And They’re Off
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The pair recorded an eponymous EP, self-released in 1999, and a 2000 full-length, Chicago Ruins Everything, that never quite came out on the local Swey label. Those early efforts, says Klein, were “essentially just Kevin and I playing, duking it out.” In late 2001, as the band was mixing a second full-length, The Perfect Gift (Flameshovel), Chicagoan Steve Art came aboard as a bassist; Parker had moved back to town, and when he joined in late 2002, Art switched to guitar and keyboard.
With a full band to write for, Klein began generating new material at a furious pace: while living with Duneman in a dilapidated coach house in Bucktown last summer, he came up with close to 40 songs. At around the same time Duneman was doing session work for Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper, better known as local electronica duo Telefon Tel Aviv, and someone floated the idea of the two producing the next Race disc. “They said they owed me a favor,” says Duneman, “so I kinda cashed that in.”
The band remains relatively obscure due to bad luck and an admitted lack of ambition. The Swey label went out of business shortly before the scheduled release date for Chicago Ruins Everything, and the album was never distributed–the band got it into a few stores and sold copies hand to hand at shows. And though The Perfect Gift was lavishly praised in the Wire and CMJ, the Race didn’t capitalize on their press by touring intensively. “We were pretty content to just make music,” says Klein. “We weren’t really concerned about doing all the stuff you have to when you’re a ‘band.’”
Until last week the scheduled opener for the Race and Azita at Saturday’s show was local buzz band manque the Boas, who were to end a nine-month hiatus. But an apparent falling-out between front man John Klos and keyboardist Jacob Smith has aborted the group’s return.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jim Newberry.
