Chicago's Office Sign To New Line
by Staff | 00.00.0000

Always ready to bring us something new and fresh, New Line/Scratchie Records the boutique label started by formed Pumpkin James Iha, the home of Sweden's pop-powerhouse The Sounds and New York's Robbers On High Street, will now be the home of Chicago's xeorox-obessed pop connoisseurs Office. The band, which has had several incarnations over the past 5 years, has already released two records on its own, and has been building a huge buzz at home this year. Scratchie/New Line is forecasting Office’s label debut to be released in the Spring of 2007.

Office began life as a concept piece: a series of sculptures by frontman Scott Masson while he was studying in London. Mason recalls, "I would fill galleries up with Xerox paper, make weird little cubicle displays, white boxes, cell phone sculptures, various pop culture stuff, fill rooms up with empty water bottles, etc. They were all very minimal and blank-looking, but it was the start of some thematic dialogue within myself." Upon returning to the States, the Detroit native recorded a self-described "very dark" electronic folk pop concept album, and simply called it Office. A year later, Masson moved to Chicago, and gathered some friends to record The Ice Tea Boys and The Lemonade Girls, a much poppier album, filled with lush, often piano-driven melodies with electronic flourishes. After finding a positive response from Ice Tea Boys, Masson officially melded his two side-prohects together, and formed Office as a band, and began performing locally. 3 years later, Masson, along with a final lineup of guitarist Tom Smith, bassist Alyssa Noonan, drummer Erica Corniel and backup singer/keyboardist Jessica Gonyea, released an album of infectious new-wavey pop tunes entitled Q&A, and began taking over the Chicago music scene.

For the next few months, Office will be in the studio working on new material. In addition, the band will go on the road intermittently, and continue to perform in Chicago.

Catch Office before the end of the year at the following venues:

December
7 - Washington DC @ The Rock & Roll Hotel*
8 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall*
9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s*
15 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door

* = w/Robbers on High Street