“Etude de Pop”
from the EP Three Fantastic
2006
iTunes
Download the full six-track digital EP at iTunes for just 99 cents — that’s, like, less than 17 cents a song
Although Three Fantastic has only been together for less than two years, they are, now more than ever, a band on the verge- – the music that could very well put Conroe County, Texas on the musical map. The band has seamlessly spot-welded garage band and punk rock, with an undercurrent of a jazz influence that leapfrogs through the genre-bending musical psyches of guitarist Kelly Doyle, bassist Evan Groeschel and drummer David Taschery.
Singer Charles Peters, 22, whose powerful vocals call to mind what a young Tom Waits might have sounded fronting the Strokes, is more influenced by ’70s pop and ’80s punk. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on a debut CD and has made audiences at the Rhythm Room and the Continental Club swoon on the outskirts of downtown Houston and have even found a place amongst the hard-bent modern rock acts that frequent the 19th Hole in The Woodlands; on stage, Charles Peters’ lanky frame transforms into a true rock ‘n’ roll showman: Jim Morrison with a sense of humor with just a dash of Beck thrown in for good measure.
Perhaps the most genuinely unique thing about Three Fantastic is that it is truly a band; so many times, bands are the mouthpiece of the front man — usually a singer-songwriter with a point-of-view. In Three Fantastic, all four members are equal partners in the coolest kind of musical crime; most bands, the drummer sits down, shuts up, and keeps the beat. In Three Fantastic, the drummer, David Taschery, writes cool songs like “Grocery Store,” a dark, deceptively peppy two-minute rocker with a vaudeville flavor.
The band takes a shot at arena rock with the pounding drums and talking guitar of “Five Seconds,” while R&B is stretched to its wild-child limits with “Funkalicious.” There’s the metered and mesmerizing “Japenese,” and the flat-out punk free-for-all “WWII,” a song in which all four members take a turn at the mic; and Peters shows his more sincere side with the poignant power pop of “Running Backwards.”
While the band is down and dirty with the inspired garage licks and infectious hooks, the jazz undercurrent within the band cannot be ignored. Three Fantastic aren’t just punk kids who play that there hippie music, this is a group of studied musicians: while drummer David Taschery is an admitted jazzaholic, bass player Evan Groeschel is currently studying musical theory at Montgomery College.