Eight local bands to watch in 2008 By Lisa Balde | Beep Staff
| Daily Herald
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=147552The more the music industry changes, the more the local scene stays the same.
The bands below have played the game. They created the MySpace page, passed around the show fliers, secured the fan bases that earned them well-deserved sets at some of the country’s best venues. Ten years ago, we’d have been shocked to hear that they aren’t signed to a major label. But that was then. These days, the home-grown scene represents lots of industry holdouts. Not because they don’t need extra cash from nice label reps in slick Ben Sherman suits, but because they can. DIY never felt so good.
We present this crop of up-and-comers to you now as an offering of some of the best in the scene. There are plenty more where they came from.
Company of Thieves
Band most likely to … play Lollapalooza’s local stage
You’re a fan if you like: Fiona Apple, The Hush Sound, Wilco
See them: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, with Down the Line; tickets: $15
If you hear no other Chicago-bred artist this year, take a chance on Company of Thieves, the art-pop quintet that began its journey two years ago after a chance meeting between singer Genevieve Schatz and guitarist Marc Walloch on the Metra. Months after Billboard’s music gurus singled them out in New York as one of rock’s best unsigned bands, not even a stolen trailer could deter this innately friendly group from headlining Metro and scoring a spot on the Red Gorilla Fest this month in Austin, Texas. On top of a sound that smartly melds heart-tugging Americana with triumphantly key-pounding pop, Company of Thieves are probably some of the most appreciative rockers in the local biz. Let’s just say that if "Give a Fan a Hug Day" existed, this band would surely sponsor it.
So when Company of Thieves spread out across Beep’s corporate offices recently, it was no surprise that they downplayed exciting show news (they’re sharing the stage with Ben Kweller at The Great Lakes Room in Marquette, Mich., later this month) to focus on the people who bought their CDs when they needed the money to buy a new trailer to save their tour.
"We just really want to thank the fans," Schatz said on behalf of the group. "Thanks for coming to our shows. It really means a lot to us."
The Young Sea
Band Most Likely to … end up on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Left of Center
You’re a fan if you like: My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins
See them: 6 p.m. today at The House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, with The Honorary Title, tickets: $12. March 16: Celebration Community Life Center, 919 S. Washington St., Naperville; tickets: $10
It’s hard to believe the band that organized a Band-Aid-esque version of Jeff Buckley’s "Hallelujah" this winter (which Company of Thieves’ Schatz also contributed to) used to be a rap group that once dabbled in reggae. The Young Sea morphed into its well-layered, shoe-gaze self only about a year ago, but the results have landed them enough local camaraderie to put them on Metro’s stage and moonlight around suburban venues as veterans of the scene. There’s a lot of talent wrapped up in singer Kevin Prchal’s limitless voice and his four-piece backing of swirling, room-filling counterparts. Though they bow at the altar of bands like The Police and Coldplay, they sound right at home with old-school heavyweights like Lush and The Verve.
Butterfly Assassins
Band Most Likely to … make friends with Pitchfork Media
You’re a fan if you like: Cursive, Muse, Queen
See them: 10 p.m. today at Canopy Club in Champaign with The Rikters; tickets: $7 at the door
Not even college can stop this orchestral crew of chamber-punk gangbusters, who spread across three universities in two states after they banded under the name What Four during high school. Weekends, spring break and summer vacations have sufficed to grab the attention of a few interested labels, putting Butterfly Assassins on the map to possibly take their new, Old Flame Records-produced EP and dramatic instrumental interludes to L.A. sometime soon. Frankly, Butterfly Assassins sounds like such a violent name for this vaudeville-piercing five-piece, a group of overachievers who almost certainly found solace in the high school band room. But we assure new listeners that if ever such a delicate thing as a keyboard were to be shredded with the enthusiasm of a Husker Du chain-saw massacre, singer Brian Trahan is the guy to do it.
