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11/01 Sunday
6:00 PM Gillypad
6pm Notrio
7pm Helen Money
Helen Money is Alison Chesley, a Chicago based cellist and composer who has
become known for her unique sound and compelling stage performance. Using the
tools of a lead guitarist, she channels her sensibilities and experience as a rock
musician through a classical instrument. She has opened for bands as diverse as
Shellac, Earth, Joe Lally, Nina Nastasia, The Bad Plus, KTL and Hunn Huur Tu.
An integral part of the Chicago recording scene, her name appears on dozens of
albums, in particular those recorded by two pioneering Chicago musicians and
producers, Steve Albini of Electrical Audio and John McIntyre of Soma Studios. Her
sound and arrangements can be heard on albums by MONO, Anthrax, Russian Circles,
Chris Connelly, Disturbed, Bob Mould, and Broken Social Scene to name a few.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Chesley moved to Chicago to attend
Northwestern University, where she received a Master's Degree in Cello Performance
in 1994. That same year Chesley and Jason Narducy (currently of the Bob Mould Band)
formed an acoustic rock duo that would became Verbow. Verbow went on to
release two albums for Epic Records - Chronicles, produced by Bob Mould and White
Out produced by Brad Wood. Opening for such bands as Frank Black, Bob Mould,
Counting Crows, Live, Morrissey, Liz Phair and Brad with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam,
Verbow toured nationally for seven years.
In addition to writing all the material for Helen Money, Chesley also composes music
for film, theater and dance, including the soundtrack to the award-winning
documentary “Indestructible,” two major works for Chicago based Mordine and
Company Dance Theater, and music for the Jeff-winning play “Beholder.” In 2007
Chesley was honored by being granted a full scholarship to study composition with
guitarist/composer Fred Frith at San Francisco's esteemed Mills College. She decided
against the move to concentrate on Helen Money.
The second full-length Helen Money album titled, In Tune, will be released this
December on the esteemed experimental and avant-garde label, Table of the
Elements. The album was recorded at Electrical Audio by Greg Norman (Pelican,
Russian Circles, Neurosis) and mixed by Sanford Parker (Pelican, Chris Connelly,
Yakuza, Buried at Sea) at Semaphore Studios in Chicago.
Visit Helen Money online at www.helenmoney.com and myspace.com/helenmoney.
The band is:
Randy Wooten - drums
Gill Aharon - piano and compositions
Jef Charland - bass
Blake Newman - bass
Andrew Stern - guitar
Alec Spiegelman - winds/horns
Rick Stone- Alto
Kelly Roberge - tenor
Eric Hofbauer - guitar