Sherry Antonini
Brendan Byrnes
Rafe Godfrey
and the laptop.
Influences
Glenn Branca, David Bowie (Earthing/Outside era), Stravinsky, Guy Siggsworth, Massive Attack, Imogen Heap, Pat Metheny, the Police, P.J. Harvey, Swans, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Miles Davis (In A Silent Way/Bitches Brew era), Sonic Youth, Adrian Belew, Missy Elliot, Talking Heads, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Gabriel, Christian Fennesz, Debussy, blah, blah, blah...
Volume Is Color was established in February, 2006 as the result of a chance convergence between lead singer Sherry Antonini and guitarist Brendan Byrnes. Fresh from California, Byrnes was still new to Chicago and working with drummer Mike Day to put together an innovative sound to turn the ear of the city's rock scene. Antonini was searching for players who had the talent to make boundary-pushing music and who weren't afraid to venture into waters where the rock world and the art world cross currents. A couple of e-mails and rehearsals later, the new band was on its way toward a year of solid hard work at writing material, hundreds more rehearsals, some prime first gigs, and quickly-gained recognition.
When Day made the tough decision to return to California to pursue plans to establish his own recording studio, Antonini and Byrnes made a pact to continue to write and perform live as a duo until the ultimate drummer appeared. That very thing happened in March of 2007 when Rafe Godfrey, himself a relative newcomer to the city, met the two after a show. Things fell into place rapidly and, where once the laptop existed as the world's most compact drummer, the band now has one of the city's premier musicians behind a kit, helping to take the music to new levels of full-on energy and compositional experimentation. At present, Volume Is Color is in top form making original music and sound/performance pieces that, bound by a pop rock sensibility, incorporate electronica, abstract and poetic lyrics, and contemporary harmonic concepts and orchestration.
Antonini, a creative writing professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College, Chicago, has played in a handful of bands while also continuing to work as a visual/performance artist and writer. Byrnes, with a B.A. in composition and production, has performed and recorded with legendary avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, and his own compositions for string orchestra have been performed internationally. He has also played in a number of bands in Chicago and California as both a drummer and a guitarist. As the band's newest member, Rafe Godfrey is also currently playing guitar and bansuri in the ambient/experimental group Estesombelo. He played drums and composed music for Serengeti and has played drums and guitar in numerous other bands, most notably Quanta.
At present, Volume Is Color is at work writing new material toward their first full-length cd. The band is scheduled for a short tour of the east coast this August and, besides playing out consistently in music venues through fall and winter, will perform in October at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art and in November at the Cultural Center of Chicago.
Volume Is Color has a many-hued future ahead. The momentum is palpable as the music continues to develop show by show, song by song.
Here's what the underground critics have to say about Volume Is Color:
"This duo is the precursor. And it's about time....."
Martin Prettelman, Behind the Curtain
"An original. Better than nice to hear gifted guitar paired with unmatched vocals and sounds from the future... A glimpse of what's in store from this
band..."
Arnie Wolf, The Patch Report
Groovy tunes you guys (and gal). I love the rough take you left in on the intro of handshake. Teeth is a cool tune too. I like how the perc is layered with the guitars
it was awesome seeing you guys! You sound like chocolate in my ears...with almonds hidden in the middle. To comtemplate where you've been as a group and where you are now and where you are going.....I'm very excited!
I can't tell you how awesome the feeling I get when see you play is... There is such an undeniably amazing energy to the music you're making! I am so proud of you all... Safe travels on your tour.
1. get me a contact lens & a band-aid 2. nicole richie on a diet pill shopping spree 3. hairless wand 4. dream fannie & her nerf hoop 5. model carpool 6. [content missing] 7. pity-party playing doctor 8. he was down there wit his dippidy-doo & a blow-dryer 9. [content missing] 10. she tried to rip off the first dress her mother sewed for her. when she saw her father shaving, she wanted a razor. she favored toy guns and trucks over sewing machines and barbies. 11. masculinity and femininity are built into the genes so women should get back to the mattress and the kitchen. 12. dad said her legs look like a "very sexy version of my legs" 13. ronnie coleman 14. he hallucinated and believed that the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. 15. she may be in style, but is she right for me?
i'm excited to brag to my friends that you guys might be sleeping in my apartment when you come to new york. yeeeeahhhh. so famous. you kick ass. much love.
I've finally gotten a chance to check out the cuts...they're fucking awesome! Brendan you've found an excellent compliment in Sherry's voice. Love the lyrics too.....
You are, in mijn opinion a genuine band. Thus an excellent one. You are probably yong, and brillant, and there is enough quality in what who do to last.
I sincerely wish you all the best, and the luck that
