Elsinore

Elsinore emerged from Illinois as an exploratory pop ensemble whose sound fuses folk-rock and alt-country elements with indie pop, the latter thread becoming more pronounced across the band’s development. The group took shape in 2004 when Ryan Groff, who writes the songs and performs vocals and guitar, joined keyboardist and vocalist Mark Woolwine and drummer and vocalist Dave Pride during their music studies at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. The three classmates grew close through overlapping musical interests and started appearing together at open-mike nights in Charleston venues. They quickly became regulars on the local circuit, and after meeting another EIU student, bassist and vocalist Chris Eitel, he came aboard and Elsinore was established.

In 2005 the band issued the live document On Display: A Live CD, which preserved the energy of their concert performances. A studio album, Nothing for Design, arrived in 2006, and the EP The General followed in 2008. A devoted audience formed in their Champaign hometown while the group drew broader notice on tour, headlining shows and also opening for St. Vincent. Work on the second studio album, the far-reaching Yes Yes Yes, wrapped in 2009; it marked the band’s first release on the Parasol label. When the record appeared in 2010, an unforeseen dispute arose after Roy Lichtenstein’s estate threatened legal action over the cover. The painting by Brittany Pyle drew on a comic-book image that Lichtenstein had used for his own Kiss V, prompting initial claims of copyright infringement. The challenge was later withdrawn, and Yes Yes Yes reached listeners without further complication.