Danger is My Middle Name
Most likely to … be added to Q101’s Twisted lineup again next year
You’re a fan if you like: Ludo, Treaty of Paris
See them: March 30: Mojoe’s Rock House, 7537 W. 158th St., Tinley Park; tickets: $10
Few bands get the chance to play Chicago’s House of Blues, no less share the stage with the likes of Coheed & Cambria as a last-minute fill-in for Q101’s massive yearly showcase, Twisted. Danger is My Middle Name got the call to fill for Twisted 14’s Day Two something like a week beforehand, and within that week, the pop-punk foursome whipped up a whole album’s worth of material to debut at the show. The results were staggering enough to keep the group in Metro-level shows (they just played there again with Ludo last week) with connections to rising local up-and-comers Treaty of Paris and still-touring Lucky Boys Confusion. Aside from this obvious big break, which we music watchers shall bring up for years into Danger’s future, their split-second writing puts them among a talented set of contemporaries.
Amrita
Most likely to … succeed without a record label
You’re a fan if you like: Oasis, Umphrey’s McGee, Led Zeppelin
See them: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Mojoe’s Rock House in Tinley Park with Sherwood; tickets: $15. Sunday: On Cue, 1858 Belvidere Road, Grayslake, Rock for Kids Benefit; tickets: $7
Press nerds throw around the term "supergroup" so liberally that when an honest-to-goodness group of heavy hitters bands together, the weight of their camaraderie is nearly lost. So it is with great caution that we use this deserved title when re-introducing you to Amrita’s base of ex-Blacktop Mourning, The Academy Is … and October Fall members. These seasoned musicians formed Amrita’s ambient-rock quintet after industry pressures trampled their previous projects, bringing to the band a last-resort mentality that makes their meticulous jams sound all the more immediate and their live show all the more unique. Are labels already knocking on Amrita’s door? Probably, yes. Will they give in? Maybe, someday. For now, expect a stage-full of instruments shaking up shows that never sound the same.
American Taxi
Most likely to … tour as heavily as Lucky Boys Confusion
You’re a fan if you like: Joe Strummer, Lucky Boys Confusion
See them: 7 p.m. March 14 at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, with the Lovehammers; tickets: $20
Adam Krier’s co-founding connection to Lucky Boys Confusion is only the second best thing about his newish side project, American Taxi. The first? His innate love for punk rock. Every Clash-dripping trick Krier didn’t get a chance to try with LBC is getting its play here, and with the same pop sheen for which his old band became revered. Krier wasn’t lying when he told hordes of interviewers that he wrote or co-wrote a solid heft of LBC material. And because he handily does the same now, he manages to sustain old fans while attracting new disillusioned pop geeks who mightn’t have fallen onto the "Hey Driver" bandwagon so easily. This, coupled with Krier’s oft-talked about wanderlust, should see his taxi hailing around the country soon enough.
2*Sweet
Most likely to … see MTV2 play
You’re a fan if you like: Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine
See them: 6 p.m. March 14 at The Rock Box, 317 W. Jefferson St., Rockford; tickets: $5. March 15: Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis; tickets: $10
No surprise here that 2*Sweet’s lineup first found its music roots in hardcore. The quintet’s hard-edged experience joined with signature metal riffs and barbershop backup vocals -- not to mention singer Justin’s booming, jazzy growls -- flips pop-punk on its head and kicks it in the stomach just for show. This means palatable tunes for multiple audiences and hopeful CD sales for 2*Sweet’s forthcoming full-length to fans of fun, dancey pop and loud, shadowy metal. It’s sort of unbelievable that 2*Sweet’s Splenda-spiked rock hasn’t secured (Victory) label attention yet. Then again, the suits might need to concoct an entirely new label just for them.
The Frantic
Most likely to … get signed to a major label by the end of the year
You’re a fan if you like: New York Dolls, The Stooges
See them: 6 p.m. April 1 at Reggie’s Rock Club, 2109 S. State St., Chicago, with Authority Zero; tickets: $10. April 2: Pop’s in Sauget; tickets: $15
The indie-label deal most bands spend the first half of their careers trying to land, The Frantic scored before most of them graduated from high school. By far the youngest rocksters on the list, The Frantic’s wide-eyed, Red Bull-fueled punk riffs earned them a spot on Chicago’s Sinister Muse roster and a country-wide mega tour that took them places frontman Kyle Dee openly admits he’d only seen on TV. They shared the stage last summer with Bad Brains and are unsurprisingly well-promoted on their way to South By Southwest this month. Their first full-length offering, "Audio & Murder," is a rock album to behold, full of ramped-up hooks only a garage full of punks throwing back Cokes between class could muster. The fact that they also undyingly appreciate the whole experience as a rock-star dream ends up being bonus material for the overall package.