Pinebender

Formed toward the end of 1997 in the Chicago suburbs, the experimental trio Pinebender assembled around Matt Clark on low guitars, Chris Hansen handling guitar and vocals, and Stephen Howard on drums. Their stripped-down setup produced a deliberate yet tuneful strain of experimental indie as the group gigged locally through the following two years. A 1999 agreement with Ohio Gold Records led to the 2000 release of their debut album, Things Are About to Get Weird, which Steve Albini helped produce. The EP Too Good to Be True appeared later that same year, after which the band moved to Lovitt and issued The High Price of Living Too Long with a Single Dream in 2003. Clark departed in summer 2002 before that record came out, leaving the group inactive for several years afterward. Hansen remained while Howard shifted from drums to baritone guitar and Dennis Stacer took over the drum chair; under this revised lineup the band delivered Working Nine to Wolf in fall 2006.