Indy In-Tune

Show #324: Coolidge

It is good to be back and talking to great local artists again. There are still a few little glitches with the new software (sorry, a couple of the mics are a bit hot on this episode ... it shouldn't detract from great music though), I'll blame the idiot who wrote it. Also, please don't freak out that I'm actually getting these shows out regularly and on time for once. I'm sure I'll lose energy in a couple of months and be back to sporadic releases again, but for now, we seem to be firing on all cylinders down in Studio B. This week I'm thrilled to have some old friends in the studio for the first time talking about their main work, and merely eluding to the half-dozen other projects, cover bands, and guest appearances they make in a typical year. Who can blame them though, these are some of the finest, most well-respected players in the city.

Coolidge began as a side project for guitarist/singer Chris Smail during the heyday of Johnny Socko, which was one of a handful of local acts to achieve national attention back a few years ago, and still serves as a common touchpoint for anyone who was young and vibrant then. That said, this is a noticeably different project, albeit with a similar sound. Their long-awaited new album, "Condition Transmission" arrived a couple of months ago and is everything we needed during that difficult time. It's rare in local music to find artists who are both this good and have played this long together, and the result is an absolute joy to behold when deceptively complex music can sound like it was so effortless to play and still be so much damned fun on the ears. Check them out next weekend at Black Circle Brewing and look for some special releases on their website in the coming months.

Links Referenced in the Show:

• Coolidge can be found here: Web site  | Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
• Their latest album, Condition Transmission, is available here: Bandcamp  |  Spotify
• Josh first appeared on Indy In-Tune fifteen years ago on Show #009 with his band ESW. (Erm ... we were 14 years old at the time.)
• Coolidge began as vocalist/guitarist Chris Smail's side project from the band Johnny Socko, and eventually included several members of that band.
• The album was largely DIY, with portions recorded and mixed by Michael Burrato.
• Their next gig is April 30 at Black Circle Brewing Company for an outdoor, all-ages event.
• Chris and Josh, and a host of other great local players, can be heard on Jeff DeHerdt's Ghost Machine album, which you can learn more about on Show #266.

Darrin Snider is the OCD music nerd responsible for creating Indy In-Tune. By day he's a cloud engineer and business analyst, but he still hopes to someday be an overnight freeform disc jockey married to the local weathergirl who happens to be a former eastern-European supermodel.