We were surprised, as you probably were, to find out that Pyramid Scheme was releasing a split with Monobody. Two of the great math rock up-and-comers going head to head…

And the great news is that we are proudly streaming one of the tracks ahead of release! ‘Movie Looks Amazing’ is Pyramid Scheme’s fourth track on the split, and features drilling jazz guitar jams with epic bass and drums. Alex Costis of Pyramid Scheme answered a few questions for us about Pyramid Scheme’s current and future plans…

FB: When did you all meet and begin your project Pyramid Scheme?

Alex Costis: Rajiv and I went to highschool together, but we didn’t start writing together until 2013 when I moved back to Illinois. Seth was in a lot of close musical circles (including being in Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project with me), and was stylistically a perfect fit. I think we all just like to write goofy music, so it started almost as an experiment to see if we could make songs out of these weird riffs.

FB: Are the original members making up the current line up?

AC: We originally started with the drummer from Piglet actually! He was good, but Seth was cuter.

FB: How do you guys become inspired and write a song?

AC: We all pull inspiration from different places, but we can usually all agree on a strong influence. I would say that Kurt Rosenwinkel’s improvising has probably been the greatest source of inspiration for Rajiv and I while writing for this group (although other influences include Tera Melos, Maps and Atlases, Julian Lage, Jimmy Buffet, etc.) As for actually writing, Rajiv comes up with a lot of song parts in the form of insanely fast, oddly-timed riffs. I usually try to put these ideas in a cohesive order and provide a (sometimes) simpler groove underneath. Seth then has the challenge of deciding who’s goofy rhythms he wants to follow more. As we write and practice, the songs will mold together more smoothly, and so far, no idea has been too weird to try!

FB: What are your future plans after this release?



AC: We would like to work on our full length record! We have a lot of songs ready to go, but we are still trying to find time to record… A tour would also be great if we can squeeze it in, but we are all stretched pretty thin with other projects.

FB: Did you guys write the song for the split w/ Monobody? Was the song written before the idea of the split?

AC: Unfortunately, these are Pyramid Scheme’s three oldest songs! These were all written well before the split, so we just really needed to get them out there.

FB: Will you be touring the song(s) out? Will there be a support tour with Monobody?

AC: We will be playing shows in the Chicago area for now, although they have been pretty infrequent so far. But, if anyone is interested, we have lots of new songs to play that are much weirder! As of now, we have not talked about a tour with the two groups, but at least I am into the idea! Guys?

FB: What is the DIY scene like out in the Midwest?

AC: It’s great! The genre-blending in Chicago is totally unique. A lot of bands will tour through Chicago from the West coast or East coast, but they don’t usually make it all the way across country. Chicago gets to hear the merging of styles from both ends of the country, and a lot of genre-less music has been created, which I think is the way music should be moving. There is also almost nothing to do in the Midwest other than to play music, so I’ve enjoyed seeing people branching out musically!

FB: I love what I’ve heard, can we be expecting an EP or full length in the coming months after the split?

AC: YES to a full length, but unfortunately there is no timeline yet. Ideally, by the end of this summer we would like to have something done, but we are all busy boys!

The Pyramid Scheme/Monobody will be out next week on the Monobody bandcamp page. In the meantime, you can follow both bands on their Facebook pages. Have a nice weekend errybody.