For Harry Koniditsiotis, Memphis was only supposed to be a temporary stop.

Harry Koniditsiotis (front, right) and The Angel Sluts will debut their new CD, "Designer Heat," with a Halloween party tonight at Murphy's.

Comments

• There are no comments yet. Click here to start the conversation!

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Music News

• Musical birthday bash fit for The King
• Chris Bell's passion for music still rings true
• Hard-rocking Neckbones band together for annual reunion

Share and Enjoy [?]

Back in 2002 the New Orleans-bred musician had decided to make a fresh start in Chicago. On his way north, he stopped in the Bluff City to visit some of his mother's relatives. Six years later, Koniditsiotis is still here and thriving as a musician (he's a member of a trio of popular local bands) and a studio owner (operating The 5 and Dime recording facility).

"There was just something about Memphis -- the history, the tradition of soul and the trash rock stuff that just made me want to stay," says the 36-year-old Koniditsiotis.

Tonight, Koniditsiotis and his long-running rock outfit The Angel Sluts, celebrate the release of their full-length debut with a free Halloween show at Murphy's.

The group -- which also features bassist Tony Luttrell, drummer John Boswell, and guitarists Ben Abney and Matt Burns, and sometime member Shane Essary -- launched soon after Koniditsiotis arrived and was conceived, initially, as something of a lark.

"We were just a bunch of friends wanting to get together and play rock and roll ... and drink beer," says Koniditsiotis laughing. "We were going to shows, warehouse parties, and we all found it kind of boring; people were just kind of standing around. We wanted to form a band where the audience looked like it was having fun."

Propelled by a love of first-generation punk like the Ramones and Dead Boys, the group "also wanted to play rock songs that girls could also dance to," says Koniditsiotis. "We were determined to keep that whole fun aspect to it all. Our main concern was to just always have a good time. Which I think is something we've managed to accomplish."

After releasing a couple singles in 2005 and 2006 and touring, the band went on hiatus for a year in 2007. After reuniting last Halloween, Koniditsiotis and company finally polished off their debut disc, Designer Heat, which collects a batch of the band's most familiar songs from the past half decade.

For Koniditsiotis, the Angel Sluts is just one part of his musical equation; he also plays with the garage rock outfit the Turn It Offs and -- in a 180-degree musical turn -- fronts the moody shoegaze group Twin Pilot. "It's pretty much the complete opposite of what the Angel Sluts and Turn It Offs do," he says. "But I've always had a love for all kinds of music. After going on tour (with the Angel Sluts) in '06, there was so much wild, reckless abandon every night, I wanted to do something mellow to kind of counterbalance it."

Koniditsiotis is currently wrapping up work on Twin Pilot's debut -- slated for release in early '09 -- while the Turn It Offs disc will be out before the end of the year through the German label Red Lounge.

In between his own projects Koniditsiotis has been busy recording bands at his 5 and Dime studio in Cooper-Young. After a few years working at Memphis' Cotton Row studios -- a haven for rap, R&B and gospel -- and engineering for projects like the "Hustle & Flow" soundtrack, Koniditsiotis launched his own space in 2006.

Since then he's remained busy working on projects for a rash of local bands including the Boston Chinks, Lover!, The True Sons of Thunder, and The Klitz.

"The studio is great, because I'm able to work with so many local bands that I really like. There's a real sense of community -- a lot of them are bands we've played with, or people I know from going to shows in town. It makes for a good environment," says Koniditsiotis, reflecting on his move to town. "I'm definitely glad I decided to stop in Memphis."

The Angel Sluts CD release show, with Six String Jets, Antique Curtains and the Guacos

Friday, 10 p.m. at Murphy's, 1589 Madison Avenue. Free.

-- Bob Mehr: 529-2517