The Macrodots

Richardson Re-Invents herself and Returns to Chicago’s NortHalsted Street Marketdays with new hard-rocking supergroup:

Macrodots

Rock Goddess Cathy Richardson has not had a moment to sit still since relocating to San Francisco 4 years ago to star as Janis Joplin in the Off Broadway musical biopic Love, Janis. In between fronting tours with two legendary Bay Area classic rock bands, Joplin’s band Big Brother and the Holding Co. in 2007, and Jefferson Starship from 2008 to the present (with whom she recorded the band’s first new studio album in over a decade, Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty) - Richardson teamed up with San Francisco guitarist, producer and songwriter, Zack Smith (founding member of the 80s pop rock band Scandal), to create Macrodots and their new classic debut album, The Other Side.

“After seeing me in Love, Janis, Zack talked to me about creating a new band that would showcase my harder rocking side and give him a chance to create the consummate, timeless rock album he’s always wanted to make. And I said, ‘ummm… ok, that sounds cool.’ He sent me 10 fully produced song seedlings and said, ‘What do you think of these?’ And they were all good,” states Richardson devoid of any facial expression or vocal inflection whatsoever.

After writing and recording some 20 songs, Richardson and Smith have narrowed it down to 11 epic rock tunes with unabashed shades of Led Zeppelin (take Rock and Roll Part Two, for example) Aerosmith (like the ball-kicking rocker Kiss My Ass), David Bowie (the haunting Beautiful Girl), guitar driven riff rockers with vintage keys and hooks-a-plenty, lushly layered under the gorgeous and gut wrenching vocals of the Divine Ms. R., and almost entirely recorded in Smith’s SOMA studio.

Mr. Smith enlisted some of his famous friends to play on the recording long distance via audio files over the internet -Rami Jaffe (Foo Fighters) Michael Lockwood (Aimee Mann, Lisa Marie Presley), Blair Sinta (Alannis Morrisette, Brandy Carlisle) and Donny Baldwin (Richardson’s bandmate in Jefferson Starship) all contributed to multiple tracks. Super hot producer/engineer Joe Chicarelli (the White Stripes, the Shins, the Raconteurs) even traded mixing a couple songs for a painting in Smith’s collection. Then, after moving back into her Elmhurst, IL home last year, Richardson brought in Chicago recording engineer (and President of the Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter) Larry Sturm to put the finishing touches on the album at Pressure Point Studios.

Now that the record is done, the time is right to debut the band in the place where Richardson spent her formative years, cutting her chops by relentlessly hammering the local live music scene and making her one of the city’s top drawing music acts. “What better way to debut a new band than headlining Chicago’s greatest street festival EVER,” asks Richardson, completely deadpan, almost as if she were comatose.

Actually, Richardson and Smith attempted to put a band together and played a couple shows as Pillowface in 2008, “Then we found out there was already another Pillowface on the East Coast… God, this sounds like Spinal Tap!” states Richardson, her eyes now shut and a small amount of drool drizzling down her lip. Richardson also joined Jefferson Starship at the same time and became extremely busy on the road, putting the “new band” on hold but getting priceless stage experience in front of arena crowds and winning over new fans all over the world. “I am a superstar,’ mutters Richardson from curled in a ball under a nearby table.

Richardson and Smith have assembled a stellar cast of Chicago and California musicians for the live show, namely Jude Gold on guitar (director of the prestigious LA music school Guitar Institute), Jonathon Herrera on bass, Donny Baldwin on drums and Anne Harris on fiddle, percussion and vocals. The Market Days show will feature all the songs from the new album and finish off with some well-selected jams from Richardson's back catalog of cult hit classics.

And so, as they stand on the precipice of greatness, ready to unleash the rock onto the hungry masses who are yearning to worship an album worthy of getting stuck in their heads that they haven’t heard already a thousand times before, Richardson lifts her head off the floor to explain the band’s new and permanent name, “We are right now the smallest band ever. No one has even heard of us. However, we are destined to become the biggest band in the Universe, and it’s possible that we already are, in other dimensions. Dear Humankind, I give you The Macrodots. You’re welcome.”

Cathy Richardson and Macrodots
August 7, 2010 :: 8pm
NortHalsted St Market Days
Chicago, IL
Belmont Stage

Contact The Macrodots at .