The Ernies (mn)

Ernies thumbnail Not much, really. Except, this is what happens when society doesn't address the needs of its at-risk populations. The Ernies?! At risk of what, you fairly ask.

The enemy: ennui. Not just any boredom, mind you. The kind of back-breaking, bone-crushing apathy that only the moderately well-off can afford. Think Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime, or if you're bookish, anything by Richard Ford.

Faced pointbland (sic) with their 30s, with too much time and too much money (thanks in no small part to the lack of children), our lads had to decide between the only choices available: form a band or succumb to illicit drugs. (We'll admit that others have managed to balance both, many with some degree of success. Those individuals were far more talented at both. And while our anti-heroes did put illegal drugs off-limits, beer, ibuprophen and herbal teas continue to take a horrible toll.)

The Ernies desperately needed a diversion program. So they created their own.

There are those who would argue that The Ernies' antics in fact "saved" them from something worse. If this is redemption, I would ask, can't we do better? In rebuttal, I submit the following evidence:

Clicking on any of the song links below will open the embedded mp3 player for streaming playback. If you want to download a file for use in your favorite portable mp3 player, right-click (ctrl-click on Macs).

All This Nothing	The Beast	Dinkytown
Don't Stop the Train	Famous Last Words (demo)	Her Heart's Not In It
He's A Man	Househusband's Rock	I Will
Last Bus	PDA	Poppin' The Ps
The Road	Sunday 3 P.M.	Top of the Hill (demo)
TV News	Don't Stop the Train (demo)

All songs ©The Ernies

The case has been made, now it's your turn. Here's some of the more memorable feedback we received before our extended hiatus:

"Um, it looks like you guys are having fun."
"You were almost in tune on that one."
"Quit tuning and play, you idiots!"

But that's in the past. Here's what people who filled out the form below are saying:

"I'm a lifelong fan of the Ernies, and used to fantasize about becoming the 9th Ernie." - Mike Finley (Clutches his thumbworn ocarina.)
"Helluva Deal!!!" - Gary Eichten

The Beatles proclaimed, "All you need is love," but The Ernies' threshhold is lower: All you need is like. (Like is all you need, like is all...) site with someone you like.

The Ernies(mn) described on this page are not the ska-influenced trio from Virginia. That wasn't apparent to one fellow who caught us at the Turf Club a few years ago. Fortunately, he liked us; we just weren't what he expected. To find out more about that band, check out their MySpace page.