The tallies have been counted and the results are in: the official roster of bands has been chosen for the 2006-2007 Green St. Records compilation album, to be released this spring.
This year’s bands are Santa, The Dakota, Somnus, Sidewalk Radio, Weapons of Mass DisFunktion, Mad Mardigan, What Four, Glasshouse, The Greytones, FCAB and Vanattica.
Green St. Records has been a registered student organization at U of I since it was formed in 2003. It remains the only student-run record label in the Big Ten, according to Chris Hassen, sophomore in LAS and head of public relations for Green St. Records.
Hassen said that Green St. Records is partially funded by Student Organizational Resource Fee (SORF), and the rest comes from fundraising. Students that participate are not paid and the organization is not for profit.
The bands are chosen by the entire staff of Green St. Records, Hassen said. Bands submit songs in October, every song is listened to and given a rating. The staff then debates over the bands with the highest ratings to decide which will be chosen to record their song on the compilation CD.
“The quality and quantity of submissions we receive made this year’s selection process especially difficult. The days of debate and the hours of listening were necessary to determine which bands we felt were the best,” said Green St. Records President Matt McNamara in a press release.
Hassen said, “Our qualifications are that we all love music and have a wide range of musical tastes. Some members are in the music program here, others just love to listen.”
This year, nearly 60 bands applied and only 11 were chosen. The chosen bands each began recording their submitted song the first week of November at Pogo Studios in downtown Champaign, according to a Green St. Records press release.
Hassen said that the number of bands changes from year to year, depending whether there is a high concentration of good bands, and on how much money Green St. Records raises for the year. Hassen said if they feel passionate about a particular band and the roster is full and money is low, they still find a way for that band to record their song.
The album is scheduled to be released during the spring semester at a release show, but a specific date has not been set yet, said Hassen. Release shows have been held at the Canopy Club and at the Highdive in previous years, but Illini Media Center is being considered for this year’s show, Hassen said.
The compilation CDs are given away for free at the show, in which three to five of the 11 bands are set to play, and a $5 cover is charged at the venues, according to Hassen.
Hassen said, “We hope to increase exposure for the great student bands on campus. For bands that cannot afford to record in a professional recording studio, having their song featured on the compilation album gives them a tangible object to hand out to friends and fans.”
2006-2007 Green St. Records Bands
1) WHAT FOUR
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Genre: Indie/Rock/Classical
Members: Brian Trahan, Bryan Kveton, Dan Yadron, Dylan Fischer
Influences: Muse, Spoon, Incubus, Fiona Apple, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Chopin, Gershwin
2) VANATTICA
Hometown: Mahomet, Ill.
Genre: Rock/Alternative
Members: Drake Gravely, Travis Leonard, Cal Joslin, Tom Miebach
Influences: 311, Incubus, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Underoath, Emery, Chevelle, Jimmy Eat World, The Offspring, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Alien Ant Farm, Pink Floyd.
3) FCAB
Hometown: Midlothian, Ill.
Genre: Blues/Ska/Turntablism
Members: Stefan Lindgren, Mark Johnson, Jeff Stephens
4) SANTA
Hometown: Champaign, Ill.
Genre: Progressive/Folk/Rock
Members: Stan McConnell, Mack McConnell, Chad Warner, Otto Stuparitz, Marty O’Donnell,
Zak Kunath
Influences: The Talking Heads, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Ryan Adams, Smashing Pumpkins, The Strokes, The Decemberists, Bob Marley, Radiohead, The Guillemots, Paul Simon, Devendra Banhart, Phish, Damien Rice, Dave Mathews, Ben Folds, Billy Joel, Counting Crows, Tool
5) GLASSHOUSE
Hometown: Northbrook, Ill.
Genre: Rock/Alternative
Members: Mike Middleton, Dan Zar, Zach Brand, Brian Wolf, Stopher Chanley
6) MAD MARDIGAN
Hometown: Urbana, Ill.
Genre: Rock
Members: Jack Marck, Rory Grennan, Joe Funderburk
Influences: Jeff Beck, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Joe Walsh.
7) SIDEWALK RADIO
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Genre: Rock
Members: Steven Matthew Andrews, Brian Thomas Boysen, David Bernard Dykstra, Jeffrey Hanschmann, Caleb Mundy
Influences: Saves the Day, Nirvana, Rush
8) THE DAKOTA (below)
Hometown: Urbana, Ill.
Genre: Folk Rock/Pop/Classic Rock
Members: Packy Lundholm, Adam Mormolstein, Conley Wouters, Tyler Zee
Influences: Wilco, Ryan Adams, CSNY, The Beatles, Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Beck, John Lennon, The Beach Boys, Foo Fighters, Oasis
9) THE GREYTONES
Hometown: Champaign, Ill.
Genre: Alternative/Blues/Progressive
Members: Megan Johns, Mike Arnold, Dave Cohen, Garrick Nelson
Influences: Muse, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Beatles, Radiohead, Tool, Elliott Smith, The Cure, Opeth, Led Zeppelin, Tom Waits, The Eels, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Franz Ferdinand, The Rolling Stones
10) WEAPONS OF MASS DISFUNKTION
Hometown: Urbana, Ill.
Genre: Funk/Jazz/Jam Band
Members: Dave Dickey, Marcus Wolfe, Holly Holmes, Matt Warnock, Chris Reyman, Josh Walden, Josh Hunt
Influences: Weather Report, Soulive, Miles Davis, John Scofield, Darren Kramer
11) SOMNUS (currently known as Jack Pine Savage)
Hometown: Wheaton, Ill.
Genre: Rock/Experimental/Funk
Members: Clayton Heinrich, Justin Gantenberg, Joey Mirabella, Ryan Kragie
