Scott Lucas & The Married Men

Scott Lucas is best known as half of the Chicago-based, rock duo Local H, but on his debut solo album George Lassos the Moon he explores the softer side of things -- adding horns, violin and even accordion -- and proves that quiet and sad can be just as powerful as loud and angry. Lucas wrote half of the songs for his solo debut during a single week of a year-long separation from his girlfriend, emailing one song a night to her in hopes of getting back together. "The songs just kept pouring out of me -- all the clichés are true," says Lucas. "It was totally spontaneous and unforced. And, it didn't really occur to me that it would be anything anyone would ever want to hear. I had absolutely no long term plans for any of these songs. For that first week, they were private love letters and nothing else." The rest of the songs came shortly after and Lucas soon realized he had an album’s worth of material, but he didn’t feel like this particular set of songs would work as a Local H record. "When people make solo records, they're usually borne out of ego and don't sound much different than their 'real' band,” Lucas says. “I've always written the songs and had all the artistic freedom I could ever ask for in Local H. So, what would be the point of going solo? But it was very clear that these songs were different. They were just too fucking personal to be on anything other than a solo record." Ironically, doing a solo record required a bigger band, so he pulled together a new backing band from Chicago’s rich indie music scene, including members of the Joy Poppers, the Tossers, Cisco Pike, Caviar and the Fluffers -- and the Married Men were wed. Mostly recorded over a single weekend by Andy Gerber at Million Yen in Chicago, the album features horn arrangements by Dave Max Crawford (Wilco, Poi Dog Pondering), guest vocals from Elizabeth Elmore (Sarge, the Reputation) and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street” (full track listing below). "I'd always wanted to make a record like ‘The Trinity Session’ -- I fucking love that record,” explains Lucas. “We each staked out our own section of the studio and just played the songs live. I don't think every person knew every song 100 percent, but I don't think that mattered. We were all under the sway of our 'Highway 61/going-for-the-moment' fantasies. No one was concerned with getting everything perfect -- or in tune -- as long as it felt right." In addition to Dylan and the Cowboy Junkies, a few other longtime influences bubbled up as well. "There's the usual stuff in there that everybody name checks when they make roots-y records -- stuff like Neil Young and the Band,” Lucas says. “But when I listen to this album, I hear a lot of Pink Floyd and Pavement, as well as Mark Lanegan's first solo record. And you know what? I'm totally fine with that." Scott Lucas & the Married Men will release George Lassos the Moon on February 16th. The album will be available on limited-edition vinyl, CD and digitally through G&P Records, via Burnside Distribution. They have been killing it (softly) live all over Chicago this past year and the sextet plans to take it on