Eleventh Dream Day (EDD) is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

History

The band was founded by guitarists Rick Rizzo and Janet Beveridge Bean, who met at a place fondly known as 1069. This was a house/practice space/hang out in Louisville where at the time, Beveridge Bean was practicing with the band she was in with Tara Key and Tim Harris: the Zoo Directors. After moving to Chicago, Bean and Rizzo joined with guitarist Baird Figi and bassist Doug McCombs; Bean soon switched over to drums. Their first self-titled EP in 1987 introduced the hallmarks of EDD's sound:

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

-inspired electric guitar workouts mixed with punk energy. The band's full-length follow-up, ''Prairie School Freakout'' (1988), won critical praise and the attention of major labels. The band then signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Follow-ups ''Beet'' (1989) and '' Lived to Tell'' (1991) won more strong reviews but did not sell many copies; Figi left during the ''Lived to Tell'' tour and was replaced by Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon. The band made a stab for commercial success with 1993's '' El Moodio'', but the effort was unsuccessful and EDD was dropped from Atlantic's roster. O'Bannon left after recording 1994's ''

Ursa Major Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa M ...

'' (supposedly EDD's collective personal favorite, on

Atavistic Records Atavistic Records is an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known for its no wave and free jazz recordings. Atavistic has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Pinetop Seven, ...

) and the band ceased to be a full-time entity; Rizzo went back to college to earn a degree in education, while Bean and McCombs concentrated on their other musical projects,

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic di ...

and

Tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

respectively. Eleventh Dream Day has since recorded new albums every few years, starting with 1997's ''Eighth''. Recent albums have balanced the band's Young-influenced approach with an interest in ambient sound, likely influenced by McCombs's work with

. EDD released ''Stalled Parade'' in 2000, playing a handful of shows after the album's release with Mark Greenberg of (

The Coctails The Coctails were a musical group from Chicago, who formed while its members were attending the Kansas City Art Institute. The band was active from about 1988 to 1995, with reunions in 2000 as the last band to play on stage at Lounge Ax before ...

) assisting on keyboards and other instruments. ''Zeroes and Ones'' was released on April 25, 2006, on

Thrill Jockey Records Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

. ''Riot Now!'' was released on March 15, 2011, on Thrill Jockey Records. ''New Moodio'', a forgotten alternate version of ''El Moodio'' recorded in 1991 with

Brad Wood Brad Wood is an American record producer and sound engineer based in Los Angeles. He has produced many albums, including Liz Phair's ''Exile in Guyville'' and Placebo (band), Placebo's Placebo (Placebo album), self-titled debut. Career W ...

at Idful Music Corporation in Chicago, was released for the first time two decades after the fact by Comedy Minus One in May 2013. With the album "Works for Tomorrow" (2015), the band returned to a dual guitar lineup with the addition of Jim Elkington. The now five piece (including Mark Greenberg) band played several shows in 2015 celebrating the record which was well received by critics and fans. A surprise double album, ''Since Grazed'', was released in April 2021. EDD continued to perform intermittently in Chicago.

Members

* Rick Rizzo - guitar, vocals (1983-) * Janet Beveridge Bean - drums, vocals, guitar (1983-) * Shu Shubat - bass (1983-1985) * Baird Figi - guitar (1985-1992) * Doug McCombs - bass (1985-) * Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon - guitar (1992-1994) * Mark Greenberg - keyboards, drums (2000-) * Jim Elkington - guitar, keyboards (2012-)

Timeline

Albums

*''Eleventh Dream Day'' (Amoeba Records, 1987) *'' Prairie School Freakout'' (Amoeba Records, 1988) *''

Beet The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner ...

'' (

, 1989) *''Borscht'' (Atlantic Records, 1990) - promo *'' Lived to Tell'' (Atlantic Records, 1991) *'' El Moodio'' (Atlantic Records, 1993) *''

'' (

City Slang Records City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The independent music label City Slang was founded in 1990 as a European outpost for American indie rock. Thirty years later, the imprint represents a diverse roster o ...

, 1994) *''Eighth'' (City Slang Records, 1997) *''Stalled Parade'' (

, 2000) *''Zeroes and Ones'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2006) *''Riot Now!'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2011) *''New Moodio'' ( Comedy Minus One, 2013) *''Works for Tomorrow'' (Thrill Jockey Records, 2015) *''Since Grazed'' (Comedy Minus One, 2021)

Singles

Compilation appearances

*''Heat From The Wind Chill Factory'' (Dead Bunny) (1985) - "The Arsonist"

References

External links

*
Thrill Jockey recordsFacebook pageAllMusic Guide
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Chicago Thrill Jockey artists Atavistic Records artists Atlantic Records artists City Slang artists