Empires is a rock band from Chicago, IL

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. The band consists of Tom Conrad, Sean Van Vleet, Max Steger, and Ryan Luciani. They formed in 2007 and have released one full-length album, two EPs, and one 7" single.

Their second full-length studio album, tentatively entitled Garage Hymns is slated for a 2012 release.

Background

Empires was formed in early 2007 when guitarist Tom Conrad, approached singer Sean Van Vleet about writing music together. The induction of the other band members soon followed. Empires released four demos on their Myspace

Myspace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 in the winter of 2007, and released their album "Howl" for free on their own website in May 2008. It has since racked up over 70,000 downloads worldwide. The band names acts such as Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

, Smashing Pumpkins, and Pixies among their influences.

The band has consistently mentioned having a very DIY ethic when it comes to recording and releasing music. To date, guitarist Max Steger has produced, engineered and mixed all Empires releases. Guitarist Tom Conrad designs the album artwork and many of the band's concert flyers. Drummer Ryan Luciani often films their touring experiences and the band uses much of the footage in music videos. Sean Van Vleet is the sole lyricist.

The band's name, "Empires" was thought of by Tom Conrad and Sean Van Vleet at the same time, albeit on opposite sides of Chicago (Tom was on the 'L' Train

Chicago 'L'

The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...

 at the time, while Sean was at their shared apartment).

Rolling Stone "Choose the Cover" Contest

In 2011, Empires was one of the sixteen bands, winnowed out of thousands nationwide, chosen to participate in the Rolling Stone "Choose the Cover" contest. The band was initially unsure if they wanted to be a part of the contest, but decided to participate in order to gain exposure to a wider audience. Bands moved on through the contest or were eliminated based on fan voting. Empires made it to the Final Four round with other acts Fictionist

Fictionist

Fictionist is a indie pop rock band currently from Provo, Utah, with origins in Salt Lake City, Utah and Sacramento, CA. The band's line-up is Stuart Maxfield , Robbie Connolly , Brandon Kitterman , Jacob Jones , and Aaron Anderson...

, Leila Broussard, and The Sheepdogs

The Sheepdogs

The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, consisting of Ewan Currie on vocals and guitar, Leot Hanson on guitar, Ryan Gullen on bass and Sam Corbett on drums....

before being eliminated. During the contest the band released songs that will appear on the upcoming Garage Hymns, including "The Night is Young" and "Hell's Heroes."

Discography

• HOWL (2008)
• All Night Long Digital Single (2009)
• BANG EP (2010)
• Darko Single (2011) (7" single)
• Garage Hymns (TBA)