American Idol Alum Delves into Progressive Rock with Chicago's District 97

[lasercd]

American Idol Alum Delves into Progressive Rock with Chicago's District 97

SOURCE: Lori Hehr Public Relations

American Idol alum delves into progressive rock with Chicago's District 97; just signed to premier prog rock label Laser's Edge

Ken Golden, President of Laser's Edge Group, announces the addition of Chicago's District 97 to the Laser's Edge label. The label will release the band's debut album Hybrid Child in Fall 2010.

Featuring 2007 American Idol finalist Leslie Hunt, District 97 mixes adventurous musical prowess with accessible catchy vocal melodies. The band features exceptional musicians including Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Katinka Kleijn.

District 97 was formed in the Fall of 2006 by drummer Jonathan Schang, keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Patrick Mulcahy and guitarist Sam Krahn. The foursome from Chicago honed a no-holds barred style of Liquid Tension Experiment inspired Instrumental Rock before deciding to add the right vocalist. They found their vocalist in Hunt, a 2007 American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist. With a look, sound and stage presence comparable to a young Ann Wilson from Heart, Hunt's dynamic performances pushed the band into a new direction. After attending a show and being highly impressed, Kleijn joined the band. She was followed shortly thereafter by one of Chicago's finest young guitarists, Jim Tashjian. With this new lineup of peerless musicianship in place, District 97 began wowing crowds and establishing a devoted fanbase through packed shows at legendary Chicago venues such as House of Blues, Schubas and Martyrs'.

www.district97.net

 

[FataMorgana]

Just listened to the songs on MySpace....interesting stuff...I like the song "Termites" the best so far.

 

[miel]

Hmm... I don't remember her.

~Jen

 

[edgeofthorns]

Hmm... I don't remember her.

~Jen

Me neither.

~Brian~

 

[Jasonic]

Very odd, as I usually remember most finalists.
Does not ring a bell, by name or face.

2007 was the year Jordan Sparks won right?
That was probably the least memorable Idol ever anyhow.

Well, the Idol tag might help boost sales I suppose, so congrats.

I am from Chicago and can say I have never heard of this band.
Do they play out?

 

[compurocker]

I didn't recognize the name, but I do recognize the picture. The bio said she was in the top 10 females. So likely she was number 10, otherwise why say top 10 right? heh. And that really means number 19 or 20 since there would have been 10 males as well. So the term "finalist" is rather loose. She was a semi-finalist at best.

Sorry... my Idol nerd came out for a moment. Now, to actually give this stuff a listen.

 

[lasercd]

Jasonic:

The band does play out and I believe they have a gig coming up. Their site is www.district97.net if you want to follow their dates.

If I'm not mistaken Leslie was #16 before being given the boot.

 

[adaher]

Whatever you think of American Idol, they do act as a sort of cattle call for good vocalists. I would think that bands with record deals should be recruiting heavily from the ranks of the ones who didn't quite make it.

 

[Jasonic]

If I'm not mistaken Leslie was #16 before being given the boot.

Ah, ok. I think when people think of Idol finalists, they think of the top 10.

Chicago's a big city. I am sure there is a band or two around here that I haven't heard of!

 

[TheLongshot]

After doing some searching, I respect her a bit more than the average AI contestant in that she seems to have a musical background and has the ability to write her own stuff.

The band itself reminds me a bit of Finneus Gauge, but probably more accessible.

 

[Jasonic]

Whatever you think of American Idol, they do act as a sort of cattle call for good vocalists. I would think that bands with record deals should be recruiting heavily from the ranks of the ones who didn't quite make it.

It's hit or miss.
If you have a 100% commercial sound (Ie - Daughtry, Smelly Clarkson, Carrie Underpants (as my 5 year old calls her)), then yes.

Ruben, Fantasia, David Cook, and Taylor "Soul Patrol" Hicks, aren't tearing up the commercial charts. Hicks was smart though, and branched out into theater.

I think for rockers who want credibility (IE - Constantine with his band Pray For the Soul of Betty), having the "Idol" tag could hurt you.

 

[lasercd]

<<The band itself reminds me a bit of Finneus Gauge, but probably more accessible.>>

Not a terribly off base comparison but there are significant differences. Katinka's cello work will make your jaw drop. The video is an edit of a much longer version that is featured on the album. The core part of the album is a multi-part conceptual piece called "Mindscan". Anyone who thinks that this is going to be a pop album will be very wrong.

