American Aquarium Named “Most Active” Act of 2014 by Bandsintown
Raleigh, NC’s American Aquarium was the hardest working, hardest touring band in 2014 from any genre according to the concert-finding app Bandsintown which presides over the largest database of music touring data. The announcement was made Thursday after Bandintown was able to aggregate 206 tour dates for the band in 2014—more than any other band or artist registered in their database.
“2014 was a crazy year for us,” American Aquarium said to Bandsintown. “It was the first in our nine year career where we saw the shows getting better and our fanbase getting bigger. The only way that we are able to do this many shows and still stay sane is having a solid support system at home that understands this is what we love. We are six guys committed to the same common goal and that is to build our fanbase one person at a time. Since day one, we have known that no one was going to give us anything and that if we wanted a career in this, we had to go out and take it. Touring has been the lifeblood of this band and our fans make every single show, every 10 hour drive, every bad show, totally worth it. Here’s to an even bigger 2015.”
Making the feat that much more crazy, and speaking to the solid support system of fans the band enjoys, in June American Aquarium’s van and trailer were stolen with all their gear and merchandise, making for one major hiccup in the midst of a tour with the Turnpike Troubadours. Eventually the van and trailer were found, but many of their guitars had been taken, and the van was vandalized beyond repair. American Aquarium also found the time in 2014 to tour Europe this fall, emphasizing the whirlwind nature of their year.
Going at it for eight years now, the band has seen lots of changes in music, and in late October frontman BJ Barham recalled the time massive pop country outfit Florida Georgia Line opened for them, “They now have millions of fans, tons of money and all the cut off bedazzled denim vests anyone could ask for. At least we still have our self respect. Here’s to the working bands out there that never settle. Good on ya.”
American Aquarium’s new album Wolves is set to be released on February 3rd. Listen to the title track below.
December 20, 2014 @ 10:22 am
I’m going to see them at the end of January in Raleigh. Can’t wait!
December 20, 2014 @ 2:18 pm
Nice tune!
Blackberry smoke logs a lot of miles, probably up there with this band.
December 21, 2014 @ 8:00 am
Me too, Logan. Should be an incredible show!
December 23, 2014 @ 11:23 am
i think part of the headline must have been cut off… should read, “American Aquarium named “Most Active” and “Most Awesome” band……
thank you and you are welcome….
December 23, 2014 @ 11:50 am
Saw these guys play the DC area with Tournpike Troubadors and they put on one hell of a show. Looking forward to seeing them at Floydfest this summer if not before. One hell of a hard-working band and damn genuine guys.
I know that there’s been much said on this site about crowd sourcing, so I’m excited for the Wolves album to see how it all pays off.
December 23, 2014 @ 12:09 pm
Just for the record, it’s true I am not huge on crowdfunding, and just because it would result in great drama for the site, I unfortunately can’t promote crowdfunding drives unless I promote them ALL (like kids bringing Valentines cards to school), which would result in all I’d do is talk about crowdfunding projects. But that doesn’t mean I don’t support those projects when they’re released, or even leading up to their release. Once the funding goes through, it’s just another album, and how it was funded has no bearing on how I handle the project moving forward. I look forward to hearing “Wolves” too.