Probably Vampires
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Probably Vampires

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"L Magazine NY"

Our Judges’ Reaction: Probably!? As if you couldn’t tell from the fangs and the pallid faces? A group of high school seniors who wear capes, watch Troma films and are into the Cure, but were embarrassed about it the night before they had to file their band name for the CMJ festival entries. .
The Verdict: Dead wrong. These are approachable twenty-somethings who are so afraid to use four-letter words that their latest release is called Dang. Grand, harmonized power-pop in the New Pornographers tradition. - L Magazine NY


"Milwaukee Summerfest Review"

The five members of Probably Vampires were probably not, in fact, vampires. For one thing, the Chicago group played the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage in the early evening Friday, when it was still plenty sunny. For another, Blade, vampire hunter of comic and film legend, did not kill them.

But the most significant sign of non-vampirism was the music: Warm and bright, albeit infected with sinuous, Mysterians-like keyboard fills, it drew heavily on 1960s groups, such as The Zombies . Their closest contemporaries would be groups such as Fountains of Wayne and The Waxwings.

Probably Vampires certainly had that old rock 'n' roll noise coming from the force of the songs, rather than the knobs and buttons of amplifiers and pedals. The results were clarified, welcome throwbacks, delivered with minimal irony and no more than the genre's usual snottiness. No stakes through the hearts on these guys' sleeves.

- Jon M. Gilbertson - Journal Sentinel Milwaukee


"Chicagoist April 11, 2007"

Headlining the show is Probably Vampires, who have made a name for themselves around Chicago in the past couple of months by kicking out warm ’n’ fuzzy throwback indie rock with a playful edge. Though the band has been together for five years, a series of higher-profile shows in 2007 have raised awareness of this 5-piece around their hometown, and the buzz only promises to grow as warmer weather inspires rock ’n’ roll dance parties. - Chicagoist


"Loudersoft April 12, 2007"

There can never be enough ‘60’s influenced pop music for my ears to love. Probably Vampires can continue to take the best pieces of The Zombies, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others into their mildly-sinister psych-pop meanderings for as long as they want to. If their debut album, DANG!, is any sign of what is to come, I can’t imagine not loving the continued results of waking up at dusk and sleeping at dawn. This 5-piece Chicago outfit remains high on my short list of promising unknowns set to unleash their sweet venom on the world, enticing listeners with a cacophony of stellar rhythms, punchy keyboards, harmonic vocals, and uncharacteristically clever songwriting that generates a blistering level of joy. - Loudersoft


"Probably Vampires"

Probably Vampires are an up-and-coming Chicago band who wear their influences on their sleeves with a big sign on their chest pointing to their sleeves. Within a minute of their first song you can hear the keyboard stylings of the 60’s psych bands like The Doors and The Zombies and you might also recognize that the melodies are a direct progression from this style. The good news is that they actually do a great job of updating the style and making it listenable without thinking you’re listening to a Doors cover band.

The band’s the best when they mix their 60’s influences with a dance beat and some fast-paced and extremely rocking drums. “Yes I Do� and “Little Girlies� are both great songs that follow this style. “Every Single Time� is more of a straight-up rock tune but the melody sounds so familiar that it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t written by any of the aforementioned psych-pop bands. If anyone could pull it off though, Probably Vampires could. - Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good


"Faronheit - "SIGN THIS BAND""

Well, considering the number of emails I've received in the past week, both praising the first installment of SIGN THIS BAND as well as asking to be featured in future installments, I've about settled on making this a weekly segment- at least until the well of unsigned bands runs dry. So, to all of you unsigned bands that have sent me stuff, give me time...I'll get to you as soon as I can. And to everybody else in bands- send me your stuff. All bands will be discussed in the order they showed up in my inbox. Oh, and all music sent will be put through my rigorous screening process, and that means in no way am I obligated to discuss it via this here site.
All that aside, let's get to this week's band.

