BIO
Long-time midwesterner Thomas Comerford started Kaspar Hauser while living in Iowa City in 1999. Though he’d played guitar, written songs and played in bands since the age of ten, with influences ranging from the Beatles to Will Oldham to the mid-80s SST Records roster, his only releases were hand-held tape recordings handed out to friends. Upon moving to Chicago in 1999, he began to assemble various lineups to do sporadic shows and recordings. Kaspar Hauser was still a part-time activity, however, as Comerford (who teaches film at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) was producing 16mm films and touring the country with them.
While working on the Quixotic/Taxidermy record between 2004-6, Comerford began to devote more time to songwriting, recording and performing music. In making the record, he drew on a number of friends and previous contributors, including Stephen “the kid” Howard (Pinebender, Ambulette), Johnathan Crawford (Head of Femur, William Elliot Whitmore) and Kent Lambert (Roommate), among others. Kris Poulin, a Chicago engineer (Pinback, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Love Story in Blood Red) who has recorded and played with Comerford over the years, recorded and mixed the bulk of the record, which came out in February 2007 on Backwardmasking Records to excellent reviews and airplay on college radio stations.
Shortly after the release of 2007’s Quixotic/Taxidermy, Comerford set about writing songs for a follow up. Using the more bluesy, rock-oriented material on Q/T as a starting point, Comerford crafted a song cycle that explores old mythologies, Americana and some new yarns regarding family and ancestry/progeny. Themes of obligation, rift, isolation and sometimes hope recur across a set of narrators who would be at home in a Flannery O’Connor novel. The recordings feature the rhythm section Comerford played with over a number of shows in 2007: Steve Kiraly (Reagan National Crash Diet) on drums and Matt Seifert (Stanley Ross, Cool Devices) on bass. In order to up the rock ante, he recruited Stephen “the Kid” Howard to play a large portion of the lead guitar. A number of spot guest appearances also highlight the record, including Tatsu Aoki (Miyumi Project) on upright bass, Kent Lambert on keyboards and Laura Watral (Coupleskate) on keyboards, to name a few. Comerford again called on longtime friend and collaborator, Kris Poulin to produce the record. Spacesuit Records will issue The Sons in February 2009. See news for upcoming shows.
For a complete discography with cover art and mp3s -- and to purchase records -- click here.
Booking inquiries: kasparhausermusic [at] yahoo [dot] com
KH on Myspace (features a lot of blogs and photos).
KH on Facebook (not as much content here, but you can become our fan!).
Steve Kiraly's tour diary from summer 2007.
KASPAR HAUSER PLAYERS (1999-present):
Tatsu Aoki (Miyumi Project) - upright bass, 2008.
Michael Annuse - drum kit, percussion, 1999-2000; 2004.
Ben Armstrong (Head of Femur) - keyboards, 2003.
Chris Auman (Soft Targets) - electric guitar, 2006.
Gerard Barreto (Love Raid) - production, 2008.
Thomas Comerford - voice, guitars, banjo, harmonica, keyboards, percussion, songwriting, production, 1999-?.
Bill Brown - voice, 2006.
Jonathan Crawford (Head of Femur; Grey Ghost) - keyboards, melodica, percussion, drum kit, 2003; 2005-6.
Ed Crouse - acoustic guitar, piano, voice, 2009.
Erica Dicker (Roommate, Till By Turning) - violin, 2007.
Dan Duffy (Soft Jolts, Jitney) - voice, 2008.
Jim Duffy (Soft Jolts, Love Story in Blood Red) - drum kit, voice, keyboard, 2007-8.
Jonathan Durlam (Coupleskate, Garden of Rabbits) - bass, voice, guitars, keyboards, percussion, production/engineering, 2003-2006; 2008.
Stephen "The Kid" Howard (Pinebender, Tight Phantomz) - electric guitar, bass guitar, 2004; 2007-8.
Simon Hunt (Consortium) - keyboards, voice, 2007.
Theo Katsaounis (Locks, Joan of Arc) - drum kit, percussion, 2004; 2008.
Steve Kiraly (Reagan National Crash Diet) - drum kit, 2000; 2002; 2005-?.
Kent Lambert (Roommate, Devin Davis) - keyboards, table banjo, voice, 2003-4; 2007-9.
Andy Leach (Devin Davis, Stanley Ross) - pedal steel, 2008.
KJ Mohr - voice, 2004.
Mom - banjo, 2001.
Gregg Ostrom (Emily Hurd, The Issues) - electric guitar, 2009.
Kris Poulin (Lacerati, Love Story in Blood Red) - guitars, engineering/production, 2000-?.
Stanley Ross - voice, keyboards, 2008-9.
Sterling Ruby (Deerheart) - drum kit, 2001-2.
Paul Sargent (Enola Grey) - guitars, voice, 2001-2; 2004.
Matt Seifert (Don Barbeau, Stanley Ross) - bass guitar, voice, 2006-?.
Dennis Stacer (Pinebender) - drum kit, 2008.
Seth Vanek (Roommate; Love Raid) - percussion, engineering, 2008.
Laura Watral Graham (Coupleskate) - keyboards, voice, 2007-8.
Mark Wright (Roommate) - Brownie, voice, 2004.
KASPAR HAUSER SHOWS (2000-2008; for current shows, click here; all shows in Chicago unless otherwise noted):
11/1/08 - Quenchers. w/Jeff Harms and Adam Fitz.
9/18/08 - Reggie's Music Joint. w/Lower Depths, Soft Jolts and Geoffrey Koch.
7/25/08 - Homeroom presents @ Elastic Arts Foundation (solo acoustic). w/Jeff Harms.
5/23/08 - Cary's Lounge.
