The Super Happy Fun Club
| The Super Happy Fun Club | |
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Super Happy Fun Club soundchecking at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut during the Madina Lake Farewell Celebration and Final UK Tour, 10-10-2013
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Piano rock, alternative rock, power pop, pop punk |
| Years active | 2010-present |
| Labels | Throop Records |
| Associated acts | Lucky Boys Confusion, Treaty of Paris, Teen Idols, Madina Lake, The Waiting Game, Logan Square |
| Website | thesuperhappyfunclub |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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The Super Happy Fun Club (also known as Super Happy Fun Club, or SHFC) is an American piano rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band is composed of local Chicago musicians who had all previously achieved minor to moderate success in the music industry. As such, the name of the band is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the disenchantment many musicians feel towards the music industry. This facetiously jocular attitude is conspicuous in many of their songs, while others represent a more serious reflection on the vicissitudes of life. Current members of the band are Kaustubh "Stubhy" Pandav (vocals), Pat Gilroy (keyboards/backing vocals), Jeremy Galanes (bass, backing vocals), Phil Kosch (guitar, backing vocals), Dave Swick (guitar, backing vocals), and Chris Mason (drums).
In 2010, Lucky Boys Confusion frontman Kaustubh "Stubhy" Pandav began working with local Chicago musicians Brad Chagdes (formerly of Logan Square) and James "Jiggles" Jagielski (bassist for fellow Chicago band, Swizzletree) on a new songwriting project. Shortly thereafter, the trio recruited fellow friends and local musicians Pat Gilroy on keyboards, Jason Javurek (whom Pandav had played with in a previous side project, The Insecurities) on guitar, and Chris Mason (formerly of the Teen Idols) on drums. The newly minted band recorded the demos for the songs "Invincible", "Victims" and "Light Pollution" under the auspices of Gilroy and Mason's former bandmate, Jeremy Galanes, who served as producer and engineer. The group was initially named "Stubhy and the Bad Habits" and made their debut on August 7, 2010 at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago, Illinois. A two-song demo including the songs "Light Pollution" and "Victims" was self-released that year. Shortly after the band's debut, Javurek decided to leave the band to follow other pursuits, and was replaced by Galanes on guitar.
In late 2010, the band began discussing the possibility of changing the name of the group to reflect the more collaborative nature of the band's composition and songwriting. The resulting name, "The Super Happy Fun Club" was intended as a dry pun evoking the disenchantment and weariness that many skilled veterans of local music scenes feel towards the music industry establishment. The band made their debut under this new name on December 5, 2010, again at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago. The group re-released the Stubhy and the Bad Habits demo under the new name and including a new song, "Generations".
During the winter of 2010/2011, SHFC began recording their first EP, Go Fun Yourself. Recording sessions were punctuated with performances in support of AM Taxi at Beat Kitchen, Ludo at Bottom Lounge, and Madina Lake at the Metro. In keeping with the band's DIY approach, almost all recording was done at band members' apartments, and was engineered and produced by Jeremy Galanes. Go Fun Yourself was released on June 4, 2011 and celebrated with a show the same day at Subterranean. The album received generally positive reviews, and the band supported their album with various appearances at fests around Chicago during the summer of 2011, including Roscoe Village Fest, Wells Street Arts Festival, and Oyster Fest. It was during this summer that Jagielski amicably left the band for personal reasons. Jeremy Galanes switched from guitar to bass in place of Jagielski, and Phil Kosch (formerly of Treaty of Paris) was recruited to fill in Galanes' place on guitar.
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