Entries categorized as “Interviews” 93 results

Erik Roldan writesCHIRP + Coach House Sounds Present: Canasta

Canasta’s brightly lit pop rock is unmistakable to a Chicago music fan. Gearing up for promotion of their new record, The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather, Matt Priest answered these questions for CHIRP Radio’s fab-collab with Coach House Sounds. Priest and his new line-up in Canasta were the latest band to jam in a charming coach house in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Hear the results when the session is release on June 21st at coachhousesounds.com and until then, catch preview tracks on CHIRPradio.org.

What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

My childhood home actually had a pretty big basement, so up until about age twelve, I used to plan these elaborate, maze-like haunted houses for the other kids in my neighborhood. But one Halloween, just after my dad returned from tagging along on an amateur archaeological dig, I made the mistake of using an actual human skull in my haunted house’s climax.

As my guests rounded the last corner, they came upon the skull on the ground, complete with rubber insects and beams of light pouring from its eye sockets. But the terror it induced would also serve as its downfall, as the very first kid to discover it completely freaked out and stomped it to pieces. Whoops.

Canasta has a long history in Chicago. Can you tell me about one time when you realized this was YOUR city?

As a sextet, there are very few things upon which all of us can agree. But a few years back, we were offered the chance to play alongside Barack Obama at a fundraiser for the then-Presidential candidate. When it comes to either political gigs or benefits, the band only plays if the cause is something we can all get behind 100%. And lucky for us, it just so happened that his campaign was one of those things.

The event took place at the Riviera Theater, one of Chicago’s most legendary venues, and also featured a set from the city’s rock n’ roll ambassadors, Wilco… two more aspects to the evening about which the band was unanimously stoked. Furthermore, Obama’s campaign had just started to take hold on a national level, so the energy throughout the hometown crowd was extremely positive and almost electric. The entire experience was one of Canasta’s proudest moments, as both a band and a group of six Chicagoans.

Describe a scenario where Canasta could be someone’s life coach and the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them.

We could probably offer some helpful advice to just about anyone who’s at a point in life where he/she is considering diving head-first into a scary, new endeavor… whether it be artistic, professional, romantic or whatever. Cuz when we started Canasta, most of us weren’t the sort of seasoned rockers who had spent our lives preparing in other bands.

The group originated organically – and somewhat offhandedly – so it was intimidating when things started going well and it came time to decide if we were serious about going a step further: making records, playing out, touring, etc. Obviously, we decided that we were. And since doing so, I’d say two of the most important things we have learned (though haven’t always remembered to observe, ourselves) are as follows…

1) Take chances. Often, the craziest things we’ve written into songs – the stuff it was far from certain we’d ever be able to pull off – ended up being our fans’ favorite moments, as well as our own. But if you do anything for awhile, eventually, things that once felt like risks will cease to. So be sure to keep from getting too comfortable; push yourself and continue to find new ways to take those chances.

2) Don’t get too caught up comparing what it is you do to the work of others around you. For starters, it tends to be a losing proposition… It’s easy to wonder why anyone ought to bother writing lyrics in a world that has already heard Bob Dylan or singing in a one that has already heard Sam Cooke. But more importantly, it’s just crucial to understand that the exact combination of elements you bring together and the precise way in which you do so is absolutely unique to you.

At the risk of invoking an overused snowflake analogy, rest assured it has never existed before and won’t ever be replicated again. And upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that you are the sole expert in your very own niche. Once you realize that, it becomes much easier to take full advantage of everything you have to offer the world. Cheesy, I know… But I’m pretty sure it’s actually true too.

Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?

To be honest, we’re notorious perfectionists about the structures and arrangements of our songs, so it’s not often you’ll find us recording a single-take live session to tape. But we did so here and it was actually kind of exhilarating. We were a bit out of our element though, a fact that seemed to manifest itself in nervy, amped-up tempos on a few of the tunes. That was scary at first, but I’d say it ended up adding an immediacy to those songs.

Also, I recall it being a fairly early morning session, which tends to lend the vocals a rougher, ramshackle quality… again, not the way we’d normally do things… but that gave the set a looseness that worked nicely too.

What’s happening? What are your current/upcoming shows or releases?

