Ideamen

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 Wednesday, 03 March 2010 22:06

Ideamen

By: Courtenay Stewart

 

What started long ago as two bands from the region, Soulvasq and

Duct Tape Mustache, has now morphed into a more accessible

yet, experimental genre blending band, known as Ideamen.

Ideamen is a pop/rock/alternative band with an experimental

sound that hails from the south side of Chicago. They are

pushing the boundaries of rock and creating music that is ahead of

its time by combining piano pop with modern rock and metal.

Both bands had shared influences such as Mr. Bungle, System of

a Down, Ben Folds, and Queen and they had occasionally shared

a stage. Together they created their own unique sound with dual

lead vocals, a strong keyboard presence, and four part vocal

harmonies, which has become their trademark.

 

Ideamen performs both originals and covers, but for their covers

they do something no one else in the region is doing; they are

blending songs from different genres into. It isn’t strange to hear

this band playing a Pantera song and singing Tori Amos lyrics over

it. They do this in part to never being able to agree on anything

and also as a way to help make their live show unique and

entertaining.

 

This band takes a lot of pride in the fact that they are an

experimental band although they feel that it is sort of a misnomer

(in that the music is structured and delivered as if they were

bubble gum pop tunes). The band was asked how they came up

with this type of music and their response was that “they cannot

help what kind of music they write. It is just what comes out and

reflects all the different influences and styles of music that the

members share.”

 

The name Ideamen came from a play on words. The wanted

to call the band “Thought Criminals”, however the name was

taken. They decided to stay on the same track as it went with

the lyrics that they wrote, but also they wanted to pay homage to

the great thinkers of the world, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and

Albert Einstein. Turns out that the moniker “Idea Men” is shared

by a now defunct hardcore band from Philadelphia, a comic book

company in Detroit, a comedy troupe in Hollywood, a consulting

firm in Illinois, villains from the cartoon “The Tick” and the list

actually goes on and on. They justify keeping the name because

they are currently the only band using it. Trademark funds are

being raised!

 

The band got their start in 2006 by recording a five song CD called

Progress. They took a break when their keyboardist went on tour

with a Baltimore band called Dog Fashion Disco. This led to a

wide fan base as the fans wanted to hear the other band that the

keyboardist was in and word of mouth spread. They sold this CD

in approximately 18 countries and booked their first show at the

Double Door in Chicago, Illinois. They haven’t looked back since

and are continually trying to grow the band.

 

The band is comprised of Mark Vasquez on Bass, Tim Swanson

on Keyboards and who also writes a lot of the music for the band,

Dave Solar on Vocals and also the Lyricist for the band, Dan

Figurell on Guitar, and Phil Goodrich on Drums.

Ideamen got picked up by Rotten Records, an independent record

label out of Los Angeles. On October 27, 2009, the band released

their second major release titled “May You Live In Interesting

Times”. 2010 promises to be the best opportunity for Ideamen

to reach a new plateau. Their full length album is a bold musical

statement, blending alt rock, progressive metal, and mainstream

pop with deep lyrical overtones about the semi-dismal state of

the world today. This album was based on a Chinese curse also

known as “may you find what you are looking for”. There is a high

popularization and usage for this saying, even being used in the

Day of Affirmation Address by Robert F. Kennedy in 1966. The

band chose this because in the lyrics, the CD reveals a lot about

the times that we live in now; that these times might not be the

greatest, but they are definitely very interesting. This is a definite

lyrical theme throughout the CD.

 

Despite the albums dark concept, Ideamen have a lot of great

things going on at the moment, especially in March. They are

showcasing at South by Southwest this year on Saturday March

20 at Lucky Lounge in Austin, Texas. They will be on tour for

almost an entire month from March 10 until April 4. The 21 show

tour in 24 days visiting 14 states will kick off with their first show

at the Melody Inn in Indianapolis on Wednesday March 10. They

will also be around the area on Thursday March 11, when they will

be playing at Columbia Street West in Fort Wayne and again on

Saturday March 13 at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago, Illinois.

Ideamen bassist Mark Vasquez on their label Rotten Records

stated, “Rotten Records has been amazing to us. We had initially

received some flack about signing with some of our peers. So far,

signing with the label has probably been the best decision that the

band has ever made. Rotten Records has helped us empower

ourselves and worldwide distribution through Sony doesn’t hurt

either. We have been able to commit ourselves to be a touring

band and we have been able to reach people and industry outlets

that would have probably ignored an unsigned band. Our fairly

new band playing at South by Southwest is a shining example of

that.”Vasquez stated that on touring, “It is great, but it certainly

doesn’t come without making personal sacrifices. Some of us

have given up our personal lives, right down to having to live with

your parents or taking an otherwise undesirable odd job just to

make it possible to get out on the road.” However, this does not

discourage the band; instead they see it as a rite of passage.

Aside from having the label support, Ideamen is completely D.I.Y.

If you buy their CD directly from iloveideamen.com, they hand

package and personally mail the album as well as printing their

own shirts, create their own artwork, and produce their own music

with the help of “sixth member” Chris Gardner, who co-produces

their music and plays guitar on their tours.

 

You can purchase their new album in any of the 39 CIMS

(Coalition of Indie Music Stores) across the nation as well as

through any online retailer including Sony. But you will currently

only find the upcoming 7 inch split with Polkadot Cadaver (formerly

Dog Fashion Disco) while on their tour.

 

You can check the rest of the tour dates, more information on the

band, and their newly released CD at www.iloveideamen.com,

www.rottenrecords.com, www.sonicbids.com/ideamen, and www.

myspace.com/ideamen/blog