Out For Hours
Chicago, IL | Established. Jan 01, 2005 | INDIE
Music
Press
Out for Hours will release its first full-length compact disc, “Save Today Tomorrow,” the culmination of 10 years of writing and three years of recording. In celebration, the Riverside band will perform at a CD-release party at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at Slainte, 7505 Madison St., Forest Park.
The band came together in 2002 behind songwriter/lead vocalist Frankie Monacella and songwriter/guitarist Chris Ulrich. Monacella and Ulrich found their passion for music in college, and the two combined musical ambitions to start one of the more successful local bands on the scene. They are joined by bassist Mark Vazquez and drummer Paul Wilhelm, all originally from Riverside. The band frequents the Cubby Bear and The Elbo Room in Chicago, and has played locally at Molly Malone’s in Forest Park and Rascal’s in La Grange Park.
With producer Garret Hammond, Out for Hours delivers a sound with a pop and funk edge, Ulrich said. The compact disc’s song “Window Pain” has received airtime on WXRT-FM 93.1.
Hammond, who toured nationally as a drummer with Chicago band Kill Hannah (Atlantic Records), began recording Out For Hours in 2005. The label is Spatula City Records.
- Suburban Life - AP
By Jennifer Wagner
For RedEye
Published August 7 2008
Songwriters Frankie Monacella and Chris Ulrich have a history of traveling together.
Hailing from Riverside, they remember car-pooling to soccer practice together as kids, though they weren't particularly close growing up.
They got reacquainted on a mission trip to Oklahoma City to aid victims after a May 1999 tornado outbreak. The two played guitar and sang to lift the spirits of the weary volunteers.
In the process, they discovered their own musical chemistry.
"We just started screwing around with the guitars at night, just playing a few tunes," Ulrich recalls.
The experience inspired Monacella to write "The Tornado Song" for Out For Hour's full-length debut album, "Save Today Tomorrow."
Their band name was inspired by the spirit of the journey as well, Ulrich explains.
"When you're on a road trip, the best feeling in the world is being in that back seat," he said. "Not driving, passed out, you've got the best tunes you could ever think of playing in the car and you're just out for hours."
Monacella adds that "out for hours" were "the first lyric[s] of the very first song we wrote together."
After a few years of writing and playing out together, Monacella and Ulrich decided it was time to expand their sound, which is where bassist Mark Vazquez and drummer Paul Wilhelm came in. The transition from an all-acoustic band had a big effect on Monacella.
"Picking up the electric was like walking into a different country," he said.
The big switch was a fruitful one for the band, which now enjoys bigger shows and more local notoriety than ever.
"We love music, we love playing, we love performing, and we love the band," Ulrich says. "We've been getting better every time we play." - RedEye
Discography
- Out For Hours EP (2005)
- Save Today Tomorrow (2008)
Window Pain (track 2) has received radio play
- Where Has Summer Gone - single (2009)
Photos
Bio
Priding themselves on writing melodic tunes, the Chicago band has shaped itself by fine tuning their sound over the past 10 years, finding their groove as Out For Hours.
A tornado brought the two band founders together. Vocalist Frankie Monacella and guitarist Chris Ulrich, both songwriters, met on a mission project to help victims in a tornado-ravaged section of Oklahoma in 1999 (the origin of The Tornado Song).
Graduating from college in 2002, the creative team was born. As the songs began to evolve, so did the band. In the summer of 2004 Out For Hours welcomed drummer Paul Wilhelm and bassist Mark Vazquez. Paul brought his talents to the University of Illinois, becoming a regular in the local music scene, while Mark demonstrated diverse styles of bass guitar as a member of The University of Chicago Jazz Ensemble. 2008 brought Pauls brother, Adam Wilhelm, to Out For Hours on keys. Classically trained, Adam focused on diverse styles of Jazz and Ska while at Knox College. Playing in several multi-genre bands, it's needless to say that both Paul and Adam Wilhelm as well as Vazquez entered Out For Hours as well-seasoned musicians, adding the styling and positive energy that can't help but attract an audience.
Out For Hours has been described as a "melodic rock band with a pop and funk edge," and it's the dedication to its songs that inspires the band to keep writing. Their energetic sound and unique lyrics attract audiences of all types and ages. Out For Hours gives a part of themselves to every audience. This is what keeps people listening.
Band Members
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