Music Nation is a Music Video Competition for Independent Artists

Oucho Sparks believes “Indie” rock should be as independent as the title suggests. This coalition of the willing has been exercising this philosophy for years now. The 2007 release FOREIGN CARS AND ROBOTS is the culmination of this concept in action. Guitarist Dave Gallagher explains: “We made it all. We built the recording studio. We produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered the music. We financed the CD production." Bassist Bob Salihar continues: “Even the live show we're making... it HAS to be done our own way; so we look for theaters, warehouses, etc." In 2002 they started their own underground venue dubbed Café Ballistico. In 2004, Oucho organized BallisticoFest featuring 22 bands and drawing over 1000 people. During all of this chaos, Studio Ballistico was quietly being constructed on Chicago’s northside. Frontman/Vocalist/Producer Tim Sandusky explains: “If nothing else comes out of this album, it was the reason that we constructed this studio... and it’s a good thing cuz I needed a job.” In addition to the Oucho Sparks recordings, Tim uses Studio Ballistico to produce notable Chicago acts (Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Bound Stems) and film scores including BLACK GOLD (2006 Sundance.) One listen to FOREIGN CARS AND ROBOTS shows that recording is much more than a job for Oucho Sparks. Dense vocal harmonies, tricky beats, and epic guitar licks come together under a highly textured blanket of synths and noises all packaged into something that might be pop songs. Keyboardist Aaron Allietta expounds: “People have really responded well to our music, comparing us to The Postal Service, The Flaming Lips, The Mars Volta, and XTC. Sites like Myspace were a great resource during the recording process in order to get immediate feedback,” Consistently ranking in the top artists, Oucho Sparks has 40,000 registered fans on the website. The good news is that independence breeds originality, and there is no shortage here. -contributed by D.W.