Friday February 18, 2011
Stonefly Brewing Company
Milwaukee, WI
with Wolf Eyes, Envenomist, Juiceboxxx, and Mildew
BLOODYMINDED:
James Moy - Synth + Vocals
David Reed - Synth
Pieter Schoolwerth - Synth
Mark Solotroff - Vocals + Synth
Saturday February 19, 2011
The Abbey Pub
Chicago, IL
with Frontier, Wolf Eyes, Envenomist, and Plague Bringer
BLOODYMINDED:
Heber Burguete - Synth
James Moy - Synth + Vocals
David Reed - Synth
Isidro Reyes - Synth + Vocals
Pieter Schoolwerth - Synth
Mark Solotroff - Vocals + Synth
Set List:
01. In The Mood
02. Lake Street
03. Porn Lords
04. As If
05. Angel Of Darkness
06. Outside The Gate
07. Mind The Gap
08. Head
09. Shivery
10. Pro-Ana
11. Genital Panic
12. Two Drops Of Blood
13. Leak
14. Within The Walls
15. Chinatown
16. Cost
17. Visiting An Ex-Girlfriend In The Hospital - AIDS Ward
18. Trophy
Does the fact that three more Korg Monotrons and one more Roland MC-202 are non-functional say anything about the sort of weekend that just passed? It is a hint. BLOODYMINDED felt like it was in maximum action mode for these two amazing nights in Milwaukee and Chicago. We were stacked up in such incredible line-ups that we had to deliver a couple of our most full-on sets.
In Milwaukee, Mildew kicked off the night right with a dark, murky dose of psychedelic noise... it had been ages since I last saw/heard a Mildew set, so it was great to share the stage with them. And then, to make sure that people understood that this was a party, not just a show, the energy level was kicked up about 20 notches with an over-the-top set by Juiceboxxx. It has unfortunately been nearly eight years since we last played with this guy and it is clear what a great match we are on certain levels. The most vulgar comparison to use for him would be early Beastie Boys meets Andrew WK. Hi-energy party rap... whatever... the room was alive and well. And then... Envenomist came on and flipped the world back into ice age mode with his frozen, underwater synth tones. And the crowd was with him, every step of the way. Transfixed. I have said it many times before, but I could watch Envenomist over and over and over again. David then stripped down his set-up to one Roland MC-202 (there might as well have been a big target on it -- but it survived, do not worry) and he joined BLOODYMINDED for our spirited set. The 18 songs seemed to go by in a flash, even with all of the gear abuse and physical abuse. What more can I say about our Milwaukee crowds and our Milwaukee friends. Can't we all live in one city together? The energy and the mood really helped us deliver the type of set that we have owed Milwaukee for several years. Long overdue. Sorry for the wait. First song in Milwaukee... Yes, Pieter was in the mood. Swinging his little synth like Roger Daltrey's microphone... Except Daltrey always had an entire fucking roll of tape holding his mic to the chord. We were not so thorough, and the synth went flying into the audience. Luckily, we have learned to travel with back-ups (but they are all gone now). Our thanks go out to the kind young lady who found the Monotron on the floor and brought it back to the stage. Wolf Eyes were up next and they proceeded to creep into the dark and dangerous zone that I remember from their show last year at The Viaduct Theater with Anatomy of Habit -- before bringing out some of the most pummeling aspects of their live mode and crushing the crowd with beats, frequencies, and tortured, throaty moans and groans.
Milwaukee was quite a night, overall. Stonefly is a perfectly-sized spot to play with the ideal stage for BLOODYMINDED to play on. Wide, deep, and with a great launch pad... err... drum-riser. The staff there was really nice and easy-going, too. The PA seemed quite substantial, capable of capturing a full range of frequencies, as required. Thanks to sound guy Alex for the solid work. Great stage mix by James, too. The recording of our set sounds intense...
