The Gorilla Press is a Chicago, IL indie / experimental / post-rock outfit that has been compared to such artists as Radiohead, Mogwai, and early Foo Fighters. The multi-instrumentalist five-piece typically features Reid Erickson on drums, Brian Pavloff on keyboards, Marc Stranger-Najjar on bass, Kirill Orlov on guitars, and Chris Kang on lead vocals & guitars. Its members can regularly be found switching instruments and contributing to layered vocal harmonies, picking up a melodica or mandolin, or hammering on guitars with a tambourine through layers of delay.
The group came together a piece at a time in Chicago, beginning when new roommates Kang and Stranger-Najjar found common ground in post- and progressive-rock. After cycling in and out several prospective bandmates, the addition of longtime collaborators Erickson and Orlov, as well as the classically-trained but Zappa-inspired keyboardist Pavloff, completed the lineup over the next two years.
Owing much influence to their classical training, yet holding closely to the swerving and clanging ethos of brooding, angular guitar rock and songwriting, the group quickly assembled enough material for their first album. The eponymous record was tracked and engineered by Shiraz Dada of Maps and Atlases and released independently. This first offering contains an honest and expressive imprint of the band’s sound, engineered meticulously but devoid of excessive production. The Gorilla Press has gone on to play several of Chicago’s staple venues including appearances at Bottom Lounge, Martyrs', and Elbo Room. The group has earned a reputation for an incendiary live show, where each member's obvious confidence and command of the stage guide the audience through the set. No corner of the stage is off limits and frontman Kang's hands will often leave his guitar to gesture wildly along to the lyrics as the other members jump, shake, spin, and bang each song through to completion.
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