Twin Cities Indie Folk Band
The Bug Candy Story
Between 1998 - 2001, the original alt-rock band Bug Candy was a staple of the Twin Cities music scene. Founded and fronted by songwriter Eric Thiegs, the band played 150+ gigs and earned airplay on KQRS, Cities 97, and a feature on TV. Before streaming and social media, “Pocket of Love” topped the MP3.com charts.
About Bug candy
The Band
In 1996, during his senior year of college at the University of Minnesota, Eric Thiegs self-released an indie-folk album entitled Bug Candy. Wanting more than the pure singer-songwriter production approach, he asked his college roommates to sit in and perform on the album. This included his girlfriend, Rebecca, brother, Ryan, and friend, Marc.
Rebecca and Marc went on to form the band, Bug Candy, with Thiegs as they brought in bassist Michael Carvale. The quartet began to play gigs around the University of Minnesota campus, and Thiegs released his 2nd album, Man Eating Bugs, in 1998.
The band's mix of acoustic rock with a dash of Thiegs's silliness brought out the GenX post-college grads, who at the time were in their mid/late 20s, during the band's three-year run playing shows at bars and music venues across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
"Our little band hit at the right time," says Eric Thiegs, "We were just out of college, we had jobs, no kids, and it was the economic boom of the late 90s. Everyone had money and free time, no wonder we had so many people showing up to our gigs -- every Bug Candy show was a party for all of us new-found adults."
The band released their 3rd album, Shade of Creon, in 2001 at the height of their local popularity. As all good things must end, after nearly a four-year run together, the band dissolved in 2002 when Eric and Rebecca moved from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. There, they performed acoustically for several years before Thiegs released his fourth album, Distant & Clean, as a solo folk effort just prior the birth of his first daughter.
Who are the Bug Candy band members:
- Eric Thiegs: Music/Lyrics | Vocals | Guitar
- Rebecca Thiegs: Vocals | Cowbell
- Marc Bohn: Drums
- Michael Carvale: Bass | Piano
Radio Play
- Radio play on Twin Cities radio stations KQRS 92.5FM, Cities ’97FM, KFAI 90.3FM, Radio K 770AM, & rotation at over 20 Midwest college radio stations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota
- Charted on CMJ, at #13, out of KMSC Moorhead, MN
- Live, in-studio, on-air performance on KQRS 92.5 FM on April 8, 2001
- June 2002: Feature interview/performance on NJ Community Radio
TV & Print Features
TV
- Two feature stories on “The Buzz” with Robyne Robinson — Twin Cities UPN affiliate, KMSP Channel 9. On-air interview & song highlights. Aired twice, 3/00 & 4/01
- May 2002: Appearance on Philadelphia local news
- Feature full-page interview/story in Pulse, Twin Cities’ A&E weekly in Oct. ‘99. Other online and offline reviews as well, i.e. Toast.
- “Artists of the Month” in July ‘99 edition of the Indie Journal
Live Shows
- 150+ live shows in Greenwich Village, NYC; Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN; Princeton, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Philadelphia, PA
- 2nd place out of 70+ bands in 1999 Twin Cities annual Bar Search Battle of the Bands contest sponsored by Zone 105FM, Oar Fin Records, & Miller Lite. 1000+ people attended the Finals at The Cabooze
- Regional east coast Spring 2002 CD Signing Tour with Borders Book Stores in PA, DE, and NJ
- Headlining act for the 20-gig concert series at the U of M for the incoming Big 10 freshmen class — summers of 2000 and 2001. 5000 college freshmen in attendance each year
- 1 of 10 bands featured in the Minnesota Music Movement Showcase, First Avenue main room during ‘99 Ice Breaker Conference
- Performed at 2003 7th Annual Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA as featured acoustic headliners
- Performed at Target sponsored event for U of M Arboretum
Albums
- Four independent albums released between 1995 - 2003
- Eric Thiegs and brother Ryan Thiegs (lyrics) received the 1st place award in the rock/pop category for “Icar Leaty” off 2nd album, Man Eating Bugs, in US songwriting competition hosted by Fort Bends Songwriting Assoc
Fans
- 2 songs hit the top 10 on the national MP3.com charts for 20+ days: “Pocket of Love” was #1 (out of 960+ songs) on the alter- native/leftfield chart and “Sexy Flo” hit #2 (out of 3,400+ songs) on the pop/rock acoustic chart. April 2000
- 23,100+ downloads from Bug Candy’s MP3.com page 1998 - 2001
- 15,000+ unique visitors to Bug Candy’s original band website (now defunct)
- 1990's pre-social media marketing: 1,300 snail mail fan list. 500+ email fan list
media exposure
Song Streaming
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