A heartfelt thanks to all of our friends up there who came out to see us, to support the show, and to celebrate my birthday with me. And thanks for singing to me! What a fucking killer night!!! James did a fantastic job of organizing and promoting what was a really perfect show. Thanks also go to Mike Mildew for his work on kicking the event into gear.
Low key party mode back at James' house with some friends and acquaintances... Where the hell were those pizzas that we ordered? A short night. Comfortably numb in a very warm room, thankfully. A confusing coffee maker. Olson started off the day's musical tone with the score from Nekromantik. Yep, a suitably weird choice. Then it was off to Trocadero for a really tasty brunch before the (almost) easy drive back to Chicago. A homestretch traffic jam meant a quick shower and turnaround was necessary before the early call at The Abbey Pub.
Saturday night was not just full-on whore mode for me, as David got to deflect some of the sticky wetness that comes with that territory. Plague Bringer kicked off the night in furious style, launching into a crushing version of "Impaled Faith" that was the perfect opening salvo for the night. David and I both hit the stage for a really nice duel-Roland MC-202 augmented version of the newer/unreleased epic Plague Bringer song, "One Into Parts," which I have guested on a few times before. I screamed so long and hard at one point that I nearly blacked out. Not smart, considering what was ahead. After Greg and Josh cleared off their mighty PA, and after David battened down the hatches on his equipment, BLOODYMINDED dragged our ailing set-up to the center of the stage and all systems were pretty much "go." It was one of those gotta-go-for-it nights and we opened up both barrels, happily with Isidro adding synth and vocals, along with our secret weapon and security associate Heber on synth. Fuck, if only Xavier could have been there... It would have been beyond historic... Anyhow, it was loud, it was physical... I am still all bruised up, like some battered housewife. Pieter pulled out all of the stops, eventually climbing up on James' synth/mixer table and proceeding to illustrate "Within The Walls" with carefully timed tugs on the massive projection screen that was just within his reach. Thankfully, that did not end up going south, as it easily could have. Frontier may have a fog machine but we have disgusting dust clouds! We charged through our set as fast and hard and loud as we could, before turning the stage over to David, for his third set of the night. And holy fuck, Envenomist over The Abbey Pub's PA was like an extra birthday present. Perfect! What a hat trick of a night it was for David. Hell yes! Then Wolf Eyes set up and they proceeded to destroy. I have to say that the version of "Always Wrong" that they performed on Saturday night was one of the single most impressive Wolf Eyes moments that I have ever seen/heard. It was simply devastating. Nate was on fire and his vocals were the most extreme that I have ever heard them. Amazing! After a cooling down period, Frontier set up, and the opened with their crowd pleasing bruiser, "Truck," complete with 18-wheeler on a foggy night smoke + halogen lights + air horns. I jumped up to sing the same three songs that I did with them back in September (thank you, gents!) before they moved through their serpentine set of noise rock, dubbed-out post-rock, and otherwise unclassifiable forms of experimentation. For me, this was just one of those nights that came together perfectly. Sharing the stage with so many friends who make some of my very favorite music... I could not ask for much more...
A big thanks to all of our friends who came out to join in the fun and grind and noise! Thanks to Sean at The Abbey Pub for hosting the show. Thanks to our friend Matt for keeping the sound loud and clear all night. The same goes to Che Arthur, for Frontier's set and to my band mate Kenny Rasmussen for Plague Bringer's set. After a long, slow breakdown, we made our way over to Pozoleria San Juan for a late night banquet, before heading back to Garfield Park to crash.
