Illini Contraband awkward. horny. unoriginal. fun.

This is late. This is really, super late. But here it is, nevertheless!

Our spring 2011 semester went extremely well. We played our annual gig at Joe’s on Mom’s weekend (April 9, 2011), which was wild as always! The University of Illinois moms definitely know how to party, and we loved the singing along and dancing. More of that, please! Despite being surprised by the uncommonly warm weather and getting sunburned, it was one of our best shows yet.

As mentioned in our last post, we played for Delta Sigma Phi’s Sounds of Support benefit concert and Relay for Life on April 16, 2011. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, we didn’t end up playing at the April Illinites — but some of us attended as audience members, and had a great time.

Our last two gigs of the school year were on May 8 and May 15, for the College of Engineering and Gradfest respectively. The College of Engineering hosted the Senior Sunday bash on the Engineering Quad. There were inflatables, free food, and us. We were told via text message that we could be heard all the way from County Market… which we actually thought was awesome. Gradfest was bittersweet: a few band members couldn’t make it (Po, Steve, Jasmine), and we had to say goodbye to seniors Scott Rubin and Ken Naylor — and Ken had to leave early to make his graduation ceremony. Despite all that, it was, as always, a great end to the semester.

Goodbye, Scott and Ken. We miss you a lot! Scott’s in Montreal getting his Masters at the Schulich School of Music, and Ken’s taking a year off before he heads off to… medical school, we think?

BUT WAIT.

Although Contraband usually retires over the summer, the summer of 2011 was a little different. Contraband alum Lawrence (Larry) Carls put together a reunion, where the generations of Illini Contraband were split up into 3 different groups and rocked a Chicago block party. We got silly, played hours of music, and got to reconnect with older members and be introduced to members we’d never been in Contraband with. It’s safe to say that Contraband really does have the best alumni — it was a rockin’ good time. Look for more pictures and videos of these events in the Gallery soon!

We leave you with our cover of Reptilia at Gradfest:

Yeah, yeah, so life got in the way of updating this site again. But Contraband is alive and kicking — trust us. You’ve got plenty more opportunities to hear us play this year, and we’ve been crazily good at keeping our google calendar up-to-date with gigs! See that “Calendar” tab at the top? Feel free to check that. Every day.

So what’s happened lately? Well, we’ve had gigs! They’ve been great. If you’re reading this and you’re not a fan of our facebook page, then you really need to get on that. We make events for all of our gigs! Oh facebook. What a useful tool.

Anyway, back to the gigs we’ve had. On March 12, we played for the Mardi Gras Illinites. We haven’t had anything but good experiences at Illinites, but this last one blew all of the other ones out of the water. We had people skanking all over the place, shouting “RIOT!” during Zoot Suit, and cheering loudly when appropriate (meaning all the time). That’s what we like to see! So thanks, everyone who was at that show. You all were simply amazing.

We got up bright and early the next morning on March 13 to play our annual gig at EOH from 11-12:20. There wasn’t quite as much dancing or screaming… but, eh. It was a little early in the morning for that. Also, fun Contraband fact: 4 out of our 10 members this year are engineers.

So what’s coming up next? Tons of stuff! We’re playing at Joe’s on April 9th for Mom’s Weekend. We don’t know the exact times yet, but it’ll probably be for around 3 hours, late afternoon/early evening. Keep checking back here or on facebook for details.

We’re also playing for the April Illinites, the last one of the year! It’s gonna be a music festival! Jay Moses, Elsinore, and a whole bunch of other bands are going to be there as well, so save the date: Friday, April 15th. We’ll let you know the exact time we’ll be playing as soon as we find out.

We’re also playing for Sounds of Support, Delta Sigma Phi’s yearly benefit concert to support the Champaign County Mental Health Center on April 16th. We’ll probably start playing at… around 8pm? Time is still up in the air on this one, too. More info to come! And after we play at Delta Sigma Phi, we’re off to Relay For Life! We’re playing from 12:00am-1:30am… don’t worry, Relay-ers. We’ll keep you awake and pumped. BOOOOO cancer.

