News | Bio | Reviews Crafty, air-guitar inspired rock songs with emphasis on melody and dynamics from three guys with gusto in the vein of Brendon Benson, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists and True Love. Beguiling, Captivating and Punchy and these hooks, they do not mess around! This is an incredibly diverse, but completely pop songs! They push it forward at the right times and always come up with a spunky hook and cool arrangement to make this record shine on every listen. -Not Lame How many cool bands can co-exist in one small city....? That may be impossible to determine, but we have found Athens, Georgia to be one of the greatest hotbeds of talent in the world over the past decade or so. Gone are the days when ho-hum bands in the 1980s gave the city a bad reputation. Those deadend bands have now been replaced by some truly credible and incredible artists that seem to sprout from the woodwork like smooth mother ducklings. Ceiling Fan is a great little power trio with a decidedly cool sense of humor. The band's songs are direct, punchy, to-the-point, and extraordinarily catchy. The tunes on Hot Streets are simply infectious...delivered with taste, integrity, and style. These three guys aren't trying to be different. Instead, they simply play and sing pure pop the way they know it ought to be played. Cool steady rhythms support some absolutely killer guitar licks. Upbeat fun numbers include "Get Shallow," "Grow Up," "Kill This Bug For Me," and "Dog With Flea." Recommended. (Rating: 5+) -Baby Sue Athens' band Ceiling Fan have been around for more than a few years. There was a time when they seemed to be the house band for the Caledonia Lounge and, as such, I've seen them in concert more times than I can remember. Recently, however, they haven't been playing out as much, and I more or less wondered what had happened. And then, out of the blue, I heard they had finally released an album, called Hot Streets, on Imperial Fuzz records. When I started listening to Hot Streets, I was very pleased. Most of the live favorites I remember have finally been recorded for posterity. And, as a chunk of semi-crunchy, slightly geeky rock music, this album has almost everything I could want. Guitarist Ben Spraker specializes in jangly, rhythmic guitar riffs, which in and of themselves are an Athens' band hallmark. In contrast, Jess Robbins continually holds down the melody via his prominent bass lines, which sing and bounce all over the place. Finally, Dave Gerow doesn't engage in the theatrics one might expect from a true "rock" drummer; however, his rather straight-forward drumming is still a focal-point of the music. In short, the balance which Ceiling Fan displays is relatively rare in the recorded medium, and this strong background allows the listener to pay attention other parts of the songs. Previously, I called Ceiling Fan's music slightly geeky. This element really emerges when you look at the songs' lyrics and their delivery. Primary vocalist Spraker has a slightly ironic tone that recalls John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants or perhaps the young Elvis Costello. Furthermore, the clever wordplay found on songs like I'm Boring or Ncyclpd Brwn gives them, at times, the feel of over-educated liberal arts graduates who have fun by making others laugh knowledgably. Even the album's pseudo-country tune, Dog with Flea, comes across a conscious attempt to play on certain conventions. Nevertheless, these elements don't come across as ironic or mocking. Instead, everything seems genuine and unaffected, as if this homage to New Wave music and classic 1970s rock construction is a natural function of the Ceiling Fan's individual personalities. Still, the best songs on the album are the sing along, bouncy pop songs like Get Shallow, Burnt Sienna, and Como Te Llamas. For instance, Get Shallow contains all of the musical qualities mentioned previously. Furthermore, on this particular track, the backing vocals of Robbins and Gerow act as a lower counterpoint to Spraker's soaring lead. However, what really makes Get Shallow stand out is the New Wave-ish bridge combined with the compelling chorus of "How did you get so shallow?" Likewise, Burnt Sienna begins with a jangly guitar riff that recalls the work of Rick Springfield. Like Get Shallow, Burnt Sienna has a catchy chorus that is enhanced by a doubled vocal line. But, in this case, the bass line of Jess Robbins comes to the forefront about half way through the song, and stays the central focus until the conclusion. Finally, my favorite song is Como Te Llamas. On this song, Gerow's drumming finally takes center stage, with its prominent snare and cymbal combination. Likewise, immediately after the chorus, both the guitar and bass come together to provide a simple but memorable bridge that mimics the drum pattern. And, again, the catchy chorus of "What was your name again? I forgot already…" is more or less guaranteed to have people singing along with the band by the second listen. In fact, I only have two minor complaints about Hot Streets. First, the various over-dubbed sound effects (particularly on the guitars) become a bit distracting at times. Although I suspect that these are an intentional homage to Ceiling Fan's influences, the suddenness and relative loudness of the touches threaten to overwhelm the music. But this need for songs to live and die by itself is my own personal preference, and by no means reflects on the band. Second, as a self-contained album, Hot