Fruit Bats

by Heather Phares
Chicago's experimental folk-pop combo the Fruit Bats feature an ever-changing lineup based around singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Eric Johnson (not to be confused with the Eric Johnson from Archers of Loaf or the guitar virtuoso of the same name) and keyboardist/bassist/mandolin player Gillian Lisee. Johnson began playing and writing songs on his four-track in the mid-'90s before he formed I Rowboat, a Velvet Underground-inspired indie rock band. Johnson began dabbling in folk with I Rowboat guitarist Dan Strack and drummer Brian Belval as the Fruit Bats. When I Rowboat disbanded, Johnson played guitar and banjo with Califone. That group's Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella, who also own Perishable Records, urged the Fruit Bats to record their work for the label, which resulted in the trio's 2001 debut, Echolocation. Over the next two years the group toured and refined its lineup and sound, adding Lisee as well as more pop and experimental elements to their folk-rock base. In 2002 the group signed to Sub Pop, who released their sophomore effort, Mouthfuls, in spring 2003. Two years later, after relocating to Seattle and expanding to a four-piece, the band released their sophomore album, Spelled in Bones.