In a roundabout way, the writing of The Race's new album, Ice Station, began even before The Race had recorded their previous album, If You Can. One of the first songs written at that time was "The Shortest Way to China." "I remember really loving that song," says singer/guitarist Craig Klein, "but no one else in the band at the time felt the same way. It was strange because I wrote all the songs for the band and had never had them reject one like that before." There was a record to make, though, and ultimately, when the writing process concluded for If You Can, the band had twenty songs to choose from, so Klein moved on and left the song behind. "In retrospect, I realize that it wouldn't have fit on there. That was a completely different kind of record than Ice Station."
That album became the end result of a number of years of Klein and drummer Kevin Duneman trying to get back to where their band had started; the first song they ever wrote was called, "The First Pretty One." It was truly a new direction for a band that had gone through a few different incarnations, mostly centered on ominous and somewhat abrasive music. Full of lush and beautiful arrangements, the band had finally returned home and made an album that, in Klein's words, probably should have been called, "The Last Pretty One."
With If You Can completed, The Race finally seemed to be hitting their stride and then promptly went through the stages that many bands go through: 1. Lots of Touring 2. Arguments 3. No Money 4. Trouble at Home 5. Artistic Differences 6. A Sense of Stagnation. The day after George W. Bush was re-elected, The Race suddenly came to a screeching halt.
Klein simply and quietly went back to writing songs, though, and first and foremost finished writing "The Shortest Way to China." Whereas the writing for many of the songs on If You Can began with the piano, Klein found himself returning to the guitar. He would play along to a basic drum machine, turn on his computer and press record. No frills. Then, to write the vocals, Klein sang along to his computer, putting the emphasis on sounds and melodies and not obsessing over words initially. "At first I felt silly doing that until I heard an early demo of Michael Jackson doing 'Billy Jean," Klein remembers. "He was sort of just muttering some words to the tune of 'Billy Jean' over this really cool stripped down bass, guitar and drumbeat."
Not having band mates to turn to for the first time in his musical career, Klein turned to his girlfriend Sara O'Neill Kohl for advice on the new material. Naturally she wanted to know what he was singing about, so he asked her to write down what she thought he was saying. "That's why I credit her with lyric translation," Klein says. "She knows me so well and knew I'd become obsessed with Russia, Siberia in particular. So a lot of the words she wrote down conjured up this image of a kind of dramatic frozen landscape. I really went with that. The next day I went to my job at the Chicago Public Library (Klein works as an Exhibit Preparator in the Special Collections Division) and checked out every book and movie I could find using the search criteria 'Russia - Siberia - History - Travel.' I even incorporated my obsession into work and created an exhibit about the book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and Russia's Gulags." Klein's work and research became completely entangled with the new songs and eventually created the story of Ice Station.
The final album was recorded in the summer and fall of 2006 with Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv at his studio in Chicago. The two worked closely and meticulously, recording and playing almost everything themselves while bringing in friends to help as needed. In the end, they created something truly different than either had previously produced or even expected.
Ice Station is a journey into the unknown. It's goal is to take the listener on an imaginary journey, traveling from "Odessa to China and back again." But most importantly, Ice Station tells of the places you see, the things you do and think, the things you miss and the people you meet. On the album's closing track "Wandering Eye," Klein sings about being "lost in time" and ultimately invites the listener to get caught up in his imagination and travel with him.
Current line up of The Race (as described by Craig Klein): Craig Klein - vocals, guitar: See above. Alfredo Nogueira - guitar, vocals: From New Orleans, LA. (Al)Fredo moved here after the hurricane. He has a band called Endian, recently did a soundtrack for the film Low and Behold, plays with all sorts of people in Chicago and might be the greatest chef in the world of rock and roll. Joshua Eustis - keyboard, vocals: Also from New Orleans. One half of Telefon Tel Aviv, Recording Engineer, Producer of all kind of projects, DJ and tech support. Josh is also a master of impressions. It's uncanny. Jeremy Parker - bass: From Chicago. One of my oldest friends. He showed me my first guitar chord way back when and has played with me for several years now. Kevin Duneman - drums: The pride and joy of Waverly, Iowa. Kevin has played on many records and toured with a lot of bands - L'altra, Telefon Tel Aviv, Slicker, Early Day Miners and Ativin to name a few. Most people know Kevin is a great dancer, but they don't know he was the winner of dance-off at a place called the UNI Dome.
