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Euphone
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You might as well blame it on Tortoise. I do. Way back in 1996, in these very pages, writing about the Chicago band's second record, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, I said, "Tortoise has created a record that people will be using as a reference point years from now." It wasn't a tough call, but that album and band have obviously made an impression on many groups from the Windy City, including Joan of Arc and Euphone, currently on a joint tour that stops in Cincinnati on July 1.
Being in a Post-Rock band in Chicago these days -- to make an obvious comparison -- is like being a Grunge band in Seattle 10 years ago; people locally are pre-disposed to hearing the style and it's hard to stand out. Joan and Euphone follow the intricate, jazzed-out Rock-meets-Dub compositions with room for improvisation blueprint of Tortoise. Euphone stays closer to the formula and Joan of Arc concentrates more on songwriting and proving that they have art-school depth by re-creating scenes from Jean Luc Godard's film Weekend in the artwork for their new record, Live in Chicago 1999.
Euphone is the duo of Ryan Rapsys and Nick Macri. With just two members onstage to play drums, keyboards and bass, each guy has to cover a lot of ground. In the studio they add layers and tracks as they see fit, unconcerned with being able to perform it. The pair's second record, Calendar of Unlucky Days, flows and bounces on Macri's percolating bass and shifting song patterns with occasional honking horns and a free flowing vibe.
It is easier to improvise as a pair than in a larger group, and Rapsys and Macri don't worry about replicating the album when they're onstage.
"Not at all," laughs Macri from the duo's rehearsal space in suburban Chicago. "We keep the separation of church and state. When we make a record it's with the intent that we're going to make a record and have it sound like we want it to. We don't take the live show into account, which sometimes surprises people. Someone will have listened to the record and come to the show and we end up only playing two songs from the record and even the two songs that we play are variations. Eventually we'd like to re-create some of the things we've done in the studio, but we're not going to be able to do that until we get some more people to play with us."
They do, however take aims to make their live sound intricate, employing samplers, something that keeps the pair on their toes.
"It's a challenge because we play along with a couple of machines that we program. So the conflict of man versus machine comes into play with every song," Macri admits. "We're struggling to keep the pulse that the machine sets, but still be the human being that's playing around the beat (and) always having to fall back on the one (beat). It can be a challenge definitely -- especially with a bad monitor mix."
The reliance on machines is one factor in a discussion by the band to consider augmenting its lineup with carbon-based life forms, confesses Macri.
"Not actively," he laughs, "but we are entertaining the thought. Tim (Kinsella) from Joan of Arc came on tour with us last time and played guitar on a couple of songs. When we get home from this tour we're going to start to flesh out the lineup a bit, as we see fit. There isn't any pressure to re-create the record, but it would be fun. We would like to do that. There just hasn't been time to include other people in the lineup. We've been so busy scrambling to get ready for this tour."
The Calendar of Unlucky Days would present a challenge for two guys, even with a lot of machines, to reproduce. Atmospheric keyboard lines descend into the air, percussion loops trip on themselves, and occasional guitar lines interweave the foundation of odd time signatures. It's a rich tapestry, recalling not only Tortoise, but also Jazz and New Wave.
For his part, Macri doesn't mind being lumped in with other Chicagoans, as long as it's more than just the one band with a turtle name.
"I think there's a lot of musicians doing that style of music in the Chicagoland area. There's something in the water or the air," he says.
Getting into the history of Chicago's experimental side, Macri cites the Jazz tradition, including the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a well-respected organization founded in 1965 that (among other things) helps expose urban kids to music and sponsors shows of more "out there" musicians. Macri does not blame Tortoise for the surge of Post-Rock bands out of Chicago.
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Joan of Arc
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"I don't think it's their fault. I just think they got to be the most famous," he laughs. "But there's been amazing music coming from our fair city for a century. There's been amazing Jazz -- you know Sun Ra, all the AACM stuff -- there's been quote/unquote cutting edge stuff coming from Chicago (for a long time). I think, of course, Tortoise brought it to the forefront as far as in the kind of Punk Rock community."
And rather than crediting the mental powers of the musicians, Macri gives music fans in Chicago a lot of credit for simultaneously sticking around to buy drinks and encouraging bands to step into the margins.
"You don't necessarily have to be in a Pop Rock band to keep people's attention. You can go up there and be just as lyrical with an instrument without yapping about the problems with your girlfriend into the microphone," Macri explains. "People that go out to see shows in Chicago are pretty open minded and they half-expect there to be an esoteric vibe going on. It's almost kind of nice when there's a straight-up Rock & Roll band playing. It's a nice change of pace because everyone is starting an instrumental band."
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