Kaspar Hauser profile picture

Kaspar Hauser

I want to be a rider ... just like my father.

About Me

Currenly recording new LP. Here's some info on our last record:

• "... Comerford has crafted a set of gems that should satisfy lovers of rusty punks like the Silver Jews and Uncle Tupelo." -CMJ New Music Monthly, Issue 152
• "Here are a few pop-culture items I've been digging this week ... Kaspar Hauser's Quixotic/Taxidermy, which was spotlighted in this week's podcast." -Whitney Matheson, Pop Candy/USATODAY.com

• "The Chicago based band should be able to capitalize off of their latest album Quixotic/Taxidermy: packed with cool/bluesy Tweedy-like vocals and tracks that pull influences from both the Stones and Kinks." -Nathaniel Gravely, i guess i'm floating

• "Local act Kaspar Hauser has been kicking around for the last seven years, but has kept a low profile, playing sporadic shows, putting out a new record every couple of years. Their latest, the self-issued Quixotic/Taxidermy, is quite nice -- a loose homage to the Stones grafted to workaday Midwestern indie rock. Frontman and band mainstay Thomas Comerford sounds casual; he sings with a little bit of a cool remove. The band is no-frills but sweet, chimey and has a particularly easy way with a bluesy swagger. Fans of Jeff Tweedy's pre-Wilco works would do well to check them out." -Jessica Hopper, This Week in Live Music/Chicago Tribune

• "Comerford ... sings in a nasal tenor that reminds me of Bill Callahan (the artist formerly known as Smog), ripping through shambling, melodic rock tunes with a bored swagger. There's a definite shot of the Rolling Stones here, particularly in the looseness of the arrangements, but Kaspar Hauser doesn't seem particularly concerned with using classic rock ‘n' roll riffery; the guitars sputter and clamber more than they groove. A few ballads embrace a darker, more atmospheric vibe—including a surprisingly good cover of Big Star's “Holocaust,” a tough tune to mess with—but ultimately Comerford's writing and the way he comfortably wears the skin of these warmly familiar songs is what puts the band over. Even when the songs seem like they're about to fall apart, his singing threads them back together." -Peter Margasak, Post No Bills/Chicago Reader

• The Quixotic/Taxidermy compact disc is out now on Backwardmasking Records in a lovely, hand-silkscreened gatefold package featuring drawings by Chicago comics artist Becca Taylor . Use the link to purchase via paypal or credit card for a mere $10 postpaid. ($15 Outside of US.)
BUY THE CD (USA):

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/9/2006
Band Website: kasparhausermusic.net
Band Members: Current lineup:
Thomas Comerford - voice, guitars, harmonica/harp, songwriting, production.
Stephen "the Kid" Howard - electric guitar.
Steve Kiraly - drum kit, percussion.
Matt Seifert - bass, guitar, voice.

With recent guests:
Kris Poulin - production, engineering.
Theo Katsaounis - drum kit, foot taps.
Kent Lambert - backing voices, keyboards, table banjo.
Tatsu Aoki - upright bass.
Laura Watral - keyboards.
Seth Vanek - production, drums, shakers, tambourine, glockenspiel, vibes.
Gerard Barreto - engineering.
Andrew Leach - pedal steel.
Stanley Ross - pianner.
The Armitage Shanks Glee Club - backing voices.

Past/future contributors -- still family: Kent Lambert (Roommate); Jim Duffy (Love Story in Blood Red; Stanley Ross); Laura Watral (Coupleskate; Belfrie); Simon Hunt; Chris Auman; Bill Brown; Johnathan Crawford; Erica Dicker; Jonathan Durlam; KJ Mohr; Theo Katsaounis; Mark Wright; Michael Annuse; Ben Armstrong; Paul Sargent; Sterling Ruby; Mom; Kimba; Henry Francis; Freelance Cowbell Players; and YOU.
Influences: Songwriters: Hank Williams, Jay Farrar, Neil Young, Tim Rutili, Jagger-Richards, Lennon-McCartney, Richard Buckner, Gene Clark, John Fogerty, Chan Marshall, Robert Pollard, Richard Hell and Ray Davies.

