Bill MacKay and Darts & Arrows

Darts & Arrows Players and selected groups & others in orbitBill MacKay, guitar Bud Melvin, Colorlist, Sounds of Now, Broken ThingsCharles Rumback, drums Leafbird, Via Tania, Horse’s Ha, Colorlist, L’altra, the LeavesMatthew Golombisky, bass Tomorrow Music Orchestra, Zing! Ears & Eyes FestivalBen Boye, keyboards Health & Beauty, David Boykin ExpanseGreg Ward, guests on clarinet Occidental Bros. Dance Band, Blink, Rebel Souls on Black LeavesSongsAs I Knew Her | Behind the summer | Black LeavesRoad to the Seaway |Do not Follow | Whispers |New SongHistoryDarts & Arrows emerged as an experimental outfit, melding the avant-garde with folkloric sensibilities. One listener likened it to a ‘carnival of strings’ for its mixing of folk and dark autumnal-themed improvisations, both of which lent themselves to the early lineup of acoustic guitar, double bass, cello, violin and drums.The band’s first show took place in 2006 in a church/performance space called South Union Arts, and featured Bill MacKay, guitar. Charles Rumback, drums. Lili Wosko, cello & Martha Stahl, voice. The ethereal (the very reverberant church did most of the work) half-hour long performance proved to be an inspiring seed. The current lineup is MacKay, Rumback, Boye and Kyle Hernandez on bass.Quote[Darts & Arrows is a] “Genre-busting Chicago quartet that takes folk/pop instrumentals and turns them into improvised explorations. Instrumental pop music - if such a thing can exist - is rare to hear played live, and played well, rarer still, but MacKay’s compositions are much more nuanced than your typical jam band.” —WNUR 89.3 FMVarious VenuesThe Skylark, the Charleston, South Union Arts, the Whistler, Hungry Brain, Velvet Lounge, WNUR Studio session, Strobe Recording (Concert Series), Music Garage, etc.Some inspirations & sources;The Beatles, Sandy Bull, Laura Nyro, Nick Drake, John Coltrane, Jane’s Addiction, The Clash, Victor Jara, Brigitte Fontaine, Jacques Brel, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Albert King, Leadbelly, Opal/Mazzy Star, The Who, Os Mutantes, Bela Bartok, The Doors, Sylvia Plath, Roy Buchanan, Alice Coltrane, Velvet Underground, Georges Bolet, Jorma Kaukonen, My Bloody Valentine, Pentangle, Gram Parsons, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Jack Kerouac, Thomas Wolfe. Joseph Amiel. All Songs/MacKay Copyright 2010 Published by Son of Fire Recordings/ASCAP www.billmackay.com [www.myspace.com/billmackay]www.billmackay.bandcamp.com