It never fails to surprise me how small a world it truly is. Particularly in Chicago, the “biggest small town in America” as a friend once put it; I come across more strange six degrees of separation than Kevin Bacon. A few weeks back I was hanging out at Wicker Park’s Double Door for one of Reviewsic’s anniversary shows when I happened upon a young band of Chicagoans called The Island of Misfit Toys. We chatted and exchanged niceties as we sat in the dark chilly corner of the upstairs’ backstage, where we had been banished for being under 21 but were legally allowed to be due to our roles as professionals working the show. Some time passes and just as we’re talking about setting up an interview for the band on Reviewsic, front man Anthony Sanders says, “Wait. Don’t I know you from MySpace?” MySpace? He may as well have asked me if he knew me from the Titanic, because I haven’t thought about that abandoned amusement park of social networking in years. I told him that yes, back in my heyday I did sort of rule my local MySpace arena due to my work with 98.3fm and Jstreetzine. Turns out young Anthony and myself were MySpace friends back in our early teens and now here we were in the flesh all grown up and some-what legally hanging out in a bar. The strange connections don’t end there though. Sanders and his rollicking indie pop band recently signed with Chicago’s Tandem Shop Records, run by our pals Megan Frestedt and Sam McAllister from Project Film. For their first Tandem release and debut full-length, The Island of Misfit Toys have been recording Bear Hair with none other than Chris French from another favorite local, Rockford’s Joie De Vivre. Funny little connections like these are one of the things I love about local music. At practically any venue you can meet someone once and discover you’ve known him or her through some strange extension or that you’ve been running circles around one another through acquaintances for years. Chicago’s music scene is a strange Brady bunch like family of remarriage and stepsiblings. Or perhaps its better defined by a name like Sanders’ band’s- a quirky little island of misfits.
-Sam Gordon, Editor
Catch The Island of Misfit Toys this Sunday at Subterranean or throughout the next few weeks at the following venues:
1/28 – Round Lake Civic Center
2/13 – Reggie’s Rock Club
3/19 – Penny Road Pub
Anthony charmed us with an email interview this week to talk about the band’s signing to Tandem Shop, their music and the bands he wishes he had listened to much earlier in life.
Reviewsic: What is the back-story on how The Island of Misfit Toys came to be what it is today?
Anthony Sanders: It began as a songwriting project for me; I started recording all the demos for Bear Hair on my 4-track and got plenty of further recording help from one of our drummers, Evan. However, I realized how difficult it would be to perform these songs alone, and figured I’d ask some friends for some help playing the record live. Little did I know, it would become a tightly-knit group of friends that all added their personality to the songs. They feel less claustrophobic, and the arrangements are more lush and expanded. 
Reviewsic: Tell us about your decision to sign with Tandem Shop- what drew you to the label and what do you hope comes from this new chapter in the life of The Island of Misfit Toys?
Anthony Sanders: We met Sam McAllister through our bassist Jonathan. They used to be coworkers, and while they worked together, Sam told Jonathan about his label and the artists on it, along with all the booking he was doing and the energy/time he put into it. Bear Hair was all written and demo’d, and from what Jonathan had told me, Sam and Tandem Shop seemed like the answer when it came to distribution/promotion for the finished product. We met, we signed, and the partnership is sweet!
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Anthony Sanders: Oh man. This is tough. The strange thing is, my favorite bands are not exactly influential on the way I write! For example, Radiohead is my favorite band of all time, but what they do does not come out of me naturally, so I couldn’t call them an influence. I’d say Syd Barrett in terms of melody and instrumentation-choice, Why?/Yoni Wolf in terms of lyrics (and sincerity in them), and Queen in terms of performance.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Anthony Sanders: Earlier today, right when I woke up, I threw on Hummer by Fog. He’s a solo artist on Ninja Tune and has a lot of connections with Anticon, Why?’s label/collective. Last night I fell asleep to Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline by Stars of the Lid; Jonathan lent me the triple(!) LP a couple of months ago and I finally got around to downloading it. And a couple of days ago, I finally investigated the new Glassjaw…not what I expected. I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Anthony Sanders: Ha, I know everyone in the band would have a different answer for this. However, I’d list mine as Thom Yorke. My reasons why are nearing infinity.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Anthony Sanders: I LOVE this question…I’m gonna lean towards defunct bands we all like. Cap’n Jazz, Anathallo, and Queen!
