Philadelphia’s Disco Biscuits Bring BISCO to Wilkes-Barre
“The fans coined [Bisco]. It refers to the holistic feeling of being at a Disco Biscuits show, and everything that it encompasses – friends, the energy the only exists at a Biscuits show,” said the jam-band’s keyboardist Aron Magner, calling from a park in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This “Bisco,” and the fans that Websterized it, will hit the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts on May 12, in support of their live, self-penned, 11-track double-disc album released earlier this month, The Wind at Four to Fly. The funky, colorful fold-out CD case is a must-have (take that, Napster). That is of course, along with the two discs of lively, fun jams – the kind that make you want to be at an outdoor festival, perhaps in a different state-of-mind, just jumping around and jamming out, man. (One totally diggable track is “The Story of the World” and the contagious “Little Shimmy in a Conga Line,” which shows off Magner’s true pianist talent.)
Magner says they are excited to bring the music and end their spring tour close to home. In fact, he can’t wait to pay a visit to one of NEPA’s finest.
“Marvelous Muggs- the corn chowder. What’s that? Davis Street? Yeah, every time I am on 81 and see Muggs, I immediately pull off,” he said, of some fond memories of the area. He also reminisced of a summer spent at a Pocono lake house in what Magner recalls as something out of a John Steinbeck novel – and a turning point in their career.
“A lot of creative things came out of that; we were very isolated from everything so we got a lot of good music going,” he explained. “The most important thing – we were isolated from our bass player for a little while – was we realized we couldn’t be the Biscuits without Mark. So we resolved our differences. It was a learning experience.”
After the summer of jamming, writing and rowboat rides (with their dog) in the Poconos, the boys spent several years on the West Coast. Recently they relocated back to Philly, setting up shop in DJ Jazzy Jeff’s former studio. When the now national act started out, they were Ivy Leaguers at the University of Pennsylvania. Magner said that, although he stuck around Philly to maintain his music contacts, he declared music as a major late in the game.
“I searched for a major to no avail. After jumping around for two and a half years, I had a friend say, ‘Dude. You eat, sleep, breathe and live music. Who are you trying to fool?'” said Magner.
Prior to his coed days, Magner was inspired by a random stranger who hated his life. Magner, who has been playing piano all his life, started taking music seriously when he was 16. Once when playing at a party, not concerned if anyone was listening since he was getting paid at the end of the night, this man approached him.
“It my pinnacle moment,” he said. “He said, ‘You are so lucky to be getting paid to do what you love.’ I didn’t quire understand, but then he said, ‘I am an accountant and I dread going to work everyday.’ Hearing that at age 16 had a profound effect on me.”
And, a lot has changed technologically since his high school days. The advent of the web has done much in the way of promoting music, the Biscuits included. Their multimedia website is chock-full of downloads and other features for fans.
“Years ago we had to print out thousands of mailing labels and send out fliers [about where we’d be.] Now it’s much easier to get the word out faster and I think that has a lot to do with our growth and our fan base,” he said. “Now, in record time, the day of, or at the latest, the day after, you can get pristine recordings of our show [from the site]. Years ago at a Dead show, you’d have to find someone who had a recorder, send them a blank tape and wait to get it back. By then, you lose the energy you wanted to capture.”
And with a bigger fan base comes bigger venues and bigger crowds. Magner says they once were more comfortable playing to small crowds; they are easier to control. He says though, as they have grown, they have learned to handle the masses. In fact, one his most fond memories was opening for Phil Lesh in Red Rock, Colorado.
“We did a cover of ‘The Thieving Magpie’ and had a standing ovation for a crowd there for Phil Lesh,” he said.
Speaking of fond memories, the Biscuits’ forthcoming DVD, Camp Biscuit chronicles the band’s last weekend with their original drummer, Sam Altman.
“It’s a look back at the crÃ?¨me de la crÃ?¨me jams of the weekend, with interviews spliced in. The end scene – I won’t give it away – but everyone who I showed it to during the editing process was in tears. I do it everything, and I’ve seen it hundreds of times. That shows it’s good,” said Magner.
Magner adds that the it has been a near seamless transition for new drummer, Allen Aucoin.
“This is our first full tour in three years. The first few shows [with Aucoin] we started hitting them out of the park right away. And, by the time we end at the Kirby, we should be on the top of our game. You never know what to expect at our shows, and that’s the fun part,” he said of their upcoming Wilkes-Barre show.
After their fill of corn chowder, of course.
