The Brown Bottle Band, third runners-up in the whatzup Battle Of The Bands on August 19th, are pretty much perennial favorites at Columbia Street West, and from the initial crowd response, a good portion of the audience during the final show of the competition thought the guys had it in the bag. Well, that obviously wasn’t the case, but it didn’t deter them in any way from the forward momentum they’ve established over the last couple of years.

Brown Bottle Band had competed in the last preliminary round on July 22nd against Teay’s Vein, Tenfold Back and Unfinished Business. They tied Tenfold Back for first place in that round and then won the second semifinal round August 12.

The band - Dan Smith, guitar and vocals; Damian Miller, bass and vocals; Rooster, guitar and vocals; and Rick Weilbaker, drums - was given the name Brown Bottle Band by people who used to see them perform acoustically on street corners. Bassist Miller also adds a little history to the name. “In the 1920s,” he said, “house bands were sometimes called brown bottle bands.”

Some will remember a previous incarnation they had as Soul Kitchen while they were still in high school. In 2003, the band put together a concert known as Soulstock. They have also participated in each of the RRevolution Concert Series’ tribute shows - for The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana - and they’ve managed to blow down the house each and every time.

While they’ve been known as a 1970s-style rock band, their influences come from sources as diverse as The Eagles to Hendrix,and Stevie Ray Vaughan. This is not to say that Brown Bottle Band wish to remain a well known, and highly entertaining, cover band forever. They are planning their first album project and are in the process of finishing the music for it.

“Our album project is basically good rock n’ roll,” said Miller. “It’ll sound like Kiss, AC/DC, really driving rock - something you might call blue-collar rock.”

“When we get it done,” added Weilbaker, “we plan on doing everything we can to promote it. We want to work it from all aspects.”

“When we do get it done,” said Miller, “we’re going to have one hell of a release party. We know a lot of people, and we’ll invite other bands and DJs and just make a big party out of it. We hope to get it on radio and in the stores. We also have an advertising budget put together.”

Even though they didn’t place in either of the top two slots in the Battle Of The Bands, according to guitarist Smith, they’re pleased with having been a part of it. “Doing it was good,” he said. “It brought us into ... other people seeing us. There were all sorts of genres of bands who did this. I think all of the other bands are going to say they got more fans from doing the competition. It helped get our name out there, and people are going to recognize us now.”

Most of Brown Bottle Band’s fan base is in Fort Wayne, but they also give a lot of credit to fans from what they call “up north” - Kendallville and beyond - for being with them. They even tell of a very quick pickup gig they played in Nashville, Tennessee that was booked at the last minute.

“Some of our fans came with us for that one,” said Miller. “Our fans are the coolest. They love to party and they love to see us play. They’re hard-core to come out on a Wednesday night just to see us.”

The subject of the music scene in Fort Wayne is something the guys also show appreciation for, as well as some strong opinions. ‘It’s been good for us,” said Miller. “There’s a lot of neat things starting to happen.”

“It is fairly diverse, which is good,” adds Rooster. “There’s new stuff happening all the time.”

“Most clubs still want cover bands,” said Smith, “but there are other places like Columbia Street that support original music. But the prime spot is always going to be for the cover bands.”

“I think a lot of places are opening up for live cover bands, though,” said Miller. “The whole DJ/karaoke thing is almost more expensive than hiring a live three-piece or four-piece band. So they’re willing to give it a shot. The audience has always known where the live music is in this town, but I don’t think that live music necessarily determines what a person is going to do that night, not for the average person.”

“I sort of agree with that,” said Rooster. “I don’t think the average person will go to a punk show and then a rock show next week. There are a lot of different cliques - the punk people, the rock people...”

“We played here (Columbia Street) one of the last Thursdays,” said Smith. “We played a lot of country songs ... it was for a separate deal. We had a good time, and some people really liked it, but I noticed that some people left because it was country. I really don’t think that the average Fort Wayne bar patron is all that diverse. I wish it were different.”

Having been a part of the local scene, though, has also given Brown Bottle Band some insight into what it takes beyond just good music in order to be appreciated and keep working.

“Make friends and don’t get a big head, especially with this Fort Wayne music scene,” said Weilbaker, by way of advice. “Everyone needs to get along with each other. There are small factions that like to complain about things, but make friends and get along with other people. It helps.”

“We get along with about everybody,” said Miller. “That’s helped us more than anything. And we like these people. We’re not using anybody. They help us, and we try to help them - things like trading shows and all that. And as far as the money goes, don’t ever do it just for the money. We try to have fun with it.”

“You should always try to put on a show for the people,” added Rooster. “If you’re going to just stand up there and play, why not have them put on your CD instead? Put on a show for the people or it’s boring. It’s just not fun for the average person to come and just watch guys stand around.”

“I would suggest, too,” added Miller, “to keep the ‘down time’ to a minimum. You want to keep people on the dance floor. Don’t stand around on stage and wonder what song you’re gong to do. It’s just awkward for the fans. If you’re putting on a show, people are going to dance; if not, they’re just standing around.”

In closing, the Brown Bottle Band would like to say they “... really love the ladies ...,” but there’s more to their gratitude than just one gender-biased form of fan appreciation. And they definitely want their fans to know what they’re going to see at a show.

“There’s nothing wrong with ‘butt rock’,” said Rooster. “I mean, we live in Indiana. Embrace it, people. It’s sweet, undeniably sweet.”