Olson’s Observations

As some of you may know I have been on vacation for the past week or so in beautiful Puerto Rico hence the lack of posting (see the pics here). I am now back and ready to go. To start off I’ll hit you with a music review and then I’ll head over to a movie review and a book review and by then I will (hopefully) have something of substance to write about.

Prior to leaving for vacation I went out to see my friend John’s friends band (whew - that’s a mouthful) at Elbo Room in Chicago (conveniently located one block from my apartment). The band is called Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts and they played a great set (for those who are keeping track Will is John’s friend). Up after Will and the Addicts was Sunday Morning Chameleon (SMC for short). I was intrigued by the name and because Will mentioned to John and I that SMC was a killer band.

Well, my friends, Will was bang on. SMC is a great band. They were probably the tightest local unsigned band I have seen in years. I went ahead and purchased their CD the very next day and it’s equally as good as the live show (on second thought, can you ever really beat live?).

On the disc they do have a very Coldplay-like sound but they have recently added a second guitarist (present at the live show but not on the disc) who has made the overall sound SMC’s very own with only a dash of Coldplay. It’s amazing what one additional person can do.

I am hoping these guys get a new disc together with the additional guitarist soon. If they do and get it out there they should be singed to a deal ASAP (calling all A&R reps). Check out their tunes on MySpace when you get a chance and pick up the disc. SMC is definitely one of Chicago’s finest bands and will hopefully be known around the country and the world soon.