Zapruder Point

Fully a decade ago, 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 North Coast 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.

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 pulled aside 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 take the stage without them, save the occasional invitation from friends. Meanwhile, back in the basement, Zapruder Point songs continued to pile up. Dan traded in the 4-track for Garageband software, recording some songs with canned rhythm loops, while others remained as naked as his earliest stuff. This kitchen sink combination found its way onto 2008's "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. Maybe he didn't need a band to play out after all...

And so the 2010 model of Zapruder Point finds Dan back where he started -- a singer/songwriter playing coffee shops and open mics, bars and cabarets. Yes, if you like Morrissey, The Decemberists, Granddaddy and Death Cab for Cutie, you'll find a common thread in the sweet jangle and plaintive vocal trails. But to balance out the introspection, you'll also hear echoes of The Thermals, Guided by Voices, and The Housemartins -- with singing that's usually more Sam Cooke than Sufjan Stevens. Zapruder Point offers a unique musical blend -- a rocky sort of reflection, an easy exuberance delivered in songs that are as sweet as they are short. You're invited to lean in for the whispers and join in on the shouts.