Interview with lo/fi pioneer...Chicago soul/jazz outfit

Some say that true, real inspiration comes in many forms, whether it be through a piece of art, something you read in a book, a great speech from an idol of your's...but for Aryk of lo/fi pioneer, inspiration comes from the things around him, including music. "My musical influences come from everywhere in life, they don't even need to be directly related to music" said Aryk. It's not what he listens to that inspires his music, rather, it's plainly what he hears that invokes his great sense of music. Much of what inspires him comes from other musicians playing in the clubs of the Chicago scene, that wrack his brain and inspire him to create and write. Chicago has helped him develop musically because it's a great scene to see many artists that are fairly popular. Growing up he listened to classic rock and country music. "...although the country was not by choice." Growing up he said that he listened to Aerosmith a lot, and they shaped the way he viewed rock music. In his teen years, he grew into the hip-hop stage, listening to Roots and Rage Against the Machine. None of these shaped his music life like the music of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, when he borrowed a CD of his music when he was 17 or 18 year's old. According to him, "It opened the door to just about everything funky...I was also diggin more live hip-hop and neo-soul." Listening to artists like Nick Drake, Duncan Sheik, and James Taylor. "But it was those funk and R&B records that really inspired me to change the way I write music, sing, and play guitar" He said. That must be why he loves playing live so much. That is his favorite experience about music, because "It's great to have a good record and all, but it doesn't hold a candle to playing that music live. How did lo/fi pioneer get started though? Well they started out with a rotating group of people up until 2006, and were struggling to find the perfect fit of a bassist. Finally, after putting up ads in Craiglist, they came to their bassist Kevin, who, according to Aryk, "Knew where he wanted to be musically and didn't fake the funk." He said that it seemed that the others that he tried just seem to artifical and fake, and didn't really show his particular love for the music. After going through a first drummer, Russell, whom he met at open-mic nights at a Southside Chicago club every monday, they met TY, who is the drummer for the group now because Russell had a "falling out" and introduced them to Russell. According to Aryk, "That must have been a sign...playing with TY has been nothing short of amazing." The best thing about this band, is that the music is real. Nothing is filler, and nothing is fake. All of the music on their latest record "Solid State 2007" is real. It's about true relationships, conversations, and experiences that were worth writing about. They have a true, unbreakable passion for playing their music, and it's just something you do. "It's your fix... I think for most musicians it starts along the path of  you beg your parents for an instrument until they cave in, you learn the instrument, you learn how to write songs and starts from there.  For some of us it we press on until the dreams of becoming a rock star turn into reality, for others it becomes another hobby" said Aryk. That is why this band is different, and that is why this band is successful. It's not all about being what a rock-star is labeled to be. It's all about the passion for music, and knowing that the people you play your music for have a passion for it just as much as you do.