By Anna Marden, News correspondent
On Friday the 13th, Ben Gram watched his friends ‘- members of Boston band Irepress ‘- play a tiny venue in Bismarck, ND called Eagle’s Lodge.
Gram said the venue was in the middle of nowhere and never gets any shows, and that people there loved the show and bought a lot of merch.
‘We got treated like royalty. It felt like we were bringing something special and different to them,’ Gram said. ‘There was a sparkle in their eyes.’
Gram, a junior music industry major, is a roadie for the band, in tow for a full US tour that started earlier this month. He, the five band members and another friend in tow to run sound equipment are traveling by van, he said.
They kicked off the tour in Baltimore. There, Gram said he received the biggest electric shock of his life when saving the set after the power juiced down due to an overload.
‘I got lightheaded and tingly; it was kind of amazing,’ Gram said.
From Baltimore, the seven men traveled northwest, stopping every night to play a show. After hitting North Dakota, they headed to Texas ‘- where they are now, playing and relishing the endless line-up at South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival and conference, Gram said. Then it’s on to Southern California, up the West Coast to Washington before returning to the Northeast.
They’ll end the tour in Boston, Gram said, with a set at Bill’s Bar April 11.
Irepress plays the same type of instrumental post-rock as Gram’s band, Eroica, a veritable staple of Northeastern’s sonic culture that itself paved ground last year with a tour of the East Coast. Gram plays guitar for the three-piece band. The two bands are part of the same music community, which is how Gram said they know each other.
‘Every day is really amazing,’ Gram said ‘We’re in a new state almost every day.’
When Gram was in South Dakota, he said he was getting sick of the cold weather and was looking forward to going south.
Gram writes detailed accounts of all their daily adventures from life on the road in his blog at bengram.wordpress.com.
‘We departed with Ryan of Wreak Havoc and friends to consume some amazing late night Cleveland Diner food. Breakfast for dinner. Lunch for breakfast,’ he wrote on March 6. ‘It was 3 AM (sic), and no one was really sure what meal its actually classified as, except for that it hit the spot, spot on. Post-consumption, we headed to Ryan’s abode to divide up some couch and van sleeping.’
The members of Irepress asked Gram to go on tour with them on his first day of classes this semester, he said. He only had to think about it for a day before he withdrew from classes and accepted their offer.
When Irepress asked him to come along, Gram said his bandmate, junior music industry major Ben Hoffman said to him, ‘If you don’t go, I will kill you.’
Gram said he was also inspired to say yes to Irepress because of a story his dad told him:’ His dad had missed a chance when he was younger to see Pink Floyd play for $5, and has regretted it ever since.
‘[This opportunity] was my Pink Floyd,’ Gram said. ‘I needed to go.’
Gram said he especially looks forward to arriving in Texas, where Irepress played twice last week at SXSW.
‘[It’s] the music industry’s equivalent to college football,’ he said, adding that he hopes to play the festival with his own band someday.’
‘ ‘Being in a different state almost every day, meeting new people and hearing new music is a total sensation bombardment,’ he said. ‘Its inspiring to the point where I just want to be back in Boston making music constantly.’