The weekend was bookended by several great nights with friends... Delicious dinner and drinks at Blokes & Birds, an all-dayer at Kuma's Corner (I experienced the bacon-fest that is the Earthride), the excellent Mueran Humanos show at Crown Tap Room (their new LP on Blind Prophet is a must), late-night Noise Crush meets Taylor Swift (behind the scenes, of course)/Rihanna YouTube sessions to explain the finer points to some lady friends who had not yet come to terms. What was up with that text to land line weirdness? Pieter flew out early on Monday, after I discovered some of my furniture had been re-arranged by James. Buy why??? A lunch of wild boar Sloppy Joes at Longman & Eagle sort of closed out the extended party, and then we had to say goodbye to David. One more band dinner (Thai comfort food) with James, before Isidro and I crawled off to the practice space (groan) to do work, prior to The Fortieth Day + Noise Crush playing on March 15, which is coming up fast. By the end of Tuesday night's Anatomy of Habit practice, my ears and my psyche had pretty much had it. I need a little more downtime before Friday's Anatomy of Habit show with Running and Bottomless Pit... If I think of anything else, I will let you know...
Showing posts with label Frontier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frontier. Show all posts
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Chicago Tribune on 2/19
Here is a write up for tomorrow's show, just published in the Chicago Tribune
Bringing back the roar of Chicago's 1990s sonic heyday
By Jessica Hopper, Special to the Tribune
February 18, 2011
The '90s were a veritable heyday for Chicago's underground scene, and while the sounds being pumped out of our fine city were diverse — the mainstays had a particular sort of musical muscularity to them. You could pretty easily divide acts into camps — based on whether they hewed closer to the Shellac model, the terse trio led by iconic producer Steve Albini — or fell in behind the melodic, instrumental all-star group Tortoise. The latter unwittingly spearheaded what became known as "post-rock," a term that meant a lot of nothing but shorthanded eclectic nonrock influences.
Frontier was perhaps the only local band to truly straddle both sounds — serving up as much electronic, ambient drone as it did brutal, squealing noise rock. It was a long-running staple on bills at the Empty Bottle, from when Frontier began playing out from around 1991 until 2003, when the band went on what now appears to be a hiatus. Live, Frontier often went for a performative onslaught that matched the intensity of its sound — using floods of light and a powerful smoke machine that sometimes made shows feel like a community theater staging of "Brigadoon," with all the fog.
After a one-off show last year, the band is returning for a show this weekend, topping a bill of noisemakers that run the gamut from assaultive to merely chaotic. Mid-bill are locals Bloodyminded, who have been omnipresent the past year or two it seems, as a staple of the underground warehouse-shows scene and making their mark at clubs and bars as well. The band possesses a distinctly postmodern frenzy — bearing out a "nothing's shocking" ideal into its sound and aesthetic. Seeing Bloodyminded play for the first time a few years ago, I was put off by a song whose lyrics seemingly advocated anorexia — it's not until you get a few songs into Bloodyminded's performances or albums that you realize that their whole oeuvre is a long, loud, over-the-top tribute to sadism, in all its forms.
On their eight albums, the songs range from 3 minutes to the 10-second range, most of the songs stutter and pulse with manipulated electronics — they often sound like someone has amplified a hyperactive cicada through busted car speakers. Sometimes this is augmented or accompanied by shrieks of feedback that mirrors the squealing of frontman Mark Solotroff. (Solotroff is the eminence grise of the Chicago noise scene, operating the Bloodlust label, doing time in a handful of other bands and generally propelling the scene along.)
It's not for the faint of heart (or, rather, ear) or easily offended. Given how intense Solotroff is when he's performing, it's easy to take the violence of Bloodyminded lyrics seriously, but once you get halfway into an album or show — Bloodyminded evidences itself as essentially an epic performance piece about hate.
Bringing back the roar of Chicago's 1990s sonic heyday
By Jessica Hopper, Special to the Tribune
February 18, 2011
The '90s were a veritable heyday for Chicago's underground scene, and while the sounds being pumped out of our fine city were diverse — the mainstays had a particular sort of musical muscularity to them. You could pretty easily divide acts into camps — based on whether they hewed closer to the Shellac model, the terse trio led by iconic producer Steve Albini — or fell in behind the melodic, instrumental all-star group Tortoise. The latter unwittingly spearheaded what became known as "post-rock," a term that meant a lot of nothing but shorthanded eclectic nonrock influences.
