Eleventh Dream Day
Encyclopedia
History
The band was founded by guitarists Rick Rizzo and Janet Beveridge Bean, who met at a place fondly known as 1069. This was a house/practice space/hang out in Louisville where at the time Janet was practicing with the band she was in with Tara Key and Tim Harris; the Zoo Directors. They finished a practice and there Rick was in the next room. Janet scrounged up all the change in her pocket, about $1.20, to go to dinner with him and his pals. They all went to Wok Inn and Janet had egg drop soup. That was either very late 1982 or very early 1983.After moving to Chicago, Bean and Rizzo joined with guitarist Baird Figi and bassist Doug McCombs
Doug McCombs
Douglas McCombs plays bass and guitar with the instrumental rock band Tortoise and leads the instrumental band Brokeback. He is also the longtime bassist for the rock band Eleventh Dream Day.-References:...
; Bean soon switched over to drums. Their first self-titled EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in 1987 introduced the hallmarks of EDD's sound: Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
-inspired electric guitar workouts mixed with punk energy.
The band's full-length follow-up, Prairie School Freakout (1988), won critical praise and the attention of major labels; the band soon signed with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. Followups Beet (1989) and Lived to Tell (1991) won more strong reviews but didn't sell many copies; Figi left during the Lived to Tell tour and was replaced by Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon.
The band made a stab for commercial success with 1993's El Moodio, but the effort was unsuccessful and Eleventh Dream Day was dropped from Atlantic's roster. O'Bannon left after recording 1994's "Ursa Major" and the band ceased to be a full-time entity; Rizzo went back to college to earn a degree in education, while Bean and McCombs concentrated on their other musical projects, Freakwater
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...
and Tortoise
Tortoise (band)
Tortoise is an American post-rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1990.-Music:Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in...
respectively.
Eleventh Dream Day has since recorded new albums every few years, starting with 1997's Eighth. Recent albums have balanced the band's Young-influenced approach with an interest in ambient sound, likely influenced by McCombs's work with Tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
. EDD released Stalled Parade in 2000, playing a handful of shows after the album's release with Mark Greenberg of (the Coctails
Coctails
The Coctails were a Chicago music quartet, which formed while its members were attending the Kansas City Art Institute. The band was active from about 1988 to 1995 The Coctails were a Chicago music quartet, which formed while its members were attending the Kansas City Art Institute. The band was...
) assisting on keyboards and other instruments. Zeroes and Ones was released on April 25, 2006, on Thrill Jockey Records. Riot Now! was released on March 15, 2011, on Thrill Jockey Records.
Albums
- Eleventh Dream Day (1987)
- Prairie School FreakoutPrairie School FreakoutPrairie School Freakout is the second album by Chicago-based band Eleventh Dream Day, originally released on Amoeba Records in 1988. According to the original liner notes, the album "was recorded on a hot pollution alert day during July [1987] in Louisville, Kentucky, and was made at a place...
(1988) - BeetBeet (album)Beet is the second full-length album by Chicago, Illinois rock band Eleventh Dream Day and their first on a major label, Atlantic Records.- Track listing :# "Between Here and There" - 4:45# "Testify" - 4:03...
(1989) - Borscht (1990)
- Lived to Tell (1991)
- El Moodio (1993)
- Ursa Major (1994)
- Eighth (1997)
- Stalled Parade (2000)
- Zeroes and Ones (2006)
- Riot Now! (2011)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock | |||
| 1990 | "Testify" | 26 | Beet |
| 1991 | "Rose of Jericho" | 27 | Lived to Tell |