Domestic Problems Parties On

Ah the coveted end of summer parties!
Whoa, wait just a minute, end of summer parties? Just exactly when did summer ever begin?
Well in case you have overslept and missed summer, Labor Day Weekend is now here. That means three nights of Domestic Problems.
No not the kind that will land you in jail; we’re talking about the band from… well the band from all over.
Domestic Problems will return to Union Street Station in Traverse City to close out summer. DP as they are known by their fans didn’t break up as rumored -- they just scaled back their shows to just a handful a year limiting their performances to places they like to play. For Dave Vanocker at Union Street, that is great news because DP loves to play USS.
“They are the one band over the years that consistently packs this place,” said Vanocker. “All three nights are packed when they play. I guess they chose us because they love it up here.”

LOVIN’ IT
That’s exactly why Domestic Problems chose to come to Union Street. In fact in 2003 their six shows at the popular club equaled exactly 50% of the shows they did all year and about the same can be said for 2004.
“We do really love it in Traverse City and Union Street has always treated us well so when we decided to cut back to just a few shows a year they were definitely on the list,” said Billy Kinny, the group’s trumpet, mandolin and occasional guitar player. “We primarily decided if we were going to do shows it would be larger venues or if it was going to be a club it would be Union Street. Plus, the fans up there take us boating and really do enjoy doing the Traverse City thing.”
Hailing originally from the Grand Rapids DP burst onto the scene in the mid 1990s playing the college circuit of GR, Kalamazoo and East Lansing. They built a grassroots following and before long were packing not only clubs but also 1,500-seat auditoriums. Their roots-jam rock sound ala Dave Matthews/Blues Traveler struck a chord with many.
So with such popularity and what seemed to be a lot of momentum behind them why did the group seemingly call it quits?
“We never quit being a band, I think we needed a break,” said Kinny. “Andy our lead singer moved to Chicago and Job our sax player moved to Baltimore.”

TOO MUCH FUN
Band members felt that after playing close to “1,500 shows, driving more than 450,000 miles and spending more than 10,000 hours in the tour van and sleeping on a lot of floors,” they needed to call it quits.
“We didn’t call it quits. Would you get it straight! We didn’t break up. We’re just stopped,” said frontman and founder Andy Holtgrieve. “The band is in a really good place. There’s no animosity. It’s just that what I want to do musically, with or without DP, transcends being in a bar playing until 2 or 3 in the morning.”
One of the amazing things about DP was their success as a “bar band” in the heart of music capital of the world -- the Midwest -- never resulted in a major label deal. As an independent group, they sold over 60,000 copies of their CD; there are signed bands not selling that many copies.
“It is a hard business, that often doesn’t make sense,” said Kinny. “I think the pursuit of making it can interfere with your ability to make music.”
Holtgrieve echoed those sentiments.
“We were averaging 18 to 20 shows a month,” said Hotlgrieve. “It just wasn’t satisfying for me. I write music really slow and the pressure to write that next big hit, I didn’t like it. I thought, ‘Am I doing this for myself or for somebody else?’ When you’ve done it for five years, 10 years, with the pressures of maintaining that schedule plus the pressures of getting yourself up to the next level, the motivation changes. I wanted to return to the real reason I started playing music and that is for the shear joy of it.”

NO DOMESTIC PROBLEMS
Holtgrieve was also looking for a little bit of the ordinary domestic life without the problems. He mar-ried Amy Schelde (of the Schelde Restaurants family and another motiva-tion to come north for the weekend) and he holds a sales job in Chicago. In no way has he lost his drive to make music; Holtgrieve has a couple of weekly standing acoustic gigs in the city. On occasion Kinny drives down and joins him.
“We are still writing songs together,” said Kinny. “I see this slow down as a real rejuvenation for DP. We have new songs and we will work them in when we are in Traverse City. We are also looking at another album. No way is this band dead.”
Kinny, the co-founder of DP, has formed a new band called Fancy Thermos that is made up of his brother and the bass player and drummer from DP. The group debuted last week in Northern Michigan at the Loading Dock and will release their first CD next month at a concert with DP.
“Yeah we will be opening for DP for our CD release party in Grand Rapids,” said Kinny. “It will be fun playing in two bands the same night.”
So will all the guys be back for the Union Street weekend?
“Yes, we are even flying in Job from Baltimore,” said Kinny. “He teaches out there and flying him in gets a little expensive but it is worth it.”
Domestic Problems was probably the greatest bar band of the last 10 years in the Midwest. In no way have they lost their edge and Labor Day they will again prove it. Domestic Problems will take the stage around 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. For info, contact Union Street at (231) 941-1930.
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