Frontier was perhaps the only local band to truly straddle both sounds — serving up as much electronic, ambient drone as it did brutal, squealing noise rock. It was a long-running staple on bills at the Empty Bottle, from when Frontier began playing out from around 1991 until 2003, when the band went on what now appears to be a hiatus. Live, Frontier often went for a performative onslaught that matched the intensity of its sound — using floods of light and a powerful smoke machine that sometimes made shows feel like a community theater staging of "Brigadoon," with all the fog.
After a one-off show last year, the band is returning for a show this weekend, topping a bill of noisemakers that run the gamut from assaultive to merely chaotic. Mid-bill are locals Bloodyminded, who have been omnipresent the past year or two it seems, as a staple of the underground warehouse-shows scene and making their mark at clubs and bars as well. The band possesses a distinctly postmodern frenzy — bearing out a "nothing's shocking" ideal into its sound and aesthetic. Seeing Bloodyminded play for the first time a few years ago, I was put off by a song whose lyrics seemingly advocated anorexia — it's not until you get a few songs into Bloodyminded's performances or albums that you realize that their whole oeuvre is a long, loud, over-the-top tribute to sadism, in all its forms.
On their eight albums, the songs range from 3 minutes to the 10-second range, most of the songs stutter and pulse with manipulated electronics — they often sound like someone has amplified a hyperactive cicada through busted car speakers. Sometimes this is augmented or accompanied by shrieks of feedback that mirrors the squealing of frontman Mark Solotroff. (Solotroff is the eminence grise of the Chicago noise scene, operating the Bloodlust label, doing time in a handful of other bands and generally propelling the scene along.)
It's not for the faint of heart (or, rather, ear) or easily offended. Given how intense Solotroff is when he's performing, it's easy to take the violence of Bloodyminded lyrics seriously, but once you get halfway into an album or show — Bloodyminded evidences itself as essentially an epic performance piece about hate.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Flavorpill on 2/19
From Flavorpill
Having disbanded in 2003, local avant-rockers Frontier (not to be confused with Louisville outfit Frontier(s), also playing Chicago this week) took the stage last year for what seemed like a one-off reunion performance. Lucky for fans of experimental music, they're back again tonight at Abbey Pub with more of what made them semi-famous: overdriven guitar drone, ambient-noise detours, wild visual projections, and liberal use of the fog machine. No slouches in the supporting slots, either. Noise "stars" Wolf Eyes, synth frosty Envenomist, electronic punishers Bloodyminded, and grind locals Plague Bringer open.
Having disbanded in 2003, local avant-rockers Frontier (not to be confused with Louisville outfit Frontier(s), also playing Chicago this week) took the stage last year for what seemed like a one-off reunion performance. Lucky for fans of experimental music, they're back again tonight at Abbey Pub with more of what made them semi-famous: overdriven guitar drone, ambient-noise detours, wild visual projections, and liberal use of the fog machine. No slouches in the supporting slots, either. Noise "stars" Wolf Eyes, synth frosty Envenomist, electronic punishers Bloodyminded, and grind locals Plague Bringer open.
Time Out on 2/19
From Time Out Chicago
“Noise annoys,” winked the Buzzcocks, but they likely had no idea the level of cacophony that would soon grow out of the collision of punk and the avant-garde underground. Not that the reunited Frontier is strictly a noise act, mind you. Rather, the bricolage-minded group embraces sound in all its shapes, forms and volumes. Detroit’s Wolf Eyes is more visceral and less forgiving, while David Reed’s industrial synth work as Envenomist hearkens back to that sub-genre’s minimalist birth. Bloodyminded brings the maelstrom and Plague Bringer the relentless grindcore.
