REACTAVOX
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REACTAVOX

Band Rock Punk

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"AROUND HEAR - Review - April 05"

Hard-hitting duo Reactavox offers a mixed bag on their Weerdo EP. Guitarist/vocalist Sheila Christofalos and drummer/vocalist Nick Christofalos mix heavy metal stomp with punk on "Misfit," and dabble in spoken word on "Crave," but they're the most fun on "Parasite," which evokes the unbridled energy of X. "Wish" is a little more melodic and spacy, but still an authentic take on vintage punk. (Contact: www.reactavox.com.)

T. Flamm

- ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER


"BONEMACHINE REVIEW - 5.14.05"

05.14.05
REACTAVOX Featured Artist for May 05 Issue on Australia's Bonemachine! Here's the excerpt......." In the band's own words, "hooky, obnoxious and free". Reactavox play angry, grotty punkish-rock with loads of attitude. Production quality seems to be less important than creating a song that means something... a very refreshing change when compared with a lot of the rubbish put out these days. Those who like commercial FM kinda quality may find some of the band's recordings hard going, but anyone who likes their music balls-and-all and performed with feeling and passion should have a listen to these guys. 2 songs you must listen to
Parasite - You've got to love a track that comes with the warning 'Beware of the U.S. media'. Parasite is the thing that first turned me on to these guys. An angry spit-in-the-face for a corrupt media that fully deserves more of the same. Wish - Hints of the Pistols corker Pretty Vacant. This track is modern-day punk as it should be. You can stick Green Day and Blink 182 up your arse, Reactavox are doing it exactly as it should be done. - Bonemachine.net - Australia


"SPLENDID MAG WEERDO REVIEW"

10.23.04
Justin Stewart, SPLENDID MAG - Review of WEERDO

"Just in case you aren't already overwhelmed by the preponderance of hard rockin' husband/wife (or sister/brother, I can't tell) duos out there, this Chicago band has arrived, eager to be added to a list that's running over with names like Quasi, Mates of State and, of course, the White Stripes. Forgoing both blooze and quirk-pop, Nick and Sheila Christofalos batter out a strange amalgam of metal riffs and decidedly Seattleite grunge scuz. Songs like "Parasite", with their Big Muff distortion and Shelia's antiseptic snarl, rewind back to the days of Mudhoney and L7. "Misfit"'s Therapy?-styled metal chug eventually gives way to the unexpectedly pop-punk chorus, "don't change a thing / you'll be a misfit just like me." The feedback-drenched "Crave" sports similarly odd juxtapositions as the duo sweetly harmonize, "I like you / you know it's true" over the ugly gristle. Sheila's voice might not be as forceful as the music demands, and it's often shoved too far up front in the mix, but she compensates with clever lyrical turns like "Wish"'s "my heart is beating / me to death". With their wit and unique genre-blend, Reactavox earn their seat at an already crowded table."




- SPLENDIDEZINE


"ONE KIND RADIO WEERDO REVIEW"

11.13.04
John Bowles, One Kind Radio - Review of WEERDO

"Ever since I received this disc in the mail from Chicago's very own
Reactavox, I have been playing it in the car and in sometimes in the shower if I'm feeling kinky. From the second you put it in, and the second you take it out... "Weerdo" has that energy that will keep you asking for more. Throw a mix of grunge via Nirvana, a little more fuzz and noise via Sonic Youth, and of coarse that metal grind and explosive percussion pounded out by Nick Christofalos, and the witty lyrics lashed out from the snarling front woman Shelia Christofalos all into a blender... and you've just got a Reactavox smoothie. However, if you wish to get the full effect of the high... you must catch this duo live... and then you can truly say that you've had one hell of a night."

CD Highlights:
"Wish" & "Crave".

- John Bowles - One Kind Radio


"TUNED-OUT.com WEERDO REVIEW"

09.06.04
Tuned-Out.com Review of WEERDO

REACTVOX is the Chicago based drum/guitar powerhouse of Nick and Sheila Christofalos. The Band has been creating indie rock and performing in a wide range of venues and dives since 1998. REACTAVOX's music is hooky, obnoxious and free. The band's quintessential sound is based upon a simple combination of playful dissonance, thick melodies and lyrical substance. Weerdo follows their successful 2000 full-length release "Compressor" which received airplay on over 175+ US college stations and reached 153 on CMJ's Top 200 list. REACTAVOX recorded and produced Weerdo with Chicago engineer Keith Cleversley (Flaming Lips, Hum, Mercury Rev) & had the pleasure of working with Frank Dreyer (David Bowie) and Frank Mullen (White Stripes, Poster Children) for graphic and web arts.

I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect from this EP. When the opening track kick-in, I was more than pleased with the grind of the REACTAVOX machine~! While the lyrics weren't as deep as the writings of Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Kobain, I'm certain their experimental sound would make them proud. It's this sound that is carried straight through all 4 tracks.

This EP does to the listener exactly what it's supposed to do:
1. Leave you wanting more
2. Urge you to see them live
3. Tell your friends

It's just like that chain letter you get every once in a while. You just can't help forwarding the message on. I believe it's word of mouth that will help this band grow more than anything. It infects you like a virus, and a plague is ready to be unleashed~! I would really love to see a double header of REACTAVOX and Jucifer. There would be riots in the streets... Chicago will be ablaze~!!

For more info on REACTAVOX, please visit http://www.reactavox.com.

