June 10, 2017
The Quinteential Octopus (New Orleans) with special guest Ask Your Folks -CHX
7-10pm
$10 suggested donation
The Quintessential Octopus began as a songwriting partnership between David Sigler and Joe Ceponis in 2004 under the direction of Douglas Back, fretted instruments instructor at Baldwin Arts & Academics Magnet School in Montgomery, AL. Throughout their education in tenor banjo and classical guitar, they began performing as the Rubber Band with fellow Montgomery natives Harrison Wallace on bass and Alan Cheng on keyboard. After a short stint of performances in Montgomery, the duo disbanded to separate states in order to pursue higher education; David to Columbus State University for classical guitar training, and Joe to New Orleans for audio engineering training. After a bevy of successful recording sessions at Loyola Recording Studios, Sigler and Ceponis reunited in New Orleans to develop the Quintessential Octopus in January of 2012.
At first, recordings were not enough to inspire a full-throttled performance of the new material, and after recording three EP’s in the next year with two different drummers, the pair decided that hiring drummers for live performances was too taxing on the creative environment of the material. Many alternatives were considered before deciding to move the former bass player, Joe, to drum and vocal duty, and convert David into a full-fledged loop machine consisting of vocals, guitar, and bass. Originally, the idea was to live-produce songs for an audience based on guitar and bass loops, a combination that built on three separate channels to affect an ultimately enormous sound. After much trial-and-error, new songs began to develop that could actually surpass any one, isolated experience hearing the music; the replay value became inherent to the songwriting process, and the beginnings of Mother began to take shape as a necessary evolution to what had become an inspiring formula for new compositions.
It took many hours of servile restaurant work and cold-hard gigging to fund the recording and production of the Octopus’ debut, but with the crucial assistance of King Benny’s House of Hits in Houston, TX, the album was cut in just one week, and production was able to wrap up before the end of April. Due in part to a wonderful community of musicians and the burgeoning pop experiment scene in New Orleans, Sigler and Ceponis have successfully released their first full-length album (Mother) on May 22’nd in both their hometown of Montgomery, AL and their new home, New Orleans, LA.
In early 2016, Louis Monroe joined the band on bass. With this new dimension to the sound, they began to re-work a group of songs Sigler and Ceponis had written post-Mother. They recorded this EP (All Hallows Barking) at the glorious Parlor Studio and Joe mixed it at the new Bear America Studios. It will be released March 18th.
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Finalists in the 2016 Great American Song Contest, Ask Your Folks is one of the most promising new acoustic groups in Chicago. The trio’s progressive original music draws on old-time, bluegrass, and folk elements to create a style hailed as “unlike anything you’ve heard before.”
Forming in 2013 while studying at the DePaul University School of Music, Libby Weitnauer, Owen Burton, and Eli Broxham were united in their desire to write original music. Comprised of fiddle, guitar, bass, and harmony singing, their evolution as songwriters has been an exploration of the possibilities of this ensemble. Each band member shares equal responsibility in playing melody, backup, and improvising, resulting in a dynamic sound which balances heavily orchestrated arrangements with elements of improvisation.
Ask Your Folks has captivated audiences across the US with their high variety performances. The eclectic production supplements original music with traditional favorites, drawing audiences of a diversity of tastes. Whether it’s an intimate living room show, a listening room, or an event at a large venue, Ask Your Folks maintains thoughtfulness at the core of its compositions and musicality at the heart of its performances.
