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How's this for a career plan: Get your start at the University of Texas. Bounce around between Texas, Pennsylvania and New York; wherever you can find cheap rent. Record an EP with Vice Records. Go on tour and go absolutely apeshit. Get kicked off the tour. Get dumped by your label. Ask Vice for a loan; get into a fistfight. Grow hair and beards until you resemble the Manson Family. Record full-length album in 2005 with funds from Maroon 5's bassist Mickey Madden. Celebrate the presence of a pool and a "drug budget." Try to attract a label. Sign with Kemado in 2006; release self-titled Vietnam in 2007.
What a long, strange trip it's been. Michael Gerner (lead vocals, guitar) and Joshua Grubb (lead guitar, vocals) have a retro sound that pays homage to Dylan, Lou Reed and the Band, and an obvious appreciation for rebellion, anarchy and illicit pharmaceuticals. They've been described by The Fader as "two guys with beards playing druggy, freaked-out blues-inflected motherf--king rock music." With Michael Foss on drums and Ivan Berko on bass, Vietnam finally has a shot at the brass ring. The question is: Can they grab it?
The success of a band that doesn't look or sound like anything on TV or radio is always questionable in the age of MTV and VH1. Vietnam will probably stake a claim in the jam band arena; Deadheads and Phishies will surely provide a warm reception and a generous share of their stash.
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