 

[Cheiron]

She was the one who scatted at American Idol right? The jazz singer? She was quite good, and got knocked off way too early.

 

[shreddy]

Cool stuff, they remind me a little of The Living. They have a show coming up at Martyrs next week Wens but its our practice night so I'm missing that show. Anyone here want to meet up for one of their other shows let me know.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Interesting indeed. I think it's one of those sounds that'll grow on you. Sort of reminds me of Kansas.

 

[skyrefuge]

My review of their show in Chicago...

=============================================

2010.05.19 - District 97 @ Martyrs'

When watching Fine Arts programming on PBS, dance (particularly modern dance) always sticks out as the lone Fine Art that I simply don't get. For everything else (painting, theater, certainly music, etc.), even if I don't feel the passion myself, I can at least understand the attraction. Not so for dance; to me it always felt like some powerful dance lobby must have done some serious arm-twisting to get its bush-league art form elevated to an equal footing with the other Fine Arts. However, I did think that maybe if I actually saw a live dance performance, it would click for me, and finally, here was my chance.

"Opening" for District 97 was JMT/JLS Choreography, a small group of dancers who did an exhibition of various works (and fragments of longer works) on the floor of the bar. Certainly something I've never seen as part of a concert, but in general it seemed pretty well-received. Of course it probably helped that there weren't a lot of rabid, single-minded District 97 fanboys on-hand; it may not have gone over so well at a Slayer show. But still, I wasn't feeling it. They're definitely some very fit people who move their bodies in interesting ways, but none of it really connected with me. I guess when I want to see fit people moving their bodies in interesting ways, I prefer there to be a ball and a score involved.

Ok, so District 97 is a prog-rock band with former American Idol contestant Leslie Hunt on vocals, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Katinka Kleijn. I (sorta) like prog rock, really liked Hunt on AI, and love cello and always like the chance to see CSO-level musicians. Well, Kleijn was absent (and her absence wasn't even mentioned by the band), so that was a bit of a bait-and-switch, but two out of three ain't bad.

The music and performance from the surprisingly young-looking band were good, even if the Liquid Tension Experiment reference in the press kit is also a bit of a bait-and-switch. Hunt's vocals were also good, though I now know that the American Idol selection process does not automatically produce singers a class above the performing average. However, given the extremely adventurous melodies she was singing and my unfamiliarity with the songs, I couldn't say for sure if any vocal weirdness was accidental or intentional. She was most enjoyable when she hinted at the looser, soul-oriented style she used on AI. And also when dancing. She self-deprecatingly apologized for her moves in comparison to the "real" dancers, but she was actually much more enjoyable, particularly since I know how difficult it is to dance to oddly-metered prog-rock without mimicking a seizure. This was highlighted when three JMT/JLS dancers returned to perform during one of District 97's songs; their improvised movements had much less connection to the music being played (though I think I did like it a bit more than the choreographed stuff). Near the end of the set they did a good cover of Rush's "Tom Sawyer"; I called for "Future Breed Machine" (the guitarist was wearing a Meshuggah shirt), but no dice. :-(

There were about 40 people on hand, at least 30% of whom were dancers or there-for-the-dancers, and 95% of whom remained seated off to the sides for the whole set (dorks!) At the end they proudly mentioned their signing to Laser's Edge and upcoming album release. They seem like they're worth keeping an eye on, and would have been an obvious choice for ProgPower I, whereupon Ms. Hunt would have been obsessed over by prog-nerds for the rest of the weekend.

Neil

 

[District97]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that our entire set from CalProg 2010 is up for download at www.district97.bandcamp.com. There's no minimum price to download, but those who donate are entitled to some very cool gifts from us (credit on the next CD, signed merch, even play on the next album!). All proceeds will go directly towards recording our next CD. Think of it as a holiday gift to the future of creative music!

Some pertinent links:
http://district97.bandcamp.com/track/presto-vivace-back-in-nyc (our medley of Presto Vivace/Back in NYC)
(live video from CalProg)
(Our singer Leslie Hunt talks about "Live at CalProg")

The download and gift specifics are at www.district97.bandcamp.com. Thanks!