“Noise annoys,” winked the Buzzcocks, but they likely had no idea the level of cacophony that would soon grow out of the collision of punk and the avant-garde underground. Not that the reunited Frontier is strictly a noise act, mind you. Rather, the bricolage-minded group embraces sound in all its shapes, forms and volumes. Detroit’s Wolf Eyes is more visceral and less forgiving, while David Reed’s industrial synth work as Envenomist hearkens back to that sub-genre’s minimalist birth. Bloodyminded brings the maelstrom and Plague Bringer the relentless grindcore.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Reader on 2/19
From the Chicago Reader
Once upon a time Chicago trio Frontier were as well-known for their audience-pummeling visuals—smoke machines, blinding lights, slideshow projections—as they were for their epic avant-garde blasts. At the Empty Bottle in September, the three members convened from three different states to play their first show since 2003, doubling as a wedding band of sorts—they were celebrating the nuptials of Mark Ferguson, proprietor of Roscoe Village's Hard Boiled Records & Video. Apparently the reunion stuck, because they're playing again February 19 at the Abbey Pub. Frontier will be supported by an all-star lineup of noisy kin, including postindustrial brutalists Wolf Eyes, ambient solo-synth act Envenomist, and local heavy hitters BLOODYMINDED and Plague Bringer.
Once upon a time Chicago trio Frontier were as well-known for their audience-pummeling visuals—smoke machines, blinding lights, slideshow projections—as they were for their epic avant-garde blasts. At the Empty Bottle in September, the three members convened from three different states to play their first show since 2003, doubling as a wedding band of sorts—they were celebrating the nuptials of Mark Ferguson, proprietor of Roscoe Village's Hard Boiled Records & Video. Apparently the reunion stuck, because they're playing again February 19 at the Abbey Pub. Frontier will be supported by an all-star lineup of noisy kin, including postindustrial brutalists Wolf Eyes, ambient solo-synth act Envenomist, and local heavy hitters BLOODYMINDED and Plague Bringer.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Tickets for 2/19
Advance tickets are available at the Abbey Pub (hard tickets) and they are $3.00 less than at the door. Or you can get them online
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sneak Peek: 02/19/11
Event Links:
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/2cvkugo
Last.fm: http://tinyurl.com/24svyu7
MySpace: http://tinyurl.com/2a52by8
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Frontier Videos
Mike from Rabid Rabbit/Frontier mentioned the other night that a bunch of video clips from the September 4th Frontier extravaganza at The Empty Bottle have popped up on YouTube. No shit, there is extensive fuzzy, blurry, muffled, and otherwise weird looking video online, from cellphones, etc. But the show was fuzzy, blurry, and expansive, so there. Some look better and some sound better. Here are a couple of clips that I pop up in...
For the visuals:
For the full suite of songs that I am on:
(Lots more on that user's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MTenebra)
For the visuals:
For the full suite of songs that I am on:
(Lots more on that user's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MTenebra)
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Frontier + Mark Tonight
I am pleased to be joining Frontier on a few songs, tonight, as the band was one of the first challenging experimental groups that I encountered in Chicago, after I moved back from NYC -- particularly as I began to frequent the Empty Bottle, more and more. The Rabid Rabbit/neighborhood connection does not hurt, either. I hope that you can join me, as this destined to be a pretty special night... I hear that they are figuring out how to run more power to the stage!
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Saturday September 4, 2010
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622
773.276.3600
http://www.emptybottle.com/
10:00 PM
$10.00
21+
Frontier
http://hearfrontier.com/
Three sets with special guests
(incl. Mark Solotroff on vocals; set two)
DJ Kevin Drumm
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Saturday September 4, 2010
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622
773.276.3600
http://www.emptybottle.com/
10:00 PM
$10.00
21+
Frontier
http://hearfrontier.com/
Three sets with special guests
(incl. Mark Solotroff on vocals; set two)
DJ Kevin Drumm
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The Reader on Frontier
From The Reader
Something Old, Something New
A pal's wedding brings Frontier back together; California Wives marry disco and indie pop.
By Miles Raymer
Frontier circa 1996
Frontier
Sat 9/4, 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10, 21+.
