Tautologic began in 1997 when Ethan Sellers and Pat Buzby had finished college. Sellers, a vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist, was assembling a new band with friends from his years at the University of Chicago. Buzby, a drummer, had studied at Oberlin and was planning his next move when he read an ad Sellers placed on a progressive rock discussion group. The band took shape and was gigging and recording by the winter of 1998.
Sellers and Buzby shared a love of 70’s progressive rock, but also wanted to bring contemporary and eclectic influences into the music rather than reproducing old sounds. The early lineups of the band lacked lead guitar, leading them to use their string arrangement skills to give the songs much of their character. Pointed, humorous lyrics and stories of the strange characters in abundance around the South Side of Chicago also linked many of Tautologic’s songs.
West Is North, East Is South, the band’s debut CD, captured this era. It received critical acclaim in the U.S. and Europe upon its release in 2000. The band’s next recording, The Basement Sessions, arrived in 2002 and showed the band experimenting with funk influences, and introducing lead guitar into the mix.
Also in 2002, Sellers staged a multimedia piece, At the Apartment, featuring songs from the Basement Sessions and other Tautologic material. In 2005, the band put on a second theatrical piece, Psychle. Sellers finished producing a recording of these newer songs in 2007, but financial setbacks forced him to archive the CD, Re:Psychle, for a decade.
With many of the early members of the group finishing their studies in Chicago and moving on to other states, Sellers and Buzby needed to build new band lineups in the 2000’s. Bassist Nathan Britsch began working with them in the early part of that decade, saxophonist Chris Greene and violinist/vocalist Emily Albright joined in the mid-00’s, and newest member guitarist Jay Montana arrived in 2010. Re:Psychle also includes prominent contributions from former band members, including guitarist Aaron Weistrop, violinist Jeff Yang and vocalist Jennifer Justice.
In the late 2000’s, Sellers began a new career as a leader of bands in various styles, including Irish music, Cajun and bluegrass, which is still ongoing. Buzby and other members of Tautologic participate in these groups whenever possible. Finally, at the end of 2017, the time is right for a release of Re:Psychle, and Tautologic’s return to a more active schedule.
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