And after that? Well. There will be more, promise. You’ll see. Gradfest will probably happen in May… and we’re still looking for more opportunities to play around town. And as always, contact Michelle if you want to hire us! Head over to the “Contact/Press Packet” tab for more info.

Hope all of our Contra-fans are having an awesome break.

LOVE AND ROCK,

Contraband

PS Look for more pictures soon in our gallery from the Mardi Gras Illinites!

EDIT 3/27/11: Pictures from the Mardi Gras Illinites and EOH 2011 are UP in our gallery. The Mardi Gras Illinites gallery also has a whole bunch of videos. Check it!

Hello Again, Contra-Fans! Welcome to another titillating installment of the Contra-Post, with all the exciting updates and events involving the premier Chambana cover band, Illini Contraband!

First order of business, a special thanks to the Illini Tower living community for inviting us to break both bread and chicken wings with them this past Wednesday, in exchange for the gift of music that Contraband so loves giving. The show was a success in that our beloved music director Scott Rubin managed to only break one guitar string and that we were able to avoid alienating the mostly incredulous diners too much. We might even play for you again in April, so  be on the lookout, beautiful people of IT.

We know that you all have been muttering to yourselves, “What the eff, Contraband, playing at IT, the UIUC AFROTC Banquet? When can the common man or woman like myself go see the best act in Chambana?” Well, dear readers, here’s the answer! V-Day at The Canopy Club on 1/27/2011! We know, you’re saying to yourself, “Contraband! What do you take me for? Valentine’s Day is in February! We’re not stupid.” Ah, but did we say Valentine’s Day? Nay, dear readers, The Illini Contraband will be sharing the glorious Canopy Club Stage with the women of the Vagina Monologues! (That’s right, that V-word.) We’ll probably be playing from around 8:15 to 8:45 — not very long, we know, but this is a benefit concert; and as such, we’re sharing the stage with other music groups.

We know you’re clamoring for some more Michelle time, and we know you swoon every time Andy ‘Po’ Keehoon Yoon tickles the ivories. We know that every solo Cody plays is like the nectar of the Gods. We know that every riff our elite horn section honks out gets your blood pumping faster than it has since the last time you were Contra-dancing. If you really love us, you’ll have to come for the whole night, which will last from about 6:00pm to 9:30pm. This would be really cool, because the profits from the event goes toward aiding efforts to end violence in the Congo. You don’t like violence, do you…? If you’re good, perhaps you can hang out with us.
Don’t miss a single, delicious sound wave.

“But CONTRABAND! I will be missing the sound waves! I have stuff to do that day that I’ve convinced myself is more important than seeing my favorite band!” It’s okay, dear readers, we have an event planned for you nerds too. We will be playing Engineering Open House on 3/12/2011, located on the scenic Bardeen Engineering Quad. (That’s the one north of the regular quad, you LAS majors.) We will be loud and producing crunchy rock and funk for all of you nerdy and nerd-interested types, and we will be impossible to miss. Follow your ears, dear readers. Follow your ears.

Now, for perhaps our most exciting news! Our friends from the up-and-coming local alternative metal band Altria is lending us their technical savvy for one epic recording session. That is correct, soon we will have professional recordings of some of our most popular songs, so you can get your Contra-fix when we are lying in wait, waiting to descend upon our next venue and bring the gift of music to Chambana.

So, dear readers, get ready. We’re not wasting any time getting 2011 started. We’ll be ready. Will you? Be there.

Love & Rock,

Illini Contraband

P.S. - Get a load of this guy. Don’t miss a single drop, dear readers. Not a single drop.

Ken, looking good because Steph Haddad of Stephanie Haddad Ink made him appear so.

This past semester has been CRAZY, and maybe we haven’t been as good about updating our website as we should about gigs. But if you didn’t know already, we have a Facebook page where we tend to post statuses about upcoming events that we’ll be at, as well as all of our pictures. In fact, pictures are usually up (and tagged and captioned!) on facebook long before they’re added to the gallery on this site, so be sure to “Like” our page to stay on top of what we’re doing.