We’ve had a lot of changes to our line-up since the release of last year’s The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather. So we were just recently able to begin work on the follow-up, which for the sake of expediency, will probably be somewhat shorter than a full-length. But in order to fund its recording, you can catch us playing a number of outdoor fests and street fairs this summer (which, for whatever reason, just happen to be far more lucrative than your average club gig).

We also just returned from Rock Island, Illinois, where we laid down a Daytrotter session, which should be posted online within the month. And we’re about halfway done with a ridiculously ambitious music video for The Fakeout single, “Mexico City,” which ought to be done by the middle of Summer. We can’t wait for folks to hear/see that stuff!

Erik Roldan writesCHIRP + Coach House Sounds Session With The Hit Back

The Hit Back are a new group in Chicago comprised of Seth Weidman and Jesse Hanabarger. Their piano-based rock recalls a young Ben Gibbard, with more atmospheric instrumentation. Their debut album, “Who Are These Weird Old Kids” came out on April 26th with gorgeous pacaking by Chicago’s Sidedown Audio, and it was partially produced by Swedish producer Lindefelt.

Coach House Sounds will release The Hit Back Session on May 10th, 2011. Stream it at coachhousesounds.com and check out their in-store performance at Saki, 3617 W. Fullerton, on May 14th at 4pm.

What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

One of the dumbest things I ever did in a basement was try to start one of my first bands with some friends in high school. There were five of us, and we called ourselves 5 Card Stud. We built our first and only song on a riff I had come up with. We were pretty proud of ourselves until the end of the summer when we starting hearing the song “Right Now” by SR-71. Turns out we pretty much wrote that song. I can field questions later about the hip hop crew I also had in a different basement.

Can you tell me about one time when you realized this was YOUR city?

Growing up just north of Chicago, in Evanston, I always felt a strong connection with the city. I would even claim it as “my city” when I lived up in Minnesota for a few years in college, but it probably wasn’t true at that point. I’d say that a couple years ago, once me and my sister and my parents all ended up here in different and wonderful neighborhoods of Chicago, that’s when it was truly my city. It’s full of so many people and places that I love, too many to name. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Describe a scenario where The Hit Back could be someone’s life coach and the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them.

First of all, we would call our life coaching seminar Learn to Hit Back: Jesse and Seth’s Approach to Treating Life’s Obstacles as a Punching Bag. We would probably lecture from a boxing ring in the middle of the room, or at least have a mic hanging from the ceiling.

Then the lesson we would teach is that people should surround themselves with other people that they trust and respect the hell out of. The Hit Back is a good example of that. A lesson about regularly using a sinus rinse or neti pot would probably follow.

Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?

The Coach House Sounds experience was all positive. Matt and his crew are doing such a great job with this project. Doug, Mike and Neal are all crazy good at what they do.

We ended up recording our session a few days before a show, so it was a nice little rehearsal opportunity for us. We basically just ran through a shortened version of our set, trying out a couple new things for some of the songs.

Erik Roldan writesA Coach House Sounds Conversation with Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc has been a steady fixture in Chicago for many years, forming after the dissolution of famed emo band Cap’n Jazz. Tim Kinsella has been the only permanent member of the group and has maintained steady out put under the Joan of Arc name.

The band recently recorded a session at Coach House Sounds, and you can listen to CHIRP for preview tracks of the session. Starting April 25th, you’ll be able to stream the entire performance at coachhousesounds.com!

What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

Basements have probably been more formative to me than kitchens – I can’t cook – or living rooms – TV bores me – or bedrooms – my dreams aren’t very vivid. High school was of course spent in friends’ basements with malt liquor and bongs and a record playing while a movie is on and someone is playing guitar or bass along to the record. I once played a basement show naked. That was pretty weird, but not dumb.

I guess the dumbest thing might’ve been feeling bad this one time when that Led Zeppelin song “Thank You” came on while I was watching the girl that had just dumped me go to third base with this guy in front of everyone hanging out. Or we all got in the habit of pissing in this one drain in this guy’s basement so we wouldn’t have to go upstairs and face his parents while all fucked up and after awhile the drain started to reek of piss. But that was collective stupidity, not as stupid as feeling bad while that hokey song played.

Joan of Arc has a long history in Chicago. Can you tell me about one time when you realized this was YOUR city?

Eh, I’ve never thought of moving. My family and friends are all here. Everything’s simple. We travel enough and I have a terrible sense of direction, so it’s nice to come home and know where everything is. And when we were without a practice space for awhile a couple years ago, we moved everything into my gramma’s basement on Belmont for a couple weeks. Couldn’t do that anywhere else.

I guess one time, on a rare visit to a 4 a.m. bar, this Chad-dork-creep put his arm around my ex-wife and I instinctually grabbed him in an aggressive way. When he started to push me and threaten me, the bouncers, who I’d never seen before, kicked that guy out instead of me, even though I kinda started it. They pointed at me and said, “he’s cool.” Maybe that’s a perk of living in the same neighborhood for years and years?

Describe a scenario where Joan of Arc could be someone’s life coach and the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them.

It’s not so far-fetched really. The band has such longevity because of its “always open, revolving door” membership policy. We are quite a crew of misfits. Organizing it keeps me occupied, less likely to fall wayward. Whenever someone has better things to do or something going for them, they drop out for awhile. Then they lose a job or a girlfriend or whatever and the band is there to give a little structure to a wayward period.

So, lesson #1 – Entertain no pre-conceived expectations. Collaboration will only come from listening and being open to other people’s ideas, and with trusted collaborators, the unified vision will often surpass the depth and expressiveness of imposing one’s view.

And #2 – Remain conscious, alert and engaged. The world is an endless and inexhaustible splendor of wonders. The sublime strangeness of the world is endlessly inspiring if you are awake to it. The only true challenge is the stamina, so you have to fight off the oppressive war-mongers and feudal overlords that wanna drain you of imagination and fighting spirit. This battle is in itself endlessly inspiring as the capitalist pigs are gonna clamp down even harder before they inevitably die.

The future of the earth, not to mention our species, depends on this battle. What could be more inspiring than a battle for one’s life? And remaining conscious, alert and engaged is the necessary first step. Those pigs we’re fighting have all the power in the world at their disposal to hide the fact that there’s even a battle being waged! Fuck those pigs. Love will prevail!

Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?

Man, it was on St. Patrick’s Day, blah! The worst. We hadn’t rehearsed in a couple weeks, so we were very unprepared, but it went well. We played fine anyways. Lovely place Matt has there and everyone involved was real friendly and easy to work with. Good coffee. Cool set-up in concept and execution. Yeah, it was fun.

What’s happening? What are your current/upcoming shows or releases?

We are currently buried in writing a score for the Dreyer film The Passion of Joan of Arc to perform live. It’s been thrilling to work on. Totally stretching us to work in new ways, very exciting for us. And our new record comes out in May and then we go on tour through most of May through September, which is exciting, get to see our friends everywhere. Steady is the course.

Erik Roldan writesA Conversation With The Arts of Life Band

Arts of Life Band is a creative collaborative project between disabled and non-disabled artists in the Chicago area, based out of the Arts of Life community of artists. Guided by Artistic Director Ryan Shuquem, the band makes call-and-response, energetic rock music that combines the eccentricity of Wesley Willis and the community aspect of School of Rock.

Housed in the Arts of Life space in West Town, Chicago, the band has been keeping busy with recording, performing and over-all good vibes. They found time to record a session at Coach House Sounds, capturing the spirit of their live show and energy of the band – here the session on CHIRPradio.org and stream it over at coachhousesounds.com]http://www.coachhousesounds.com/">coachhousesounds.com[/url].

What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

Matt – I threw a chair at my brother. I was watching TV and he changed the channel in the middle of the show. I was only 12, so I didn’t know what I was doing. Ha.
Mike – I pushed my cousin and locked him in the tool closet.
Ryan – I was playing with a broken light bulb and shocking myself in a basement.
David – We used to have a basement, but I don’t live in there any more.

Arts of Life Band seems to have a humanitarian mission, can you talk about that aspect of the project and how you’ve accomplished those goals?

Matt – I think we show people with disabilities that they have lots of options in life
Ryan- I agree, and I think we introduce people to each other who might have never met otherwise, help bridge the gaps between disabled rockers and non-disabled rockers.

Describe a scenario where Arts of Life Band could be someone’s life coach and the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them.

