Artist description See History.

Music Style Rock

Musical Influences Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who

Similar Artists Counting Crows, Pearl Jam

Artist History Frizzy Lid is a Chicago-based rock foursome consisting of Mike Harris on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mario Jobbe on lead guitar, Tom Spalla on bass guitar, and recent addition Mark "Jaxon" Treitman on drums. Their all-original songs combine melodic lyrics with a groove-fueled rhythm section and blues-inspired guitar licks to create a sound all their own. Emerging from Lid, a cover band founded by high school friends Harris and Spalla, Frizzy Lid stormed into the Chicago music scene in 1996 after adding guitar virtuoso Jobbe. Summer 1998 has brought the addition of drummer Jaxon, whose 15+ years experience in the Chicago music scene adds a great groove to an already solid melodic foundation. The band has been featured at some of Chicago's more prominent venues, including Double Door, the Riviera Theatre, Elbo Room, Thurston's, Dome Room, Sidelines, and U.S. Beer Company. Most comfortable in a live setting, Frizzy Lid has grown in recognition and familiarity due to their dramatic and powerful onstage presence. Having a sound referred to as 'Soul Asylum meets Hootie and The Blowfish,' Frizzy Lid released their debut album, Ten Tunes, in January 1997. Harris' poignant lyrics and vocal style--once compared to those of Bob Geldof--coupled with Jobbe's spirited solos, Spalla's creative bass lines, and Jaxon’s rock solid drumming, highlight the raw talent that is clearly Frizzy Lid. In early 1997, Frizzy Lid performed for a live radio performance on 105.5 The Kat WYKT, as well as on Illinois State University's WISU to promote the station's New Music Program as well as the band's show at the University Gallery. They were chosen from over 300 entries as finalists in Chicago's Rock 103.5 WRCX's "Chicago Rock-Off" in May 1997, and Ten Tunes is similarly in regular rotation at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Flames Radio WUIC, after having been chosen as one of Chicago's most talented up-and-coming bands by the station. "Wandering," from Ten Tunes, appears on the prestigious 1997 Chicago's New Music Festival compilation compact disc, and Frizzy Lid receives frequent mention on The Package 105.9 WCKG's Steve Dahl Show. Frizzy Lid has also appeared in regular rotation on Columbia College's prestigious cable show "Music Live" (Chicago channel 23) and has regular appearances on cable access' "SongSation" (Chicago channel 19). The band most recently performed "Which Way," and other songs in and out of every commercial break, as the house band on the The Jenny Jones Show, which aired Wednesday, May 20, 1998 on WGN and other WB networks nationwide. Frizzy Lid's ever-changing website contains band information, an extensive photo gallery, full reviews, contact information and a schedule of all upcoming shows. Ten Tunes can also be heard and purchased on the band's site at http://ChicagoMusic.com/frizzylid/. "Frizzy Lid has a lot of potential and they shouldn't be overlooked," said Mark Bruno of Showcase Music Magazine. For more information, contact Mario Jobbe at Frizzy Lid Music at 312 . 944 . 4278, by mail at 921 North LaSalle Blvd #17, Chicago, IL 60610, or by E-mail at frizzylid@msn.com.

Group Members Mike Harris - Lead Vocals, guitarTom Spalla - Bass Guitar, keyboard, vocalsMario Jobbe - Lead Guitar, vocalsMark Treitman - Drums