If over the past couple months you've frequented certain bars and cafes in Wicker Park, the Ukrainian Village, or Logan Square—the Hideout, Atomix, Rodan, the Empty Bottle—you may have noticed in each of them a small square of clear glass with the words frontier returns 09.04.10 screen-printed on it in silver ink. There's nothing else to the message, so newcomers to Chicago could be forgiven for not realizing it's about a local band—especially since it's a band that hasn't played a show in nearly eight years.
If you do remember Frontier, you probably also remember their penchant for audience-confounding stylistic shifts—a survey of their discography, which includes one seven-inch, four full-lengths, a remix EP, and an assortment of band-made eight-track cartridges and cassettes, turns up everything from jazz-influenced post-rock to pure feedback noise to live-band house music. They had a fondness for elaborate packaging too: the CD art for a live album recorded at the Bottle used lenticular printing to create a motion effect, requiring a special case similar to the one for Tool's Aenima, and the CD version of the album Heater came in a slim silk-screened cardboard box that opened like a Zippo lighter.
Even if you had all those discs, though, you still might not recognize Frontier on the street: onstage they were shrouded in dry-ice fog. According to drummer Mike Tsoulos, the sole member of the final trio lineup who still lives in Chicago (these days he tends bar at the Burlington, the Rainbo, and the Flat Iron and drums for Rabid Rabbit), the band's stage show made its members practically anonymous. "For years, even after we stopped, people had no idea who was in the band because of the lights and the smoke," he says. And they never took any traditional promo photos to help clear things up—part of a general reluctance to jump through the hoops rock bands are supposed to.
When I suggest to Tsoulos that Frontier were messing with their audience by skipping from genre to genre and hiding their faces, he takes exception. "I don't know about 'messing,'" he says. "It was more us doing stuff that we liked." But these choices did prevent them from developing much of a casual following—their crowd was heavy on musicians and never exactly huge. Tsoulos remembers a show during their Empty Bottle residency—a Sunday-night series that ran for most of 2000, where Frontier would often segue out of an electronic DJ's set or invite respected jazzers like Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, and Jeff Parker to sit in—where he could afford to buy the entire audience a round of drinks with the money in his pocket.
The fans Frontier did have, though, were often very well placed. Empty Bottle owner Bruce Finkelman put out Heater and the live album on his Tug-o-War label. Teacher, author, and jazz promoter John Corbett wrote a Critic's Choice on Frontier for the Reader in 1996, shortly after he began cocurating the Bottle's improvised-music series, praising the band's "synaesthetic" live shows and connecting its MO to "acts as diverse as Tortoise, Brise-Glace, Flying Saucer Attack, Main, Jesus and Mary Chain, and This Heat." And Steve Krakow, aka Plastic Crimewave, whose taste in music is so well respected that Drag City gave him his own imprint, discovered Frontier shortly after moving to Chicago in 1995. "I think 'psychedelic' was still kind of a dirty word," he says. "I was desperately trying to find bands in town that suited that sort of thing, and as far as I know they were one of the only ones going. Frontier was definitely pushing it and going for a derangement-of-the-senses kind of vibe."
But Frontier isn't reuniting to capitalize on some groundswell of belated popularity. Tsoulos says Saturday's show is happening simply because it finally can. "That's basically the only time the three of us are going to be in town," he says. Guitarist Stephen Wessley now works as a rare-book seller in New York, and bassist Kevin Ireland runs a motel on a two-lane highway in rural Kansas. They're coming back to Chicago this weekend for the wedding of a longtime friend, Mark Ferguson, who runs Hard Boiled Records at Roscoe and Damen. They met him at the same time they met one another—in 1986, as freshmen at the University of Chicago. Part of the proceeds from the door will help pay for Ferguson's honeymoon—he hasn't decided where he and his new wife will be going, and says it depends on how much the show makes.
