General Blurb

Zapruder Point (a.k.a. Dan Zapruder Phillips) has been recording and performing in Chicago for over a decade — usually alone with an electric guitar, but sometimes joined by friends. If you like Morrissey, the Decemberists, Granddaddy and Death Cab for Cutie, you’ll find a common thread in Dan’s melodic arrangements and plaintive vocal trails. But to balance out the prettiness, you’ll also hear echoes of Billy Bragg, Guided by Voices, the Feelies and Britpop in general. Zapruder Point’s latest collection is a full-band E.P. called Heads Together.

Heads Together Blurb

Chicago-area home-recording addict Dan Phillips (a.k.a. Zapruder Point) inches into the sunlight with a new E.P. that recalls the stripped-down guitar pop of the La’s, the Plimsouls, Dumptruck, and the Feelies. Learned and recorded in one-night sessions, these songs deliver a refreshing, un-fussy energy framed in ruthlessly economic arrangements and sweetened by soulful vocals. Featuring John Aselin on bass and Larry Brown on drums, Heads Together also boasts guest appearances by Liam Davis (ex-Frisbie) and Elizabeth Lindau (Canasta).

Extended Bio

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At the turn of the millennium, Dan Phillips bid adieu to his emo-ish Raleigh outfit (The Boy Wonder Jinx) and, 4-track in tow, decided to try Chicago on for size. He paid his dues at open mics and coffee shop gigs, but spent most of his days furthering the adventures in home recording he’d started back in North Carolina. Eventually, two years’ worth of wide-eyed Windy City odes were committed to a double-disc set called Zapruder Point’s Low Resolution. The album was praised in the Chicago Sun-Times, and Dan’s live profile also rose as he began frequenting Schuba’s stage as part of their popular “Hoot Night” series.

Then in 2002, disenchanted with the “sad bastard” vibe dominating his solo work, Dan co-founded and played bass with The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness, an unabashed, erstwhile tribute to The Feelies. The heretofore alien experience of “jamming” proved energizing, and Dan basically poached TBWTPN’s drummer Tom Millard (also of local improv group The Dirty Rugs) and taught him some Zapruder Point material. Soon Tom’s violinist wife Casey Riordan (previously from Karen Anderson’s band) turned them into a trio, and in the Spring of 2003, they released the Spirit of 91 EP, the first “full-band” platter to bear the Zapruder Point moniker. In its wake, the band experimented as a live act, combining hyper, electric arrangements with more subdued takes. 2005′s resulting It’s Always the Quiet Ones boasted a gloriously varied mix, and was picked up by Midwest indie label Collectible Escalators (Coffinberry, Machine Go Boom).

Shortly after the promise of Quiet Ones, Tom and Casey moved back to Ohio, and Dan lost the heart to gig without them. Meanwhile, songs continued to pile up, and Dan traded in his 4-track for an iBook with Garageband. Approaching the technology as gingerly as possible, he enhanced some songs with canned rhythms, while others remained as stripped as ever. This kitchen sink combo formed the 2008 “return to solo” album, Soda & Sympathy. Still shy about performing, Dan rehearsed increasingly with an electric guitar. By “going Billy Bragg” (or “going Ted Leo” for the younger set), Dan found that he could lose the “folky singer-songwriter” stigma associated with the acoustic guitar, while more easily adjusting tone and volume.

And so the current model Zapruder Point finds Dan back where he started — a solo act playing coffee shops and open mics, bars and cabarets. But just to confuse things completely, Zapruder Point’s latest recordings are actually the result of a group effort. Featuring John Aselin on bass and Larry Brown on drums, the Heads Together E.P. recalls the stripped-down guitar pop of the La’s, the Plimsouls, and Dumptruck. It also boasts guest appearances by Liam Davis (ex-Frisbie) and Elizabeth Lindau (Canasta).

Yes, you could safely accuse Dan of wanting it both ways. But whether live and alone or recorded with friends, Zapruder Point is a singular musical offering. Call it folk introspection with an electric energy, or indie rock with a stubbornly tuneful ear, these songs are as short as they are sweet, featuring a voice unlike any you’ve ever heard.