hi8us plays a brand of rock-and-roll they call Groove Pop. A four-piece band from Boston, their music is focused on the craft of songwriting, blending lush vocal harmonies with bass-driven, soulful grooves, all served up with an unmistakable pop appeal.
While their debut EP and subsequent demo releases give listeners an early taste of the band's potential, the members of hi8us have truly solidified their musical angle, and are currently focused on recording their full-length album set to release in the spring of 2008.
So, in the past year, Jim Chekos (guitar/vocals) became obsessed with the Chili Peppers' "By The Way" album for about four months while two-timing with The Promise Ring’s most recent release, "Wood/Water," which saw heavy rotation during that same period. Max Monaco (drums) recently acquired a new turntable and has been revisiting the extensive funk/boogaloo/jazz LP collection he amassed while scowering the Pioneer Valley flea market scene during his time out in Amherst around the turn of the century. It has been noted that Mike Rakusin (keyboards/sax/vocals) has had the Action Figure Party’s self-titled debut album playing in his iPod when he's not impersonating Christopher Walken. Colin Ovitsky (bass) has been spending hours and hours in the gym. He says nothing gets him more pumped up to push through that final set more than Curtis Mayfield's 1978 release, "Do It All Night," and then pretty much anything by Stevie Wonder after that.
hi8us certainly keeps a busy schedule; luckily, they all share a work ethic that allows it to happen. During their first full national tour in the summer of 2006, the band hit 14 cities in 17 days, playing their way out across the country, through California, then taking a roundabout path back towards the Northeast. Before that, other highlights include a set at the 2003 Berkshire Mountain Music Festival, touring down the East Coast during the Blue Island Tour in 2004, playing two sets during the New Orleans JazzFest in 2005 and opening up for several national acts (Soulive, Steve Kimock Band, The Samples, Ryan Montbleau, and Mofro, to name a few) in Boston and New York.
A second national tour is planned for the summer of 2008, following the release of their forthcoming full-length album.