BUT YEAH. We’ve actually done a lot this semester, looking back. We played for the Homecoming Kickoff party on the Quad on October 16, which was great. Michelle sang Bad Romance there — and we got a video of it that you can see here. (Warning, though, she was a little sick that day and it is far from her best performance.) The horn section also skanked like crazy, and got audience members involved. They are the best.

The big gig for the Alumni Association on October 23rd that we were so psyched about also went rawesomely. Tons of people showed up, and we had a lot of fun playing. A bunch of Contraband alumni were there, as well, and it was great to see them — and in the case of Mike Nodulman and Matt Martuzzo, play with them again. The fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta also had a variety show that night that we played at — we were just as cool as the martial arts club, thank you very much.

We also renewed our friendship with the Illini Union Board, and played at both the Paranormal and Chill Out Illinites in October and December respectively. The Paranormal Illinites was especially fun, since almost all of us had an adventure at Dallas and Co to look for costumes. We’re hoping to play at the Illinites in the spring, too… fingers crossed. IUB is fantastic to work with, and we have ridiculous amounts of fun every time.

Another big gig that we had this semester happened the same night as (and right before) the Chill Out Illinites, on December 3. We played for the AFROTC’s formal Dining Out event at the Colonnades Club at Memorial Stadium (major props to Jasmine for getting us this gig). We learned about half an hour of jazz especially for it — which really just reinforces the idea that we can play anything. So to those of you reading this who might be interested in hiring us: We. Can. Do. Anything. We were all dressed up in formal-wear for this one, and we looked pret-ty snazzy. That night was also the first big snowfall in C-U, and it was beautiful. Thanks a whole lot to Dustin at the Colonnades Club and Ana from the AFROTC - you guys made things really easy for us, and it was a pleasure working with you both.

More pictures from those gigs will be up on this website soon, but they’re already on facebook! You can find them here. And speaking of facebook again… did you know that we also have a MYSPACE?! There’s not much on it as of now, but we do have some recordings from past years.

We also introduced a bunch of new songs this semester… TNT, Kashmir (the reason you’ll see Scott with a viola in some pictures), Bad Romance, Santeria… and more. Expanding repertoire, hooray!

So what’s coming up next semester? We’re hoping to get some more recordings done, actually. More word on that soon, but they should be really kick-ass, high-quality mp3s. We’ve also got a couple gigs lined up already. We were contacted by this year’s director of the Vagina Monologues about a benefit concert that V-Day is throwing at the Canopy Club on January 27th. According to her email, “The money from the benefit is going to the Center for Women in Transition in Champaign which is a local homeless shelter that also advocates for women’s empowerment and helping women escape violence. Money will also go to our organization V-Day which is dedicated to ending violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Good cause, yeah? So save the date: January 27th at the Canopy Club. It’s a Thursday, and we’ll probably be playing at around 8:00 - 8:15 for about half an hour or so. There’ll be other bands there as well, and the entire event is from 6:00pm to 9:30pm, so you all should stick around for the whole thing.

We’re also playing the Engineering Open House again this year on March 12, from around 11:00am-12:20pm (and then hanging out at Murphy’s after). We’ll be in the tent on the Engineering Quad, and we’ll be loud and pretty hard to miss. We’ll keep you updated as the semester goes on!

As for now, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. 2011… Craziness.

Love and rock,

Contraband.

Well if Contraband is a jukebox, then the members are the dimes. Right now, we equal a whole dollar — and that’s because we have four brand spankin’ new members. After auditions and callbacks, it was clear that they knew their stuff and had the shining personalities that we look for. So it’s with a lot of excitement that we welcome Kashev Dalmia (bass, fr), Brian Galli (trumpet, fr), Jasmine Gary (alto sax, so), and Andrew Roth (tenor sax, fr) to the band.

It’s a smaller horn section than Contraband has had in the past, but as they’ve shown at practices and at the gig we had at the Iron Post this last weekend, they (along with returning member Steve Braun) are more than talented enough to hold their own. It looks like we have an awesome year coming up, and we’re looking forward to see how they grow. And develop wings. And learn to fly. All those nice things.

