|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The American Professionals
take character flaws, guilt, and a dash of hope and
spread them out like sweet marmalade on a piece of crunchy, pop toast. You get
all your RDA recommended allotment of procrastination, self-indulgence and low
self esteem and still get to savor the joys of catchy melodies, grinding
guitars, and fluffy billows of lush harmony.
"Hey, if you're going to be
condemned to a life of committing sins of omission, at least you can do it from
your Barcalounger..."
Behind the suspiciously vague band name The
American Professionals, lurks songwriter/musician/producer Chuck Lindo. Having
spent a number of years in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Midwest as bass
player, guitar player, and backing singer for numerous bands, Chuck finally
chose to loosen the strings on his little bag of tunes he'd been filling up. In
January 2003, it was time to step out and take his turn in the spotlight for a
while and give it a go as a bandleader and front man. He brought on longtime
friend and studio whiz Patrick Conway to begin work on recordings at Hyde Street
Studios in San Francisco.
The result of their efforts, the
ever-so-slightly cynically titled "Faking It", was completed in December of '03
and is due to be released on San Francisco indie label Ethic Recordings in
August '04.
Aside from Gregg Anderson's drumming, Chuck played all the
instruments himself and performed all the lead and backing vocals. "In every
recording I've ever done, I always tried to get as many over-the -top backing
vocals in there as humanly possible. But when it's not my record, I eventually
have to back down and shut up." says Lindo, " I guess there was nobody there to
say 'no' this time..."
"Faking It" is a unapologetically diverse
collection of songs, ranging from the initial full-bore octave guitar heroics of
the opening track "Fade It On", to the stark single guitar/vocal during the
verses in "Big Surprise". " I didn't set out so much to make the most eclectic
record possible, but I also didn't shy away from any songs because they didn't
fit into a particular format", says Chuck. Conway assured him that no matter
what they committed to tape, it would all be tied together by the common thread
of Chuck's vocals. "It worked, as far as I can tell", Chuck reports. " I got a
little worried there for a minute. I didn't want to come off like the ADD poster
boy that most of my friends think I am. But since I'd come up with most of these
songs over a long period of time, it was inevitable that there'd be some range
of personality to them."
When not layering too many of himself on his own
material, Chuck Lindo serves as guitar player and backing singer for indie rock
favorites Actionslacks. "I get the best of everything with these two situations"
he states. "In the 'Slacks I get to be a band member and collaborator. I don't
have to totally define the sound or direction of the band, but rather be just
another part of what makes it tick". However, with the American Professionals he
says, "It's all about my twisted little idea of what's good."
|
 |
|
|
|