3/22/08 - Terminal Bar, Minneapolis. w/The Slack, They the Down Low and Don Barbeau.
3/21/08 - High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI. w/Retribution Gospel Choir and Will Phalen.
3/20/08 - The Mill, Iowa City. w/Ed Gray, Liberty Leg and Magnificent Bastard.
2/23/08 - Horseshoe. w/Sleeper Car, Dirty Green and Matt Stevens. Johnny Cash Birthday Bash.
12/28/07 - Empty Bottle. w/3rd Annual Alex Chilton Birthday Bash.
12/8/07 - The Empty Bottle and FVNM, SAIC present @ AV-Aerie. w/Tatsu Aoki’s Miyumi Project and Roommate. Plus films curated by Jared Larson!
11/14/07 - Martyrs'. w/All Smiles and Ed Gray.
10/19/07 - SubTerranean. w/Sunday Morning Chameleon with Gringo Star.
9/5/07 - SubTerranean. w/Coupleskate and Belfrie.
8/13/07 - The Hideout. w/The Judy Green and Paul Cary. Benefit for the Dogs at the Lake Shore Animal Shelter.
7/26/07 - South Union Arts. w/Kong Frederick, Stanley Ross and Necking Party. Tour Homecoming Show.
7/24/07 - No Radio Records, Ithaca, NY.
7/23/07 - P.A.’s Lounge, Somerville, MA. w/Canada and Spitzer Space Telescope.
7/22/07 Arlene’s Grocery, New York City. w/Tall Black Girls and Alexcalibur.
7/21/07 - Grog and Tankard, Washington, DC.
7/20/07 - Green Line Cafe, Philadelphia. w/Auxiliary House.
7/19/07 - Pat's in the Flats, Cleveland. w/Derek DePrator, Battery Collection and Mike Christopher.
6/28/07 - Razor and Di Show (acoustic w/Matt Seifert and Jim Duffy). Live Radio Broadcast, WLUW, Chicago, 88.7.
5/30/07 - Martyrs'. w/Buglette, Paid Pilots and Consortium.
5/25/07 - Ronny’s (solo w/Kent Lambert and John Crawford). w/Miracles of God, Shotgun for Royalty, Paul Cary.
4/23/07 - Empty Bottle Presents @ Lakeshore Theater. w/Pink Nasty and The Black.
3/11/07 - SubTerranean. w/OX and Nathan Xander.
3/10/07 - The Picador, Iowa City. w/Ed Gray, Stef Drootin and Belfrie.
2/22/07 - The Hideout. w/Roommate. Quixotic/Taxidermy Record Release Show.
2/17/07 - Airplay. Live Radio Broadcast, WNUR, Evanston, 89.3.
1/26/07 - Pure Hype. Live Radio Broadcast, WHPK, 88.5.
1/24/07 - Gallery Cabaret. w/Stanley Ross.
10/6/06 - Gallery Cabaret (acoustic w/Steve Kiraly). w/Stanley Ross and Love Story in Blood Red.
9/8/06 - Big Horse. w/Pinebender and Coupleskate. Farewell to Carol and Jon party.
7/18/06 - Melinda's Yard (acoustic w/Jon Durlam). w/Bill Brown. Dream Whip 014 release party.
7/11/06 - the Note. w/Pistols at Dawn and the Issues.
6/30/06 - Ice Factory (acoustic w/Jon Durlam). w/Mark Janka.
5/20/06 - Gunther Murphy's. w/Soft Targets and the Clerics.
1/12/06 - Gunther Murphy's. w/Part V and Ed Gray.
10/20/05 - Ice Factory. w/Deb Stratman. The BLVD screening.
8/16/03 - Gabe's, Iowa City. w/Frankenixon, Ed Gray, Larry Seivers and Samb Locke-Warde.
8/8/03 - Bottom Lounge. w/The Love of Everything, A-Set and The Geese.
7/26/03 - Post Time, Delaware, OH. w/Bending and the Southern Diplomats.
7/25/03 - Pat's in the Flats, Cleveland. w/the Confidence Interval, The Joslyns and Derek Deprator.
6/30/03 - Empty Bottle. w/The Audreys and Swansea Mass.
6/19/03 - Gunther Murphy's. w/Famous FM and The Children's Hour.
5/28/03 - Big Horse Lounge. w/Ed Gray, Teen Wolf and The Last Call.
4/18/03 - Gunther Murphy's. w/Melochrome, Nad Navillus and ILYA.
3/27/03 - Champs Rock Room, Burbank, IL. w/Reagan National Crash Diet and Naked Mile.
3/12/03 - Fireside Bowl. w/Fruit Bats and Tallulah.
2/21/03 - Prodigal Son. w/Children's Hour and Brendan Massei.
9/17/02 - Fireside Bowl (solo acoustic). w/David Dondero and Puerto Muerto.
8/28/02 - Abbey Pub. w/Reagan National Crash Diet and Cobra Verde. CUFF Closing Night Party.
4/11/02 - Prodigal Son. w/Jason Frederick, the Children's Hour and Mechanical/Electrical. The Tin Can Gong CD Release Show
1/20/02 - Schuba's (acoustic w/Kris Poulin). w/Cameron McGill, Dick Prall, Chris Gilmartin and Jeff Rufo.
12/6/01 - Quimby's (acoustic w/Kris Poulin). w/Bill Brown and Teen Wolf. Dream Whip 012 release party.
4/30/01 - Empty Bottle. w/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Mandarin and The Thin Man.
8/4/00 - Quimby's (acoustic w/Kris). Thax Douglas book release show.
9/1/00 - Empty Bottle. w/Toe and Waterworks.
6/26/00 - Empty Bottle. Live Debut! w/Pillowmints, Half-Visconte and Minim. |
