RIBCO's Closing Weekend: Einstein's Sister -- December 16.
Saturday, December 16, 8 p.m.
Rock Island Brewing Company, 1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL
With their most recent album Exit Strategies released this past October, the nationally known, Quad Cities-based power-pop artists of Einstein's Sister headline a December 16 concert in conjunction with the closing weekend of longtime-favorite Rock Island venue RIBCO (the Rock Island Brewing Company), the outfit's previous singles “Begin Again / Standing Still” mastered by Abbey Road Studios' Miles Showell, who also cut vinyl for Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Queen, The Police, and The Beatles.
Although Bill Douglas (vocals) and Kerry Tucker (guitars) have been performing together for more than a decade, even releasing their first album under the Douglas & Tucker moniker, the area talents of Einstein’s Sister began their pseudonymous career in 1997 with the release of OarFin Records’ Oceanus. The band’s unabashed synthesis of Squeeze-like nasal whines and Jellyfish‘s idiosyncratic hooks did not gel well with Oceanus’ producer, so the band returned to their original indie-based inclinations, which, by most appearances, served as a fortunate move for the band. 1999’s Learning Curves initiated a strong cult following and music licensing (NBC, MTV, the Oxygen Network), and both that album and the following year’s Humble Creatures not only boasted a full lineup (adding Andrew Brock to bass, Steven Volk to guitars, and ex-Tripmaster Monkey‘s Marty Reyhons on drums), but led to widespread national media praise, as well.
Writing for AllMusic.com, Jason Damas said that because Learning Curves was "recorded with a stable lineup ... these changes made all the difference. Here, Einstein's Sister take the best of new wave-era British pop and update it for late-'90s American power pop audience to stunning results. Nothing here is over or underdone: The production gets everything just right, and there's a great variety of tunes, from rockers to country to ballads to pure pop. Douglas Tucker's vocals, in particular, sound like a perfect synthesis of Elvis Costello and Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook."
Einstein's Sister plays the Rock Island Brewing Company's closing weekend on December 16 alongside additional musician friends from around the Quad Cities, admission to the 8 p.m. 21+ concert event is $10 at the door, and more information is available by calling (309)793-1999 and visiting RIBCO.com.
