Connor's Pub

Having endured the seemingly endless winter that ravaged the United States’ Midwest from 2002 through the 2008, drummer Joe Daley and guitarist/vocalist Paul Foreman set forth on a global expedition in search of kindred spirits with which to nurture their musical aspirations. After expending ungodly amounts of time, money and energy, they discovered what they were searching for, much to their frustration, in their hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Blair Douglass appeared at Joe and Paul’s rehearsal space door, seemingly carved from rare organic materials by classically-trained Prussian sculptors, with a Fender Jazz Bass in hand and tufted titmouse perched upon her right shoulder. Nick Rocchio proved to be the final cog in the Soft Speaker machine. In early 2007 Rocchio was expelled from the Paratrooper Academy of Juarez for his cantankerous nature and loose cannon approach to the dangerous profession. He was left with no option but to turn to a simpler, yet sexier life as a guitarist and was welcomed with open arms by the other three members of the band.

The four-piece honed their skills by performing a unique blend of delicate harmony-laden verses and short bursts of ineffable psychedelic mayhem for the miners of Chloride, New Mexico in the wee hours of the morning, the only time of day the heat abated enough to allow them to perform their music. It was quite a change for natives of the Midwest. Ultimately, the trappings of Chicago lured them back with promises of cool liquids and more reliable sources of electricity. The band now resides there and is preparing a 12” EP featuring its first ever recorded material.

For over two years, A Lull was an idea that was being flushed out and tried and retried in basements, bedrooms and practice spaces all around Chicago. Then, in December of 2008, Nigel Evan Dennis, Todd Miller and Mike Brown decided to make their long, hard work public. They formed a live band to play a few of the more than fifty songs that they’d recorded over those two years of writing.

Since the beginning, the writing hasn’t changed much. It is and always has been a process that’s primarily based on trial and error. Nothing is off limits- throwing a pile of percussive instruments against a wall, churning a can full or garbage and beer bottles with a broom stick, hitting drums with microphones, recording unplugged electric guitars with extremely sensitive microphones- and many things don’t make it into the songs, but some do. Having recorded everything themselves, A Lull has the opportunity to try anything and everything and then keep what works.

In May of 2008, A Lull released its debut effort, Ice Cream Bones EP, an EP that is a sort of compilation of the four songs that were the closest to a finished state at the time and that made sense together. It was an introduction to the band, and is an EP that showcases the band’s range as well as its ability to write pop songs that are sonically interesting and imaginative while remaining catchy and accessible at the same time.

Since December of 2008, as an eight-piece band at its largest and a five-piece at its smallest, A Lull has played all over Chicago in venues such as Schubas, Empty Bottle, Bottom Lounge, Subterranean, Beat Kitchen and more, and has also taken it’s show on the road, to the east coast as well as to many other cites in the Midwest.

The balance of writing and touring continues. A Lull is currently writing and recording songs for its upcoming full-length album, Confetti. The band will also be touring significantly, with plans of making it back to the east coast at least two more times before the year is out.

In 2006, they made their first album, We Landed on the Moon! and then, by dumb luck or perhaps because of the tasty astronaut ice cream they gave with each record, radio stations across the country played it. People clapped and cheered and whistled at their Baton Rouge shows (those who could whistle)- enough that they decided to go play shows for far away people in a van that ran out of freon every hundred miles or so.

They became experts on convenience stores across the country. They sang and played and danced and drank, and learned things that you just don't learn at home- that the cops in NYC's Chinatown are surprisingly civil even if your host wants to throw a microwave out his front door at 4 am, and that there's no tougher walk than dragging your equipment across the crowded sidewalks of SXSW. They got to play music in Toronto and DC and all sorts of cities they wanted to see, and they got to do it together.

And even more amazingly, people started showing up to sing their songs with them everywhere they went. In Dec of 2008, they released their 2nd record, These Little Wars. It was named Album of the Week by an Italian music webzine. This made the band want to make even more music, and to eat pizza.

And so they did.

We Landed on the Moon's new record is the perfect storm of 8 months of frenzied music writing. Recorded in six blissful days at Fudge Studios in New Orleans, the record will be flying into your eardrums in late 2009. We Landed on the Moon! will be touring through the US to their CMJ Music Marathon in NYC this October and will be playing Voodoo Fest in New Orleans on Nov. 1.

Indie Rock Sexy Party!

Creedence Clearwater Revival fighting the Pixies while The Pretenders and The Kinks look on trying to decide whether to break it up or get in on the action.

PRESS!

"Coolidge has evolved into a pop playing, guitar slinging machine on this album. Anyone who is familiar with Coolidge's work knows you will get a heavy dose of catchy songs and lyrics with harmonies that will stick in your head. Chris gives the songs a big arena rock feel that will appeal to many diverse listener." - Accent, ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Champaign, IL Gazette ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

"The debut from this up and coming Indianapolis rocker is full of melody and energy, evident in this track. With influences from the past 3 decades, "O.K." sparkles with a sound similar to what would happen if Rick Springfield joined Foo Fighters. "Center of the Universe" is a very worthy debut CD from somebody that has a passion for making quality rock and roll." - Pop Bang Radio The planet's most listened to power pop station!

"Imagine Foo Fighters combined with Squeeze, Tommy Keene and Matthew Sweet. Odd combos? Not really---it..s just that Coolidge rocks hard on a few songs here and when he does, they are driven by power packed melody. When it tones down, the pop craft of the aforementioned pop artists shines. The songs range from mellow to rock-out, but does not abrubtly switch and throw the mood. Very Highly Recommended!" - Not Lame Records good music for good people

"Chris' voice ranges from cool smoothness to pop edged, spilling lyrics over a foundation of guitar and percussion-riddled rock. Smart lyrics delivered with a punch complement the rockingness of the sound; when the guitars throw down fast chords, the vocals give them words." - Indiana University Daily Student

"Coolidge showed a strong stage presence as they launched their fiery and upbeat songs to admirers in flawless manner." - Innocent Words Magazine