Callow

Maryland-based Callow came together in 1999, issuing the Callow EP only a month later in October. Ben Douglas, who handled vocals and guitar, assembled the seven-piece group alongside guitarists Kris Heath and Chuck Macola, keyboardist Paul Turowski, bassist Paul Lange, drummer Steve Colmus, and vocalist Tiffany Chilcotte. Early notices drew parallels to Elvis Costello, the Pernice Brothers, the Flaming Lips, and the Beach Boys. October 2000 brought the eight-song mini album Little Sisters of the Poor Bazaar. The following June, Red Roses For Me Records included the band’s track “Lessons in Shuteye” on its compilation A Boy, a Girl and a Rendez-vous. Callow’s first full-length effort, Up Is a Direction, Not a Location, appeared on the same label in late January 2002; it mixed eight tracks drawn equally from the two earlier releases with four newly recorded songs. The band then toured the eastern United States, sharing stages with Ocean Blue and Barcelona.