I Want Blood & Under the Bright Lights

I thought of many ways in which to kick this blog off but honestly, it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t push Empires to the forefront as the first recommendation I have for all of you. Currently, Empires is one of my favorite bands in existence. Not only for their sound but because I admire this band in more ways than one. Everything they do, they do on their own; from recording, to CD covers, to putting out their CD, they are immensely involved in nurturing the band in its entirety and I admire that. Empires is a unsigned alternative rock band from Chicago, IL. Empires was formed in fall 2006 when friends Sean Van Vleet [vocals; formerly of For The Birds] and Tom Conrad [guitar; formerly of The Academy Is...] decided to stop ignoring their musical chemistry and form a band. Ryan Luciani [drums] soon join and after many member changes so did Max Steger [guitar] and later Alfred Smith [band] joined to complete they band we see today.

Throughout 2007, the unnamed band, at the time, remained somewhat a secret; writing and playing songs until they were perfect. As for the name, well it came pretty naturally seeing as both Sean and Tom thought of the name separately and brought it to the table. It wasn’t until December 23, 2007 at Midnight did the well kept secret finally surface. I still remember reading Tom Conrad’s blog on December 22nd which read;

i am nervous to even type this but on sunday, december 23rd of 2007 at 12:00am, i will post a link to hear what three others and myself have been nurturing for over a year now.

noun
1. a. A political unit having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations and ruled by a single supreme authority.

It was safe to say that I stayed up till Midnight that evening to wait for the link to www.myspace.com/empires to hear ‘Midnight Land’. I was instantly hooked and I hope you are too. In late May 2008 Empires released HOWL for Free on weareempires.com. Sean Van Vleet wrote the entire record, Max Steger produced and engineered the record, Tom Conrad designed the artwork and the band poured their hear and soul into their first release. They also tracked every download and the record blew up all over the globe.

The band is currently in Kanas tracking 14 new songs, that will hopefully become album #2…at least I sure as hell hope so. I also hope that the band travels to California soon because most of their shows have been in IL and surrounding states, I’m hoping the West Coast is in their future because I need to see this band live (you have no idea). Let me know what you guys think.

UPCOMING SHOWS: