Over the past six months we have introduced you to many of Chicago and Columbia’s finest rock bands. After scouring the campus one more time, we found a whole other genre at Columbia featuring Chicago’s finest performers. The hip-hop scene in Chicago has always been huge, and for a young producer who moved to the city from St. Louis, it opened a new door to endless opportunities. In our latest installment of artist of the week, meet Orie.
You’ve been producing for about 8 years now, how did you first get into producing? What did your first songs sound like?
I actually started with rapping back in middle school. My mom used to always tell me that I should get into producing, cause that’s where the real money was at. I ignored her for a couple years, and after seeing my friends producing some of the tracks I originally wrote in my middle school rap/r&b group “Rising Image,” I became fascinated and started from there. My songs were always very lyrically driven, often called “conscious” rap, but from the perspective and vocabulary of a 13-year old.
Was the transition from the St. Louis music scene to the Chicago scene difficult? What are the major differences between artists you’ve met here and artists you worked with in St. Louis?
Very different. I love my city, but I’ve gained access to so much new music being in Chicago. I’ve never been exposed to House music before I came to Columbia for school. If you’re not making a dance/club record back home, it’s hard to get any attention from the radio. Chicago is similar in a lot of ways, but there are so many other outlets and ways to get exposure, such as clubs, events, and major Chicago blogs.
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On the eve of Cursive’s 1-year anniversary for their latest release, Mama, I’m Swollen, Cursive swung through Chicago to play one of my favorite venues in the city, the Metro. Playing two sold-out shows with Alkaline Trio and the Dear and Departed, this is the first time we have seen Cursive in the windy city in over 6 months, and the first time we have seen them not in the headlining position of a tour. Before the show on Sunday I had a chance to catch up with bassist Matt Maginn, a man who majored in environmental science but was quickly whisked away into the life of a touring musician.
FYW: Two years ago I caught your performance at Subterranean where you guys previewed your newest album to the crowd before it was even entirely recorded. Is this something you try to do with every release?
MM: Anytime we can we try and do that- we did it with Mama quite a bit. We did it with Ugly Organ, but with Happy Hollow not as much. Ideally yes, but with every record we don’t have to. Mama was the most thorough we’ve ever [road-tested the album]. We were playing songs live that we’d never even recorded. That’s good and bad, because then there’s a few fans out there that heard it, or have a YouTube clip of it and they’re like “you guys are jerks, why didn’t you put that song on the record?”
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I remember Dan Henig and his music from its earliest incarnations in high school, 42nd Parallel. We both hail from Ann Arbor, MI and it was a wonderful surprise to reconnect with him here in Chicago a couple of weeks ago when I found out he transferred colleges. He has always had a knack for writing catchy and addicting music, but his solo work has evolved and matured beyond being just a fun band to go see on the weekends. He’s become an artist to pay attention to, someone who isn’t just playing for his friend’s entertainment in the basement. He’s playing for himself, means it, and he is going places. Check out the interview and music below.
Enjoy.
Allison Correll
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Late in the evening last week I ventured out into Humbolt Park to the practice space of the The Wanton Looks. They were all sitting around drinking PBR, except for Inga, who was a bit sick and was keeping her party face up with her bottle of throat spray. We sat and bullshitted for a little more than an hour, and I got to hear them practice some of their songs. It was quite clear why Greg Kot listed them as one of Chicago’s best indie bands of 2009. Our conversation drifted from getting kicked out of clubs, disgusting bathrooms, playing music and sex, drugs and rock & roll. Below is a PG version of it. Check it out and then check them out live at Lincoln Hall January 28 @ 9 PM.
Enjoy.
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As we venture further into January, it is time to welcome back our weekly edition of “Band of the Week.” 2009 introduced us to acts from all over the world with one thing in common – each of them now calls Chicago home. Brother and sister duo The Arrowsics’ story may be similar to interviews we have conducted in the past, but lead singer and composer Trevor Geiger gives us a glimpse into his musical background and the beautiful coastal town they are named after, Arrowsic, Maine.
The Arrowsics is comprised of you and your sister, have you always played music together or is this a new project?
Back when I started playing in bands everyone always said that Molly should sing for my group and I was always annoyed. My little sister….in my band? But about three years ago when my long-time band DPOM broke up, I realized that she has a great voice, and that any annoyance from years ago was gone. We’re really great friends and our voices are really similar, so it actually made a lot of sense.
We’ve done a bunch of stuff where she sings lead, but for this latest project she’s been really nice and done support vocals for me on my solo work. I love having a female voice for the high harmonies and even though Molly’s more used to singing lead, she does a great job.
What was the influence behind moving to Chicago from your hometown of Arrowsic, ME?
