The Embarrassment finds it’s ‘hard to beat a song about dust, but somehow we did it’

In celebration of America’s big birthday over the weekend, Rolling Stone selected a favorite song from each of the 50 states, which predictably including artists such as Beyonce, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen and Tupac Shakur.

But for Kansas?

The Embarrassment’s “Two Week Vacation” topped the list, and Kansas — the band actually named for the state — got an honorable mention for “Dust in the Wind.”

“It’s really hard to beat a song about dust, but somehow we did it,” joked band member Bill Goffrier.

He and his childhood pals Brent “Woody” Giessmann and John Nichols played music together while growing up. Then, while they were all at Wichita State University, they hooked up with Ron Klaus and formed an official band.

The band had no name until KMUW’s “After Midnight” show wanted to feature them, and the guys quickly started brainstorming for what to call themselves by jotting possibilities on a piece of paper.

“We were under pressure,” Goffrier said. “It was frustrating and hair-pulling.”

They narrowed it down to Elastic Waistband and the Embarrassment, which won in part because “it sounded like it had some gravitas to it” and in part because “it was also ridiculous and self-deprecating.”

The band lasted till about the summer of 1983, and then most of the musicians reunited in 2022 for a performance that accompanied a film about the band: “We Were Famous, You Don’t Remember.”

Goffrier said “Two Week Vacation” is one of the band’s more obscure songs. There’s only one recording of it, and it never made an album.

It was included in the 1993 anthology “The Embarrassment – Heyday 1979-83,” which is why the Rolling Stone article said the song was from ’93, but Goffrier said the song came out more like 1980.

“ ‘Two-Week Vacation’ is about a dude on a budget with time off from work and no idea what to do with it,” the article said. “They repeat ‘Where can I go?/What can I do?’ like it’s a bored Midwestern mantra over guitars that buzz like pissed-off crickets.”

The article also said, “Wichita’s the Embarrassment were one of the great Midwestern punk bands, forming in 1979 with a killer psychedelic garage sound and self-deprecating nard-chic look years ahead of its time.”

Goffrier’s buddy Eric Cale, executive director of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, sent him a link to the article with no comment.

At first, Goffrier was confused and didn’t know if it was something old or new. Then he figured it out.

“I was quite surprised and tickled.”

He wondered how the publication found the song, so he said turned to technology.

“Alexa, play the Embarrassment,” he said. “About 10 songs in, that song popped up.”

He then informed his old bandmates about their good press.

“I’m getting just cryptic replies (like), ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’ ”

He started to tell his 16-year-old granddaughter about it, but she’d never heard of Rolling Stone, so he gave up.

His 30-year-old son, however, “was kind of impressed.”

Some Embarrassment fans have commented that the band’s “Wellsville,” a song about the Franklin County town, would have been a better pick.

Goffrier said he can think of other artists, such as Freedy Johnston, who also might have been better selections.

“I don’t know how we made the cut.”

He appreciates it, though.

“By sheer coincidence, we have a new record available through our Bandcamp page.”

Goffrier also is happy that some of the Embarrassment’s songs are still enjoyable to listeners.

“Music that stands the test of time is what it’s all about.”