Eleventh Dream Day (EDD) is an American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
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, Beveridge Bean was practicing with the band she was in with Tara Key and Tim Harris: the Zoo Directors. After moving to Chicago, Bean and Rizzo joined with guitarist Baird Figi and bassist
Doug McCombs
Douglas McCombs is an American musician who 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. In 1997, he formed Pullma ...
; Bean soon switched over to drums. Their first self-titled
EP in 1987 introduced the hallmarks of EDD's sound:
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
-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 then signed with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. Follow-ups ''Beet'' (1989) and ''
Lived to Tell'' (1991) won more strong reviews but did not 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 EDD was dropped from Atlantic's roster.
O'Bannon left after recording 1994's "Ursa Major" (supposedly EDD's collective personal favorite, on
Atavistic Records) 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 is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic diss ...
and
Tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
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
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
. EDD released ''Stalled Parade'' in 2000, playing a handful of shows after the album's release with Mark Greenberg of (
The Coctails) assisting on keyboards and other instruments. ''Zeroes and Ones'' was released on April 25, 2006, on
Thrill Jockey Records
Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago.
History
Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...
. ''Riot Now!'' was released on March 15, 2011, on Thrill Jockey Records.
''New Moodio'', a forgotten alternate version of ''El Moodio'' recorded in 1991 with
Brad Wood at Idful Studios, was released for the first time two decades after the fact by
Comedy Minus One in May 2013.
With the album "Works for Tomorrow" (2015), the band returned to a dual guitar lineup with the addition of Jim Elkington. The now five piece (including Mark Greenberg) band played several shows in 2015 celebrating the record which was well received by critics and fans. A surprise double album, ''Since Grazed'', was released in April 2021.
EDD continued to perform intermittently in Chicago.
[
]
Members
* Rick Rizzo - guitar, vocals (1983-)
* Janet Beveridge Bean - drums, vocals, guitar (1983-)
* Shu Shubat - bass (1983-1985)
* Baird Figi - guitar (1985-1992)
* Doug McCombs - bass (1985-)
* Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon - guitar (1992-1994)
* Mark Greenberg - keyboards, drums (2000-)
* Jim Elkington - guitar, keyboards (2012-)
Timeline
Albums
*''Eleventh Dream Day'' (
Amoeba Records, 1987)
*''
Prairie School Freakout'' (Amoeba Records, 1988)
*''
Beet'' (
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, 1989)
*''Borscht'' (Atlantic Records, 1990) - promo
*''
Lived to Tell'' (Atlantic Records, 1991)
*''El Moodio'' (Atlantic Records, 1993)
*''Ursa Major'' (
Atavistic Records/
City Slang Records
City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany.
History
The label was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips' '' In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine S ...
,1994)
*''Eighth'' (City Slang Records, 1997)
*''Stalled Parade'' (
Thrill Jockey Records
Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago.
History
Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...
, 2000)
*''Zeroes and Ones'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2006)
*''Riot Now!'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2011)
*''New Moodio'' (
Comedy Minus One, 2013)
*''Works for Tomorrow'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2015)
*''Since Grazed'' (Comedy Minus One, 2021)
[
]
Singles
Compilation appearances
*''Heat From The Wind Chill Factory'' (Dead Bunny) (1985) - "The Arsonist"
References
External links
*
Thrill Jockey records
Facebook page
AllMusic Guide
{{Authority control
Alternative rock groups from Chicago
Thrill Jockey artists
Atavistic Records artists
Atlantic Records artists
City Slang artists