About Canasta

Jeremy Beckford – guitar / vocals (about)
Josh Lava – drums / vocals (about)
Elizabeth Lindau – vocals / violin (about)
Kyle Mann – piano / vocals (about)
Matt Priest – vocals / bass / trombone / percussion (about)
Ian Wilson – keyboard / vocals (about)

Living amongst the immense musical talent in a city like Chicago is eternally inspiring. But standing apart from the crowd can be a never‐ending challenge. So Canasta came together in early 2002 when six friends joined forces and augmented the standard rock set‐up with piano, violin, keyboard and trombone, in an effort to craft a more ambitious strain of majestic, ultra‐melodic, orchestral pop. Canasta songs are nothing if not eclectic; you’ll hear everything from bouncy, horn‐driven ditties to epic, sweeping anthems and slow, country‐tinged narratives to instrumental post‐rock. But what’s constant is an emphasis on sophisticated songwriting, dramatic dynamics and meticulous orchestration that has won them comparisons to Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Delgados, The Sea and Cake, Wilco and Yo La Tengo.

Canasta has performed for sizeable audiences all over the country, including stops at the SXSW Festival (Austin), CMJ Music Marathon (NYC) and CMJ Rock Hall Fest (Cleveland). In their hometown, they have headlined the legendary Metro, held the esteemed “Practice Space” residency at Schubas, played sold-out gigs at Double Door, Subterranean and Schubas, and just recently, performed at the amazing Riviera Theater, along with Wilco, Macy Gray and Barack Obama, at a fundraiser for the senator. They’ve shared stages with artists such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kaiser Chiefs, Sloan, Devotchka, Voxtrot, Grizzly Bear, Menomena, The Lemonheads, The Delgados, The Dears, The Posies, Jeremy Enigk, The Clientele, The New Amsterdams, Crooked Fingers, American Music Club, Longwave, Earlimart, Nebula, Imperial Teen, Califone, Edith Frost, Annuals, The Cool Kids, Adam Green, Elf Power, Jill Sobule, Starlight Mints, Aqueduct, Nicolai Dunger, Eleventh Dream Day, The Earlies, Page France and The Kingsbury Manx, among others. They’ve also done a number of charity performances to benefit domestic‐abuse, rape advocacy, sustainable architecture, independant radio, AIDS, and arts organizations.

In late 2003, Canasta released its debut EP, Find the Time, which was mastered by Keith Cleversley (The Flaming Lips) and brought the band to the attention of the critics. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun‐Times called the record “splendid” and singled out their cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model” as “killer” and a writer for Splendid declared he was “hooked from the opening organ chords” and labeled “Slow Down Chicago”, the lead‐off track, as “pure chamber pop bliss.” Meanwhile, the album’s success led Illinois Entertainer to name them one of “Chicago’s Best Unsigned Artists” and earned them airplay on major radio stations WXRT, WKQX (Q101) and WBEZ (Public Radio), plus countless college frequencies and webcasts nationwide. A few songs even found their way into TV and radio commercials, which led to licensing representation by Minty Fresh Records. Once the album had sold out, anticipation was high for something more.

Fast forward to 2005, when Canasta released its first full‐length album, We Were Set Up. The record’s thirteen tracks were recorded with Ted Cho (Poi Dog Pondering) at North Branch Studio, home to Smog and Jeff Tweedy, and mastered by Mike Hagler (The New Pornographers). The album featured guest appearances from vocalist Edith Frost, upright bassist Barry Phipps (The Coctails), trumpeter Max Crawford (Archer Prewitt), pedal‐steel guitarist Steve Dorocke (Freakwater) and cellist Alison Chesley (ex‐Verbow). And while some of the newer material was louder and more aggressive than that which they’ve created in the past, other songs were moodier and more atmospheric, while others were sparser and more emotional. However, their knack for turning it all into pop music remained intact.

The record moved UR Magazine to label Canasta “one of the most vibrant pop sounds to emerge from Chicago in years” and the Chicago Reader’s Monica Kendrick to call them “one of Chicago’s best pop bands” and proclaim “We Were Set Up doesn’t disappoint.” Meanwhile, The Onion wrote that it “brims with bright, lush melodies, a suitably askew mix of instruments and smartly constructed songs that balance traditional pop and indie‐minded subversiveness.” The press has been terrific throughout their tour as well: Real Detroit Weekly exclaimed, “Out of nowhere, comes a band from Chicago that sounds ready for primetime right out of the box”, while OnMilwaukee.com described the record as “incredibly tight and consistent throughout 13 tracks of pop goodness.” Flavorpill called the band “pop phenoms”, citing “the delicacy of Belle & Sebastian and the lush, upbeat melodies of the Shins”, and PopMatters wrote that “each song is a barrage of hooks and nuanced performances… their value to the pop music scene continues to grow.” Some of Canasta’s biggest exposure would soon follow, as its music was chosen to accompany the trailer for the Matthew Broderick / Alan Alda film Diminished Capacity, as well as a soon-to-be-released video for Barack Obama’s online presidential campaign. The self‐released album has already sold out once and is currently in its second pressing.

In 2008, while preparing demos for their sophomore follow-up, Canasta invited friends of theirs to remix the songs from their full-length, resulting in We Were Mixed Up. All in all, it's nearly 100 minutes of music, re-imagined by some of the most talented folks Chicago has to offer, including members of OFFICE, The Hood Internet, Brighton MA, Allá, The Fake Fictions, Roommate and others. As a "thank you" to their fans, this digital-only release can be downloaded completely free of charge from the audio page of this site!

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