We also had a band photo shoot this last weekend with the great Stephanie Haddad. You can find more of her work here. The pictures below are from that shoot, and we have more coming. We started at the amphitheater at Krannert, then made our way inside, and then to downtown Champaign. Band bonding, w00t.

Our biggest gig coming up is on October 23. The U of I Alumni Association is holding a party at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center after the Homecoming football game, and we’ll be playing there for three hours. It’ll be amazing for a variety of reasons. We’re debuting new songs like Bad Romance, for one… and our new members are all sexy. Don’t know if that was mentioned, either. All University faculty, students, alumni, and associates are invited. RSVP at our facebook event here.

You can also catch us from 12:30 - 1pm on October 16th on the Quad. We’ll be playing for the Kickoff of Homecoming Weekend. This will also be amazing.

We’ll keep you posted as the semester goes on, but just have it in your head now — we are smokin’. And really really good. And that is all you really need to know.

LOVE, CONTRABAND.

Heyyo, Contraband fans! We’re back now that the school year’s started, and we already have a slew of opportunities for you to see us. A SLEW.

First off, we’re going to be playing this Friday, August 27, at the Iron Post at 9pm. For those of you who don’t know where that is, the address is: 120 South Race Street, Urbana, IL. Our particular version of Contraband has never played there before, so we’re excited. We’ll probably be there for around an hour, and we really hope to see you there! If we bring a lot of people in, we might play there again… and again…

But if you miss us at the Iron Post, we’ll be playing the next day at Delta Sigma Phi fraternity (302 East Gregory Drive, Champaign, IL). We play for them a couple times every year, and they are some of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet. It’s free as far as we know, so come rock out with us. It’ll be a great time– we promise. AND, if that promise isn’t enough, it’s our very own Scott Rubin’s birthday on Saturday, and he’s turning the big 2-1.

We’ve got a facebook event here.

Finally, we’re having auditions next week on September 1 and 2 (Wednesday and Thursday). We’re specifically looking for a bass, trombone, saxophone, or trumpet — and if those instruments come with people who know how to play them, that’s even better. Contact Ken at knaylor2@illinois.edu if you missed us at Quad Day, and we’ll set you up.

Speaking of Quad Day, what a rush! We didn’t get to perform this year, but we got over 150 sign-ups… including some requests for lessons. Thanks to everyone who came to our booth and expressed an interest in us. You guys make the sunburns and near heat strokes worth it.

Rock on.

Love, Contraband.

It’s just the nature of Contraband to build itself up every Fall, and then slowly dissipate every Spring. We’re going to be saying goodbye to some great musicians in a few weeks, but we’re not going out without a fight! Next Sunday is not only graduation for all those gettin’ the hell outta this beloved university, but is also GRADFEST, our yearly last-hurrah and tribute to those peacin’ out into the real-world. Where is this “GradFest,” you ask? I’LL TELL YA!

GradFest is going to be next Sunday May 16th, from 11:30am-2:30pm. We’ll be playing that ENTIRE TIME (whew, three hours… this could hurt), but if we can even see your lovely, shining faces for 10 minutes of that we’d be happy campers. It’s at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center located on the West side of Lincoln Avenue just South of Illinois Street. Can’t miss it, it’s got that big random arch-looking thing out front and some kickass fountains you can probably wade through (so bring your swimming trunks!*). And hey, there’s gonna be lots of food there and even gifts for seniors. If you’re graduating on Sunday, come check it out with your family and show them the best g-damn cover band on your campus, and if you’re not graduating, get your ass over here anyways for some free food on a Sunday morning to cure that hangover.

*Contraband will not bail you out of any local or university lock-ups if you are caught trespassing.

