Fruit Bats

Over the course of more than a decade, Fruit Bats have looked for ways to file down the cynical edges of modern life. Using bright melodies, defiant major-key chord structures, and natural imagery mixed with the occasional blazing insight or tender observation, Fruit Bats have never shied away from darkness, but have also resolutely refused to shy away from light. The band was formed in Chicago in 1997. An early entrant into the folk-rock boom of the new millennium, the group has been through several personnel changes over the years, but revolves around singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson. At the time, Johnson was an instructor at The Old Town School of Folk Music, led his own space-rock band called I Rowboat, was a sideman in various groups, most notably Califone, and had a solo project called Fruit Bats. Fruit Bats began to evolve into a group with the addition of a rotating cast of band members. In 2001, the debut record, "Echolocation," was released on Califone's imprint, Perishable Records. Tours with Modest Mouse and The Shins followed, and Johnson briefly became a touring member of The Shins. In the summer of 2002, Fruit Bats signed with Sub Pop and have since released fou... more...