Biography | ||
"When we first started putting the album together," recounts Shields, a native New Yorker transplanted to Chicago by way of Dublin, "the sampler we were using broke down. I took it as an omen, pointing to an all-organic sound. The emphasis is on wooden tones, not metal ones ...... kind of orchestral hip-hop with lyrics that want to know what's real." It's as good a description as any for the music of a band that takes its name from an old Chinese fable, chosen according to Shields, "because I liked the space between the words." Yet the dozen original tracks of Chokin' On The Jokes comprise a listening experience that, quite literally, redefines the concept of subjectivity. What you get out of this music depends entirely on where you're at, where you've been, and where you're going. For Shields, the answer to those questions began in Dublin in the early '90's, when he first began his tenure with the acclaimed Irish band Rollerskate Skinny. He recorded a string of incisive and infectious releases with the group before departing in 1994. This left Shields with an excess of creative energy and no particular place to go. "I played some drums for my brother Kevin on My Bloody Valentine's forthcoming record," Shields recounts, "but what I really needed was a change of scenery. I'd been living in Dublin since I was six years old and I really wanted to get back to the States. I happened to meet a girl around this time who lived in Chicago, so that gave me the excuse I was looking for." Chicago did, indeed, prove to be fertile creative grounds for Shields. In short order, he began assembling the components of a new band, recruiting an Alaskan guitar and bass player names Lennie Dietsch, local drummer Zack Kantor, and another expatriate Dubliner, guitarist Paul Dillon. As Lotus Crown, they began an extensive regimen of rehearsing, writing and touring, opening for the likes of Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips throughout the Midwest and releasing their debut EP, Alvar Aalto (in honour of the influential Finnish architect of the same name) on Throwrug Records in late 1995. Incessant word of mouth and an audible buzz from the Chicago underground resulted in a Reprise Records contract in early 1996, and Shields & Co. immediately sealed themselves in the studio, emerging only rarely over the next eight months for the occasional one off gig. Recorded in spurts from February to September of that year, Chokin' On The Jokes was co-produced by Shields and Dave Fridmann, best known for his work with Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. The band was augmented in the studio by such notable side persons as viola player Julie Pomerleau and Dave Trumfio of Chicago's pulsars, appearing for one track on synthesizer. The result according to Shields, "is a vehicle for new concepts, musical and otherwise. We want to create something that speaks large, that reflects a sense of journey, It's an album not so much about rocking the world, but about colouring it. The point is to find some new perspective to open up some new possibilities." With Chockin' On The Jokes featuring such standout tracks as "Swallow The Bee" "Shuttle Weary" "Riddle Me Sober" and "Cynical Clever" Lotus Crown has virtually reinvented the art of the possible.
Biography #2 "Named for an ancient Chinese fable, the orchestral hip-hop band Lotus Crown was the vehicle of singer/guitarist Jimi Shields, a onetime member of the Irish noise-pop outfit Rollerskate Skinny.
After exiting the group's ranks following their 1994 EP Threshold, Shields relocated from Dublin to Chicago, stopping briefly to play drums for his brother Kevin's band My Bloody Valentine. After settling in the U.S., he recruited guitarist Paul Dillon, bassist Lennie Dietsch and drummer Zack Kantor, and Lotus Crown soon hit the road in support of the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev before recording their debut EP Alvar Aalto (titled in tribute to the Finnish architect) in late 1995. After entering the studio with producer Dave Fridmann, the quartet emerged with the full-length Chokin' on the Jokes in the spring of 1997."
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