Showoff has been a band since early Spring of 1997. The band formed when I (Dan), a big fan of Chris' band at the time, ran into Chris at a show at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago. The band playing the show was actually Chris' old band, minus Chris. This seemed slightly strange to me, as I thought Chris was the most fun to watch on stage, and obviously I thought he wrote great music. I confronted Chris about coming out to the Chicago suburbs (Villa Park), and playing some music. Once we started singing some old songs he had written, he heard that I had worked out harmony parts for all of his songs. It seemed clear to both of us that we had to collaborate musically.
We recruited some friends that we both felt comfortable with for the band. Graham, and Dave entered the picture here. Really, we had no clue what Showoff would end up sounding like. Our first practices were under the notion that we were trying to achieve a 50's sound, and that's it. We soon realized that this would be selling ourselves a bit short, and just played the songs as they came out. We were in the studio by the end of that month. Things were moving fast, but we were comfortable. We had all done our time in bands before Showoff, and knew a lot about the "getting started" process. We began selling the demo album that we recorded at our shows, and grew our Chicago fanbase considerably within the next 6 months.
When local punk show promoter Dave Eves offered us one lucky show with Goldfinger at the Fireside, things really escalated. The show went well, and we did the usual "slipping of the demo" to John Feldmann, Goldfinger's singer. We left the next day on our own for a tour that took us to Tennessee and back. I suppose the songs on the demo tape struck a chord with John, because he called us two days after the Fireside show. He wanted to bring us out on tour.
After touring with Goldfinger for a few weeks, we really got close with the band. John began producing rough demos from the back of their tour bus. Once we laid down some of the songs, it was clear to John that we could take things a step further. The day the tour ended, we went out to CA with him. We then went into a real recording studio, with the intent of shopping what we came out with to the record labels. It didn't take long until the recordings were complete, and we found ourselves with a list of major labels that were interested in releasing our music.
We soon decided to call Maverick Records home, under the A&R of Guy Oseary. We actually included the demos that we had recorded with John in the first self-titled Maverick album, and added about 8 more songs tracked after signing the Maverick deal. The album was released in July, of 1999.
The first single from that album, "Falling Star" got a moderate amount of airplay in all of the big US cities, and warranted plenty of touring for the next two years. While we were on the road, Chris gave his guitar to Magoo. Magoo, who had always toured with us as our guitar tech, became our touring guitar player, and Chris just sang from then on. This helped us concentrate more on maintaining a high energy live show.
There came a time somewhere along the line that we knew we had to get more involved in what we were doing. To take a more active role in our touring, creative license, and fan appreciation. When Graham left the band to go back to college; Chris, Dave, Magoo and I knew we had to find someone who was ready to take the band to the next level.
Kyle was from Buffalo, NY, and played in a band called Now She's Gone that Showoff had played some shows with in 2000. We all liked Kyle from the beginning. With an amazing stage presence, and a drive like no one else I've ever met, I knew we had to contact him. He got the news on New Year's eve of 2000, and was living with us in Chicago by January 5th. Encouraged by the newfound vitality that Kyle brought to the band, we headed out to LA to record our second Maverick release. We worked with a new Producer this time, our choice. In the midst of the recording process, Dave decided to leave the band.
Dave had married in 1998, and simply couldn't neglect his marriage any longer. Sure, people change, and maybe other aspects of the band life influenced his decision to leave. We believe, however, that he needed to get home and be a husband. We love him and respect his decision. This sent us out once again, now Kyle, Chris, Magoo and I; this time, to find a bass player. When Kyle mentioned Nick Piljay, from his home town of Buffalo, he sounded to good to be true.
He was a long time friend of Kyle's, and possessed the same qualities in his drive and ambition for music. When we brought Nick out to LA, we got along unbelievably well. The music was sounding great, and he was happy to make Showoff his full-time commitment. He's now on tour with us, and things are going great.
This brings us to the present... While Showoff is no longer an active band, many great memories can be drawn from our time spent together. Showoff R.I.P. (1997-2002).
~Dan from Showoff
Source: http://www.showoffmusic.com/
