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Y! MyWebPop band with Dayton ties releases debut CD
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The Future Laureates, a Chicago-based group including two Dayton-area natives, started as a lark. However, there was an undeniable spark when Danny Surico (acoustic guitar), James Hyde (bass), John Flanagan (electric guitar), Matthew Daigler (ukulele) and Steve Minogue (drums) got together for a performance at Loyola College.
"We had a week to practice for this show, and it went really well," Surico said. "We just got together to practice. It was really informal, but we had a good time. Then we did this performance and got a really good turnout. We came in second place and we realized if we could do that on a week's worth of practices, imagine what we can do with a little bit more effort."
The Future Laureates are a Chicago-based band with two Dayton area natives: Danny Surico from Oakwood and James Hyde from Yellow Springs. From left: Surico, John Flanagan, Hyde, Matt Daigler and Steve Minogue.After the show in late 2006, the fledgling band was on hold for almost a year while the students studied abroad. Surico, who graduated from Oakwood High School in 2004, spent a semester studying in Chile. Upon Surico's return, Hyde, a 2004 graduate of Yellow Springs High School, Flanagan and Daigler took their turns overseas.
"John, James and Matt all studied abroad in France, Costa Rica and New Zealand," Surico said. "We were actually apart for a year and it wasn't until this semester, the second semester of our senior year, that we've actually gotten pretty serious about it."
The Future Laureates just released its debut CD "Your Mom Would Like Us," which is a sunny collection of pop songs with infectious sing-along choruses and a strong melodic core. Seven of the 12 songs were written by Surico, with Flanagan contributing three, and one song each from Hyde and Daigler.
"Basically for this album, there was one primary songwriter for each song," Surico said. "One person would have the outer exterior, the shell of the song, and everyone else would just kinda fill in whatever part was necessary. That proved to be a really successful model for this album."
Four of the five band members are graduating from Loyola on Friday, May 9, and then the musicians will take a month off before turning their attention back to the band.
"It just feels weird," Surico said. "Everyone's graduating with the exception of Steve, who has one more semester. The plan is we're all going our separate ways after graduation for a month and then once June comes around, we'll all be living in Chicago. The plan is to just hang around town for at least a year, play a lot of shows and just go for it."
More info www.myspace.com/thefuturelaureates