David – We’d say “You can have a band too. You can play music too. Don’t be afraid.”

What do you like about Chicago, and what makes it special to you?

Matt – I like the hot dogs, I like the meat, I like the White Sox
David – I like the police, they rescue lives
Ryan – I like the friendly people. Coach House Sounds, Mucca Pazza, CPE Sound where we rehearse. We get to meet lots of nice people that are interested in supporting our hard work.
Mike – I like my housing association and my staff.
Kelly – Hamburgers. I just do.

Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?

Ryan – I think they made us feel comfortable and really showcased our fabulous energy!
David – I liked the spotlights and the peoples
Andrew – Yeah, Matt was great. He sat in while we were waiting for our drummer and helped us warm up. He played well!

What’s happening? What are your current/upcoming shows or releases?

Ryan- We’re excited about our release show on March 10th at the Hide Out of course and we’re doing a couple high schools this month. Should be fun to rock a high school.

Also, we’ve got a great art studio with lots of beautiful art work to look at and the best tour guide in the business (David). Come check us out in West Town at 2010 W. Carroll Ave. or in the virtual world at artsoflife.org.

DJ Betynka - It's 12 O'Clock Somewhere writesCookies, Comedy, and an Engagement With Shaun Michael Paul of Chaperone

CHIRP DJ Elizabeth Ramborger recently caught up with Shaun Paul of Chaperone as he was finishing a batch of ice cream at his day job at Bobtail ice cream. It was a white chocolate peanut butter cup. He admitted it wasn’t the best of his flavors, but good, noting the season St. Paddy’s Day Guinness batch.

It was a good start for a conversation with the lead singer of a band known for bringing cookies to its shows—and not just your standard chocolate chip. Salted caramel is likely to pop up as an ingredient. As it turns out, this level of hospitality is emblematic of one of the nicest local bands around.

Between recipes and putting out their self-released EP Cripple King in 2010, Chaperone has already recorded a yet-to-be-released 7-inch, played a ton of shows, and is getting ready for SXSW. You can see them on their home turf when they headline a CHIRP Practice Space series on Monday, February 28 at Schubas.

Elizabeth spoke with Shaun about desert, why Chicago is Milwaukee’s second city, and some post Valentine’s Day news.

Elizabeth: So the first time I saw you guys was your show at Quenchers. I was with two other people and we were in a post-holiday malaise and then we saw cookies and thought…this is going to be alright. Imagine our surprise when there were three different gourmet flavors to choose from. So what’s with the cookies?

Shaun: Well Miles [Chaperone’s bassist] does the baking—he’s the Betty Crocker of the group, mixed with January Jones from Mad Men.

Elizabeth: Does he wear an apron and everything?

Shaun: Of course. He’s pro! He’s gotta wear an apron. But yea, we made cookies for a show and people ate them up and he made them for the next show, and then it just became a thing. We’re thinking of moving into other deserts, like fudge. In fact, Miles is moving into the kettlecorn realm. [We have a certain] down homeness as a band and cookies are just a part of it.

Elizabeth: You’re a Chicago transplant. The Midwest certainly has a “down homeness.” Is that what drew you to the city, coming from North Carolina?

Shaun: Oh definitely. In fact, I was looking at several cities before I settled on Chicago. People have the same mentality here as the people at home [in North Carolina]. Chicago is kind and open as a people.

Elizabeth: Does that translate to the music scene?

Shaun: It’s contradictory. [The music scene is] definitely kind of cutthroat. Bands don’t support one another enough. Although we are close with some bands—we’re real close with Dastardly.

Elizabeth: Why do you think that is? Competitiveness? Laziness? The winter?

Shaun: The winter definitely factors in…

Elizabeth: How did you get your start in music and how did Chaperone come together?

Shaun: I played music down in North Carolina. I was in a couple of high school punk bands like everybody. I actually came up for Second City to pursue comedy. A couple of buddies came up from North Carolina and I started playing with them. It got to the point that I had to decide between the two of my interests, music and comedy, just from a time standpoint, and I love music. It’s just fun.

Elizabeth: What are the good aspects of the Chicago music scene?

Shaun: The clubs are great and the people that schedule bands, the bookers, are good people. It’s nice dealing with people that are kind and remember you. We really love Schubas.

