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Intro
Aqueous is an improvisational rock band from Buffalo, New York. The band presents their groove rock style through four members, Mike Gantzer (Guitar/Vocals), Dave Loss (Guitar/Keys/Vocals), Evan McPhaden (Bass), Rob Houk (Drums). Gantzer, Loss, and McPhaden are all original members with Houk joining the group in 2016 after a national search. Drawing from musical elements like rock, progressive rock, indie, hip hop, drum and bass, and more, Aqueous has self-released six studio albums and records and distributes many of their live shows. Aqueous has self-released six studio albums and records and distributes many of their live shows. In late 2018, Buffalo News wrote a profile on the band naming them, “The biggest band to emerge from Buffalo in 20 years.”

Origin
Aqueous formed in 2006 thanks to the melding of two existing high school groups, one containing McPhaden and Loss and the other with Gantzer (and previous member Brad Darrall). During the friends’ junior year of high school, the band performed for the first time under the name Aqueous. The performance was part of their high school’s Earth Day celebration. The personnel of the band on that day was Gantzer, Loss, McPhaden, and the original drummer, Brad Darrall. Before rounding out the current lineup with Houk through a nationwide search in 2016, the group had three other drummers, Nick Sonricker, Ryan Nogle, and Tom Vayo. Houk is from Cincinnati, making him the only member not from Buffalo.

Style
Aqueous’ songwriting effort is a collaborative effort with each member bringing their personal musical and lyrical ideas to the table. Those ideas are then fleshed out by the other members of the band together to create a finished product. Color Wheel, Aqueous’ fourth studio album was featured on Billboard, including the following quote, "The Buffalo-based quartet's fourth studio album is its most far-reaching to date, adding hip-hop flavors ("Split the Difference"), reggae ("How High You Fly") and balladry ("Good Enough") -- as well as acknowledged influences such as Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Incubus, Gorillaz, Fleet Foxes, Daft Punk and more -- to Aqueous' regular blend of proggy jam band psychedelia."

Notable Performances
Since 2012, the band has steadily built a full-time national touring schedule. Each night, a unique setlist is performed. In 2017, Aqueous partnered with Nugs.net to release a recording of each live show for download or streaming.

On 12/31/2017 and 12/31/2018, Aqueous sold out the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY

On 12/1/2017 and 10/31/2018, Aqueous performed live at the Paste Magazine Studio.

On 6/9/2018, the band headlined Denver’s historic Bluebird Theater for the first time and sold out the show. A corresponding live album was released later that month.

On 10/30/2018, Aqueous performed live in the Relix studios.

On 11/29/2018, the band performed with Umphrey’s McGee percussionist, Andy Farag at the Chop Shop.

As part of their national touring schedule, Aqueous has performed in support of numerous notable acts in the jam scene in venues around the United States, including Umphrey’s McGee, the Disco Biscuits, and Moe.

Festivals
Aqueous performed at a variety of high-profile jam and rock festivals around the United States in 2018, such as the following :


 * Jam Cruise 16
 * Summer Camp Music Festival 2018
 * Electric Forest 2018
 * Mountain Music Festival 2018
 * Peach Music Festival 2018
 * Winter Werk Out 2018
 * Night Lights 2018

At Summer Camp Music Festival, the group performed their Green Day tribute (Dookie) with members of Umphrey’s McGee. Aqueous performed alongside a variety of different notable artists at Summer Camp, including Moe., Cypress Hill, Phil Lesh, and Diplo. At Electric Forest, the band appeared with the String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, and Chromeo. Other artists appearing at Peach Music Fest included Government Mule, Dicky Betts (of the Allman Brothers), and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.

Notable Press
In May of 2017, Huffington Post wrote a feature entitled, “If You Haven’t Heard of the Band Aqueous Yet, That’s About to Change.”

In September of 2018, the band was featured on GuitarPlayer.com around the release of Color Wheel.

In October of 2018, Billboard.com debuted Color Wheel in full.

In November of 2018, Buffalo News profiled Aqueous in a piece entitled, “Aqueous: The biggest band to emerge from Buffalo in 20 years.”

Releases
Aqueous has a variety of digital releases available on Apple Music, Spotify, and Nugs.net. They also sell hard copy versions of their recordings at their shows and via their website. Aqueous has released six studio albums since its inception. The most recent being Color Wheel, released in 2018. Another notable release by the band was their 2016 release, Best in Show. Their debut release, the self-titled “Aqueous”, was released in 2009. The band has also released multiple live recordings with the most recent live release being Live from the Bluebird Theater: Denver, CO – June 9, 2018. Element Pt. 1, the first in a series of newer live recordings from the band, was released in 2017.

Studio Recordings

 * Aqueous – 2009
 * Giant Something – 2011
 * Willy is 40 – 2012
 * Cycles – 2014
 * Best in Show – 2016
 * Weight of the World (Single Version) - 2017
 * Color Wheel – 2018

Live Recordings

 * Artifact – Live Studio EP - 2016
 * Element Pt. 1 - 2017
 * Element Pt. 2 – 2017
 * Aqueous Live 9/16/17 Indianapolis, IN – 2017
 * Live from Kalamazoo (November 17, 2017) - 2018
 * Live from The Bluebird Theater: Denver, CO – June 9, 2018 – 2018