I dropped out of college in 2003 to move to Atlanta with my old band. After a few years down there we had all decided to move to Portland, Oregon where we thought we’d fit in better. We packed up all of our gear and began the cross-country drive. But we only made it as far as Chicago. After spending a few days in the city we had decided to stay. A reunion with our old guitarist (studying at the University of Chicago) convinced us that this was a pretty cool town. Read more…
This past summer I discovered a great little band that reminds me of blue skies, playing in parks and sunglasses. Ezra Furman & The Harpoons have a unique sound to them that keeps me interested long after the season fades away taking my need for sunglasses with it as winter’s sun hides behind Chicago’s greyest of grey clouds. Earlier this month I got to have a little email chat with Ezra Furman and learn a little more about the band and their music. They’re definitely a band I’m looking forward to hearing more from in the new year, so check it out!
Enjoy.
Photo: © Jade Amey
FYW: Your songs remind me of summer, but that may just be me- so, when did these nifty tunes come about? Were they written in parks with the birds and bees or were they forged in the gloomy winter months with street side grey slush? What’s the writing process for your music like?
Ezra: I write songs all year ‘round, not just in the summer. Actually probably fewer of them were written in the summer because I tend to be less of an escapist at that time of year. I tend to be outside doing things and enjoying the warmth instead of inside dreaming. Read more…
These boys may still look like they couldn’t pick up a pack of cigarettes at the local 7-11, but trust me, they can surely rock. Named after Jim Carey’s “The Truman Show,” Truman & His Trophy are combining math-rock and punk rock together to create a sound perfect for any house party. Check them out at one of their upcoming shows over Winter Break!
Enjoy this week’s installment of “Band of the Week”
How is it that Truman & His Trophy began and what brought all of you
together? Where did you get that name? It’s really interesting!
Truman & His Trophy began as a collaborative basement recording
project between Frank and myself in the summer of 2007. We were in a
band together that had just disbanded. I had written two songs that I
really liked and wanted to record them for fun at his house and at
this point I had no intention of starting another band. After we had
recorded them, we felt extremely good about it and wanted to properly
start a new band. We immediately found a house show to play without
any sort of band. We then asked our friends Jake and Ryan to help us
out, who are still in the band now. I had made up the name Truman &
His Trophy out of nowhere in particular. I really liked the movie The
Truman Show at the time, which I suppose is where the name Truman came
from. I’m also really attracted to phrases with alliteration, so I
guess the “trophy” came from that. Long story short, I wish there was
an awesome story behind our name but there sadly is not.
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2009 has been a huge year for the Michigan-based group The Swellers. After signing to Fueled By Ramen, the band has released their debut for the label, Ups and Downsizing, put out a 7″ on Paper+Plastick, and embarked on a nationwide record release tour with Paramore. During their recent show at The Metro, I had the chance to sit down with drummer Jonathan Diener and ask him a few questions about the band’s new found success and the future of the Swellers.
So, you just came off a tour with Paramore, which had to be a little different for you. (Much larger crowds/venues, different kind of crowds) What were your expectations going into that tour and how did it end up?
The Paramore tour preparation was definitely stressful because we didn’t know how we would go over with their crowd. It was our biggest merch order ever, we were playing the biggest shows we’ve ever done, and everything was just on a much larger scale. We knew with FBR and Hayley [Williams] backing us that we’d have the advantage going into the tour, which was nice, and it ended up working out perfectly. Paper Route and Paramore are full of great people, and the crew and everybody involved were all total professionals. All in all, we had a blast. We made some amazing friends, and a lot of new fans.
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Chicago’s music scene has a deep history. Whether you were born and raised in Chicago’s music scene or you are an immigrant, Chicago is always here to welcome musicians with its arms wide open. This was the sitation for So Many Ways, who were drawn to the city to receive a college education but gained much more than a lifetime’s worth of debt and a pile of textbooks that will never be opened again.
© Ashley Stolberg
Can you give us all the important background information about how So Many Ways began in as few words as possible?
Why yes we can. We all met here in Chicago, we all like pop punk and we’re all the coolest people you’ll ever meet.
As your line-up has increased and changed over the past year, you mentioned SMW has the “three singer attack.” Can you go into more detail about this sound and what each singer brings to the table?
Our line-up has been shakier than we ever wanted it to be, but the band as it is now is stronger and more together than ever. We seem to really be writing some great songs that are more fun and serious than our previous ones at the same time. Our ex-members are some of our favorite people on this planet, and they had to leave for other reasons just to be clear 
. Concerning our singing situation, Colin Screams and sings, and Jason sings as well, and as it is now Chris and Murphy are on the manly back-up vocals.
This summer you relocated to Massachusetts to record your first demo, The Real Talk EP – how did you choose your recording studio in Massachusetts when Chicago seems to have a million solid recording studios located closer to home?
The reasons behind the move to Massachusetts were actually pretty legit because Read more…
