The Oranges Band

Not long ago, They Might Be Giants were half-earnestly making a case for their claim to the title of The Hardest Working Band in the Business. A quick Google search suggests they aren’t the only ones to have done so: Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, Caroline’s Spine, Cruis-o-Matic and The E Street Band are just a few of the names to have also vied for the same unofficial honor (or one of its variations, and not always willingly) at one time or another.

Guitarist and vocalist Roman Kuebler is naturally biased toward his own project, The Oranges Band, a four- (sometimes five-) piece hailing from Baltimore. Still groggy after a long and apparently eventful night, Kuebler maintains that his band easily falls in the running for the title; and that their first taste of notoriety, if not exactly outright success–two videos in rotation on MTV, a re-release of early EPs and demos, critical praise for their first full-length All Around–has been a long time in coming. “We’ve paid our dues more than anyone I know,” he says. “We deserve it.” Fate has been fickle toward The Oranges Band. Kuebler had the opportunity in 2002 to tour as the bass player for Spoon, on whose album Kill the Moonlight he also performs, which in turn led to several Oranges Band tour dates with Guided by Voices, and which in turn led to a more recent supporting slot for Franz Ferdinand. While on another tour with The Thumbs, Kuebler and his bandmates were spotted by Christopher Applegren of Lookout! Records (Operation Ivy, Green Day, Pretty Girls Make Graves). That chance encounter eventually led to a promising label deal.

But fate has also heaped on the adversity, most memorably on the disastrous U.S. tour that led to the naming of the 900 Miles of Fucking Hell EP. Where one observer may see more than one band’s fair share of easy breaks in this story, another might see hard work and perseverance.