Elliot Street Lunatic

Published on April 08, 2009.


Influenced by The Beatles and Radiohead, Elliot Street Lunatic will release its new album “Stories from the Void,” on April 24 at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing.

Telecommunication, information studies and media senior Jordan Hahn (bass), Lansing Community College music management juniors Jason Marr (guitar/vocals) and C.J. Kjolhede (drummer), and East Lansing resident Eric Robins (guitar/vocals) make up the four-piece Lansing-based rock band.

The State News How did you guys get started?

C.J. Kjolhede Back about two years ago in the March of ’07, me and Jason just decided to start playing music, so Elliot Street Lunatic was born. We started off with another bass player … but we parted ways with him back in August of last year in 2008 and that’s when Jordan came in and started playing bass for us. About two months later Eric came in and started playing guitar for us.

SN How would you describe your music?

Eric Robins Its very spacey, very rock and roll. Like space-rock. Psychedelic space-rock.

Jordan Hahn Indie space rock.

SN Where would your dream venue be?

JM I love the Fillmore in Detroit. I would love to play there.

ER My dream venue would be Monterey Pop Festival, back in the day when like, Clapton was playing it.

JM I would say Lollapalooza.

CJK Red Rocks.

SN Do you plan on pursuing music as a career?

JM It would be nice.

ER It would be nice. If it happened to fall into our laps, I don’t think we would shy away from it. That’s a dangerous question. You never want to be the band that goes, “Yeah, we take it very seriously and there’s nothing else we’re going to do.”

SN What do you love about music?

ER It’s like freedom. It’s like nothing else. It can transport you away from everyday things that you don’t want to have to deal with all the time. Music is like an escape.

CJK Music didn’t beat me up in eighth grade.
- The State News

Members of Elliot Street Lunatic may be from a small town, but the band’s new album, “Stories From the Void,” has enormous sounds that are out of this world.

Formed by Laingsburg natives in 2007, the “indie space rock” band’s lyrics mainly focus on situations occurring beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Guitarist and lead vocalist Jason Marr said the album avoids cliché love songs. “It’s a very spacey sounding album,” Marr said. “A lot of the album has to do with the themes of being lost in outer space, the end of the world and alienation, with an emphasis on alien.”

Rounding out the lineup is C.J. Kjolhede (drums), Jordan Haha (bass) and Eric Robins (guitar), who all contributed ideas to the new CD. “We all write the songs, even the lyrics,” Kjolhede said. “Everything is pretty much collaborative. We come up with an idea and go from there.”

The 11-song album was recorded at Lansing’s Elm Street Recording by Ryan Wert, who Marr said helped create a psychedelic landscape of sound and vocal harmonies. “We used a lot of delay effects on the guitars and vocals,” Marr said. “We layered reverbs and noises in the background, so it feels like the songs are big.”

For a preview of the new album, tune into the Impact 89 FM on Thursday, April 23 at 8 p.m., when Elliot Street is set to perform on the “The Basement,” a show dedicated to local acts.

Elliot Street Lunatic’s “Stories From the Void” CD release show. 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, with Way To Fall, Paradisiac and Night Daze & The Loune. All ages, $8. www.myspace.com/elliotstreetlunaticmusic
- Lansing City Pulse

Elliot Street Lunatic releases album

Laingsburg/Lansing-based Elliot Street Lunatic drops its new album, "Stories form the Void," at Mac's Bar on Friday. The group includes a combo of MSU and LCC students, with Jason Marr and Eric Robins on guitars and vocals, Jordan Hahn playing bass and C.J. Kjolhede behind the drum kit.

Marr told us about the release, which was recorded at Elm Street Recording in Lansing:

"The album is very spacey. We took influences from bands like The Beatles, Radiohead, U2, Muse and Portugal: The Man. There are a lot of guitar effects and vocal harmonies involved in the album."

• Show details: Elliot Street Lunatic CD release, Way to Fall, Paradisiac (EP Release), Nightdaze, Loune, Lay of the Cid, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 484-6795, $6 advance, $8 doors. Advance tickets at fusionshows.bigcartel.com, Mac's Bar and Flat, Black, and Circular.

• Tune in: Elliot Street Lunatic will do an interview and in-studio performance at 8 p.m. today on 88.9-FM (WDBM).

- Noise

Laingsburg/Lansing-based Elliot Street Lunatic drops its new album, "Stories from the Void," at Mac's Bar on Friday. The group includes a combo of MSU and LCC students, with Jason Marr and Eric Robins on guitars and vocals, Jordan Hahn playing bass and C.J. Kjolhede behind the drum kit.

Marr chatted with us about the new release.

• NOISE: Your new CD is called, "Stories from the Void," and was recorded at Elm Street Recording in Lansing. Would you tell me a bit about the album?

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• Marr: It has 11 songs and runs about 45 minutes in length, and the album is very spacey. We took influences from bands like The Beatles, Radiohead, U2, Muse and Portugal: The Man. There are a lot of guitar effects and vocal harmonies involved in the album.

• What subjects did you find yourselves writing about on the album?

• There are a few topics involved, but the big topics are about being lost in outer space, the end of the world, alienation and rebuilding society.

• Why are you excited for the Fusion Shows release?

• We've been working with Fusion Shows since we started playing music, and they've hooked us up with great shows opening for Detroit's The Hard Lessons and Chicago's The White Tie Affair. I really like what they are doing, and I think they're doing a great job bringing the music scene back to Lansing.
- Lansing State Journal