 The Story
Rope was formed in 1998 by guitarist Przemyslaw Krzysztof Drazek and bassist Robert Iwanik in Szczecin, Poland. The two recorded the Fever EP in the spring of 2000 and relocated to Chicago, Illinois, USA later that year. In the spring of 2002, drummer and percussionist Michael J. Kendrick joined the band and on May 30, that same year, Rope debuted live at Chicago's Hideout. Soon the trio hit the road for their first U.S. tour with Family Vineyard labelmates Darin Gray (ex-Dazzling Killmen, Grand Ulena, On Fillmore) and Unstable Ensemble. Meanwhile, Fever after first being released on a cassette by Polish imprint Every Color Productions in 2001, landed its U.S. release on Family Vineyard. The Wire wrote that Drazek and Iwanike "frame their pieces as a yet unresolved conflict between flesh and phantom."
Fall '02 brought a recording session of Rope's first full-length Widow's First Dawn with Steve Albini at his studio Electrical Audio. The album found its home with Family Vineyard again and features guest appearances by Grazyna Auguscik on vocals, Darin Gray on piano, and Unstable Ensemble's Marty Belcher on soprano saxophone. The following year was highlighted with many enthusiastic reviews ("wonderfully faithful to their doomsday vision" --Dusted), shows and a feature on MTV's "This Is Our Music" show. Rope also joined Tone Deaf Touring's roster and throughout '04 and '05 toured nationwide sharing stages with Oxbow, U.S. Maple, Lydia Lunch, Jarboe, Angels Of Light, Glenn Kotche, Cheer-Accident, Eugene Chadbourne, On Fillmore, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Skeleton Key, Grand Ulena, Sicbay, Sir Richard Bishop, Josephine Foster, Nels Cline, Joe McPhee, Mats Gustafsson, Mark Shippy, Devendra Banhart amongst many others. Summer through winter '05 took place recording sessions for the second full-length Heresy, And Then Nothing But Tears featuring writing collaboration and vocals by Oxbow's Eugene Robinson on four songs and the returning vocalist Grazyna Auguscik and Marty Belcher on soprano saxophone for the opener "She The Assassin." The album is out on October 10th world wide via Family Vineyard Records.
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"Be foreign forever! Be reluctant, distrustful, sober, sharp and exotic.
Hang in there, boy! Don't allow yourself to be tamed, domesticated.
Your place is not among them, but outside of them. You are like a
rope, which children call a jump rope: it is thrust ahead so they
can jump over it." -- W. Gombrowicz "Diary" 1954
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