Streets does at times veer somewhat erratically from musical genre to musical genre. While I've chosen to focus on the extremely strong pop songs, other styles are certainly represented on the album. For instance, Rock Discipline Part II could be a lost Iggy and the Stooges track, while, as I've mentioned previously, Dog with Fleas is a dead on impression of a classic country tune. Although I don't find the disparate types of songs distracting, someone who is looking for a unified vision might find the variety disconcerting. Nevertheless, Hot Streets captures the live essence of Ceiling Fan, even down to the two covers (by Joe Jackson and Boz Skaggs, respectively). And while it isn't musically ground-breaking by any means, it is a great album to listen to and simply enjoy, especially on a spring afternoon. Finally, the best compliment I can pay to Ceiling Fan is that listening to this album makes me happy, and there certainly aren't many bands that can claim that effect. -EvilSponge "Hot Streets", the 2004 release from the Athens band Ceiling Fan, consists entire of absurdly catchy pop songs built with the precision and innovation of a prog rock album. The guitar lines reel the listener in with subtle, muted licks then kick out jams in the crescendos. Recorded and mixed by Jason NeSmith (of Casper & The Cookies). -Circle Sky Given song titles like "I'm Boring", a singer with the vocal nasality of They Might Be Giants's John Flansburgh and a championing of shunned, uncool artists like Boz Skaggs, this Athens band is thoroughly unstressed about deflecting well-trod Gen-X stereotypes. Hot Streets brashly struts Ceiling Fan's wry, geeky humor and horn-rimmed musical reference points. They might not actually be funny when they're trying to be -- "Burnt Sienna" is about a color that's "s'posed to be brown but its not" -- but their straightforward take on college rock is smart, declamatory entertainment. Ceiling Fan's sound traces its origins to the forceful hooks of Big Star and the jangly riffs of bands like The dB's, and their runs through this terrain ("Como Te Llamas", "Get Shallow") are consistently winning. Elsewhere, they make room for Dexy's Midnight Runners-style horns, a Jonathan Richman sparse-jam and, best of all, a sax-smeared diamond ("Kill This Bug For Me") that owes its lithe catchiness to The Police. Hot Streets is a fine, damn solid record, its surface hints of smarm overwhelmed by the music's animated effervescence. -Splendid Magazine "Listening to Ceiling Fan can be likened to taking a field trip through the punk, hard rock and underground music fringes of the last 20 years. Crunching bass and guitar immediacy a la the Minutemen, the Clash or Cheap Trick run rampant. At the same time so do Beatles-esque harmonies, Motown-style handclaps and an unbounded spirit wound up on an imagined breakfast of instant caffeine and cheap cigarettes. Throughout it all Ben Spraker, Jess Robbins and Dave Gerow keep a steady balance between their lyrical lasciviousness and their fluid arrangements, never letting one get the best of the other." -Flagpole Magazine "Think "Another Green World"-era Brian Eno, Blue Oyster Cult and "Black Sea"-era XTC. It all works, because you get the feeling that deep down inside, these Joe Jackson fans have hearts that truly yearn for Accept and Judas Priest. From the Wagnerian, Townshendesque power of the lead off track "Get Shallow" and the towering, hummable post-Television guitar structures of "Grow Up," to the violent saxophone squawks of "Kill This Bug For Me" and the Leonard Cohen-y, downbeat elegence of "Everything Takes Forever," these songs are studied, without being overthought; varied, without being pretentious; unique, without being annoying; and funny, without being sophomoric. All with pop melodies as ubiquitous as oranges in The Godfather. That is to say, there's a whole damn mess of 'em. And throughout, Spraker's hovering tenor conjures scenes of deceptive crayons, unlikely lounge singers and best friends' older sisters. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Oh, yeah, that pop band with great harmonies and funny lyrics and crazy horns on their albums; I know them, they're called B..." No you don't. Sit down and shut the fuck up. This is Ceiling Fan." -Karate Media www.karatemedia.com 2001--Trick Music Mustached maverick Frank Zappa posed a sarcasm-ridden, though very pertinent question when he asked, "Does humor belong in music?" Ornery-though-well-meaning music writer Michael Andrews then followed up Zappa's pondering by asking, "Can a group use humor in music to their advantage and still be considered a legitimate rock and roll band?" Looking far beyond Weird Al, the Dead Milkmen, Gwar and other outlandish yucksters, the answer is, thankfully, "yes." Look no further than local boys Ceiling Fan for more than adequate proof. Ceiling Fan's 1999 release Trick Music celebrates such tongue-in-cheek subject matter as narcolepsy, teenage driving, loss of suburban sanity and the age-old dilemma of getting lost in the supermarket just like those hell-bent upstarts in The Clash did way back in '79. Throughout it all Ben Spraker (vocals, guitar), Jesse Robbins (bass, vocals) and David Gerow (drums, vocals) keep a steady balance between their lyrical lasciviousness and their fluid arrangements, never letting one get the best of the other. Listening to Ceiling Fan can be likened to taking a field trip through the punk, hard rock and underground music fringes of the last 20 years. Crunching