An indie spirit, not indie rock, sets Canasta apart

Canasta could be classified as piano pop, violin rock, chamber music, or somewhere between horn-drenched jazz and twang-glazed country. But all these boundary-pushing players ask is that listeners don’t confine their experimental blend to the ‘indie rock’ box. “Our music is so planned out, it might as well be on sheet music,” says Matt Priest, who splits duties between vocals, bass and trombone. “We’re like a symphonic band in the fact that we interweave so many instruments very specifically.”

Since their debut, 2003’s self-released EP Find the Time, Canasta’s self-styled blend has been gaining favor with local critics and generating enough momentum to headline Metro, sell out Double Door and Schubas, plus appear at last fall’s CMJ (College Music Journal) Music Marathon in New York.

With all that activity, it’s been tricky for the sextet to find recording time for a full-length debut — though the pressure’s on now that Find the Time is officially out of print. “When we’re running around, we don’t get a ton of time to instill a lot of creative energy,” Priest says. While the old EP is still available for free download at the band’s web site (www.canastamusic.com) the four men and two women in the group are feverishly working on a follow-up.

Priest promises the group’s current studio time with Ted Cho (Poi Dog Pondering, Palaxy Tracks) will result in a new package by late summer. “There is an incredible interplay between so many different elements and you can tell some of the members were trained in classical music, yet still have a good, intuitive sense about pop,” Cho says.

Yet even with tracking and touring, the band members made time to record a tune for a cause close to their hearts. Chicago compilers Cherry Bomb asked 22 area acts to interpret a religious song in their own style for A Compilation of Catholic Hymns. The release will feature Canasta’s take on ‘Praise to the Lord Almighty,’ with proceeds benefiting S.N.A.P. (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests).

“It’s not a joke and it’s not meant to be cynical,” Priest says. “The goal is to find the beauty in the songs and to raise money and awareness for the people who’ve experienced this type of abuse.”

Members have never shied from helping various outreach organizations. In 2002, Canasta created and contributed to a compilation called FREEZE-TAG to assist Chicago’s Tangerine Arts Group (a non-profit creative coalition) and Rainbow House (an intervention and prevention program for domestic violence).

“I’ve always felt getting to play music for people is a privilege and at times it’s a little self-indulgent to assume people will pay to hear the music you’ve written,” Priest says. “I admit everyone in Canasta is incredibly busy and we don’t have the time to do the charity work that we wish we could, but at least we can do something we love and help people at the same time.”

— Andy Argyrakis, Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2005