Formative: AM Radio Hits (circa 1970-9), Hey Jude LP, Tommy LP, SST Records (1980-91).

Other guiding lights: Nuggets, Harry Smith (& his Anthology of American Folk Music), Link Wray, Roky Erickson, Robert Quine, Beatles, Iggy, Ziggy, T. Rex, Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, Eno, Wire, Pere Ubu, Television, Pavement, Sebadoh, Alex Chilton, Jojo, Syd Barrett (& The Pink Floyd), Howlin' Wolf, John Fahey, Muddy Waters, Ed Gray, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Tim Hardin, Neil Young (& Crazy Horse), Petty, Dylan, Stones, Ozzie/Sabbath, Led Zep, Califone, Red Red Meat, Otis Redding, Van Morrison (TB Sheets through Veedon Fleece), the Who, Hot Snakes, Thin Lizzy, the Clash, Mott the Hoople, the Carter Family and the Replacements.

Also: Kaspar Hausers (& feral children), J.D. Salinger, Chris Ware, Lester Bangs and Flannery O'Connor.
Sounds Like: People have said: "Smog"; "Sparklehorse"; "Silver Jews"; "Rolling Stones"; "Jay Farrar"; "Neil Young/Crazy Horse"; "Jeff Tweedy"; "Bright Eyes"; "Richard Buckner"; "Lou Reed"; "Sebadoh"; "Meat Puppets"; "J. Mascis"; ... others.
Record Label: Many and none
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

The blog love, continued + Obama + Did we mention the free show?

" "20. Kaspar Hauser - 'King Pop' I was right about to set my latest issue of CMJ on fire until this mesmerizing indie rock gem wormed its way out of my speakers. Congrats, K.H., you guys singlehanded...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Tue, 06 May 2008 07:21:00 PST

New Song Up + Midwest Jaunt

Hi Myspace Friends,We’ve put up a song we finished up a few months’ ago. You can preview it on our player AND then download it for free from the Kaspar Hauser webpage. To download click he...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:30:00 PST

Tamms Year Ten Campaign

TC is doing a bit of work for this urgent and worthy cause -- mostly organizing and publicizing events. "Year Ten" is a campaign to publicize and protest the conditions at Tamms C-MAX prison in Illino...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:53:00 PST

2007, The Year of the Taxidermied Animal

This past year, KH put out a record that took awhile to make and then proceeded to play a lot of shows. For those of you that listened, came to shows, shared the stage with us, fed us, offered us a fl...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:27:00 PST

The Late Great Ed Gray

Ed Gray played a show in Chicago last night with us and Jim Fairchild (aka, All Smiles). I've now seen Ed perform, usually via playing shows with him, a number of times in the last 3-4 years. The guy ...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:41:00 PST

More Blog Love, too ...

"The latest from the group, this year's pretty much stellar all around Quixotic/Taxidermy, finds Comerford crafting swagger-filled vignettes and empty motel room crooning ballads ... This is certainly...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:09:00 PST

More blog love ("King Pop")

" "An off kilter voice wearily sings of church bells and gives the advice 'Reinvent yourself, the records didn't sell!' After pushing aside an image of Kurt Cobain saying they're 'corporate rock whore...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:41:00 PST

In the studio + SubT show

Hi all,We spent most of the Labor Day weekend working on 2 songs with our pal, Kris Poulin, in his new digs (as yet un-named). "New Eyes" will finally make its debut as a recorded piece of music (it's...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 08:03:00 PST

Chicago Tribune on Q/T + Tour Diary

" "Local act Kaspar Hauser has been kicking around for the last seven years, but has kept a low profile, playing sporadic shows, putting out a new record every couple of years. Their latest, the self-...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 06:44:00 PST

Acoustic Tracks + Pat's!

KH, in this case TC with Matt Seifert on guitar and special guest Jim Duffy on drum/cymbal, played on a the air at WLUW a few weeks ago. One of those songs we performed, "Western," is now streaming on...
Posted by Kaspar Hauser on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:35:00 PST