Although June Cleaver and the Steak Knives began as a collaboration centered around film and video experimentation, Christopher and Patrick Bradley, brothers from Syracuse, NY, soon decided to focus their energy on the recording arts. Using a broad array of instrumentation, ranging from traditional rock (guitar, bass, drums) to the more exotic (sitar, zither, accordian) and electronic, June Cleaver connects innovation, concept, and the reconstruction of many popular modes of musical expression. The duo has recorded 5 CD's, each uniquely different from one another. The music is unusual, yet infectious. Employing a highly innovative approach to composition and production, the music is often created within a conceptual framework. The last two CD's have been collections of unrelated songs, experimenting within more traditional popular musical structures.
The band spent a few years on the independent label, Esoteric Music Group, before its demise in 2000. The company's founder, Tom Timony, ran Ralph Records in the 1980's working with with underground favorites like The Residents and Yellow, and he found similar potential in June Cleaver. J.C. & the S.K.'s have recorded soundtracks for film and video works, radio and TV commercials, radio dramas, and even soundscape material for an interactive exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum. The band has slowly perfected the creation of its own unique brand of uncategorizable rock music.
June Cleaver & The Steak Knives was voted "Best Local Band 2003" by Hudson Valley Magazine after the release of their last CD, Cleavage. An organization of dancers and choreographers in Chicago called the GI Alliance performed a dance piece to music from that album. It was also the soundtrack for world-renowned kayaker, Deb Okeefe's promotional DVD; as well as Chicago Video Artist, Marcy Sperry's visual take on "What Will Happen To You?". A live improvisational ensemble entitled The June Cleaver ProJeCt, which included an electric horn section, performed around New York's Hudson Valley in 2005 and 2006. It has been JC & The SK's alter-ego much the same way King Crimson has its ProjeKCts.
The group expects their latest release, Auricular Peculiar, to take June Cleaver to a much higher level of musical success. Recorded between 2002 and 2004 in Chicago, IL and Accord, NY this CD is the most focused and accomplished June Cleaver and the Steak Knives release to date. Trance-inducing electronica mixes with dark and twisted rock and roll to create surreal soundscapes and intricate melodies. Experimental madness cackles as heavy dance grooves drive. Upbeat, melancholy, ethereal, paranoid, heavy, poppy, funky, jazzy, it's music you can dance to. Psychedelic surf rock meets the great experiment we call music - all with the delusional twists and turns of the sonic schizophrenia that defines June Cleaver & The Steak Knives.
In the last few years, the brothers have been heavily involved in the creation of animated pieces. Pat has become a professional animator for Calabash Studios in Chicago. Chris works on soundtracks for films and exhibits. In 2006 and 2007, the brothers worked on award winning animated films for permanent and traveling exhibits at The Field Museum in Chicago, including Evolving Planet, Ancient Americas, Gregor Mendel, and George Washington Carver. The Brothers Bradley recently completed their own 10 minute masterpiece, UNDO, the story of a man who discovers that he can undo various unpleasant elements of his life. On the audio side of things, a brand new June Cleaver album is in the works. Look for audio sneak peaks in the near future.
.. CDBABY LINK for JUNE CLEAVER & THE STEAK KNIVES: Auricular Peculiar --
.. CDBABY LINK for JUNE CLEAVER & THE STEAK KNIVES: June Cleaver and The Steak Knives --
.. CDBABY LINK for JUNE CLEAVER & THE STEAK KNIVES: Cleavage --
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