Member Since: 11/9/2005
Band Website: algernonmusic.com
Band Members: Dave Miller - Guitar, Nick Fryer - Guitar, Katie Wiegman - Vibraphone, Cory Healey - Drums, Dr. Pants - Bass
Past members/contributors: Tim Venchus - Guitar, Darren Garvey - Vibraphone/Drums, Jamie Gallagher - Drums, Jess Birch - Drums, Hyosub "Fast Eddie" Kim - Bass
Influences: You
Sounds Like: Your head exploding in the best possible acoustic setting.
"Algernon combines gorgeous melodies with psychedelic effects and rock beats."
--Scott Morrow, Chicago Sun Times, June 26, 2008
"The tunes, all written by twentysomething guitar wünderkind Dave Miller, flutter and bob in surprising patterns...Miller plays with the refined restraint of someone twice his age, and he’s lucky to have such committed musicians on hand: Take Katie Wiegman, on vibraphone and glockenspiel, who supplies a deft and exacting touch that gives the group a magical air...File it under 'keeper'."
--Matthew Lurie, Time Out, March 2008
"There's a lot of good stuff going on here with the spacey 'Beneath The Ailing Flesh', a particular highlight, with some intricate arrangements and moments of near atonality.
It's an adventurous album from a young band who keep you listening from start to finish."
--Stuart A. Hamiltion, Zeitgeist, April 2008
"Together, they create sounds that can sound frightful, eerie, and overly exciting at the same time, at times sounding more like a classical string quartet raised on punk than an average rock band who only know about 4 on the floor."
--The Run Off Groove, March 2008
"...an all instrumental journey through feedback, blink-and-you-miss-them Beatles melodies, Zappa-inspired vibes, heavy metal outbursts and left field Syd Barrett weirdness. It's that good."
"Guitar player Dave Miller is the resident musical genius of this band, the kind of composer that music critics will refer to in the not too distant future trying to pigeonhole other maverick six string wizards."
--Hans Werksman, Here Comes the Flood, February 2008
"Talented guitarist Dave Miller is making himself known as an innovative player in the scene..."
--Brad Walseth, Jazz Chicago, February 2008
"...tautly composed lines and detailed, surprisingly delicate arrangements butt up against raucous free improvisation and splashy electronics."
"Algernon’s forthcoming second album have a definite post-rock feel, but Miller pushes them into jazzier territory—all the while avoiding anything that sounds like a traditional jazz solo."
--Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader, 12/6/07
"Alt-rock genius...Algernon is a rock band whose guitar-and-vibraphone plot twists relish in static climaxes and bass that quivers for days. It’s a layered, space-age soundtrack for postmodern groove...A pretty damn good rock show."
--Lisa Balde, Beep Magazine, 2/7/07
"...underrated post rock outfit..."
--Flavorpill, issue 125
"Like fellow guitarists Jeff Parker and Fareed Haque, Dave Miller, 24, thinks beyond a single genre...bellowing his way out of the local fringe and into the big time."
--Mark Loehrke, Chicago Magazine, Nov. 2006
"...guitarist Dave Miller has been burning this past year
in live performances, chicken-scratching like Ernest
Ranglin and wailing like Pat Metheny."
--Time Out Magazine, May 2006
"Watch out for Dave Miller. This guy's got ears,
time, chops, tone, and swing--an intelligent,
thoughtful musician with a truly open
mind. Watch out for Dave Miller..."
--Fareed Haque (Garaj Mahal, Fareed Haque Group, Sting, Joe Zawinul, Joe Henderson)
"Very heavy and musical compositions."
--Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Isotope 217, Chicago Underground, Joshua Redman)
Record Label: ears&eyes, Ball of Knowledge
Type of Label: Indie