Posted on: August 18, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Hard-touring Chicago band oh my god return this fall with a brand new record, “The Night Undoes the Work of the Day”, and a coast-to-coast tour. “The Night…”, which will be released on September 29th on Split Red Records (who also released the band’s 2008 disc “Fools Want Noise”), was recorded throughout 2008 and early 2009 with producer Jim Tullio (John Martyn, Rick Danko, Steve Goodman, Mavis Staples, and others). Oh my god’s vocalist/bassist Billy O’Neill and organist/vocalist Ig (who has played on stages with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, Jeff Healey and Otis Rush in addition to his punk pursuits) have used several drummers and guitarists in the studio and on tour, and they’re happy to be taking along two longtime friends and fantastic musicians on the Fall ’09 tour: Zach Verdoorn (bass/guitar/vocals) and Danny Yost (drums), both from the South Dakota band The Kickback.

Emotions poured productively into the writing and recording of the songs on “The Night Undoes the Work of the Day” as Billy and Ig physically and emotionally recuperated from the band’s devastating van crash while on tour in September 2007. An Ohio woman, who was drunk at noon on a sunny Friday, swerved into the wrong lane and caused a head-on collision with the band’s van at 55 m.p.h. She was killed and oh my god’s injuries required helicopters, ambulances and over six months of physical therapy to repair badly broken legs and hands. The tour was cancelled and the release of the band’s 6th record, “Fools Want Noise”, was delayed a year until 2008. Crafting the songs on “The Night…” brought Billy and Ig joy, but life was quick to temper it as Billy and his wife moved steadily toward separation and Ig’s wife (they’d been together since high school) was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Despite oh my god’s recent hardships, the band is eager for the release of their new record and their upcoming extensive US tour. They’ve been on the road for five-plus years as they’ve written and recorded the “Oh My God EP” (2000) and the albums “Well” (2001), “Action!” (2002), “Interrogations & Confessions” (2003), “You’re Too Straight to Love Me” (2004) and “Fools Want Noise” (2008). OMG had guitar at first, but soon stripped down to the lean, mean, striking sound of distorted organ, overdriven bass guitar, driving drums and harmony-rich vocals, drawing comparisons to everyone from Quasi to Queen. They brought guitars back into the fold on their critically acclaimed 2008 release.

Oh my god will be bringing their rollercoaster of a live show across the US where audiences will understand why “Time Out Chicago” raved, “This hard-touring band has always been so good live that we’ve counted them as favorites….Onstage the trio sells it to the crowd with such energy, joy and power that we’ve often confused it for an actual noise or punk or hard-rock band–odd, considering that there are no guitars. Or at least there weren’t prior to the band’s latest….what adding an ax really does is emancipate the band’s secret weapon, keyboardist Ig, from having to be a guitar stand-in, allowing him to let his fingers get fantastically freaky and glorious goofy. This development makes oh my god’s live sets even more intriguing….”

OMG have received praise for their previous releases in addition to developing a reputation as a dynamic live band. “Alternative Press” gave “Fools Want Noise” “3 ½ out of 4” in the November ’08 issue, describing the band’s sound as “Strangely constructed dirt-pop/blues with all sorts of bizarre synth noise (see the title track) and incredibly soulful vocals. The UK’s Kerrang wrote, “Oh my god’s dynamic prog-pop crams ideas into each song like a deliciously eclectic pick ’n’ mix…an irresistible cocktail of crunchy, swirling keyboards and jackhammer drums…a monumental feast of pile-driving hooks.”

The “Phoenix New Times” proclaimed, “God (would admire) the band’s musical diversity, which includes everything from melodic, radio-friendly rock songs…to robotic electro seethings….And Satan would admire OMG’s hedonistic, possessed live shows….Perhaps most impressive is the infectious pop hooks the band cranks out.”

See oh my god’s often-bizarre, always-entertaining live shows in the following cities:

OH MY GOD FALL ’09 TOUR (ADDITIONAL DATES TO BE CONFIRMED)
Sept. 10 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Bar
Sept 11 – Ames, IA – Maintenance Shop
Sept 12 – Sioux Falls, SD – Nutty’s North
Sept 13 – Rapid City, SD – (TBC)
Sept 15 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
Sept 16 – San Francisco, CA – Hemlock Tavern
Sept 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Viper Room
Sept 19 – Tucson, AZ – Plush
Sept 20 – Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
Sept 21 – Santa Fe, NM – Corazon
Sept 22 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive
Sept 23 – Lincoln, NE – Duffy’s Tavern
Sept 24 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Sept 25 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird (formerly The Bluebird)
Sept 26 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
Oct 1 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Brass Rail
Oct 2 – Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
Oct 3 – Bay City, MI – HHM (Hell’s Half Mile)
Oct 8 – Champaign, IL – Cowboy Monkey
Oct 9 – Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
Oct 10 – Dekalb, IL – The House
Oct 16 – Bowling Green, OH – Howard’s Club H
Oct 17 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
Oct 18 – Kingston, NY – The Basement
Oct 19 – Hamden, CT – The Space
Oct 20 – Philadelphia, PA – (TBC)
Oct 21 – NY, NY – CMJ (TBC)
Oct 22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Howler’s Coyote Cafe
Oct 23 – Covington, KY – Mad Hatter
Oct 24 – Lansing, MI – Mac’s Bar
Oct 29 – Grand Rapids, MI – Founders Brewery Co.
Oct 30 – Traverse City, MI – The Loading Dock

Band website: www.ohmygodmusic.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/ohmygod

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