Hanging with The Battleship Agenda

This is a supplementary post to my article on Examiner.com.

Given the band name, the title of this post sounds a little ironic. Planning an attack with The Battleship Agenda? In the “war room” with The Battleship Agenda?  Those sound a bit more apropos.  But hanging with them?  Doesn’t really fit.

 

But when the band sat down with me recently to talk about their journey and the successes they’ve had since starting a mere 8 months ago, it didn’t feel anything like a battleship, or an agenda.  It felt like hanging out.  In fact, when I asked them where the band name came from, all they would do is crack jokes.  “If we tell you, we have to kill you,” said Kat Barnes, the band’s lead singer. [laughter]

 

“I had nothing to do with it,” said Chris Brinson the drummer, who apparently came on board after the name was already chosen. [more laughter]

 

“So, okay, you don’t want to tell me,” I said.

 

“It isn’t that we don’t want to tell you–it’s that we’re not legally allowed to tell you.” [more laughter]  I never did find out how the band got their name.

 

The thing is, the impression I got when talking to them and asking them questions was that this is a band that puts a lot of value on relationships.  The current band formed out of several pre-existing friendships, and it’s apparent from their banter and conversations that they enjoy…well…hanging together.  And in the course of our conversation, it was also apparent that the band considers the friendships they’ve made to be one of the greatest payoffs of the journey so far.

 

“I’ve made more friends [being] in this band than with any other one,” says guitarist Nick Ferro.

 

“We love it when we get to hang out with people,” said Tyler.

 

That said…The Battleship Agenda really does have an agenda.  Part of why they’ve gained so much attention in less than a year out in public is that they’ve thought like professionals, planned out their steps and done things strategically to make their efforts count.

 

As to the “battleship” part…well…that makes more sense when you listen to their music or see them play a show.

 

Speaking of that…if you’re here in Denver, you can see them play a show this weekend, if you like.  They’re on the bill with The Northern Way at the Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer Street in downtown Denver. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door; show starts at 7:00 PM.

 

You can also pick up The Battleship Agenda’s EP on iTunes.

The Battleship Agenda is:

Kat Barnes, vocals

Nick Ferro, guitar

Tyler Call, guitar

Kellen Niemeier, bass

Chris Brinson, drums