s, but the first is sold out and forever out of print. I've had a long love affair with the 7" record format, having acquired Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" and Loverboy's "The Kid is Hot Tonight" when I was a little kid. I totally wore them out. As far as my favorite 7", that's an impossible question for me to answer. I have quite the collection and can spend vast amounts of time just going through them and deciding what to listen to. If I were to go through them now to identify a favorite, I'd change my mind every couple of minutes.
Who would you most want to tour with?
A band with all of our friends in it.
Do you see Ideal Cleaners as a job or as something that you just enjoy doing? What would happen if someone’s interest were peaked and you had a record deal sitting in front of you?
Definitely not a job. That would suck the fun out of it for me, I think. I've known lots of people who took a run at "rock as a career" and it usually doesn't turn out well. Even the people I know who make a living in bands seem to talk about it with this weird detachment that they didn't used to have. I guess I like to think of playing music as something I do outside of my job, something to relax with. Or maybe I'm just lazy, I don't know.
Bands like ours don't get record deals. We're destined to be a self-sustaining unit. We're fine with that.
What do you hate most about what’s going on in music right now? Love?
Music is exactly the same for me as its always been. I don't listen to the radio so I don't know what popular music really sounds like, but I assume it blows. There are now and always have been great bands that no one has ever heard of. The main difference I see, which I totally love, is the whole "MySpacing" of music. I can't begin to list the great bands I've found on MySpace and consequently tracked them down to buy records and cds, or contacted them to play shows with us in our town or theirs. Of course there's a ton of grade-A crap on MySpace, but just like a bad tv show, you can always turn the channel. Or just smash it.
If you could play an instrument other than your own, what would it be?
I play guitar and it's the best. I like playing drums and wish I could play the piano, but guitar is still the best. Always and forever. Ummm.... so yeah, I guess piano.
Where would you most want to play?
Europe. Or Sheboygen. Maybe Poughkeepsie.
If you could bring a band back from the dead who would it be?
I miss Fugazi.
Favorite monument?
That Crazy Horse Monument is going to be off the hizook.
For more on Ideal Cleaners:
IDEAL CLEANERS WEBSITE
MYSPACE
Back to Sounds
Full Names: Dan Jenkins, Ted Alesio, Mike Keeling
Ages: Old enough to know better
Functions: Dan = guitar & vocals/ Ted = drums/ Mike = bass
Currently Residing: Lincoln, NE (Eastridge neighborhood)
Currently Listening to: Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
Current Release: Chord Jams (5 song EP)
I cannot take credit for discovering this band. Unfortunately. I must thank my fellow DJ on Mediumrare.com, KC, for without his keen ear, I would have never heard the force of Ideal Cleaners. When I hear this band I think about the time when Jawbox, Fugazi and Girls Against Boys were ruling my car stereo. Although these boys don't like to stray from their Nebraskan state, their music spans across my radio show as much as possible. They even are consistent with the whole "no need to sellout" philosophy. Just some dudes in a band...that kicks ass.
First off, when the hell are you guys going to tour and come here???
We don't get out of Nebraska much and when we do it's just for 2 or 3 days, wherever we can drive to and then drive back within a 2 or 3 day period. I think Minneapolis/Madison is the furthest we've gone. Weekend trips to Lawrence, KS and Iowa are easy to do. To address the question at hand, I don't think a trip that far east is in the cards. We'll just stick to our side of the Mississippi.
You guys definitely have a certain sound that is reminiscent of early 90s post punk, have you been influenced by bands during that time period and who were you listening to at that time?
Bands on Touch and Go Records and Dischord Records were big influences on me in the 90s, but I can't really speak for everyone. In fact, I know that wasn't really the case with the other guys. Between the three of us we listen to a very diverse bunch on bands and certainly don't always agree on what's good and what's not, but we happen to have enough common ground that we can play together and still sound like we're on the same page.
What kind of following do you have in Nebraska? What’s the scene like there as far as the musical culture?
We have a fairly decent following in both Lincoln and Omaha. The people that come see us play really seem to legitimately enjoy it, which is all you can ask for. Lincoln has tons of really talented musicians and bands and seems to be on a bit of an upswing these days. It's hard for us to separate ourselves from Omaha, where there are a lot of bands we love to play with. There are some good, solid venues in both cities, and even though one of Lincoln's best, Box Awesome, recently shut its doors, the other venues have made a visible effort to make up for it by being extremely flexible and welcoming. Overall, it's hard to beat the environment we have in Lincoln and Omaha. It'd be nice to get more people out to shows, but that's probably the case no matter where you go.
You guys put out 7”s which makes me smile….what’s your favorite 7” you own?
We've actually put out 2 7"s, but the first is sold out and forever out of print. I've had a long love affair with the 7" record format, having acquired Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" and Loverboy's "The Kid is Hot Tonight" when I was a little kid. I totally wore them out. As far as my favorite 7", that's an impossible question for me to answer. I have quite the collection and can spend vast amounts of time just going through them and deciding what to listen to. If I were to go through them now to identify a favorite, I'd change my mind every couple of minutes.
Who would you most want to tour with?
A band with all of our friends in it.
Do you see Ideal Cleaners as a job or as something that you just enjoy doing? What would happen if someone’s interest were peaked and you had a record deal sitting in front of you?
Definitely not a job. That would suck the fun out of it for me, I think. I've known lots of people who took a run at "rock as a career" and it usually doesn't turn out well. Even the people I know who make a living in bands seem to talk about it with this weird detachment that they didn't used to have. I guess I like to think of playing music as something I do outside of my job, something to relax with. Or maybe I'm just lazy, I don't know.
Bands like ours don't get record deals. We're destined to be a self-sustaining unit. We're fine with that.
What do you hate most about what’s going on in music right now? Love?
Music is exactly the same for me as its always been. I don't listen to the radio so I don't know what popular music really sounds like, but I assume it blows. There are now and always have been great bands that no one has ever heard of. The main difference I see, which I totally love, is the whole "MySpacing" of music. I can't begin to list the great bands I've found on MySpace and consequently tracked them down to buy records and cds, or contacted them to play shows with us in our town or theirs. Of course there's a ton of grade-A crap on MySpace, but just like a bad tv show, you can always turn the channel. Or just smash it.
If you could play an instrument other than your own, what would it be?
I play guitar and it's the best. I like playing drums and wish I could play the piano, but guitar is still the best. Always and forever. Ummm.... so yeah, I guess piano.
Where would you most want to play?
Europe. Or Sheboygen. Maybe Poughkeepsie.
If you could bring a band back from the dead who would it be?
I miss Fugazi.
Favorite monument?
That Crazy Horse Monument is going to be off the hizook.
For more on Ideal Cleaners:
IDEAL CLEANERS WEBSITE
MYSPACE
Back to Sounds