"Hi, we're the Impossibles from Austin, Texas!" Remembering the Impossibles' 2012 reunion show
The Impossibles on stage during the 2012 reunion show at Mohawk in Austin, Texas. L to R: Rory Phillips, Gabe Hascall, and Craig Tweedy.
In 2012, one of our favorite bands, the Impossibles, played a reunion show in Austin, Texas. We all went to the show and loved it. Since it’s been 10 years since that show, we decided to do a sort of oral history about it and we recorded the conversation for the Hyde and Go Seek podcast (listen to the episode here). The following is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.
How did you first hear about the Impossibles?
Ryan:
I think from Steve.
Kevin:
I heard about it from Steve.
Ryan:
Steve? Yes.
Kevin:
I think Steve was the source, the vector.
Sean:
Yeah, Steven, Nate.
Steve:
I think I heard about them from Nate first because he went to see them. I think he caught one of their shows when they did a Warped Tour. And he luckily got to see them and then it was my sophomore year in college that he made me a mix of a bunch of their songs. And then I think I gave that to Sean, and then we all kind of started listen to them
Kevin:
Yeah. It was ’03, Steve, maybe that you heard them?
Steve:
Yeah. Maybe ’02, ‘03. Yeah. Something like that. I think it was right after they broke up for the second time or whatever that I started listening to them. And I was like, oh man, these guys are awesome. And then, oh, cool, they broke up.
Sean:
I was telling somebody about this the other day. I remember how cool it was to see the impact that their last show in ‘03, it was ’03, right? At Emo’s, and that recording was so insanely good. The energy of it alone, I was a fan hooked from the very first time I watched it. And it was such a hard thing to describe to anybody else unless you've watched it, but it's so compelling. And so heartfelt and you can connect with them right away. I remember as soon as I heard that and that was from Steve who had the DVD, I think from Nate. Right. Didn't you borrow it? Yeah.
Steve:
I stole it from one of my buddies. Yeah. We watched that so many times.
Sean:
It was so good. I remember one of the reasons I wanted to learn guitar was from their songs.
Kevin:
I love that show. I think that was one of the things I liked best. I can't remember when I first heard some of the Impossibles songs and Slow Reader maybe, because they were going right then I think. Slow Reader stuff was happening and that was really good. And then I think I saw the DVD and then watching some of the commentary that they did on that DVD of the last show is so funny and made me like them even more. Cause I still think about some of those lines, all the time, when Gabe's singing along to the songs as they're on, and Rory's like, that's probably one of the most annoying things you could do, just singing along to it as it's happening. Or when I think Gabe or Rory is talking about spiking his hair up with sweat and he says, I spiked my hair up so high I made the air scream or something like that.
Right. There's so many good fucking lines that made me like them even more, you know? And Sean said the concert looked so fun and it was so fucking intense and just a really cool show.
Ryan:
I associate the Impossibles with watching Dragonball Z where it's such hardcore punk/ska music and the visuals of Dragonball Z where they're fucking fighting so hard. That goes together so well. I feel I was introduced to both of them at the same time. I kind of meld them in my brain at the same time.
Brandon:
I definitely feel that. Yeah. I definitely feel that was kinda the first band that I knew of who were more into the punk scene. I think something I really appreciate is how much humor and how much vulnerability is in their songs. There's just really funny ideas or structure in their songs or even methods they used that were really catchy to me. I think it’s “8 Ball” when Rory or Gabe pinches his nose to talk. And when he sings, he has a nasally kind of voice, almost like an announcer.
And then some of the references, I've always loved “Erin with an E” when they mention Lois Lane, and then “Fat Boy” has a great line where it's like, I locked myself in with Dungeons and Dragons and Todd McFarlane, which is a great rhyme, but also a good shout out to a good Spider-Man artist. Having that, it was like, oh awesome. They're really good musicians. This is awesome punk rock. But there's also references that kind of felt like inside jokes for people who know about that kind of stuff.
Kevin:
Really good lyrics. I think that's one of the coolest things about them is that they clearly both seem to take a lot of pride in writing really good and personal lyrics, you know? I think they even talk about that on the DVD. I think Rory says to Gabe, your lyrics are always really phonetically pleasing, right? Or something like that.
