Personnel: James Kalabokis, guitar, vocals; Mel Anderson, bass, vocals;
Jim Casey, drums, vocals.
Formed: The three began playing together more than 10 years ago while in high school in the Wrigleyville area. Various incarnations have included the Beatles-tribute Strawberry Fields, the Stingrays and the Rebels. The trio became the Basiks in 1989.
Sound: ”It`s been described as a cross between R.E.M. and the Byrds with a Beatles influence-kind of a folk-rock sound with a little bit of pop with the harmonies,” Kalabokis says.
Influences: Kalabokis cites the Beatles, the Byrds, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and R.E.M.
Songwriting: Kalabokis says he writes the bulk of the songs, but all three band members are involved. ”Most of the tunes are written either by one of us or two of us; as of yet there`s only one that was written by all three,” he says.
Onstage cover versions: The Beatles` ”Dear Prudence,” R.E.M.`s ”Fall on Me” and the Byrds` ”I`ll Feel a Whole Lot Better.”
Memorable concert experience: ”Somehow we got booked for a `Roaring
`20s` gig, but we didn`t know it was a `Roaring `20s` gig, and the average age of the audience was about 74 1/2,” Kalabokis says. ”At first we thought that we would accommodate them, so we pulled out some old Elvis tunes, but we were booed, and they threw linen at us, so we played `Purple Haze` and that shut them up. They kind of calmed down after that.”
Namesake: The band needed a new name after finding out another band was called the Stingrays. ”We just tried to sum up in a word our type of music and what we believe in,” Kalabokis says, adding that they spelled ”Basic”
with a ”k” to follow a long line of classic misspelled names (the Byrds, the Beatles, the Monkees).
Recordings: The band recorded its debut, four-song cassette, ”A World Away,” last December at Acme Studios. The Basiks plan to return to the studio in December to record a four-song CD for a January release.
Philosophy: ”We`re really just trying to get back to the basics of rock
`n` roll with a couple guitars and a drum kit, decent melodies and harmonies,” Kalabokis says. ”There seems to be much more substance to the older stuff.”
Goals: ”We`d just like to see if we can land a record deal and-I don`t know-play Shea Stadium or something,” Kalabokis says.
Next appearances: Wednesday at Cabaret Metro, Oct. 3 at Elbo Room.
