After recording Pale Horse and Rider's country-flavored album, Moody Pike, with Paul Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) and Jon De Rosa (Aarktica) in the summer of 2003, Marc Gartman headed west to Duluth, MN. With his overflowing songbook and guitar in hand he started work with Alan Sparhawk (Low) on a solo album that would take the singer/songwriter in a new direction.
Over the course of the next 6 months in the famed Sacred Heart Studios, Gartman and Sparhawk crafted a rock and roll gem with Eric Swanson (Crash Test Dummies, Haley Bonar) behind the board. Tom Herbers (Low, Fog, Jayhawks) mixed the results and the debut of No Wait Wait found a home on Chairkickers’ Union Music in the summer of 2005.
The finest local talent was called upon to create No Wait Wait. With Gartman and Sparhawk on guitar, Russell Sackett on keys, Eric Pollard on drums, Steve Garrington on bass, and members of the University of Minnesota’s Orchestra called in to add some finishing touches, The Ripsaw News declared the record “equal parts heartache and pleasure, whirring pop songs and cheeky rock ballads." Vice Magazine called the results "a cross between Weezer and the Cars."
No Wait Wait set out to make a unique pop rock record ready for the radio, blending independent rock influences such as Pedro the Lion, Low and The Shins, with the outer edges of more popular bands such as Radiohead, Weezer and Wilco. It’s a record that can be enjoyed equally at a beach party or alone between the headphone cans.
Each song is fully realized and concise, with every number bursting forth from its predecessor. The punchy rhythm guitar work lunges at the listener and doesn't let up until the final song’s whisper prepares you to listen to it all over again.
No Wait Wait is excited to hit the road for their first national tour in June opening for Low that will take them from Canada to Texas in June. Plan to see and hear more of them with the kick-off single ‘the score’ in the second half of 2005. Press will be handled by Track Star Media and radio by Secretly Canadian. More information and tour dates can be found at www.chairkickersmusic.com.