Sean:
They have an analysis of sentence structure in a lot of their songs too. Really good. They do a lot of that, maybe it’s just having grown up with that St. Al’s education [N.B. where all five of us went to grade school], but it's always made me appreciate any kind of mention of that. And I feel a few songs I've written, I think have lyrically drawn from some of their stuff too.
In Austin for the reunion show. L to R: Sean, Steve, Brandon’s shoulder, and Ryan.
Outside of Mohawk, waiting for the doors to open. L to R: Brandon, Kevin, and Steve.
Kevin:
I can't even remember how we heard about the reunion. Maybe from Steve or something online. Right. But we saw that they were reuniting for the shows in Austin and stuff. And I think we pretty quickly got the tickets for the shows and booked our plane tickets.
Steve:
I think I saw it, and the tickets weren't expensive. I think they were what? 30 bucks or 40 bucks? Something like that. Yeah.
Kevin:
It wasn't a lot.
Steve:
I figured, I'm just gonna buy and if we can, we'll just get there.
Ryan:
I remember it was literally a month after my graduation. I was like, yeah, I’ll be free. I didn’t have a job yet.
Kevin:
It was really fun to go down there. Because it was the middle of the summer. June or something.
Steve:
Yeah.
Kevin:
And what did we do? We flew in the day before I think, right? Maybe the day before that concert. Cause they had two shows, right? Saturday and a Sunday. We saw the first one didn't we?
Ryan:
We came in that Friday. Wasn't it either the beginning or end of Sturges? [N.B. the Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally]
Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally in June 2012.
Kevin:
It was a mad house. Yeah. It was wild.
Sean:
That was one of the coolest experiences—geez, that I've ever had, you know. That was crazy.
Brandon:
That was great. Yeah.
Kevin:
What did we do? We got some food, right? We got some food, we got to the Airbnb or whatever we were staying at. And then some of you went out to bars I think. Steven, Sean and Ry, you guys. And then me and B were at the place. It was pretty loud that night, I think.
Brandon:
Pretty rough.
Kevin:
It was really loud on the street. I don't think we got the best night’s sleep or anything, but then the next day I can't remember what we did. Did we go out to that barbecue? I have no idea.
Brandon:
I think we went to Stubb’s. That was awesome, it was super fun.
Poster on the wall at Stubb’s in Austin.
Sean:
We got Ry to try the okra.
Brandon:
That was awesome. It was a really fun day. I got to hang out with my friend Jerome, shout out to him.
Kevin:
Oh, that's right. Oh yeah. I forgot about that.
Brandon:
God bless him because I had no sense of direction or how to guide him. Because I told him, I'm on the corner of this and these two streets, and it was him and his sister and he says, ‘okay, yeah, somewhere, we gotta navigate there.’ Bless him for doing that, it was really sweet. And I got to hang out with him and some people and then hit up some comic shops. So that's a good memory I have of that. It was a really cool experience being able to talk to him about, oh yeah, we're coming down here for the Impossibles and tell him this is kind of a band that my brothers and I share that we all really appreciate.
Kevin:
Cool. What did we do later? Do you remember? We waited outside. We waited outside the venue for a bit. Right. The Mohawk, wasn't it? So we waited outside for a little bit right before they opened the doors and then we went in and we were there waiting for 'em to go on right.
Outside Mohawk.
Steve:
Yeah. Do you guys remember that? Was there two opening acts or was there more than that?
Ryan:
There was two, I remember we met up with the younger guy, the lead singer of the one band. It was a dinosaur UX or something. And then there was another band too. I thought they were both really good.
Kevin:
It was fun overall, you know? And then I remember them setting up. We mostly stuck to the front, but could you get beers there and stuff? I can't remember if they had stuff to drink.
Brandon:
Think so.
Kevin:
So we were able to move around. I feel I was able to move around in the beginning, before the Impossibles started. That was when I was still smoking. Sean, you were still smoking too. I can't remember if we were able to go out and smoke anywhere else.
Sean:
I remember I posted up on that one side and I did not move. I think I was there the whole time.
Kevin:
Yeah, you just stayed there.
Sean:
I just stayed there because I was so excited. I don't even remember what you guys were saying about the opening acts.
Steve:
Were we up there from the beginning, me, Sean, and Brandon.
Kevin:
And then me and Ry were a little behind.
Steve:
You guys got sucked into the crowd.