Instruments Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Organ, & Piano

Albums Ten Tunes; Frizz'n Frazz'n

Press Reviews Friday, October 31, 1997, Volume 20, Number 249Stephen AquinoOne of the toughest moments in a band's life is deciding when and how to follow its own path -- in other words, to replace "cover" tunes with original material. It's an age-old dilemma: to play versions of well-known material from widely recognized bands and please club owners with familiar sets, or to cut your own artistic path and hope that fans and gigs will follow. Mike Harris, the 29-year-old vocalist and lyricist of Frizzy Lid made the decision almost two years ago. The result? His all-cover group Lid disbanded and reinvented itself as the robust and all-original Frizzy Lid. "Lid covered Counting Crows, SOul Asylum and Material Issue," said Harris. "But as Tom (bassist Tom Spalla) and I grew as musicians, we wanted to expand musically, and Mario (new lead guitarist Mario Jobbe) added to that," Harris explained, adding that he doesn't regret the move, despite losing work at some cover venues. "There have been some doors that have been close. The bars want a draw," he said. Harris said the greatest difficulty in doing all original work is putting one's personal sentiments on display. "It's tough playing original stuff because I'm telling people how I feel." Harris, who grew up listening to The Who and Van Morrison, reluctantly describes the band's sound as acoustical pop rock. "The thing about our band is we all have different influences. (Another advantage is) we have such a good chemistry. We're not only a band, but we're good friends as well." Rounding out the foursome is drummer Blake Racich, an Orland Park native. Spalla and Harris hail from Homewood and Jobbe from Chicago Heights. While band members are South Siders, most of their engagements have been on the North Side. "The South Side is mostly bars," with few venues offering music, said Jobbe. One of Frizzy Lid's more regular gigs is the popular U.S. Beer Co., 1901 N. Clybourn, where they'll play Nov. 29, Jobbe's birthday. The band also has played at the high-profile venues the Double Door (the site of the September "warm-up" concert of the Rolling Stones preceding the Soldier Field extravaganza), and the Elbo Room. "We're looking to play new places and meet new faces," said Jobbe, a self-taught guitarist who does most of his band's promotion. "The next goal is to get a radio-quality CD produced." The band has a 10-track CD available, created mostly as a vehicle to get work. While the band's acoustics and hard-edged vocals are well-balanced, the production quality suffers from inexpensive production. "A lot of our stronger material isn't down (recorded)" Jobbe said. "That 10-track is already a year old." Therefore, the band is putting together a fund to produce a new compact disc, which they hope to start recording in the spring. Frizzy Lid will appear Saturday at the new Weekends Only room at Jim Shooze in Chicago Heights, at Chicago and Joe Orr Roads. You can check out the band's other upcoming gigs at its Web site by entering "Frizzy Lid" at the Yahoo Search Engine at www.yahoo.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------May 1997, Volume 4, Number 48Jason TarkaFrizzy Lid offers up very cool, jangley guitar pop that draws its influences from all across the board. A majority of the ten songs that inhabit this disc could sound complete with just one acoustic guitar, and that's what gives Frizzy Lid their appeal--simplicity! "Which Way" begins the disc in a positive way and is a pretty good representation of the rest of the songs. Guitar-driven with good, solid melodies, "Which Way" is a delightful stand out. Other notable cuts are "Thinking Lies" and "Permanent," which follow suit as up-tempo numbers that are not all together angst-free. the ballads -- "Someday" and "Proposal Songs" -- are nice mixes to this batch. Their smooth flow and soothing melodies temper the more raucous tracks and provided the listener with a well rounded effort that showcases the talent within this band -- both as writers and players. The only flaw I see in this batch is the production end. The guitars and drums too often overpower the vocals and the rhythm section gets a bit muddy. The talent is there and better production work the next time around will move Frizzy Lid up to the next level. (Rating: 7.5) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------April 1997, Volume 5, Issue 4Mark BrunoFrizzy Lid traces their beginnings to a band known simply as Lid that toured the Chicago club scene playing strictly cover material. After the cover band split up, vocalist Mike Harris and bass player Tom Spalla recruited Mario Jobbe for his blues-rock guitar playing talents and according to their bio, found Blake Racich to fill the job as drummer to complete the power-pop quartet. However, on the CD itself, Mike Bedard is listed as playing percussion and I can't rally confirm who is playing drums, so, my apologies. Their original material can be best described as Soul Asylum meets Hootie and The Blowfish. Individually, the band members all sound like competent musicians, but when playing together as a unit, they come across as sounding like an above average garage band. This could, I suspect, be a result of the somewhat below average production work. For instance, at one point during a song title "Flash," Harris' voice is recorded with a megaphone vocal effect that is way too overbearing and sounds like it could have been mixed softer so it does not draw too much from his raw, unprocessed, vocals which are sung for the better part of the song (like something more similar to the vocals in Crackerman from STP). All complaints aside, Harris' voice is pleasing in its own unusual way, and I immediately related it to the vocal talent of Boomtown Rats frontman, Bob Geldof--emotional, often too melodramatic, but loose and free flowing. A nice aspect to Frizzy Lid, however, is the acoustic guitar played by Harris, which is the driving force behind most of the songs and it has some strong appeal. The first track, "Which Way," is a perfect example. The acoustic guitar licks thrown in by Jobbe and then well-rounded even further by the groove oriented rhythm section. "Flash," as I mentioned before, really stands out against the rest of the music because it sounds totally different from the more poppier material. I'm going out on a limb here by saying it reminds me a lot of early BLack Sabbath, complete with a slow, rock-pounding, drum beat, Geezer Butler-like bass fills and an overall melancholy attitude. "Wandering" is another song that caught my attention. It features backing vocalist Michelle Harris whose sweet, sugar-laden voice is a nice contrast to Mike Harris' vocals. This song is another of Frizzy Lid's acoustic power-pop trademark. In their bio, the band mentions they're "touring the Chicago club scene in search of a record contract." I'm not necessarily sure they'll grab anybody's attention through the production aspect of this CD, but musicwise they're on the right track. Frizzy Lid has a lot of potential and they shouldn't be overlooked.

Additional Info House of Blues Chicago on Jan. 5 only $8, call ticket master or email frizzylid@msn.com to get free tickets

Location Chicago, IL - USA

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