Last week I talked all about how much I thought Can Joann was a great name for a band. This week's band follows in that trend with an even cooler name: Probably Vampires. I'm guessing that might be because "they only come out at night." The good news though is that unlike vampires, they don't suck. Based out of Chicago, these boys feel like they were transported through some time warp from the 60's to modern times. They bring back a sound that is, in the biggest sense of the word, classic and in many ways awesome. Echoing music of the past with bands like The Zombies, The Doors and perhaps a little Beatles, while maintaining modern-day rock sensibilities, Probably Vampires marry the two eras with music that is creative, catchy, and transcendent. As more of a contemporary reference, the band sounds a bit like The Dandy Warhols or Brian Jonestown Massacre minus the intensely long jam sessions. The absolute best comparison I can give you is that they sound quite a bit like their Chicago counterparts The Redwalls, but with a lot more intensity and a better knack at coming up with hooks that grab you.

Speaking of which, if you've got the opportunity to see Probably Vampires live, then it is my highest recommendation that you do so. The band's high energy and insanity on stage that has gotten the band a very celebrated following. It's also what got them shows playing with artists like Akron/Family, Headlights, Voxtrot, Elf Power and Harvey Danger. These guys play like they're out of their minds. If you're going to CMJ 2006 in NYC, make plans to be at the Alphabet Lounge on Nov. 3rd for their headlining show with The Teenage Prayers and The Blood Lines- you won't be disappointed. Their full length album, titled "Dang!" has been self-released and is available at their shows, as well as online via CDBaby and iTunes. Latch onto these guys fans and label reps- they're going places.
- Faronheit


"ChicagoAtHome"

Taking their influences from late 1960s to early 1970s radio jams, Probably Vampires fuse bright sing-a-long melodies with old school funk and modern day indie pop on their self-released debut offering. The irony of this band is that their influences were around before they were even born. The band is just over five years old and the members themselves in their early 20s. It makes me wonder if they dug out their parents' dusty old vinyl or are pure students of music history.

Nonetheless, Dang is seamless music with elements from James Brown to The Zombies. You can also hear early Rolling Stones with the strut of Mick Jagger and the deep thinking bombastic vocals of Jim Morrison.

The band is lead by vocalist Matt Ostrowski, but hidden in the background of these tracks is the solid drumming of Rob Jensen, who cleanly puts in fills while keeping tempo to keep your head bobbing and your foot tapping.

You would never guess these quirky kids are from Chicago by their sound. But put on the headphones, push play on Dang and you will be serenaded off to the sunny beaches of Cali or the cobblestone streets of Paris, France. - ChicagoAtHome.com


Discography

Dang! - 2006
Sons of Guns EP - Oct, 2007

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Probably Vampires are a Chicago-based, 5-piece, 60's-influenced indie pop band that incorporates staples of the golden age of pop rock music -warm, fuzzy guitars, colorful vocal harmonies, searing organs and electric pianos, and playfully syncopated drums and bass- and injects those staples with an appetite for modern musical daring that makes them sound at once comfortably familiar and startlingly audacious.

Band nerds, masochists, and discipline addicts at heart, Probably Vampires core members Dan Smart (vox, keys), Matt Ostrowski (lead vox), and Rob Jensen (drums) met one another in (where else?) High School Marching Band drumline. Soon, the newly coalescing band also welcomed the addition of Rob’s old rhythm section-mate and associate band nerd from the low brass section Jon Ozaksut (bass) to the fold, and a new quartet was born. Once at college, Jon accidentally bumped into decidedly anti-marching band, ex-football player Henry Bianco (guitar, vox) and, despite the long, bloody, and sordid history between “marching band members” and “football players,” the band eventually ballooned to a quintet and decided (purely on a whim, mind you) to call themselves Probably Vampires.

With their personnel finally solidified, Probably Vampires began rapidly building their reputation over the past several years on an infamously bombastic live-show, a sly yet charming sense of wit, and a knack for the kind of hooks on which acts as assorted as The Zombies, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Fountains of Wayne, and Quasi have rested their reputations. Their self-released first full-length album, Dang!, comes across as a veritable style book of early pop sub-genres and offers 14 unique tracks of classic rock and roll, blues-rock, soul/r&b, shoegaze, and 60's pop. In Spring of 2007, the band entered Chicago's Engine Studios to work with famed producer Brian Deck on an EP entitled Sons Of Guns which within its 4 tracks, generously showcases the band’s increasing trend towards highly mature, classic 60’s pop.