The members of Meteorade keep their plates fuller than an early '90s Roseanne Barr at the buffet table.
Since the Madison-based band released their debut album, Shaking Strangers, in January, the group has played 22 shows all around Wisconsin. They've graduated from college, moved to a new apartment, joined friends' bands, started solo projects and dealt with a basement flooding disaster. Each fourth of Meteorade appears human, but their nonstop action-adventure is clearly the result of bodily mechanical augmentation, alien technology or a dangerous combination of voodoo and witchcraft.
Starting about a year ago, Tom Teslik (guitar/vocals in Meteorade) began playing drums and singing backups in fellow Madisonian and multi-instrumentalist Jason Lambeth's ongoing musical project, el-tin fun. The duo recorded a new album, Sunburned Skeptics, this past summer.
Lambeth had already established an impressive back catalogue of diverse singles, EPs and LPs before Teslik joined el-tin fun, mainly using his laptop to record and mix the songs himself. However, Sunburned Skeptics departs slightly from this creative formula in light of the addition of Teslik and the support of Meteorade and their friends. The sound of the new album reflects this change.
""[Jason] knew that Meteorade could rock, and so I think he wanted to rock, so we started to rock,"" Teslik said.
Simply put, Sunburned Skeptics rocks. Weighing in at less than 30 minutes, it's easy to underestimate the places el-tin fun's latest album will take you, but tracks like ""sweet sweedums"" and ""cactus flower and the willameans"" will have you revisiting them more often than that plate of your Aunt Charlene's unbelievable sugar cookies.
To promote Sunburned Skeptics, Lambeth created a music video for ""cactus flower and the willameans,"" and posted it on his blog—eltinfun.com.
""He filmed his cats,"" Teslik said. ""That's all he did. He filmed his cats. And it's awesome.""
Sunburned Skeptics is currently available for digital download, with interested buyers able to name their own price. The album will be officially released and CDs will be purchasable at their concert Saturday, Sept. 25th, at Mickey's Tavern on Williamson Street. El-tin fun will be playing live along with Meteorade and the Fatty Acids.
El-tin fun's new album won't be the only release the show is celebrating. Nathan Schaefer (guitar/vocals in Meteorade) recently finished a solo album under the name Leonard the Comet titled Chenille Throne.
Schaefer said he had been holding onto some of the songs that appear on Chenille Throne for a while. He explained that Leonard the Comet became a good way to get out songs that didn't seem entirely appropriate to perform as Meteorade.
""I felt more free,"" Schaefer said. ""Instead of thinking about a drummer, a bassist, and two guitarists, I just kept piling stuff on.""
Schaefer played almost all of the instruments on Chenille Throne, and even learned to play the drums while making the album. Meteorade bandmates and friends—including Krista Rasmussen (drummer and keyboardist), Ben Knollenberg (bass/guitar/vocals) and Teslik—lent their expertise on several tracks throughout the album, sealing Chenille Throne's diverse collection of sounds.
Chenille Throne keeps you interested, even without your Adderall. The album begins with ""Walter's Guitar,"" a jazzy, rockin' tune driven by ""oom-pa-pa"" acoustic guitars and lamenting violins and steered by Schaefer's elegant narrative. From here, Leonard the Comet first demonstrates how it is possible to simultaneously bring in the funk and bring in the noise with the two-part ""Decisions."" Swanky, wah-wah and synth Cake influences shine through during the first half of ""Decisions,"" and strong-willed distortion and wandering, cycling trumpets bring ""Decisions Pt. 2"" to a triumphant end. Like el-tin fun's Sunburned Skeptics, Chenille Throne is a journey. The album is peppered with instrumental jams, tight breakdowns and accomplished songwriting.
Schaefer has made Chenille Throne available online through Bandcamp, at leonardthecomet.bandcamp.com, for $5. He plans to have CDs available at the show Saturday.
Schaefer said he plans to perform as Leonard the Comet acoustically, but his main focus will shift back to Meteorade.
""We need to make the Megazord again,"" Schaefer said.
Revving up their motor again, Meteorade has added Chenille Throne's ""Unsatisfied"" to their repertoire. They are carefully calculating their next step, obviously in a direction towards world domination, considering their creation of music videos, forming a record label and maybe even a Christmas album ... er, probably not a Christmas album.
Above all, the members of Meteorade recognize the importance of fan support. Schaefer and company want everyone to explore Madison and its music.
""There's more to campus than campus,"" Teslik argues.
Meteorade, el-tin fun and the Fatty Acids will play at Mickey's Tavern on Williamson St. this Saturday, the 25th, at 10 p.m. You must be 21 or older to attend and admission is free.
