Members of the acclaimed local rock band Chomsky aren’t from our neighborhood, but they came here as soon as they could.
“I wouldn’t live anywhere else in Dallas,” says drummer Matt Kellum.
“Location, charm, character. That’s really it for me,” says front man Sean Halleck.
“Charm,” says keyboardist Don Cento. “Like how there are actually family-owned restaurants here. You can go eat at a restaurant that isn’t a chain.”
“Charm and character, character and charm,” says Halleck. “That’s Chomsky.”
Friends Halleck, a Lakewood resident, and bassist James Driscoll, a resident of Lake Highlands, founded Chomsky in 1994. The two met a year earlier at the University of North Texas.
“One day, he asked me out of the blue if he could come over and play me some of his songs,” Driscoll says. “I was anticipating bass player-oriented, funky rock-genre music from the time; I’ll spare you the examples. Instead, he played a song called ‘Shoreline.’ I really liked that. He planted a musical seed in one of my organs that day.”
Kellum, also a Lakewood resident, met Driscoll at UNT as well. He played with the band at several rehearsals and in 1996 finally became a permanent member.
“I joined the band for the music. It couldn’t be a better fit for me stylistically,” Kellum says.
In 1998, guitarist Glen Reynolds, another Lakewood resident, met Kellum backstage at Fry Street Fair, a music festival featuring local and regional bands, and joined the band that same year.
“They had untapped potential,” Reynolds says, “and I got the feeling that our combined talents could be really good.”
Driscoll later invited longtime friend Cento, another Lakewood resident, to fill in temporarily on keyboards. After the break-up of his band, the Tomorrow People, Cento became a permanent member of Chomsky.
“I think it’s the goal of every musician to be a part of a group that believes in the music, and I think that everybody in the band believes in the music and is excited about it,” Cento says.
Fans and critics are also excited about the music. After the release of their 1999 album, A Few Possible Selections for the Soundtrack of Your Life, they began to receive local critical acclaim, winning several 2000 and 2001 Dallas Observer music awards, including album of the year in 2000 and best rock/pop act in 2000 and 2001.
“We’ve been able to create music, follow our vision and collaborate on a vision,” Cento says.
They hope to continue that vision with Onward Quirky Soldiers, their 11-song follow-up to Soundtrack.
“It’s exciting to work with a band that seems to keep getting better. If it wasn’t, trust me, we wouldn’t be doing it,” Driscoll says.
“Making this new album has been amazing,” Kellum says. “We’ve got to the point where we’re really connecting musically and clicking as a band.”
Band members describe their music as “1979 meets 2001.” It’s pop music that keeps the listener thinking, or rock music without the angst. Either way, it’s something positive.
“As a person and musically, it’s definitely improved me,” Reynolds says.
The members’ of Chomsky share a rare bond, something that seems atypical in the chaotic world of rock music.
“These guys have all become my best friends,” Kellum says. “Not to be cheesy, but it really is like a family.”
“I like being with a group of people that are willing to grow together, and are growing together,” Halleck says.
“We are all pretty, well, eccentric,” Reynolds says.
“Chomsky is the only band in which geeks are allowed to rock,” Cento says.
Perhaps Chomsky’s success lies in part in the group’s deviation from the norms of the music business. They haven’t allowed themselves to become a rock and roll cliché.
“Most bands consume drugs and alcohol,” Cento says. “Chomsky consumes soda and chips.”
“None of us have drug problems; none of us have alcohol problems,” Halleck says. “It’s not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It’s about the rock and roll. It’s about the music.”
For more information about Chomsky, visit their website at http://www.chomsky.com.
