The Gorilla Press is a Chicago, IL indie / experimental / post-rock outfit that has been compared to such artists as Radiohead, Mogwai, The Dears, and Jeff Buckley. The five-piece is comprised of drummer Josh Rockel, keyboardist Brian Pavloff, bassist Marc Najjar, guitarist Kirill Orlov, and singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Kang.
The group came together one at a time in Chicago, where most of the members came to study music; Marc from Louisville, Brian from Philadelphia, Chris from Richmond, VA, Josh and Kirill from the Chicago suburbs. Though from very different musical backgrounds, roommates Chris and Marc quickly found common ground in post- and progressive-rock bands such as Radiohead, Mogwai, and King Crimson; what began as casual collaboration became an involved project as the two members’ friendship solidified. After cycling in several prospective bandmates, the addition of heavy-hitting young punk rock drummer Josh, classically-trained but Zappa-inspired keyboardist Brian, and multi-instrumentalist and noisesmith Kirill completed the lineup over the next year.
Able to communicate and collaborate on an unusually effective level thanks to each member’s extensive musical training background, yet holding closely to the swerving and clanging ethos of brooding, angular guitar rock and songwriting, the group quickly assembled enough material for their first album. The eponymous record was tracked and engineered by Shiraz Dada of Maps and Atlases, mastered with Dan Wagner of Sequoia, and released independently. This first offering contains an honest and expressive imprint of the band’s sound, engineered meticulously but devoid of excessive production, and cited as a visceral window into the band’s intent.
The Gorilla Press has gone on to play several of Chicago’s staple venues, including regular appearances at Elbo Room, Silvie’s Lounge, and Phyllis’ Musical Inn, with a full calendar of dates for any interested in experiencing their unique live dynamic.
Sep 24, 2009 – Elbo Room Live Global Webcast Oct 4
Hi all, we’ll be live-webcasting our Oct 4 Elbo Room show in Chicago at 10pm. We are entirely thrilled that our friends & family who live so very far away will have a chance to see us play- in the comfort of their own homes! Shazam!
You have to sign up to the site to view the webcast, but it’s free. Here’s a link, which you can check out at showtime:
The Gorilla Press debut new Ichiro Hino-directed music video
loudlooppress.com / Sept 10, 2009
Chicago indie rock outfit The Gorilla Press have released a new music video for the track “Abuse Your Sight” from their 2008 self-titled debut album.
The video was directed by Ichiro Hino, who is best known for his videography work with Chicago Japanese punk band Plastic Soy Sauce.
You can catch The Gorilla Press on October 4 at the Elbo Room, but in the mean time, enjoy their rad new video, which features some pretty sweet shadow interplay:
The Gorilla Press RELEASES FIRST RECORD
CHICAGO (AUG 30, 2008) – Alt/indie rock band, The Gorilla Press, have released their first full-length record and will be announcing local and regional show dates to support it.
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, The Gorilla Press recorded & released their eponymous debut independently. The CD, which includes nine new tracks by the band, it is available at cdbaby.com and select stores, and can be previewed on the band’s Web page at www.myspace.com/gorillapressmusic.
Drawing comparisons to artists such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and Nada Surf, the band makes use of haunting dynamics, angular guitars, shimmering synths and Rhodes, multi-part vocal harmonies, and pulsing bass lines to paint a portrait of desperate hope and love under the watchful eyes of an Orwellian Big Brother.
When asked about his inspiration for the record, frontman Chris Kang replies, “I’ve worked for years for big companies, for corporations. They pay well and the work seems easy and enticing… but they’re all cogs in this big machine that makes money by helping someone else make money. Every day I pour all my effort and thought into some karmic black hole. There are so many things that get swept aside to make room for deadlines. Love, duty, respect, and humility toward each other and our world. But it’s all there like a deep sealed well, and all we have to do is remember. Hopefully this record will help a little with that.”