Ryan:
We wanted a little space and then that never happened.
Inside, waiting.
Kevin:
I remember it was so cool to see them get set up. And see Rory, Gabe, and Craig. And I can't remember who drummed with them. Was it Jimmy who drummed with them for the last show or not? Was it somebody else?
Steve:
Yeah, I think so.
Kevin:
I remember being so psyched seeing them actually there in person. And then when Rory said it, “Hi, we’re the Impossibles from Austin, Texas!” That shit gives me chills just thinking about it. I knew it was gonna be intense, but it was just incredible to see that shit in real life. And then everybody just lost their fucking minds, you know?
Sean:
Yeah.
Brandon:
It's awesome. It’s so cool. I remember watching the recording of that show and how you can hear it before they start—there's a few people in the crowd who say who are you? They're setting it up.
Rory setting up.
Ryan:
I love it. It was so much fun. It was so surreal being there, having watched the ending show from ’02 a million times. And then seeing this 10 years later, it didn't feel real. We were actually there.
Kevin:
No, it didn't feel real. You're right. Still doesn’t. I can't believe it. It actually happened. And then, so it was B, Steve, and Sean, and you guys were up at the front. And then I think I managed to stay a couple rows in back of you guys. Then, with Ryan, I just never fucking saw Ryan for the rest of the night.
Ryan:
Got sucked back, not voluntarily. It was just the mosh pit.
Steve:
At the end of the show, Ryan was drenched.
Ryan:
Like I jumped into a pool.
Kevin:
It was incredible. I have never seen anything like that.
Ryan:
The singer of the one opening band, we got to meet up with him after, and he said, oh my God, are you okay? I was wearing cargo shorts and I think they were just drenched.
Steve:
“It's mostly not my sweat.”
Ryan:
“Other dudes’.”
Sean:
“No, it's not mine.”
Kevin:
And I remember Brandon, didn't you have really hard bruises or was it Sean on your hip? Sean, you had bruises, from the stage, right?
Sean:
I wish I had saved those pictures of the bruises. Cause it was weirdest thing that they were on the front of my hip bones, which was the impact spot. And it was literally from being pushed forward. I remember being pushed up against the rail and I thought, this is really fun. And then, this is a little bit scary.
Kevin:
So wild.
Sean:
It was great feeling that surge, I know the biggest one was when, when Rory said, Hi, we’re the Impossibles from Austin, Texas, and then that hit. But I do wish I’d saved the photo cause they had turned this crazy looking purple. That was just, yeah, it was nuts. It was totally, totally worth it for the shows. Really was surreal being there for that, it was unbelievable.
Brandon:
That was one of the few times where I've been that close and felt much pressure against the stage, being pushed. There were definitely times where I remember trying to push back as hard as I could and just getting smushed into it. And there was this feeling of, oh no, I can't breathe for a second here.
Kevin:
I mean they played all the stuff that I always loved. It was really cool to be there and actually see them in real life, a band that I'd been listening to for 10 years or whatever and that I'd only known posthumously sort of. And then they were actually playing in front of us, which was kind of nuts. And it was so cool to see them with you guys too. Because you were the only ones that I knew who listened to them and who loved them. It was even more fun to see them together.
Steve:
We all kind of share a lot of musical interests, but there's, you know, only a couple of bands I feel we all like together, you know what I mean?
Brandon:
I felt that there was such a good energy from the crowd too. It just felt everyone was kinda in the same head space, or had that same feeling of having waited for so long since the last show for this to happen. It was such a great feeling to be able to share that.
Kevin:
It's kinda wild because there was such a wide age range too, it was people who must have been listening to them when they were, you know, teenagers originally. Right. You know, during that first period and then people who probably had heard of them after they'd already broken up and stuff. So it was a really big and pretty diverse group, age-wise, of people who were there.
Sean:
No, I was listening to it again recently and all of the songs get me, but the way they played Get It Got It Good, they really brought it. I remember it from the 2002 the show from Emo’s, how intense it was to watch. And that was one of the songs that got me into playing guitar. It was one of my favorite riffs of all time to play. It's so good. So upbeat. So casual. And but then when they played it, I remember feeling that energy in the crowd, it was something I'll never forget because I loved that song—it was a really cool feeling. The song that you love from, you know, hearing it on the album so many times, but then to hear it live in person was beyond surreal. It just totally exceeded my expectations for what it could have been. It was so good. I remember that one. I think that one stuck out to me a lot.