That album became the end result of a number of years of Klein and drummer Kevin Duneman trying to get back to where their band had started; the first song they ever wrote was called, "The First Pretty One." It was truly a new direction for a band that had gone through a few different incarnations, mostly centered on ominous and somewhat abrasive music. Full of lush and beautiful arrangements, the band had finally returned home and made an album that, in Klein's words, probably should have been called, "The Last Pretty One."
With If You Can completed, The Race finally seemed to be hitting their stride and then promptly went through the stages that many bands go through: 1. Lots of Touring 2. Arguments 3. No Money 4. Trouble at Home 5. Artistic Differences 6. A Sense of Stagnation. The day after George W. Bush was re-elected, The Race suddenly came to a screeching halt.
Klein simply and quietly went back to writing songs, though, and first and foremost finished writing "The Shortest Way to China." Whereas the writing for many of the songs on If You Can began with the piano, Klein found himself returning to the guitar. He would play along to a basic drum machine, turn on his computer and press record. No frills. Then, to write the vocals, Klein sang along to his computer, putting the emphasis on sounds and melodies and not obsessing over words initially. "At first I felt silly doing that until I heard an early demo of Michael Jackson doing 'Billy Jean," Klein remembers. "He was sort of just muttering some words to the tune of 'Billy Jean' over this really cool stripped down bass, guitar and drumbeat."
Not having band mates to turn to for the first time in his musical career, Klein turned to his girlfriend Sara O'Neill Kohl for advice on the new material. Naturally she wanted to know what he was singing about, so he asked her to write down what she thought he was saying. "That's why I credit her with lyric translation," Klein says. "She knows me so well and knew I'd become obsessed with Russia, Siberia in particular. So a lot of the words she wrote down conjured up this image of a kind of dramatic frozen landscape. I really went with that. The next day I went to my job at the Chicago Public Library (Klein works as an Exhibit Preparator in the Special Collections Division) and checked out every book and movie I could find using the search criteria 'Russia - Siberia - History - Travel.' I even incorporated my obsession into work and created an exhibit about the book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and Russia's Gulags." Klein's work and research became completely entangled with the new songs and eventually created the story of Ice Station.
The final album was recorded in the summer and fall of 2006 with Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv at his studio in Chicago. The two worked closely and meticulously, recording and playing almost everything themselves while bringing in friends to help as needed. In the end, they created something truly different than either had previously produced or even expected.
Ice Station is a journey into the unknown. It's goal is to take the listener on an imaginary journey, traveling from "Odessa to China and back again." But most importantly, Ice Station tells of the places you see, the things you do and think, the things you miss and the people you meet. On the album's closing track "Wandering Eye," Klein sings about being "lost in time" and ultimately invites the listener to get caught up in his imagination and travel with him.
Current line up of The Race (as described by Craig Klein): Craig Klein - vocals, guitar: See above. Alfredo Nogueira - guitar, vocals: From New Orleans, LA. (Al)Fredo moved here after the hurricane. He has a band called Endian, recently did a soundtrack for the film Low and Behold, plays with all sorts of people in Chicago and might be the greatest chef in the world of rock and roll. Joshua Eustis - keyboard, vocals: Also from New Orleans. One half of Telefon Tel Aviv, Recording Engineer, Producer of all kind of projects, DJ and tech support. Josh is also a master of impressions. It's uncanny. Jeremy Parker - bass: From Chicago. One of my oldest friends. He showed me my first guitar chord way back when and has played with me for several years now. Kevin Duneman - drums: The pride and joy of Waverly, Iowa. Kevin has played on many records and toured with a lot of bands - L'altra, Telefon Tel Aviv, Slicker, Early Day Miners and Ativin to name a few. Most people know Kevin is a great dancer, but they don't know he was the winner of dance-off at a place called the UNI Dome.
