Biography
The "150 words or less" version....
Conshafter? The name conjures up…um, who knows? The music conjures up some of the tastiest parts of rock-and-roll: the classic pop structures of the Fab Four, the propulsive drive of the Cars, the gutter punk of the Ramones, and the quirky angst of the Pixies.
Conshafter came roaring out of a Virginia garage with 2004’s “Fear the Underdog” followed by their 2007 release, "A Slow Drive Off a High Dive." Conshafter charted on the national CMJ charts, was featured on MTV shows (Made, My Super Sweet Sixteen), featured in movies (I'm Through with White Girls -The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks, Players) and received critical acclaim from SPIN and All Music Guide. Conshafter has shared the stage with The Bravery, The Killers, Rooney and the Von Bondies, won Central Virginia’s premier band competition (WDYL-Y101’s RockOff), and completed a music video for “The Big Setup.”
A new album “Bombs Away, Baby” recorded at Sound of Music Studios, Richmond VA (Counting Crows, Cracker, Archers of Loaf) is due out October ’08!
The "300 words or less" version...
Dave and Chris, two college crew teammates from the University of North Carolina, form a “band” called Conshafter as an inside joke, naming the goofy project after an equally goofy fellow rower. The intrepid duo records a demo in two Virginia friends’ home studios, calling the project Your Day Job. Your Day Job finds its way into the hands of legendary producer Keith Shocklee (Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Peter Gabriel), who convinces the two to form an actual band and record a follow-up. Our two heroes relocate to Richmond, VA, somehow cajole their two talented engineer friends from Your Day Job, Rob and Craig, to join the band (no quotation marks needed by now) and set out to do another album.
The resulting album, Fear the Underdog (Dork Epiphany, 2004), including the Shocklee-produced “Autopilot”, debuts as the sixth most-added album on the CMJ college charts in June of 2004, eventually charting on the CMJ Top 200. F.T.U garners critical acclaim from noted sources such as SPIN, AllMusicGuide, has 6 tracks used by MTV in shows like MADE & Sweet 16, and in general wins indie pop fans over with its indelible hooks and quirky demeanor.
Conshafter spends the next eighteen months putting miles on their ’85 GMC van, touring the east coast and sharing the stage with notables like The Killers, The Von Bondies, Elefant, The Bravery, and Ambulance Ltd. The mileage pays off, as Conshafter goes on to win the title of Richmond, VA’s best live band from commercial radio station WDYL - Y101.
Conshafter, with bass prodigy Sarah McCalla (who made her SXSW debut at age 13), and new drummer Austin Tevis are now out promoting their latest creation "A Slow Drive Off a High Dive", soon to be out on Conshafter's own Dork Epiphany Recordings imprint and distributed by Redeye Distribution.
"A Slow Drive Off a High Dive" is Conshafter’s darkest and most lyrically and stylistically consistent album yet. A loosely-based concept album revolving around the themes of the afterlife and loss of loved ones, and set in the band’s hometown of Richmond, VA (a.k.a. Murder City), the record plumbs more mature territory while still retaining bits and bobs of the irreverence that made the band so much fun on the previous record.
FILE UNDER: arena-indie, hardcore pop, anti-folk-punk, atomic garage pop
IMPORTANT INFO:
www.conshafter.com
www.myspace.com/conshafter
Label: Dork Epiphany Recordings
Distributed in U.S. by Redeye Distribution
Radio promotion by The Syndicate NYC (www.thesyn.com)
ASCAP member
Management by Darrell Jones (919-765-5493) obomarketing@yahoo.com
PAST SHOWCASE SELECTIONS:
NEMO Music Conference (Boston, MA)
Midpoint Music Festival (Ohio)
M.E.A.N.Y Fest (New York City, NY)
NXNE (Toronto, ON - selected as alternate)
SXSW (Austin, TX - selected as alternate)
Instrumentation
David Cykert (Guitar)
Chris Konstantinos (Vocals)
Sarah McCalla (Bass)
Austin Tevis (Drums)
Discography
Acetylene to Velveteen EP (2008)
A Slow Drive Off a High Dive (2007 - Dork Epiphany)
"Jay Brooks - Done with White Girls" soundtrack - Soul Films in Los Angeles (2006)
Demo EP (2005 - unreleased)
MUSIC VIDEO: The Big Set Up (WideScreen Prod.)
Fear the Underdog (2004 - Dork Epiphany/Redeye)
Rewind EP (2003 - Dork Epiphany)
Hi, We're Richmond comp.(2004)
NEMO Uprising comp. (2003)
XL102 Exposed comp. (2003)
Your Day Job (2001 - Dork Epiphany)
Links
| http://www.conshafter.com |
| Conshafter MySpace |
| Conshafter Homepage |