bass and guitar immediacy a la the Minutemen, the aforementioned Clash or Cheap Trick run rampant through tunes like "Blue Light Special," "Hang Onto Yourself" and "Busy Flinchin'." At the same time so do Beatles-esque harmonies, Motown-style handclaps and an unbounded spirit wound up on an imagined breakfast of instant caffeine and cheap cigarettes. The ponderer ponders just what sort of dish the erstwhile eclectics in Ceiling Fan will serve up in the future. Listening to morsels of the new material reveals an already well-oiled machine continuously polishing its gears with nary a hint of friction. Fluidity, baby. Shouldn't have to tell ya twice. It appears the guys remain not too serious for rock and roll's sake, but more on the ball when it comes to writing more personal albeit somewhat self-effacing material. As far as the musical accompaniment is concerned, bass and drums fidget along perfectly, the guitarist burns rubber but doesn't crash the party and the straight ahead vocals make for more than apt dinner conversation. Hot Streets I've never really mused on the term "power trio" before, as it gets thrown around a lot anytime a band comes around with a guitar-bass-drums lineup. In this case, however, I feel comfortable applying it to Athens' Ceiling Fan. All three members sing, all three know their instruments backwards and forwards, and they're stylistically all over the place, usually in the same song. Generally, they sound like an 80s jangle pop band without the jangle. Pleasant, hummable pop melodies over a constantly shifting musical backdrop. Hot Streets, the band's second record, sees the band jumping from new wave to dub to classic rock to who knows what else. The most interesting thing about Ceiling Fan is that, just when the songs sound like they might be getting lost in their own quirkiness, the hook comes. The guitar playing is at the center of the record, with Ben Spraker displaying chops whether he's playing reverbed surf guitar, classic rock riffs, or even just feedback passages. The unpredictability keeps things interesting, though some may be turned off by the somewhat silly lyrics . songs tackle subjects like the character Encyclopedia Brown and the color burnt sienna ("supposed to be brown/ but it's not"). Ultimately, your enjoyment of Ceiling Fan will depend on your willingness to follow them through their tricky songs. Somewhere in there, however, exists a definite Ceiling Fan sound. -- Sam Gunn, Flagpole The schizophrenic band Ceiling Fan opens the show: One moment they sound like a 1979 California new wave band, the next they're The Clash, the next they're Kiss. It's weird. (BL) Anyway, when I finally made it over to the Caledonia, Ceiling Fan were already on the stage. From their first notes, it was apparent that time hadn't really distorted my memories of them. As usual, their music has a sort of laid back, jangly Indie pop feel that sounds like a blend of Ashley Stove and the early Beatles. It's the type of music where you can't help but bounce, even if you don't know the song, because the chords and progressions are somehow familiar without being boring. On top of that, Ceiling Fan lead singer Ben Spraker has a nice enough voice that he can pull off the band's oddball songs (like I'm Boring) without seeming merely quirky and weird. In short they're a fun band: not particularly original and not particularly challenging but rather an entertaining diversion to drink beer to. My only complaint (if you can call it that) in their set was simply the fact that I knew most of the songs. I mean I hadn't really seen this band in over a year, so I would have thought that they would be playing significant amounts of new material. But they didn't - and I have to admit I wasn't really bothered. On this evening, I wasn.t disappointed at all by Ceiling Fan's set. They played many of the older songs I recognized (such as "I'm Boring" and a couple of others that I don.t know the names of). And they quickly appeared to win over the slightly skeptical crowd: by the middle of their set even the hardcore metalheads were bouncing their heads in appreciation, especially to the Ben Spraker's occasionally blistering guitar riffs. But the person who struck me that night was the bassist, who carried most of the melodies and certainly combined with the drums to drive everything along. It may have been because of the somewhat bass-heavy sound mix, but I definitely had a new appreciation for his skills after this set. Anyway, to top it everything off, they played Prince's "(I will) Never Take the Place of Your Man" which holds the dubious distinction of being the only Prince song I really like. In short, it was a great set which went over very well. And, at some point, I look forward to a new release from these guys. Trick music, indeed! Athens, GA stars Ceiling Fan's indie-pop skronk is well ventilated in this debut CD. A joyous collision between the Pixies and the Minutemen, with Roanoke-ian Ben Spraker's bold vocals shining through. Rooted in classic rock and veering sharply to the left, Ceiling Fan manages the difficult feat of rocking hard and challenging the listener. Highly recommended, and watch for their follow up on Imperial Fuzz, "Hot Streets." Recorded by producer Jason NeSmith. Radio, Radio WUOG 90.5 FM Athens, GA KNSU-Thibadaux, Louisiana KSLC-McMinnville, Oregon WCNI-New London, Connecticut WECI-RichmondIndiana WEIU-Charleston, Illinois WNCW- Spindale,North Carolina WRHU-Hempstead, New York WTCC-Springfield, Massachussettes