I listen to their songs, at shows or on
tape, and I can fall back to any given
summer, and think of all the cool, goofy
things I've done.

The last couple of Muler songs they
wrote have really brought this out of me.
It started with Shade, and then Rubber
Shoes, and now it's Rollerskater. They put
me in a bouncy mood, wanting to rock back
and forth on my heals (thanks Mac), shake
my hair around, and let everything go
through me. I even get the ultimate
experience from some of their songs, the
"chills". I don't know if this happens to
other people, but some songs can give me the
chills.

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Born less than a year ago, Muler may be an infant but don't let their age fool you because this band knows how to rock! Their debut single, "Share an Apple/Unashamed" erupts to the hilt with crushing power pop twists and turns, smeared with deadly shots of frenzied feedback and muscular hooks. Those of you who worship the gritty garage stance of the Replacements and Best Kissers in the World are sure to relish the equally brash bite of Muler. Made up of lead singer Dave Baumgartner, guitarist Kris Durso, bassist Will Veeder and drummer Sean Leahy, the band literally screams with potential and I guarantee you'll be hearing more about them in the future!

Maximum Rock and Roll, September 1994 #136, San Francisco

The MULER "Share an Apple" 45
on Gamma Ray (P.O. Box 1198, Webster,
NY 14580)is a cool kinda sloppy
pop record that falls somewhere inbetween< br>Small Factory and the poppier
Superchunk stuff.

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City Newspaper, Rochester, NY

Singles night

Lalaland and Muler at Scorgie's, 1 50 Andrews
Street on saturday, December 11.

Emergency Rock and Roll shopping news:
Give yourself the gift of vinyl music this Hanukah.
Rochester bands Muler and Lalaland will
both bring out their first records at monster 45's
release party in Scorgie's basement on Saturday
night. Lalaland's single "I'll make Somebody
Pay," backed with "Six Bullet Dream ," will be available
for the first time ever, as will Muler's
"Share an Apple" backed with "Unashamed."
And the kicker on the Muler single is that the first
50 paying customers will recieve a copy,
Absolutely free of charge! (I feel like a Ronco commercial.)

Both singles represent some of the best, and
most independent, recordings by Rochester's artists.
They'll be critical to any collection of our
music--or a perfect introduction to the thrills to
be found there. And the contrast gives listeners a
chance to compare the extremes of (twisted) '80's
pop. On their lovepower song "Share an Apple,"
Muler mixes up pop music the way Husker Du
taught us to on Flip Your Wig. Turn up the vocals,
turn up the guitar, turn up the bass, turn up the
drums. Let the melody find its way through a wall
of sound, brave, battered, and standing pretty.

Suck Magazine #5, Rochester, NY

Muler
"Share an Apple" 7"
Gamma Records
This single has the catchiest god
damed songs on it. This morning, I
woke up for work, put on the A side
while I got dressed and then left. All day
long, I kept singing along "share the
apple of my eyeEEeye, with another
guy". Man great f-ing 7", nothing
weak about it. these locals should be
congradulated. They were also nice
enough to submit this single to SUCK! I
think that was our first submission by
someone we didn't know before hand.
Thanks guys, and great job. EVERYONE
SHOULD BUY THIS!!! - joe.

City Newspaper, Rochester, NY, Feb. 1995

Muler 's popular success in Rochester should light a fire under the ass of every local musician who complains that the scene here is beat.

In 1993, vocalist David Baumgartner and drummer Sean Leahy left their homes in the Utica area for Rochester's brighter lights and livlier clubs. "There is no comparison," says Baumgartner. "There were at least some venues where you could see local music played on a regular basis and not have to worry about running into a covers band every time, you know?"

"It was nice, " says Baumgartner. "Sean and I had always talked about starting a band in Rochester. It had a pretty lively bunch of bands playing. So we thought it might be a healthy place to get the stuff going."

"The Stuff" has become a band called Muler and the tuneful roar that makes up their signature sound. "We just play kind of a loud noisy kind of pop music, really, "says Baumgartner. "That's how we like to describe it."

"Most of us just grew up with music that was easy to listen to," he says. "But we also liked stuff that had a nice edge to it, I guess. We're not out to reinvent the wheel, but we're really into noise and really into melody."

Live on stage, Muler makes it clear that they like what they're making. The band has developed a reputation for putting mad, manic energy into their shows. Baumgartner, the one band member without an instrument to keep track of, often leaps around the stage like a hell-bent pogo stick On one particularly exuberant night last year at Friends and Players ,he leaped clean off the stage, pulling a lighting fixture out of the ceiling on the way down.

"We've all gone to see a lot of bands play," says Baumgartner, "and we found that we have more fun if the band is having fun. And we just really have a great time playing. We never jump around just for the sake of doing it. I've never turned to Kris (Durso, guitar) and said, 'Man you gotta start jumping around.'"

A fetish for jet-engine volume levels did additional damage to the band's early relationship with club owners. On at least one club date (not in Rochester) the club owner pulled the plug on them. But that period in their history seems to have been wiped from Baumgartner's mind. "I think that was just a myth," he says. "Kris had a smaller amp, and I think he thought he had to turn it up loud. But he's got a bigger amp now, so he's got that whole big amp thing solved."

"Same volume," laughs Baumgartner, "just a different number."

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Live @ Under Acme/ "On The Rug" single (Deep Elm)

The four piece power pop band from Rochester, New York known as Muler has been playing around Manhattan recently and Consumable caught up with them at the Greenwich Village club Under Acme. Lead singer Dave Baumgartner bounced around like a pogo stick - and his main schtick is his hand down his...pocket. No, really, it's not his pants - although this writer wouldn't swear that there couldn't have been some pocket pool going on down there...

Of course, that sort of thing grows old quickly, and it's the music that matters. Some of the music hark back to the sounds of Material Issue or the Rake's Progress, without the immediate radio accessibility. The pair of slower songs which the band played had the chords from some of New Order's non-commercial tracks, but played solely on guitar. Although "On The Rug" is the current single, it seems likely that "Sneaker", an infectious pop tune, will be put on vinyl soon. It set fans in the tiny former Greenwich Village club dancing as Baumgartner made everyone feel tired just by watching him bounce all over the stage.

We'll see what Muler does when they put out their album. But, for now, they're fun live - with or without a pocket. - Bob Gajarsky

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