Sam Prekop at Rozz-Tox -- March 1.
Saturday, March 1, 8 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2018 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Hailed by PopMatters as an artist who "can write a mean, mean song with fluid guitar lines that will knock off your socks," prolific Chicago indie rocker and member of The Sea and Cake Sam Prekop plays a special headlining engagement a Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on March 1, his 2020 album Comma also lauded by The Quietus as "a lovely record" that's "an exercise in taste, expertise, and skill."
The 60-year-old London-born, Chicago-raised artist studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, and as stated at AllMusic.com, "Prekop first gained renown at the helm of Shrimp Boat before becoming the leader of the Sea and Cake, whose fusion of styles both in and out of rock was both creative and experimental while remaining highly listenable. Prekop holds considerable stature in the Chicago scene, so it isn't surprising that when he released his self-titled debut solo LP in 1999 (on Thrill Jockey Records, itself a cornerstone in the Chicago music scene), it featured an impressive supporting cast, including Chad Taylor of the Chicago Underground Duo, Josh Abrams of Town and Country, Jim O'Rourke, and the Sea and Cake's Archer Prewitt. The album played like a subtler, more organic version of the Sea and Cake, blending elements of African rhythms with soul, jazz, and pop. The Sea and Cake remained an active band after the record's release, and his follow-up, Who's Your New Professor, didn't arrive until 2005.
"Prekop's third long-player, Old Punch Card, took a turn away from his regular fare toward an almost completely electronic palette. The instrumental album was released in 2010 by Thrill Jockey and was followed five years later by The Republic, another collection of electronic instrumentals made with modular synthesizers, drum machines, and other various synthetic elements. Half the pieces on the album were initially composed as a score for a show by video installation artist David Hartt. In 2020, Prekop continued his exploration of rhythm-driven electronic sounds with the glowing, futuristic album Comma.
"In June 2022, he issued the 22-minute instrumental track 'Saturday Sunday,' and one month later joined forces with longtime friend and bandmate John McEntire for the release of an album of electronic instrumentals and modular synthesizer sounds entitled Sons Of. The set consisted of just four extended pieces, one of which first took shape as a live improvisation and grew into its final form in the studio. Shortly after that, Prekop returned with new solo set The Sparrow, also surfacing before 2022 was over. The record found him using his usual modular synth setup as well as some polyphonic keyboard synthesizers for spare songs inspired in part by soundtracks from obscure films of the '70s."
Joining Prekop his his Rozz-Tox concert is Idpyramid, the synthwave soundscape project of Midwestern musical chameleon Dennis Hockaday (ex-Mondo Drag and Meth and Goats). Idpyramid draws on a variety of sounds to create their own unique style of spaced-out deep groove dance jams, ranging from the minimal early electronic Krautrock sounds of the late '60s to the synth-heavy dance grooves of 1980s synth pop.
Sam Prekop and Idpyramid play the Rock Island venue on March 1, admission to the 8 p.m. all-ages show is $15 in advance and $20 (cash only) at the door, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