But after Sunday, Contraband’s going to be saying farewell to some great musicians who have helped continue the greatness of the premiere U of I campus cover band. Either going to grad-school or into the real-scary-I’m-not-ready-to-go-world are:

Kate Guarna — Bass,     Matt Martuzzo — Trombone

Nick Baier — Alto Sax,     Jon Law — Tenor Sax

Hari Iyer — Trumpet,     Greg Formosa — Trumpet

Just look at those sexy yet sad-about-leaving faces. They’re gonna miss us, we’re gonna miss them, but keep showing up to our gigs next year and you’re bound to see them show up as super-duper-salaried alumni (which means they can now afford a bar tab to buy you drinks!). Please join me in giving them a standing ovation. Do it. I’m waiting.

BUT EVEN THAT WON’T STOP THE MUSIC! Next year we’re kicking things off with our annual Quad-Day spot, where we show the world (or at least the quad…) what we’re made of. We’ll also hold a table as usual, and have signups for our fan mailing list (which will pickup next year more, we promise) and of course, the long-anticipated AUDITIONS SIGN-UPS**… oooooohhhh…ahhhh…

**Auditions are held every every school year in the fall semester and anyone is welcome to try-out… however, we normally only accept a select few instruments/vocals based on openings in the band. Since next year we will be losing a lot of seniors, we are going to have a special need for:
-bass guitarist
-trumpeteers
-saxes of many kinds, including alto, tenor, bari, etc…
-sound technician?
Come and see us on Quad Day next year to sign-up!

That’s all for now, folks. Keep on rockin’ and keep checkin’ us out. We’re here to stay, UIUC.

“Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” -Semisonic

Alright folks, looks like we can give some definite answers about the upcoming gigs for this semester… AND HERE THEY ARE:

1. Second Annual “Mom’s Weekend Gig” @ Joe’s Brewery - April 17, 5-7pm
That’s right, we’re back, baby! We’ll be kickin’ a 2-hour set at Joe’s (on 5th Street) for all those sexy, sexy moms. We play on Saturday, April 17th from 5-7pm, so it’s the perfect time/place for a nice outdoor casual dinner with your mother dearest. Grab a few brews and burgers and we’ll serenade you until it’s time to bar-hop and make your mom reminisce about college-life. Don’t worry, we won’t hit on your mother…that much. Get there early to get a good table outside, we expect a pretty crazy crowd. Facebook event here:
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=112148865480173

2. Hundredth Annual “Relay for Life” Gig - April 24, 12:50-2:00am

...but it won't be this costume...probably...

Well, maybe not the 100th annual gig, but we’ve been doing this one for quite some time. “Relay for Life,” a yearly celebration hosted by Colleges Against Cancer for the American Cancer Society, is an all-night fund-raising event that “gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.” It’ll be on Friday April 23rd, and like I said, it’s all night long (no Lionel Ritchie pun intended) and features a lot of school organizations and clubs camping out at the U of I Outdoor Soccer and Track Field. We’ll be playing some rock tunes for the peeps to jog to from 12:50am-2am, so make sure you keep an eye out for us! Who knows, maybe we’ll be in another themed outfit…like previous years…

3. Another annual gig…Triangle Fraternity’s Swampwater - April 24, 9:30-11:00pm
If you don’t feel like staying up to watch us play at Relay from 1-2am, then make sure you get your dose of rock at the Triangle Fraternity House the next night, on April 24th from 9:30 to 11pm. This is Triangle’s annual “last hurrah” party, and we’ll make sure you get that feeling by the epic proportions of rock* we’ll be throwing at you. Should be free and easy to get in, and if you get problems from any frat dudes, come find one of us and we’ll send those brothers to the corner for a time-out. Beer and the classic “Swampwater” juice for the drinkin’. Good times to be had, my friends. PS: Triangle is at the corner of 2nd and Daniel.
*Rock, not rocks. Contraband would never throw rocks at you…intentionally.
Facebook link:
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=114786055203842

4. Somewhat-annual, Beta Sigma Psi BBQ – May 1, afternoon/evening
Exact timing is TBA, but as usual Beta Sigma Psi will be throwing a massive pig-roast BBQ on May 1st, sometime in the afternoon/evening. All we know is that we’ll be playing, and the food will be cheap to buy (wristbands probably around $5) and ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT. This is probably our favorite gig for obvious reasons. More to come as we find out when we’re playing. Stop on by 706 W. Ohio (the corner of Ohio & Coler in Urbana) for some good-ass BBQ and outdoor games!

