Aqueous Announces New Drummer

Buffalo groove rockers Aqueous announced they have ended their search for a drummer. After months of video submissions and touring auditions, the band announced via their Facebook page that Cincinnati native Rob Houk will solidify the quartet’s lineup.

The official statement hit just as the band looks to hit the road with a strong summer festival touring schedule.

aqueous new drummer

ANNOUNCEMENT- We’d like to take a minute today and officially welcome the truly amazing Rob Houk to the Aqueous family as a full time member/drummer! We searched high and low to find the right fit, and not only is Rob an incredible musician that we all connected with immediately, but he’s also THE RADDEST dude- As many of you already know from having caught recent AQ sets with him behind the kit, this guy is the real deal, and we’re all feeling super inspired by what he’s brought to the table- get ready friends, big things coming. Welcome Rob!

On the other side of the coin, we’d like to sincerely thank ALL of the wonderful drummers who put in time and effort submitting great applications and specifically thank those who helped fill the spot temporarily and keep AQ going while we figured it all out, we deeply appreciate how much work everyone put in and means so much- THANK YOU! Onward.

Aqueous announced in December 2015 that they were looking for a new drummer.  The band made the decision to not only make the search public, but to also extend the search nationally. Houk told NYS Music that he learned of the band’s search quickly via Facebook. “The day they announced it, that was all I saw on my news feed. There’s a ton of AQ [Aqueous]  fans in Cincinnati, so all of my friends were posting about it.”

A few weeks after a video audition,  the band met with Houk. After that audition proved to be a success, the band gave Houk the opportunity to play with them at the Original Mother’s in Chicago on March 24. That led to Houk sitting in with the band as they hit the road in Colorado and the Midwest at the beginning of April.

Aqueous and Houk made their way back to Buffalo on April 9, where Houk got to experience playing with the band in their hometown, an experience Houk said he enjoyed.

The energy of that room was something I had never felt before honestly. The amount of love the city of Buffalo has for AQ is something really special. In was truly an honor to play for a crowd of people that care so much about the band. I immediately felt at home.

Houk has a variety of musical experience behind the kit, spending time in bands spanning a variety of genres including punk and hip-hop. He is also the resident studio drummer Colemine Records, a funk and soul label based out of Loveland, Ohio. He recently played with the Cincinnati based livetronica band Ethosine.

Among his favorite bands of all time, Houk notes a list of artists, some of which Aqueous has shared the stage with. “Some of my favorite bands of all time are Umphrey’s McGee, Dopapod, Papadosio, Ween… There’s a long list. I try to find influence in everything I listen to.”

Houk will play his first show as the band’s official drummer in Buffalo this Wednesday when hometown fans of Aqueous can catch the band play a free show at Buffalo’s Larkin Square. The band has already kicked off the summer with festival spots at Summer Camp, Domefest and the Paradise Music Festival. You can check out Aqueous with Houk behind the kit this summer at Electric Forest, Peach Fest and Disc Jam as well as Western New York-area festivals including Buffalove and Night Lights Festival.

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