By Scout Nicholson / The Jambar
Chicago-based musical group DZ Riley has a new EP titled “Olympia” in the works, which is planned for a mid-November release.
The band was founded by lead guitarist Keefer Schoon, who began writing his debut album, “Entropy Rock,” under the name DZ Riley. Eventually, he met musician Noah Savoie, who helped collaborate with him on the album, playing the saxophone and creating melodies.
Schoon said DZ Riley’s “Entropy Rock” was 80% written by himself, with help from Savoie. His debut album relates to his grandmother’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I took a bunch of Adderall one night. And I stayed up all night writing in my notes app, this like concept that kept developing. It was something along the lines of an elderly man experiencing a psychedelic trip, but it’s really like he’s hallucinating, and then it turned into dementia,” Schoon said.
After the creation of its first album, the band welcomed lead vocalist Gracie Lubiskey, drummer Hugh Maxey and bassist Jakob Morris to the group. The majority of them met during their time at Columbia College Chicago.
Although the band is based in Chicago, its musicians come from all over America, each with a unique musical background. Maxey is a Chicago native, Morris is from Houston, Lubiskey is from Philadelphia, Schoon is from Maryland and Savoie is from Michigan.
Even with the distance, Savoie said all members share the same musical goal.
“It’s definitely been the center of our lives ever since we picked it up when we were all around the ages of 10,” Savoie said.
DZ Riley’s most recent project, “Peak Panache,” was released in 2024. The album focuses on storytelling, featuring songs from almost every genre. There are a total of 14 songs, with the final track totaling 15 minutes long.
Savoie said the album itself took four years to create, since the release of “Entropy Rock” in 2020. The album begins with an instrumental track titled “The Meteor That Killed The Dinosaurs,” which transitions into a more funk-inspired song, “Smooth Sailin’.”
Savoie said the entire album showcases their creative freedom.
“It comes down more to musicality than the music itself. Because as you heard on the album, we got like mariachi and bluegrass and funk and everything … but the whole thing that mattered was for them all to be together for the celebration of music,” Savoie said.
One of the most compelling parts of the album is its use of storytelling. A majority of the songs feature voice actors. Some impersonate a boot camp officer or a man abducted by aliens. Schoon said the band even hired Jerry Springer, on the app, Cameo.
“100% of it came from me and Noah joking around … ‘What if we had a dinosaur giving birth on stage?’ … ‘What if we had a brain in a jar?’ … We joked around so many times that it became a pretty cohesive thing,” Schoon said.
With all the extravagantness of “Peak Panache,” “Olympia” is going to be a bit tamer, described by the band as a psychedelic Americana vibe.
Listeners can follow DZ Riley’s upcoming music on Spotify and Apple Music. For more on DZ Riley, visit its YouTube channel @dzrileyofficial.