5. Delta Sigma Phi Benefit Gig – May 5, nighttime
The frat we love to play for has brought us back again for the first time this semester, for an end-of-the-year fundraiser! Our generous gifts of rock and ska will be helping to benefit some kind of righteous cause, we’re just not sure what that is. They’re on the corner of Second and Armory, so make sure to check back up in a few weeks when we know more about what’s going on! PS: beer.

6. The annual goodbye-gig…GradFest 2010 - May 16, 11:30am-2:30pm

There will be many people throwing their hands up. We promise.

Once again, like so many years past, we say “goodbye” to our beloved seniors at an epic 3-hour gig at the Alice Campbell Alumni center. GradFest, a “graduation party to celebrate your success!” features free food, outdoor games, and even GIFTS for graduating seniors. We, of course, want to see your shining face, so we don’t care if you’re graduating or not. Come on out and send off the band’s seniors in good-fashion, by head-banging and skanking to some kick-ass tunes. Guarnateed good time to be had by all, students and parents.
Link for more info on the event: http://www.uiaa.org/calendar/event.asp?id=14039

7. Suburbia Graduation Party?? – late May or June??
As might have been hinted by the surplus of questioning marks, we’re not 100% sure about this guy, but we’re probably playing a graduation party in the south side suburbs of Chicago (Oak Lawn) in mid-May or June. More info to come…

So yea, that’s seven badass reasons for you to get off your lazy ass and hear some rock. When’s the last time you got to see Contraband and have a few* brewski’s??
*”A few” can mean many things, from literally “a few” to as much as you can stomach. Hey, we’re not counting, why should you?

That’s all for now. Keep tuned to the website and look for new Facebook events for new gigs! And hey, we’re still open to more gigs if you got ‘em. Let us know!

Peace, love, rock, ska, alternative, yadda yadda…
-Illini Contraband.

Heck yes, spring is almost here! And Illini Contraband also has some awesome gigs lined up just for you.

First up, we’re playing at the Engineering Open House this Saturday, March 13th. We’ll be in the big tent on the Engineering Quad — you won’t be able to miss it, because we’re just that freakin’ loud. Rocking from 11:00am - 12:20pm, you can come hear us play and grab some pizza or whatever it is engineers eat. Supposed to be a nice day, so come out for a nice “Saturday in the Park”* with some good tunes and damn awesome studs/studettes.
*hint hint

Next up, we’ve got a gig after Spring Break on April 9th at Illinites, an Illini Union Board hosted event at…well, the Union. Everything is free, even our love for you. Now, we know we haven’t been to Illinites since Freshman year, but that’s no reason not to come see some badass cover-band rock**. We promise a good time, and hey, if you don’t believe us, just hit up Murphy’s before for a few pitchers.
**we also play ska, oldies, funk, pop, yadda yadda yadda…

Plenty more gigs in the future, including BBQ’s, fundraisers, frat parties, graduation parties, orgies, strip poker tournaments, fishing trips and donkey shows, but mostly parties. Stay tuned, kiddos.

Well, maybe not yet. There’s still some snow on the ground outside. But we’re all rested up from winter break, and ready to rock your socks off once again.

We have some cool things lined up for this semester already. For one, we’re going to try and get some recordings done and posted here, so you can enjoy our magic whenever you want. We’re always up for playing wherever/whenever we can, so remember us if you’re throwing a party, fundraiser, or just want some live music!

This coming Spring, definitely be playing Engineering Open House, Relay for Life, Triangle Fraternity’s “Swampwater,” GradFest 2010, and lots lots more. More to come when we get the times and dates down!

One last thing — we said goodbye to one of our super-sexy female singers last semester, Jill Paruszkiewicz. We wish her the best of luck at her new teaching job in the ‘burbs, and hope that her students appreciate how much of a bad@$$ mofo she really is. Who knows, maybe she’ll show up on campus this semester for some Contra-reunion songs?

That’s all for now folks, stay tuned and keep on rockin’.

Love,
Contraband.