TEAM RNS PRESENTS

ARTIST: Lucky Boys Confusion

RIPPER: Team RNS

0hr 45min total- 65.0mb

RELEASE DATE: 2003-10-21
RIP DATE: 2003-09-10

09 Closer To Our Grave            3:30
10 Something To Believe           2:58
11 You Weren't There              1:28

15 Medicine And Gasoline          3:21
16 Champions (Hidden Track)       5:04

Hailing from the deep recesses of
Chicago's suburbs, how could Lucky Boys
Confusion be anything but what they are: a
scrappy, kinetic, precocious fivesome
whose divergent influences of punk, hip
hop, and reggae, provide the
propulsion for one wild ride, both live
and on record. Their Elektra debut,
Throwing The Game, produced by Howard
Benson (P.O.D., Less Than Jake,
Zebrahead) and mixed by Randy Staub
(Metallica, U2, Veruca Salt.) is filled
with memorable bursts of careening
punk-hop - "3 To 10/CB's Caddy Part III"
and "Child's Play" - and reggae-tinged
gems - "City Lights" and "Not About
Debra," as well as more pristine
rockers like "Breaking Rules" , "One to
the Right" and "Fred Astaire." As tight
as a quintet as you're likely to find
these days, the energetic bandmembers
fuel each other - rhythmically
colliding, forever changing speeds - often
in the same song.

Vocalist Kaustubh (aka "Stubhy")
Pandav a first generation American of
Indian descent, and guitarist Adam Krier
write most of the Lucky Boys' songs. They
attribute the great chemistry of
Throwing The Game to the time spent in
Chicago area clubs nurturing their
talents. Says Adam: "There is a strong
family of bands where we come from that
encouraged playing out." Kaustubh
agrees: "We had been eyeing each
other's talents when we were in other
bands. Everybody knows each other so
there was always real camaraderie." The
two musicians originally met about four
years ago at a Chicago area Battle Of
The Bands. Kaustubh and drummer Ryan
were in one band, Adam and guitarist Joe
were in another.

The two songwriters decided to get
together to write some new material,
and the sessions began to click. Soon,
Joe, Ryan, and bassist Jason Shultejann
completed the circle, and Lucky Boys
Confusion was born. They began doing
shows almost immediately. "Our live
playing has always been a huge factor in
the appeal of the band," says Adam.
"It's usually what reels people in. But
we also had all these great, diverse
influences driving us too. I credit our
influences and our short attention
spans. One of my favorite records growing
up was the Beastie Boys' 'Paul's
Boutique.' It was an album from start
to finish, not just a collection of
songs. On our album we didn't want much
space between songs. Even though we were
merging different sounds, everything
ties together." The disc features an
especially creative use of
intros/outros, and compelling snippets
in between tracks.

The do it yourself spirit of the group
has been ingrained from the start. They
first released a 4 song EP in 1997,
calling it for lack of a better name -
What Gets Me High. "That started the
buzz," said Adam. "We built a kind of
grassroots audience." Fans shadowed the
band as they played bars and small clubs
throughout the suburbs of Chicago.

In late 1998, again under their own
banner, they released the album Growing
Out Of It. The thematic collection was a
good snapshot of life - Lucky Boys style
- in the Chicago suburbs. "We sold
about 6,000 copies out of our cars and
at shows and local record stores," says
Kaustubh. "It combined our first EP with
new songs. We started to notice that the
crowds were getting bigger. We could get
900 people into the Metro. We started
playing the surrounding area, Milwaukee,
Champaign, Iowa City, really getting
noticed." They also added another EP to
their catalogue, The Soapbox Spectacle.

A local radio station began playing one
of their songs, "Dumb Pop Song," (which
along with several other re-recorded gems
from their indie repertoire, would
reappear on the new album) and the word
about the band began to spread beyond
the Midwest. Elektra signed them in 2000,
and the boys soon began working on their
major label debut.

"It's been a great run so far," says
Kaustubh. He cites the song "City
Lights" as a kind of an ode to the
monumental changes that have taken place
in the last year. "When we went to L.A.
to work on the album we realized we were
looking forward to this next phase of
working with a bigger label, but at the
same time, we wanted to remember what
was back there. That song's about
having to move on with your life and
having to let go of someone or something
that's very dear to you."

The group does an excellent job of
balancing their subject matter on the
new album, which Adam says was a goal from
the start: "Our songs reflect our
experiences, reflect life. We wanted an
equilibrium on the record." Adam
points to a song like "40-80" as
capturing the more playful side of the
boys. "It's a fun song that captures our
suburban run-ins with the local
authorities, if you know what I mean.
It has a message to it too, but it
catches maybe what we're most about:
delivering that message with a bit of

Another corker is the blistering "3 To
10." "That is a straight ahead party
song," says Adam. "We ripped through that
right on the spot." The band's ability
to juxtapose themes and styles has
garnered comparisons to bands like 311
and Sublime. Says Kaustubh: "We love those
bands, but the funny thing about being
compared to them is we found out they
grew up listening to the same music we
did; reggae and punk rock."

The band also reveals a tremendous amount
of depth on the new album. Songs like
"Slip" and the anthemic "One to the
Right" strike a chord with fans,
separating the group from the slew of
sound-alike out there. "Kids are still
hungry for music with a message, even
in times of watered down boy bands and
testosterone fueled rap/metal clones,"

Ultimately, of course, Lucky Boys
Confusion is formed by the unique role
each member plays within the group. "Joe
was classically trained on piano," says
Kaustubh. "Ryan is more like me, never
been trained but has played around a
lot. Jason is technically probably the
best at what he does. His grandfather
played, and Jason inherited his bass
when he died. We all know each other so
well. That can't help but show on

Maybe the best testament to their identity
can be found in the title of the album,
Throwing The Game. "It comes from an
experience me and Adam had." Said
Kaustubh. "In the middle of recording
the album we were getting pressured to
sound this way or that. You know, the
growing pains of working with a new
label. One night, after everybody else
went home, we were just exhausted from
all the back and forth and we just said
screw it. We let them do what they
wanted with our sound. Essentially, we
threw the game. Later on we came to
our senses and said: 'No way!.' We know
who we are and we know what's best for
us. In the end, we got our way and
everybody loved the result. That's why
we titled the album that way. To never
forget. We've come so far. We're going
to work our asses off to make sure this

Lucky Boys Confusion has been recording
their Elektra Records follow-up to
"Throwing the Game" (5/2001) in Redondo
Beach, CA with producer Michael "Miguel"
Happoldt (Sublime, Long Beach Dub All
Stars, Unwritten Law).