Kevin:
I was gonna say one of the things that I remember most about that time was that it was maybe one of the periods of my life when I was most depressed. And when we went on that trip, I was in a pretty bizarre, weird relationship, you know, with somebody I was seeing and it was just really terrible overall. And my job was a real kind of dead-end job, but it was so nice to be able to get away from that and then go to see a show with you all that was fucking incredible with a band that I'd been wanting to see for so long. So it was such a nice respite from grim fucking misery, you know, and then to have that in Austin was really fun too. It was just really cool to go to Austin and see a different place and be in Texas, I'd never really been to Texas that much. And so yeah, it was just a fucking blast overall.
Texas Capitol Building
Ryan:
Love to go back sometime.
Sean:
Yeah. I had also gotten out of that terrible relationship that I had before that a month before.
Brandon:
Oh, wow.
Sean:
There's a picture. There's a picture that I think Steve took of me, we’re sitting outside the venue and I was just standing there, kind of staring out in his face and I looked like I wanted to just absolutely die. I was so excited about the show, but it was that brief glimpse of, Okay, I hate everything. But that was absolutely what I needed. The exact opposite of how I was feeling was going to the show and seeing that because it was the perfect thing.
Brandon:
That's awesome.
Kevin:
2012, not my favorite year. Outside of the show, not my favorite year.
Brandon:
That was right after the end of my freshman year at college. So there was definitely a lot of stuff going on.
Ryan:
I was having an incredible year, I graduated and then nothing happened after that. Then I got a job a year later.
Steve:
My 2012 was actually good. Complete opposite from you guys. I'd just met the woman who’s now my wife, so pretty good.
Kevin:
That's awesome. You were on the up. Ry was doing all right, graduated. At least you finished college. So that's always good, you know? B was finished freshman year, but sounds like there was a lot of turmoil.
Brandon:
I think I was just tired. It was definitely one of those things where I was still adjusting to community college where I was like, Oh, it'd be cool if I had friends here, but alright, haha.
Kevin:
I was gonna say, for the rest of the trip, I think we had a good time the next day then we went around. We did the walk around near the Capitol and or whatever. It was fun to explore a little bit around Austin. I think that was when the Euros were going on. I remember seeing some of the games on at bars around town.
Ryan:
I remember on Sunday you guys were at a bar watching and I was like, I don’t care. And then I walked out and I went to this really cool Fangoria type shop, around the corner with cool oddities. And the people working there were like, What do you wanna buy? Nothing, I have no money, but I want to walk around and see all this weird shit in your store. But it did contribute to the vibe of Austin being weird. I loved it. It was such a cool city to be in for a weekend. And it was a fucking perfect trip, you know, I loved it.
Kevin:
It was good food, and the people seemed like they were really chill. We didn't interact with a lot of random people, but it seemed they were overall pretty nice.
Ryan:
It was so much fun. I still wanna go back.
Kevin:
Well, maybe we can hope for a 25 year anniversary show. I was hoping they would get together. I thought they were kind of teasing something on Twitter. I hope they do reunite. I still listen to the stuff that they do, you know, Gabe's still putting out stuff and I listen to his stuff. I saw that Rory just did something Steve said, right. He has something with that other band.
Steve:
Yeah. His other band, the Stereo just released a new album this summer. It's really good too.
Kevin:
That's awesome. I'm glad that they're still doing stuff because I think they're great. They made some of my favorite music, so it's always fun to see them keep going.
Ryan:
I had a great time going there to Austin and I'd love to go down there again. Even if they don't do a reunion, we can just force them to play for us. Sometime once we get all rich enough. So if you're listening, Rory and Gabe, we're coming for you. We're coming for you. <Laugh>
Kevin:
If we tweet this out, they can get us arrested, haha.
Ryan:
Hopefully they won't listen to the end. They'll be like, Oh, cool podcast, we listened to five minutes of it. It seemed cool. Just thumbs up. We didn't go to the end.
Sean:
I just wanna say too, I'm such a big fan of the Impossibles that literally my pin number is a variation of one of the guitar tabs.
Steve:
I got one last thing to say you guys. See you in hell, motherfuckers. <Laugh>