Frontier will play three sets spanning all their material. Tsoulos is trying to secure guest appearances from Krakow and Bloodiest's Eric Chaleff on guitars and Kevin Drumm on laptop, among others. "I don't even remember who I asked," he says, "probably because half the time it was in bars late at night." Their first and only rehearsal will be on Friday.
Two previously unreleased Frontier albums will be available at the show in limited runs. One has a set of propulsive, aggressive post-rock songs recorded in 1994 on the A side and what Tsoulos calls an experiment in "multiple-input resonance" (aka droning guitar feedback) from 2003 on the flip. The other is a complete album, with everything from psychedelic space folk to drum 'n' bass, recorded in 1999 at Clava's old location in a theater school at 18th and Ashland. "It's probably been turned into condos at this point," Tsoulos says. He lucked out and found a pressing plant that does affordable small runs, so he's got just 100 copies of each. He says he doesn't want unsold vinyl taking up room in his basement.
Something Old, Something New
A pal's wedding brings Frontier back together; California Wives marry disco and indie pop.
By Miles Raymer
Frontier circa 1996
Frontier
Sat 9/4, 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10, 21+.
If over the past couple months you've frequented certain bars and cafes in Wicker Park, the Ukrainian Village, or Logan Square—the Hideout, Atomix, Rodan, the Empty Bottle—you may have noticed in each of them a small square of clear glass with the words frontier returns 09.04.10 screen-printed on it in silver ink. There's nothing else to the message, so newcomers to Chicago could be forgiven for not realizing it's about a local band—especially since it's a band that hasn't played a show in nearly eight years.
If you do remember Frontier, you probably also remember their penchant for audience-confounding stylistic shifts—a survey of their discography, which includes one seven-inch, four full-lengths, a remix EP, and an assortment of band-made eight-track cartridges and cassettes, turns up everything from jazz-influenced post-rock to pure feedback noise to live-band house music. They had a fondness for elaborate packaging too: the CD art for a live album recorded at the Bottle used lenticular printing to create a motion effect, requiring a special case similar to the one for Tool's Aenima, and the CD version of the album Heater came in a slim silk-screened cardboard box that opened like a Zippo lighter.
Even if you had all those discs, though, you still might not recognize Frontier on the street: onstage they were shrouded in dry-ice fog. According to drummer Mike Tsoulos, the sole member of the final trio lineup who still lives in Chicago (these days he tends bar at the Burlington, the Rainbo, and the Flat Iron and drums for Rabid Rabbit), the band's stage show made its members practically anonymous. "For years, even after we stopped, people had no idea who was in the band because of the lights and the smoke," he says. And they never took any traditional promo photos to help clear things up—part of a general reluctance to jump through the hoops rock bands are supposed to.
When I suggest to Tsoulos that Frontier were messing with their audience by skipping from genre to genre and hiding their faces, he takes exception. "I don't know about 'messing,'" he says. "It was more us doing stuff that we liked." But these choices did prevent them from developing much of a casual following—their crowd was heavy on musicians and never exactly huge. Tsoulos remembers a show during their Empty Bottle residency—a Sunday-night series that ran for most of 2000, where Frontier would often segue out of an electronic DJ's set or invite respected jazzers like Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, and Jeff Parker to sit in—where he could afford to buy the entire audience a round of drinks with the money in his pocket.
The fans Frontier did have, though, were often very well placed. Empty Bottle owner Bruce Finkelman put out Heater and the live album on his Tug-o-War label. Teacher, author, and jazz promoter John Corbett wrote a Critic's Choice on Frontier for the Reader in 1996, shortly after he began cocurating the Bottle's improvised-music series, praising the band's "synaesthetic" live shows and connecting its MO to "acts as diverse as Tortoise, Brise-Glace, Flying Saucer Attack, Main, Jesus and Mary Chain, and This Heat." And Steve Krakow, aka Plastic Crimewave, whose taste in music is so well respected that Drag City gave him his own imprint, discovered Frontier shortly after moving to Chicago in 1995. "I think 'psychedelic' was still kind of a dirty word," he says. "I was desperately trying to find bands in town that suited that sort of thing, and as far as I know they were one of the only ones going. Frontier was definitely pushing it and going for a derangement-of-the-senses kind of vibe."
