The relationship between a band and their fans is a sacred one. Up-and-comers Aqueous, in particular, have a truly special relationship with their fans. Recently, the Buffalo, NY quartet released a brand new live record, Element Pt. I, which consolidates the finest live cuts from their Spring 2017 tour into a two-part album. The tracks that eventually made the record—and there were a lot to choose from—were selected by the band’s fans. Guitarist Mike Gantzer spent hours digging through the tour’s recorded catalog, taking notice of the particular versions of songs that their fans loved the most.

Well, any good relationship is a two-way street. Enter All In With Aqueous, a fan-run podcast started by diehard Aqueous fan Myke Menio. Says Menio, “I have been running fan-based content for Phish for over 5 years at lawnmemo.com and thought it was time to start to work on my favorite up-and-coming band. We have become great friends over the years and I always have thoughtful and intriguing conversations about music with the members of the band. After speaking with Mike Gantzer and throwing some ideas around, we decided a podcast could be perfect.” So Menio did what any fan in this position would do: he asked the questions he had always wanted answered.

The series hopes to capture the fan’s perspective on the music and aims to recap some of the greatest and most memorable moments in Aqueous history. The podcast will shed light on specific songs and shows, talk about the exciting times coming up for the band, and even sit down with some of the fans that have been hanging around the steadily growing scene for years. “There are some interesting characters we plan on interviewing that should provide plenty of entertainment,” elaborates Menio. “Eventually, I plan on interviewing other musicians and people we all respect in the scene to find out their takes on Aqueous, as well. There are so many different perspectives that go into making and following a band and we hope to touch on as many as possible.”

The band is fully on board with the podcast idea, and even enlisted their front of house engineer, Ryan Bress, to engineer and mix the episodes. “I was honored when Myke brought the idea of an all Aqueous-themed podcast to me,” says Gantzer. “I was really confident that he would not only do it justice, but take it to a level and depth that would give people a deeper look into the band’s roots, who we are personally, and also dive into our music in a really cool and unprecedented way.”

Listen to the first episode of “All In With Aqueous” featuring an interview with Mike Gantzer below:

Says Gantzer of All I With Aqueous‘s premiere episode, “It was amazing to be the guest for the podcast’s maiden voyage, and Myke came prepared with some amazing questions; it made for a situation in which I was able to reflect much deeper on the whole thing, and ultimately get much more personal with my thoughts about the band, my band mates, and even dive down the rabbit hole of memories and silliness and ups and downs in my 10 years with Aqueous that I never had before (on record) really. I’m excited for what this podcast will yield in the future as Myke brings different guests and band mates into the mix!”

All future episodes of All In With Aqueous will be available here.

[Cover Photo via Bill McAlaine]