Missed Opportunity

Inducted: June 2008

If a band doesn’t play their own music, they’re just a bunch of jerks contributing to the death of art. That’s how Joe Vampire of Missed Opportunity sees it, although “jerks” is subbed out for his expletive.
For Vampire’s seven-year-old band — Aaron Domeier (drums), Stewart Hunt (lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals), Brendan Quinn (bass and vocals) and Vampire (rhythm and lead guitars, lead vocals) — 97 percent of the music they play is original rock and roll with a punk edge.
“Really, what’s the point of being in a band if all you’re going to do is play somebody else’s music? There isn’t any as far as I’m concerned ...,” he said. “Stop it right now and get off the stage.”
Missed Opportunity has recorded three albums, “Everything we Learned the Hard Way” in 2004, “The Long Nights” in 2006 and “Missed Opportunity (A Rock Opera)” in March 2008, recorded at Old Blackberry Way in Minneapolis and mixed at Orbit Audio in Seattle.

Here’s a bit more Vampire had to say about the band.

Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: We play Northern Rock — 100 percent pure Northern Rock. If you want to know what that sounds like, it’s basically rock and roll with a punk edge played with sincerity and urgency, but with well-crafted songwriting and a tongue firmly planted in cheek.
This is music made by people who deal with the reality that living in the Midwest is grim and frostbitten and know that life will never be as great as they were told it would be. But throughout it all they know that there are three things that will always be there for them: their music, their friends and whiskey.

Q: What’s the band chemistry like?
A: It’s been awhile since I broke out my knowledge of chemistry, but I believe that it would go something like this: CH3-CH2-OH + C19H28O2 + C8H10N4O2 + C9H13NO3 + C8H11NO2 = Missed Opportunity’s chemical breakdown. This combination means that we really like to play rock and roll the way it should be — fast, loud, and powerful.

Q: What’s your creative process like?
A: We’ve got the creative process down to a fine art after all these years. The general pattern is as follows:
Somebody (usually myself or Brendan) comes to practice with a few different chord patterns or riffs that flow together to make up the meat of a song. We then usually add an introduction, a bridge and an outro with a similar theme.
After that, we then each make our own little flourishes here and there (lead lines, guitar solos, polyrhythmic drum patterns) and end up with a pretty solid song. Either myself or Brendan will then add lyrics around this time, depending on who’s feeling the vibe of the song (or isn’t feeling too lazy to write words). Once everything is in place, we then add or trim fat as necessary, tighten everything up, and constantly refine — even if we’ve already recorded the song, we might change it up a bit.

Q: Why music? Why not watercolor or used car sales?
A: Because watercolor and used car sales don’t get you girls.
Then again, neither does rock and roll. Most women are too smart to fall for that these days. It does at least get you into some good shows for free, plus you can get free booze, which is always a plus to a musician.

Q: Is there a common thread that runs through many of your songs?
A: We just recorded a concept album about the year in the life of a guy who climbs his way out of his depression, only to screw up horribly and end up exactly where he started at the beginning. With that said, this newest album was a semi-autobiographical portrait of my life with many of the events taking place at some time over the last couple years.

Q: What’s the best place to play in Mankato and why?
A: Well, it seems as though the only place for a band like ourselves to play at is the What’s Up Lounge. I obviously mean that in the best possible way. I love Aaron and all the guys there.
The problem is that this city, itself, doesn’t seem to want to foster musical creativity and the people seem all too content to hear bar bands playing songs that can be heard on commercial radio at any time. People need to take a chance on rock and roll again and stop playing it safe.

Q: What’s a really good night on stage like?
A: You know, I’m not too sure on that one. Those are the nights that I usually forget, but I’ve been told those are the best that we play. The water of life can indeed be an enchanting muse.

Q: How do you unwind from a show?
A: There are three parts to life: sex, drugs, and rock and roll, correct? Since one of those matters had just been finished, one must then focus on the other two. Since one of those probably won’t happen (see answer about why not watercolors or used cars), it’s generally more booze-ahol for me!

Q: If you made the cover of Rolling Stone, what other bands would you want the writer to compare you with?
A: That magazine is still around? Oh well, it’s probably just as relevant as the band bearing the same name.
Yeah, I just ripped on the Rolling Stones for not being musically relevant for nearly 30 years.
Prove me wrong.
Anyway, were I to be interviewed by the USA Today of the music press, I’d hope they’d be so far off the mark as to compare us to My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte, Fallout Boy or any of that new pseudo-punk so I could at least get a laugh out of it. I would also accept being compared to a man with a tracheotomy singing karaoke.
Of course I’d much rather have my music be compared to Social Distortion, Guns ‘N Roses, the Replacements and the Bouncing Souls, but with a tinge more old-school goth thrown in for good measure.

To hear an audio sample, click here.