Band’s Lyricists Release Volume of Poetry

Sioux City natives Corey “MC Brew” Brubaker and Eric “The Top Civilian” Osterholm have been unpublished poets since high school. But creative forces eventually steered these would-be authors a new direction.

Osterholm remembered, “I originally wanted to write poetry, but I thought not many people in today’s society would read a book of poetry. So I decided the best way to get my poetry heard is to put it over beautiful music.”

Thus with notebooks of verses at their disposal, the pair crossed into the realm of recording artists. Collectively known as The Gateway Drug (alongside music producer and deejay Noel “DJ Poyo” Bockholt), they’ve performed over 100 shows while releasing two albums and two mixtapes in the span of almost a decade. But sometimes the meanings and the message of the award-winning Hip-Hop group’s songs got lost in the moment amongst the crowd.

The emcees have now come full circle, as Forces of Obvious Luck Media has published a free eBook of Brubaker and Osterholm’s original lyrics: ‘times new poetry’.

“No matter how many times you listen to a song or think you know it word-for-word, there is usually something hidden below the surface,” explained Brubaker. “Whether it be a veiled play on words or something simply undecipherable without context, we as artists felt it would be cool to let listeners and fans of poetry alike into our heads.”

“And it’s always good for fans and friends to have a guide so they know all the correct lyrics. We don’t need any more ‘Hold me closer, Tony Danza’ situations at our shows,” Osterholm joked [in reference to the famous misheard Elton John lyric].

The volume contains all verses from both emcees as originally recorded on their debut LP, ‘times new roman’ – 14 unique compositions in all.

Editor and publisher Chris DeRoin says a sequel may already be in the works, centering around The Gateway’s Drug ‘Two Dogs & A Dragon’ album and that he may work with other area artists to release their lyrics.

But when it comes to Brubaker and Osterholm, no matter if they’re building streams of consciousness, crafting character-based narratives, reporting on scenery or situations around them, freestyling on the radio, reciting their own autobiographies, addressing current events or social issues or captivating audiences at poetry slams, they have been relying on the power of poetry and words for years.

Brubaker summed up, “We finally decided it was time to put that power into the hands of readers and allow them to discover poetry for themselves. A gateway drug to poems, if you will.”

The eBook’s layout also includes photos from the band and their friends taken over the years.

‘times new poetry’ is available to read and download for free at: https://forcesofobviousluck.wordpress.com/times-new-poetry
and
http://books.noisetrade.com/forcesofobviousluck/the-gateway-drug-times-new-poetry