BIOGRAPHY
Mutts is a current rock band formed in 2009 by Mike Maimone (keyboards/vocals), Bob Buckstaff (bass) and Chris Faller (drums). Based in Chicago, IL, the group released 3 EPs in their first year together; Pretty Pictures, We Float and The Tells of Parallels. Each of these are available for free download (or name-your-own-price) at download.muttsmusic.com The first Mutts LP - Pray for Rain - will be released on December 13, 2011.
Note: There have been at least 4 bands called “(The) Mutts,”:
1. This one, a rock band formed in 2009, based in Chicago, IL.
2. One based in Los Angeles and active from 1983 - 1996;
3. One based in Brighton, England from 2001 - 2006.
4. Indierock band from Malmö, Sweden active in the 90s.
Having raised over ten thousand dollars in a recent Kickstarter campaign, Mutts is ready to release it’s follow-up album, Separation Anxiety, on August 2, 2012. The album will be available on split-color “Mending Wall” vinyl, CD and name-your-price digital download. There is currently a three-track preview and pre-order on the Mutts Bandcamp.
Mutts debut album, Pray for Rain, was added for rotation at 81 college radio stations across the country during the week of November 28, which earned it a #8 spot on the CMJ Adds Chart. The following week Pray for Rain debuted on the CMJ Top 200 at #179, then charted for six consecutive weeks, peaking at #107 twice.
Mutts first played together with tape rolling on Pretty Pictures EP in July 2009. Bob Buckstaff pitched the idea of recording Mike Maimone’s new material after they met as hired musicians for Company of Thieves. The pair instantly clicked over respect for honest, unrefined recordings and love of Tom Waits, Nirvana and Elliott Smith. They called mutual friends Jon Alvin and Chris Faller to engineer and play drums, respectively. Over a 3-day session in an old warehouse on the north side of Chicago, Mutts wrote, arranged and recorded their seminal release.
In their first year together Mutts independently put out 3 EPs: Pretty Pictures, We Float and The Tells of Parallels. Having quickly developed a unique sound and composed a repertoire of genre-bending tunes, Mutts are “poised to become one of Chicago’s top acts,” according to Loud Loop Press.
Outside of the studio, Mutts have fulfilled the buzz garnered by their recordings and Chicago music scene pedigree (as previous/current members of: Bailiff, Wax on Radio, Hush Sound, Empires, Big Science, This is Cinema and Company of Thieves). In their first year together, the band performed at staple Chicago venues The Empty Bottle, Double Door, Lincoln Hall, Beat Kitchen, and Schuba’s. Their live performance has been called “fascinating” by Stories From a Scene, an “indescribable low-end force” by Dedicated Ears, and “unique and energetic” by The Total Scene. In March 2011, Mutts were dubbed a Chicago band to know by the Tribune’s Red Eye/Metromix, were named Heavy Planet’s “Best New Band to Burn One To,” and won The Deli’s Chicago Artist of the Month for August 2010.
Mutts decided from the outset to give away their first 3 EPs. By tracking them in a few days and releasing them immediately, the band has kept fresh, honest and spontaneous music flowing to their growing fan base. They have sold out of the first pressing of each CD, but all three are available as free downloads on http://download.MuttsMusic.com. The newest album, Separation Anxiety, is also a name-your-price download, and available on CD with a fold-out poster as well.
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