Illimanjaro Profile/Review in the latest issue of Ins & Outs (Long Island City-based magazine) Volume II Issue 04 www.licmagazine.com
By William Ruben Helms
Illimanjaro, the Astoria, Queens-based trio of Noah “Proph” Penn (drums and lead vocals), Joe “Pep” Pepe (guitar) and Liam “Furious George” Baum (bass and backing vocals) can trace their origins to Islip, New York. “Joe and I have known each other since middle school,” Penn said during a recent interview. “We’ve been in bands since then.” But Illimanjaro got their serendipitous start when Penn and Pepe met Marshfield, Vermont-born Liam Baum at the New Paltz, New York campus of SUNY New Paltz. The trio started jamming together during the winter of 2004-2005 and began working on material. “It was then that we really started to be a band,” Penn said, recalling their early days.
Illimanjaro had been together for two years before they settled in Astoria. Baum, who had been living and working upstate after completing his bachelor’s degree, was the first member to move into the neighborhood. As it turned out, Baum had a couple of friends who were already in the area, and they sold him on Astoria as they described it as a decent place to live with cheap rents. Once sold on Astoria, Baum moved into a place on Ditmars Boulevard with two friends while he took graduate courses in music education at CUNY Queens College. When his friends eventually moved out, Baum asked both Penn and Pepe to move in with him. “I figured that the best way to be productive and work quickly would be to live and work together,” Baum said.
Although each member has their varied influences, it’s their mutual love of hip hop which has drawn them together, serving as the creative middle ground for their sound. However, each member’s unique influences allow the band to expand their sound past genre-specific labels. It should be no surprise that the members of Illimanjaro have a difficult time describing their sound. Joe Pepe has jokingly suggested that their music was “thoughtful music – loud thoughtful music,” while Penn suggested that Illimanjaro was a “power trio informed by hip hop.” Despite the band’s inability to pigeonhole their sound into one particular genre, newcomers will encounter one of the tightest and most polished sounding bands of the entire Astoria and Long Island City music scene.
At their set as part of the Astoria Music & Arts Rock n’ Crawl in December, Illimanjaro was brash, blisteringly loud and highly energetic while balancing post-punk, artsy ambitions. An audiophile might hear strains of the Talking Heads, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, early Red Hot Chili Peppers, Devo and even legendary, experimental British post-punk band Wire. Like many post-punk, post-everything acts, their songs consist of several thematic or atmospheric ideas which start, end or repeat with an explosive suddenness before moving on towards another idea, another theme. The songs during their December set are built around Noah Penn’s sing-speaking/sing-rapping the lyrics, then crooning the chorus. Interestingly, Penn’s lyrics have a sense of disenchantment, disgust and ennui while maintaining a bratty, silly sense of humor. “White Girl Livin’ in Bushwick” may be cutesy but the song is funny and extremely well written. “Move!” on the other hand has a straightforward punk sensibility with sneering, bravado-filled lyrics. Throughout their sets, Penn’s drumming focuses on simple rhythmic structures and syncopation—much like the old school beats of an 808 synthesizer. Baum plays some full, round bass notes while staggering and stomping about as though he’s in the throes of a conniption while Pepe does the classic guitar god moves—including the “guitar player face” and the Pete Townsend-inspired windmill.
Each member of Illimanjaro has found their connection to Astoria Music & Arts to be incredibly positive. Liam Baum was pleased that each of the Rock n’ Crawl venues had big, enthusiastic crowds—although he did note that each venue’s proximity to public transportation and the area’s major thoroughfares could have played a significant role in the turnout. But despite minor concern, Pepe, Penn and Baum all believe that AM&A’s efforts are a very promising development for the local scene. Noah Penn initially suggests that AM&A will allow Astoria a unique opportunity to display its creative identity—becoming the sort of neighborhood where you could see up-and-coming artist collaborating for the greater good of the neighborhood. Additionally, Astoria Music & Arts’ efforts have been extremely inspiring to the band, as they’ve been busily promoting their own shows with like-minded artists throughout the city in a similar fashion. Illimanjaro is also currently working on a new album—their third studio release after A Problem and Not Invited EP—which they hope to release in early summer. – William Ruben Helms