THEOUTFIT
RESPECT THE VIKING
C
ombining savvy songwriting root-
ed in power-pop and glammy
metal, The Outfit is breaking the
mold for local music veterans. Over two
albums, they've managed to not only defy
the sophomore slump, but they've also
shown that educated music stalwarts can
still have something to say.
The band features a group of seasoned
Chicago musicians, including brothers
Mark (drums) and Matt Nawara (guitar),
Mike Gorman (bass), and Andy Mitchell
(vocals/guitar). Their second full-length
album, Viking, was recently released on
Pavement Entertainment, of which Mark
happens to be the President/CEO.
Tracked at Chicago’s Sonic Palace stu-
dio with Matt Mercado, and mixed by
multi-platinum producer Ulrich Wild
(Breaking Benjamin, Static-X), the album’s
overall sound is massive and melodic.
From the explosive opener “Come Alive”
to the power-pop rocker of album closer
“Sitting Here Alone,” Viking is loaded
from front to back with infectious, singa-
long tunes.
According to Mark, the writing and
recording process for Viking took a while
to finalize. “It took us about a year and
two months to complete the album,” he
said. “We just kept writing and filing the
songs in the midst of doing shows over the
last year. We didn't want to screw with the
process too much because we really liked
the way the first record came out.”
Their writing process is a little unusual
compared to some bands, due to the geo-
graphical location of lead singer Andy
Mitchell, who lives in Arizona.
“The way we write, basically, is that
Andy will come up with the melody and
some parts, and then he’ll send it to me,”
Mark began. “Then I'll put some drums to
it, send it back to the guys, and then every-
body else puts their two-cents in. Then we
all put it together. That's pretty much how
we did the first record and we kept it the
same (on the new album).”
With ten tracks, the album has a com-
pact 36-minute runtime allowing the lis-
tener to get in and get out comfortably. “I
just think the perfect album is ten songs,”
Mark said. “The songs are just the way we
write them, the way we tend to do them
20 illinoisentertainer.com may 2020
[live]. They [all] ended up being three min-
utes and 20 seconds. It wasn't really
planned. I think the perfect album has a
running time of about 35 minutes, no more
than 40 minutes, and it's an enjoyable
experience, hopefully, to listen to it.”
From The Outfit’s debut gig at
RocHaus in West Dundee in 2018, they
have come full circle and were about to
headline the venue again for the album
release party on April 24. However, due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, the band recent-
ly rescheduled the event for October 17.
“The first date (in 2018) was a surprise
to us,” Mark admitted. “It was a really suc-
cessful show. We had probably 300 people
there, which was amazing for a first time
show because no one really knew who we
were. We put the (debut) record out in
February, so to get a buzz from that show
was cool.”
Since that show, the band has been gig-
ging as much as possible and steadily
gaining a more extensive fan base while
garnering more recognition in the local
scene. “We've been doing a lot of gigs since
the first album came out,” Mark con-
firmed. “In 2019, we did a lot of shows,
some with (fellow local rockers) Soil. We
did the Rock USA festival out in Oshkosh,
WI. We opened for Saving Abel up in
Minnesota. I think in 2018, we did maybe
12 or 13 shows, and in 2019, we did proba-
bly 15 shows. We're trying to get out there
and spread the word as much as we can. It
just seems like everything keeps progress-
ing and moving forward.”
However, with the uncertainty of the
world due to Covid-19, especially with the
entertainment industry as a whole, The
Outfit is just taking it one day at a time
until the band can get back to business.
“I’m taking it day by day, and I’m very
thankful that everyone in my family and
circle of friends is healthy right now,”
Mark concluded. “I do believe that better
days are coming. We all need to stick
together.”
The Outfit even managed to create a
new video for "Sitting Here Alone," made
from their homes during the stay at home
order. Visit YouTube.com to view it now.
By Kelley Simms