Posted by Chetwah at September 06, 2004 01:39 AM

- Chet Lewis - Tuned-Out.com


"IAC Review and Interview"

REACTAVOX - Colliding With a World of Puppets

Out of the chaos of American media culture and into your speakers comes the sound of Reactavox. I could first tell I was getting hooked on this band when I realized I had streamed their song Parasite for over an hour straight. What a huge sound they get out of this amazing 2 piece band. I checked out a raw video clip linked to from their site (www.reactavox.com) and it was obvious that Shelia (guitar and vocals) is some kind of force of nature. This is not your average woman rocker, she defies all stereotypes as she goes into a captivating trance of post punk fury. Along with the powerful, comprehensive drumming of Nick (drums and vocals), Reactavox stands defiantly on an island of truth, clearly capable of taking on the idiocy of the modern world with their blaring barre chords and the angst of a thousand mere mortals.

Currently the Reactavox song Wish is one of the fastest rising songs on the KIAC Big 50. Recently I had a chance to try to get to the bottom of what this unique duo is all about..

IAC: Can you describe the time and place you were in life when you realized you could vent using rock music. And how long after that did you know that you were good at it, that people liked your venting ?

Shelia: I was around 10 when my Dad went on a trip and returned with a prize for me - an 8 track stereo (looked like it came from Walgreens) and the salesman had recommended none other than "Steppenwolf's Greatest Hits". That was my first exposure to rock and I listened to this 8 track constantly. Hence my vicarious venting experience was born, and I haven't really stopped since. I remember track #4 opened with the lyrics "Goddamn the Pusherman". My Dad heard the tune seeping from my room and threatened to take away the stereo if I played track #4 ever again. Hence, my revolutionary spirit was also born...I didn't stop playing track #4...I just timed it to avoid conflict. So as far as venting via my own devices..I've been playing in bands since about 1980...but it was really the late 1990's before things began to gel and I began to tap into my own self and writing decent songs and lyrics. We formed a 3 piece with Ted Grauch on guitar in 1998 and I played bass, sang and wrote songs & lyrics. This was the beginning of a really creative period for me and working with Ted was really great. He added an energetic, quirky, noisy, artsy twist to the band and to our writing/playing/performing. It was a shift in the right direction and some really great material came out of the COMPRESSOR and FOR CHAMPIONS IT'S releases. We received a lot of nationwide airplay on college radio....and we definitely played in some really great Atlanta/Athens dives! Of course, since REACTAVOX became a 2 piece in 2002...I have had to really hold my own since there's no other instrument or vocals. It's just all out there in the open and the audience can see and feel nothing or everything. There's really no in between. That's one thing that Nick and I both really love about the band right now...it feeds our need for a pure, expressive experience. People seem to really enjoy participating in that and watching and hearing it unfold. We don't even know (or want to know) where it's going live...it takes on a life of it's own. We're able to conjure that up now on demand and that really gets our adrenaline going. We're independent..and that means we can push the boundaries of free speech and sonic emotion as far as we want. Are we good at it? Who am I to say? Depends upon your taste in music and art. Am I happy with where we are and what we're doing?? Yes. It feels very good and right.

Nick: Around 8 years old I was totally into the Beatles so I would lip sync into a vacuum pipe pretending to be Paul or John...but at 10 I was drumming on pots and pans in front of our big oak stereo playing and singing to Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Grand Funk. Part 2 The Venting...um... not till Reactavox...Every other band I was in you had to take more of a back seat on the drums like " DON'T BE SO *%$#@*&^ LOUD" or "YOU'RE SPEEDING UP"...In Reactavox...it is total freedom or total feeling.


IAC: Your song Parasite, which is the song that turned me on to Reactavox, is about the kind of thing we can all relate to, people who become almost appendages. I gotta tell ya when I first heard it I thought you were singing "I'm supporting you I'm supporting you" which would be about another kind of parasite. But anyway, care to share anything about your experiences with this kind of person, and your current philosophies in regards to parasites?

Shelia: actually Parasite is NOT about a person. Most people interpret it that way though. The Parasite is the U.S. Media and TV in general. "I'm so bored with you. Give me a new quotation. I'm so tired from you. Give me a new mutation. I'm so dead from you. Give me a new aggression. Cut you off and see if I - Independentartistscompany.com


Discography

-For Champion's It's REACTAVOX - Stinkbug Records 1998
-Scattered - Shuteye Records Compilation 1999
- 7" Single - Activator Music 2000
- Compressor - Activator Music 2000
- Weerdo - Cherrybone Records 2004
Radio airplay throughout US, Canada, France from 2000-2005

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Bio

REACTAVOX is the Chicago based drum/guitar powerhouse of Nick and Sheila Christofalos. The Band has been creating indie rock and performing in a wide range of venues and dives throughout the midwest and southeastern US since 1998. REACTAVOX's music is hooky, obnoxious and free and the couple's desire for freedom of expression is evident and contagious live as the couple decends into a self-imposed sonic trance and delivers themselves to the audience head on in a wall of noise & sensual fury. The band's quintessential sound is based upon a simple combination of playful dissonance, thick melodies and lyrical substance. Weerdo, their 2004 release, follows their successful 2000 full-length release "Compressor" which received airplay on over 175+ US college stations and reached 153 on CMJ's Top 200 list. REACTAVOX recorded and produced Weerdo with Chicago engineer Keith Cleversley (Flaming Lips, Hum, Mercury Rev) & had the pleasure of working with Frank Dreyer (David Bowie) and Frank Mullen (White Stripes, Poster Children) for graphic and web arts.