Reviewsic: Lately we’ve been on this kick of revisiting bands we didn’t pay as much attention to in the past and wondering, “Why didn’t I listen to this 10 years ago?”- If you could go back in time and push 3 bands/records on your younger self, who/what would they be and why?
Anthony Sanders: Well, early Bright Eyes would’ve been terrific to listen to DURING the time it came out…after Lifted and other albums came out, people started revisiting what came out in the late 90s that he did, specifically Letting Off the Happiness. Also, Sunny Day Real Estate would’ve been good to hear during their peak. Same with Modest Mouse!
Reviewsic: Tell us about your music- where does the inspiration for it come from? Did you set out with the specific intention to make the kind of music you make? What does each member bring to the table to make this band what it is?
Anthony Sanders: It’s all wrought from truth. A lot of songwriters try and act like their material is soul-baring and honest, and more than half the time, it reeks of BS and stylized emotion. I find that completely obnoxious; one can say what they want about The Island of Misfit Toys songs, but no one can say they aren’t pure, and that’s something I can be proud of. When it comes to the “kind of music” I’m making, I didn’t set out to make a specific genre of music, not even “indie rock”; plenty of the material doesn’t even fall into that category besides the fact that it’s going to be released on an independent label! However, it’s not genre-less; more like an amalgamation of everything I’ve ever loved to listen to.
Each member (Mark and Julia on guitars, Evan and Lui on drums and percussion, Danny on keys, Jonathan on Bass, Kamila on flute/bells/auxiliary percussion) is a multi-instrumentalist, everyone sings, and everyone has a personality that seeps through what they do. They all bring themselves and their talent, and anyone who sees IoMT can see that it’s not just a band; it’s a unit tied together with love.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at this point as opposed to when you first began playing together?
Anthony Sanders: Tighter! Much tighter! We know the songs inside out and are learning new ones every day. As the songs get more intricate, everybody becomes acquainted to styles and ways of playing that they weren’t used to, and that can only be beneficial.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite cities/venues to play? Any places you haven’t gotten to that you’re dying to play at?
Anthony Sanders: Milwaukee at the Murray Cultural Center, a house venue run by some of our friends in the (old-school) screamo band Living and Wrestling! Everyone who attends those shows rules, and we play most aggressively to that audience…the other bands energize us. Also, Lansing, IL! Small suburb, but it’s music scene is FILLED with incredible, under-recognized bands such as WaterHouse, Nervous Passenger, Albatross, The Para-Medics, the now-defunct Sauk Bother…the list goes on and on. The fans are rabid for the music and come to EVERYTHING! Being accepted there is the most amazing feeling. Rockford is also building a D.I.Y. community, focused around Warren Franklin (w/ or w/out a band) and Joie De Vivre, and we feel honored to play there whenever we do.
And when it comes to venues we’d like to play at, we’d love to get in touch with The Bottom Lounge, Lincoln Hall, and Schubas! We haven’t thought of many venues out of the city, but we’d really be willing to play anywhere.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Anthony Sanders: Brass and reed instruments! For some reason, my mouth is a complete idiot when it comes to those things. Thank God Mark and Evan exist to play them.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
Anthony Sanders: Best? Playing Pygmalion Music Festival down in Champagne, Urbana, where Kamila goes to school. We got to open for Caribou and see/meet/hang-out-with Cap’n Jazz, one of our mutual favorite bands! It was an honor, and we all got pretty flooded up with emotion. Incredible night. And our worst moment wasn’t technically shared by all of us…but Mark, Jonathan, Evan, and I almost came face to face with death on sandcliffs in Cudahy, WI…thanks, dangerous night beaches!
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
Anthony Sanders: It’s hard to say…things have been happening very fast. A lot of the things I was planning on doing next year have already happened. We’re looking forward to releasing our album, and whatever happens next will be determined by how well it’s received. We’re hoping to book a tour for the summer and really spread the word about what we’re doing, because we’re very proud of it.
Tags: Chicago, Interview, Labels, Local Music, New Release, Upcoming Shows
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