by Jessica Del Curto
Daily Lobo
Members of Fincannon have the art of multitasking down.
Band members Dennis Pagano and Matt Miner do it all. With just the two of them onstage at Burt's Tiki Lounge on Monday night, they switched off between instruments during each song. They don't have a bass player, and while one plays the drums, he also sings.
It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Fincannon successfully pulls off the act night after night.
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The two guys from Tulsa, Okla., hit up Albuquerque while promoting Selected Readings. Their music varies between cover songs and originals.
They don't intend on adding a bass player or additional band members any time soon.
"We want to see as far as we can take it with two people," Pagano said. "I think we can do what it takes Good Charlotte - four people - to do badly."
When the duo started playing cover songs at bars in Tulsa, the sets would go from A to Z, A being Aerosmith and Z, Frank Zappa.
"I really like playing covers," Pagano said. "It's cool to pay homage to the bands that you're ripping off."
The band's originals are good too. Miner and Pagano sang a song at Burt's about an obsession with actress Amy Smart. It was hilarious, if not a little creepy.
"It's a scary song on the surface, but I think when I wrote it and still when I sing it, there is a weird chord of truth to it," Pagano said. "It's just about being lonely and seeing people on TV or in the movies, and even though you have no idea what their personality is really like, you want to feel close to them."
Pagano and Miller said getting onstage in Albuquerque wasn't easy, but that's part of touring. They packed all of their equipment into a two-door Ford Focus and went straight to Burt's as soon as they got into town. Just before they were about to go on, a guitar amp burned out.
"We had a pretty traumatic day yesterday, and so the ability of us to transcend the difficulties and put on what we feel was a reasonably entertaining rock 'n' roll show, I think that speaks volumes for our progress," Pagano said.
Pagano said he and Miner's relationship goes back 10 years, and they have a rich history together.
He said the two have opposite personalities that complement each other.
"Matt is a super-hyper-awesome optimistic all the time," Pagano said. "He sees the bright side of everything. And I'm the opposite. I probably wouldn't have left Tulsa if it weren't for Matt. I am just a hermit."
