This Saturday, February 16th, Chicago bluegrass favorites Cornmeal will be returning to Doc's. The show starts at 10pm and will only cost you $5 if you get discount presale tickets!

Here's Cornmeal's performance of the song "Hillbilly Ride":

Read on for our exclusive interview with Cornmeal!

Cornmeal Returns!

Cornmeal, the progressive bluegrass/funk/rock and roll improvisational band based out of Chicago, Illinois, returns to Docs Music Hall to claim the stage after a five-month-long absence since their Muncie debut in September. The five-piece acoustic-electric group is composed of “Wavy Dave” Burlingame-banjo,vocals, Kris Nowak-guitar,vocals, Chris Gangi-string bass, vocals, JP Nowak-drums/vocals and Allie Kral-fiddle/vocals. The group may be called straight “bluegrass” at times, but only because there isn’t a concise label that would include all of the other influences and innovations they possess and produce. At times, one would imagine their arms would simply fall off from moving their fingers and hands at an unimaginable speed, demanding all ears and minds within a mile radius to transmit a toe-tapping signal to the rest of their loins. They seem to captivate, kidnap and transport their audience on a whirlwind journey, which leads to a heart-pounding, feet-stomping, elbows-flailing-ly good time. Their crowds are left sweaty, breathless, aching, tired, panting, and somehow, still demanding more. Yet, after a night of fast-paced, unrelentingly hardcore bluegrass, they have the ability to slow - way - down and drip their audience into a trance-like state with a melting pot of jazz-funk-blues-fused melodic -tones, complimented by an almost Floyd-esq rhythmic tendency.

Docs’ frequenter and avid bluegrass fan, Kendra Frost has been following Cornmeal for over two years. “They’ve really progressed, I saw them twice in Denver over this past New Year’s Eve weekend and they played two entirely different sets over two nights. They have so much energy on stage, they look happy, a lot of bands lose it, ya know, they haven’t. [Their music] makes you get down, makes you want to dance, I don’t ever stop moving. All I’ve been hearing is how they’re headed to the top, the next big thing. They totally one-upped Yonder on their New Year’s run.” Marcus Lewton, drummer for local band, Know More Robots and Cornmeal admirer agrees, after seeing them the first time, “I knew I would definitely come back, it’s just non-stop energy, they don’t quit playing, it’s over and over and over.”

Their first album, “In the Kitchen” was released in 2001 from Livin’ Live Records. Since then, they have released 2003’s “Tales from Magic Stone Mountain” also Livin’ Live Records and most recently, 2006’s “Feet First” produced by Chris Gangi and Kris Nowak, which has been called a “…toe-tapping, hand-clapping, finger-snapping tour de force,” by Illinois Entertainer. Chris Gangi was kind enough to take some time off in the studio, where he is currently mixing a new live album, to answer a few questions…

How was your experience at Doc’s the last time you were here?

“We had a great time, the crowd was really responsive and really friendly. Mike [Martin] has been a really big supporter of ours, as well as other people in the community. ”

You guys have played venues that obviously vary in size, which is better, large-scale places or smaller intimate settings, or does it make a difference?

“It totally makes a difference. The energy in smaller venues is just totally unheard of. You can feed off of the audience so much more. 200-400 people [is great.] Doc’s is a good size hall.”

You guys have done the festival circuit before: Wakarusa, 10,000 Lakes…what about Bonnaroo?

“We love the festival circuit, there’s nothing better than being outside, plus, it’s a chance for us to explore collaboration with other artists. And there’s also the audience side of it, we can be part of the crowd, as well….[Bonnaroo]…we’re exploring the option. You can’t say you don’t want to do it, but there’s just so much going on there, it’s hard for music lovers.”

What is the most exciting thing about where the band is at this point in time?

“ We don’t know what’s happening next-the unknown. Looking into the future and knowing that we are out there on the road as much as we can be, meeting new people and making new connections, it’s nice exposure.”

What do you see for the future of the band?

Honestly, I’d like to continue playing music with these people. It’s hard to do in this day and age and we’re very fortunate that we just get to play.”

Songwriting: what comes first, music or lyrics?

“Songwriting for me can happen either way, [we all have] different ways, different styles. We really are strict about songwriting. It’s gotta’ be a good song first and if not then the jam doesn’t matter.”

You guys move so fast for so long, what keeps you going on stage?

“We feed off the crowd. After some shows we look at each other and laugh because of how ridiculously fast we just played. It’s stamina, too. Three years ago we couldn’t play this fast, at this point, this is the music we play; we play 150 shows a year.”

What genre do you see yourselves in?

“I don’t know, it used to be progressive bluegrass but it’s constantly changing, because we are constantly changing. [We are] rooted in Americana but we also put on, ya know, an improvisational rock and roll show.”

What do you think about categorization of genres in general?

“All artists hate to be pigeon-holed or categorized, that’s the bottom line. I hated the word jam band. I just don’t like the whole category. There were all these improvisational bands in the nineties and such that were pigeon-holed. The word had a negative connotation. You walk a fine line, if you call yourself bluegrass you may alienate those who don’t like bluegrass and if you call yourself a jam band you may not get the bluegrass crowd. It’s all about cross-pollination. For me, that’s the whole point of music, that it evolves, ya know, that it came from somewhere and goes to somewhere else.”

Innovation, tremendous musicianship, hard work and just plain talent have clearly catapulted Cornmeal, the band that started out as a “side project” over eight years ago into what they are today: one of the most contagious and infectious groups growing in the contemporary music scene.

CORNMEAL WILL BE DOMINATING THE STAGE, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16TH AT DOCS MUSIC HALL with SIX STRING SPLINT! Tickets are on sale now, only $5 presale, $7 day of show. Call (765) 286-0949 or check out docsmusichall.com for more information.