Elizabeth: What local bands are you excited about?

Shaun: Gold Motel. Greta [Morgan] is real nice, we played with them in Milwaukee. I also love Catfish Haven but alas they’re not doing anything anymore. I see George Hunter on the street and he keeps telling me he’s got something in the works.

Elizabeth: Milwaukee is a pretty down home place itself.

Shaun: Oh yea. The thing about Milwaukee is that people are willing to go out and see who’s playing, whether they know anything about the band or not. In Chicago people have to know who the band is before they go out.

Also, in Milwaukee people will dance at a show in a way that they won’t in Chicago. Sure, sometimes one person in the [Chicago] audience will cut a rug, but we’re a bouncy, happy band. When we’re on a stage we dance around and we like the audience to enjoy it and dance around too. We love Milwaukee.

Elizabeth: You’ve been compared to Los Campesinos! A CHIRP reviewer compared Chaperone to Girls and Neutral Milk Hotel. How do you react to those comparisons?

Shaun: I never really got into the Girls albums. But there is a certain do-it-yourselfness about Girls that applies to Chaperone. We recorded our own EP without any outside help. We were real happy to say we did it ourselves.

Neutral Milk Hotel is my favorite band ever, so that makes me really happy to hear. They have a certain lo-finess that I relate to. There’s also an honesty to Neutral Milk Hotel that I strive for in Chaperone. Whatever I write, even if its fiction (people always ask whether the songs are true, did I run away with someone to the Everglades?), I try to make my songs feel honest and authentic.

Elizabeth: Who influences you?

Shaun: I love Okerville River. I’m real excited about their new album. Bright Eyes is the reason I started writing music in the first place. I thought if he can do it and put stuff out by himself, I could. Ryan Adams was an influence—he’s definitely influenced the country aspects of Chaperone! Of course, you can’t go full country…

Elizabeth: Isn’t that Gwenth Paltrow’s new movie—“A Little Bit Country?”

Shaun: Yea…ha.

Elizabeth: Standard first job question—where do you see yourself as a band in five years? Are you just going along for the ride or do you have specific aspirations?

Shaun: Of course we have aspirations. We just finished a 7-inch—we got the master tracks back three days ago. Of course, vinyl is expensive so we’re saving up money to release it. We’re also shopping ourselves around, looking for a small label to release a full-length. We love recording! We get in and go—wow, an organ! That’s what this song needs—an organ! Ideally in five years we’ll ideally be touring Europe with a couple of full-lengths and 7-inches under our belt.

Elizabeth: Tell me a little bit about the rest of your band.

Shaun: Definitely! Miles [Doornbos] is our bassist. I played with him in an earlier band, Mountain Coming Down and we met through my job at Bobtail Ice Cream. We’re best friends. It’s always great to make music with your best friends.

Mark [Sheridan] is our keyboardist/boy genius. He’s 21 and he worked for me at Bobtail a couple of summers back. He’ll play anything we throw at him.

Elizabeth: Chaperone’s Conner Oberst?

Shaun: Yes! Shaylah [Kloska] is our glockenspiel and singer. We also write together…actually we got engaged last week.

Elizabeth: Congratulations!!!

Shaun: Thanks, yea! Actually, I was in a band with her ex-boyfriend. Our band broke up, we didn’t see one another for 2-3 years and then I ran into her at a show at the Bottle. We invited her to be a part of the band and things developed from here.

Elizabeth: Does a relationship change the dynamics for the band or your songwriting?

Shaun: I really hope it won’t change the dynamics. I definitely thought about that. But no, it hasn’t affected things. We used to drink wine at one another’s apartments and write songs and then go home after that. I was worried that would change, but we moved in together a year ago and things are great.

Elizabeth: Has the EP [self-released Cripple King] changed anything for the band or its approach?

Shaun: The EP’s been great for us. People I never would have imagined are listening to us. Things are really snowballing and the EP’s been effective.

The hardest thing for us over the past few months is that we lost our drummer [Tom des Enfants]. He decided to leave the band three months ago due to conflicting priorities. But we’ve got a new drummer. Schubas will be our first show with the new line-up. And we’ve got two day parties lined up for SXSW and we’re looking for some other gigs there.