But Frontier isn't reuniting to capitalize on some groundswell of belated popularity. Tsoulos says Saturday's show is happening simply because it finally can. "That's basically the only time the three of us are going to be in town," he says. Guitarist Stephen Wessley now works as a rare-book seller in New York, and bassist Kevin Ireland runs a motel on a two-lane highway in rural Kansas. They're coming back to Chicago this weekend for the wedding of a longtime friend, Mark Ferguson, who runs Hard Boiled Records at Roscoe and Damen. They met him at the same time they met one another—in 1986, as freshmen at the University of Chicago. Part of the proceeds from the door will help pay for Ferguson's honeymoon—he hasn't decided where he and his new wife will be going, and says it depends on how much the show makes.
Frontier will play three sets spanning all their material. Tsoulos is trying to secure guest appearances from Krakow and Bloodiest's Eric Chaleff on guitars and Kevin Drumm on laptop, among others. "I don't even remember who I asked," he says, "probably because half the time it was in bars late at night." Their first and only rehearsal will be on Friday.
Two previously unreleased Frontier albums will be available at the show in limited runs. One has a set of propulsive, aggressive post-rock songs recorded in 1994 on the A side and what Tsoulos calls an experiment in "multiple-input resonance" (aka droning guitar feedback) from 2003 on the flip. The other is a complete album, with everything from psychedelic space folk to drum 'n' bass, recorded in 1999 at Clava's old location in a theater school at 18th and Ashland. "It's probably been turned into condos at this point," Tsoulos says. He lucked out and found a pressing plant that does affordable small runs, so he's got just 100 copies of each. He says he doesn't want unsold vinyl taking up room in his basement.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Status - 8/26
- Mail runs on Tuesday and Wednesday have caught up everything from the long weekend and have brought mail-order up-to-date
- The Atrax Morgue 7-inch master has been sent to the pressing plant. Details will follow soon, but I am anticipating a mid-October release
- Upcoming shows:
08/28 - Mark Solotroff (solo) @ The Mopery
09/04 - Mark Solotroff guests w/Frontier @ The Empty Bottle
09/11 - Anatomy of Habit @ The Abbey Pub
10/16 - Anatomy of Habit @ The Abbey Pub
10/31 - Mark Solotroff guests w/Rabid Rabbit @ The Hideout
- Heavy rotation:
Swans "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky"
- The Atrax Morgue 7-inch master has been sent to the pressing plant. Details will follow soon, but I am anticipating a mid-October release
- Upcoming shows:
08/28 - Mark Solotroff (solo) @ The Mopery
09/04 - Mark Solotroff guests w/Frontier @ The Empty Bottle
09/11 - Anatomy of Habit @ The Abbey Pub
10/16 - Anatomy of Habit @ The Abbey Pub
10/31 - Mark Solotroff guests w/Rabid Rabbit @ The Hideout
- Heavy rotation:
Swans "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky"
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Mark with Frontier on September 4
I am not sure about the full roster of guests, but I am pleased to be joining Frontier to add some vocals at this very special show that is coming up soon...
Saturday September 4, 2010
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622
773.276.3600
http://www.emptybottle.com/
10:00 PM
$10.00
21+
Frontier returns to the Empty Bottle in Chicago to play 3 sets spanning 10 years of material. Join us as we celebrate Mark and Heather's wedding. Kevin Drumm DJs throughout the night.
http://hearfrontier.com/
Saturday September 4, 2010
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622
773.276.3600
http://www.emptybottle.com/
10:00 PM
$10.00
21+
Frontier returns to the Empty Bottle in Chicago to play 3 sets spanning 10 years of material. Join us as we celebrate Mark and Heather's wedding. Kevin Drumm DJs throughout the night.
http://hearfrontier.com/
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