Lisa Kaplan, pianist for classical sextet eighth blackbird, is keenly aware of the stereotypes the group is up against. “A lot of times people hear ‘classical’ and they immediately think ‘uptight’ or ‘stodgy,'” says the musician. “We’d don’t want to be thought of as a classical band. We just want to be a band.”
To that end, eighth blackbird, which takes its name from a Wallace Stevens poem (a far wiser choice than one of the runner-ups, That Tastes Like Chicken), has toyed with the idea of playing non-classical venues — be it the Green Mill, the Empty Bottle or Schubas. The band also makes sure to interact with its audience, chatting it up between songs in an effort to engage listeners. “We’re doing anything we can to get people as excited about contemporary classical music as we are,” continues Kaplan. “We’re playing this music because we love it. We want [the audience] to share that passion.”
It’s a passion the musicians, who range in age from 28 to 36, have shared since first getting together as students at Oberlin College in 1996. It was there, in a small listening room in the school’s library, that the group bonded over compositions such as Michael Torke’s “The Yellow Pages” — though, according to the pianist, anything and everything was fair game in those early days. (“We really do listen to everything: country to indie,” she says.) But the band quickly progressed from lark to livelihood when the musicians, then still in school, entered and won the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, an annual contest held at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
After graduation, the group briefly debated moving to New York City before opting for Chicago, due in large part to the more manageable cost of living. The savings have allowed the band to remain a full-time gig for all six members, who spend almost 20 hours per week rehearsing in their Ravenswood practice space. The group also tours extensively, typically playing anywhere from 40 to 50 concerts a year. Surprisingly, most of these shows take place outside the Windy City, which has been somewhat slow to embrace the band. This trend is finally beginning to change with a series of high-profile shows at Harris Theater, including the Chicago premiere Tuesday of the mixed-media event “Sound Mirrors,” composed by husband-wife team Danny Rozin and Tamar Muskal.
“It’s going to be wild,” says Kaplan, growing increasingly excited as she describes the piece’s three distinct movements and elaborate computer effects. “I think we’ll be just as excited as the audience to see it all come together.”
Everything You’ve Ever Known is a Piece of Light in Someone Else’s Sky
Everything about this Chicago quartet screams emo, from its heart-on-a-sleeve lyrics (“I’m not the only one who feels empty,” the band sings on one tune) to it’s excessively long name. It’s a seemingly winter-obsessed group; snowflakes fall on its official MySpace site, (myspace.com/everythingyouveeverknown) and it has songs titled “It Only Snows” and “Happy New Year I Quit.” While the band’s turf isn’t wholly original, it manages to transcend many groups in the overcrowded genre through sheer force — just witness the chiming guitar buildup on “Being Brave.” Besides, it’s hard to deny any band with such an earnest mission statement: “We’re simple kids who try to make complicated music … and we hope it finds you well.”
eighth blackbird
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Chamber music, outside the box
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive at Millennium Park
Price: $30; 312-334-7777
Everything You’ve Ever Known
An emo band’s hazy shade of winter
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Bill’s Blues Bar, 1029 Davis St., Evanston
Price: $8-10 (21+); 847-424-9800
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