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| From | "Brad Harvey" <billionbrads@att.net> |
| Subject | Einstein's Sister split |
| Date | Sun, 18 Jan 2004 14:04:46 -0600 |
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Pardon my indulgence for this lengthy post but this is what appeared in my
hometown's newspaper...
Last notes sounding for Q-C band
By Sean Leary, Entertainment editor
As the last notes of 2003 fade out, the music may be ending for the most
successful Quad-Cities band of the late '90s and early '00s.
Einstein's Sister, which has gained international success and had its songs
played on such hit TV shows as "ER," will be calling it quits after its
traditional New Year's Eve gig at RIBCO, in The District, Rock Island.
"Essentially what we're thinking is that since our `best-of' CD came out in
Japan (this summer), this year would be a good place to wrap it up," said
Kerry Tucker, guitarist and co-songwriter for the band with vocalist Bill
Douglas.
Financial pressures brought on by increased online file sharing and CD
burning and the time crunch involved in maintaining the group are the main
reasons precipitating its farewell, Mr. Tucker said.
"All of us have gotten married; three out of five of us have children; and
all of us have had major job shifts," he said. "There are a lot of personal
things that have taken up a lot of our time that we used to be able to
devote to the band.
"If we leave to do an acoustic set at one of the Blackhawks games in
Chicago, we're leaving early in the morning on a Saturday and not getting
back until late that night," Mr. Tucker added. "So basically, I don't get to
see my (1-year-old) son all day. And you have to ask yourself, is it really
worth that? Sure, it's fun, but you can't really put a price tag on missing
those experiences.
"You never know -- six months from now, or next New Year's, we might decide
to get together and do something as a band," he said. "I don't want to
completely shut the door. But on the other hand, things are never going to
be the way they were before with us functioning as a regular entity."
Mr. Tucker and Mr. Douglas will continue to perform acoustically at local
coffeehouses, which harks back to the genesis of the group. The pair began
writing songs and playing acoustic sets together in the late '80s. In 1996,
they decided to form a full band, naming it after their first album --
Einstein's Sister. The current lineup -- including drummer Marty Reyhons,
bassist Andrew Brock and guitarist Steven Volk -- gelled in 1998 and has
remained the same since then.
They have released four original discs together, "Einstein's Sister" (a
reissue of the earlier Douglas and Tucker album), "Oceanus," "Learning
Curves" and "Humble Creatures," in addition to the "Best of Einstein's
Sister" compilation.
The group has met with huge success on the power-pop scene, playing several
times at the prestigious International Pop Overthrow festivals in Chicago
and Los Angeles and winning over fans around the world. Einstein's has
opened gigs for and played with countless well-known rock and pop acts, and
its songs have been picked up and used as background music by a host of
popular TV shows -- everything from MTV's "Road Rules" to NBC's vaunted
"ER."
Locally, ES has remained one of the most respected and best-drawing bands,
routinely packing RIBCO, particularly for its annual New Year's Eve show,
which features original material and a "mystery set" covering songs by a
secret act. True to form, Mr. Tucker remained mum on this year's subject,
but he divulged that the choice was made with longtime core fans in mind, as
a fond farewell should this end up being the group's finale.
"If this is the last gig, it's been a great ride," Mr. Tucker said. "The
last show will be a fun one, and I think people will be really happy with
what we've got planned."
Brad Harvey
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