Audiences
Gig Seeker Pro

Audiences

Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF

Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF
Band Alternative Rock

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Artist Interview: Audiences"

“And then I just wanted to scream at them too, you know?”
It’s an early summer evening and we’re sitting with Chicago rock band Audiences on the back porch of their Lakeview home/recording space.

Singer/guitarist Billy Jesus is remembering the surreal experience of playing Lincoln Hall on a Saturday night for the first time, only their fourth show as a bonafide band. Alone on stage he faced a screaming crowd and, ever the equalizer, felt the desire to scream along with them. Billy Jesus was ultimately joined on stage by the rest of the Audiences members: bassist/singer Brian Suarez, drummer Bob Is and guitarist Stephen Kraniotis.

Arlington Heights natives and friends from high school, Brian, Billy (née Dan) and Stephen met Bob after graduation. With Bob in a band with Billy, and Brian and Stephen similarly connected, Audiences was the result of “cross-pollination,” describes Suarez.

Cross-pollination turns out to be an accurate description of what the foursome would come to create. It comes down to the songs being very different, explains Suarez, “it really has to do with the melting pot of our influences growing up. Simple, but really weird.”

Parental influence ranged from Elton John and Sinatra to Led Zeppelin and disco tapes to Greek music and jazz; first cd purchases varied from Metallica to Limp Bizkit to Hanson to Deep Blue Something (“I was hooked on that “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” shit,” admits Billy). And let’s not forget the Star-Spangled Banner. Yet somehow this all coalesces into a solid sound and a collection of songs that will one day become their first album. Work on their debut has become the top priority for Audiences as they have developed a rhythm and writing process that begs a larger, for lack of a better word, audience.

We’re reaching the end of our interview and the conversation has turned to performances and stage personas, or the band’s lack thereof. It is the crowds that Audiences draws – of friends, of family, of friends of family and family of friends – that keeps the band true to their name. The weird people that show up? They just add to the atmosphere and, frankly, might one day be friends of the band as well. Spend twenty minutes with these guys and it’s no surprise that their shows foster such relationships, no surprise that the camaraderie and comfort they have with each other crosses that so often impermeable barrier between act and audience. That’s not to say they are communists (“we’re Chicago American rock”), but no one is held up on a pedestal. When it comes down to it, Audiences is the part of the crowd that is having the most fun, and they only hope that will include you.

Listen to their single “Ghosts” or catch Audiences Thursday June 14 at Lincoln Hall.

Website: www.audiencesmusic.com - Chicago Monthly Magazine


"Chicago Artists & Musicians To Know: ALTERNATIVE/ROCK"

I really can’t say enough good things about this four-piece band, Audiences. Their new single “Ghosts” shows off their ability to rock hard while appealing to other audiences who like the mellower sounds. I’m excited to see what these guys have in store for us for the future, until then check out their new single “Ghosts” and download for free HERE. - ADDICTED Chicago


"Playing Audience to Audiences"

Tuesday night a wild haired man introduced his band mates Cardigan, Krayneeum, and Bobby Is to a crowded Schubas Tavern before presenting himself to the room, saying, “I’m Billy Jesus and we’re all Audiences, every one of us.” By their own definition Audiences are “a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art; music” and refreshingly this four piece band of Chicagoans don’t exclude themselves from that classification. In lieu of taking the stage as if they’re doing those in the crowd a favor, Audiences walked into the Schubas ready to share an experience, not just dish one out.
Upon first look some of the more snobbish show-goers around me seemed to scoff at Billy’s “If Einstein were a caveman” hairdo and the band’s matching uniform of plain black shirts, but it didn’t take more than a few measures into the first song for their sullen postures to perk up and their semi-permanent scowls to turn into smiles as Audiences happily started their set. Describing the style of music Audiences plays is a challenge. This is a band that is almost a living, breathing Rosetta Stone to understanding other genres, one that takes snippets of everything and allows listeners to piece together an understanding of styles they may not have been familiar with through ones they already recognize.
In one moment Audiences is singing falsetto harmonies to a rollicking 70’s groove, nearly going into full fledged disco mode but pulls themselves back into the realm of the modern day with mellifluously astral guitar riffs that scream indie rock. Tinges of Via Audio’s taste for vintage dance music and the beach-y carefree quality of bands like Polaris come into play in Audiences music, but even that description fails to properly capture what I heard at Schubas. Audiences is a band that has enough in common with bands like Vampire Weekend and MGMT to easily become a favorite among trend inspired listeners but enough legitimate musical proficiency to keep from turning off the music fan who doesn’t give a damn about the Hipster Top 40.
Sitting in the venue, it was a little surprising to hear such a big sound coming just four guys and a couple of guitar pedals, which perhaps may have been the most impressive part of the entire evening. With three of the most basic instruments you’d find in a band lineup- bass, guitar and drums- Audiences paint their songs with broad, sweeping strokes of bright melody before texturizing their sound with epic swells and wailing riffs. - Reviewsic: Music Worth Talking About


Discography

Ghosts - Single - 2012

Photos

Bio

Chicago based indie rock band Audiences has been hailed a living, breathing, Rosetta Stone to understanding other genres, one that takes snippets of everything and allows listeners to piece together an understanding of styles they may not have been familiar with through ones they already recognize.[1] Audiences consists of members Billy Jesus, Bobby Is, Brian Suarez, and Stephen Kraniotis, all natives to the Chicagoland area. They have been considered to have enough in common with bands like Vampire Weekend and MGMT to easily become a favorite among trend inspired listeners however enough legitimate musical proficiency to keep from turning off the music fan who doesn’t give a damn about the Hipster Top 40. Speaking of themselves: “...the way we smile is kind of embarrassing, but it's (somehow) quick to take hold of an entire room. We are never on autopilot. Our guard is never up. We’re just as much there to share an experience with you as you are with us, after all, we’re all Audiences.”