CODEBREAKER DISCO DEMOLITION Links: Label / Official / Publicity / Photos / Stage Plot SHOWS DATE VENUE APPEARING WITH 03.18 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine w/ The Black Ghosts 03.29 Chicago, IL - Dark Wave Disco @ Sonotheque w/ We Are Wolves 04.29 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium w/ Yelle 05.02 Madison, WI - The Terrace 06.24 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub w/ Partyshank 07.13 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub w/ Steed Lord 08.22 Milwaukee, WI - Fat Abbey AVAILS DATE SITUATION Spring/Summer 08 To/For Support/Pacakge The Milwaukee-based, electro-funk duo of Steven Hawley and Sage Schwarm (a.k.a. Codebreaker) is one of those rare affiliations that reinforces how natural it is to make the jump from the sleazy disco of L.A.’s AVI Records to the proto-house works of artists like Gwen Guthrie while harnessing an original, infectious 21st century pop appeal. Although they scored a minor hit with their track Caller, the most recent release, Exiled!, exemplifies what it is about them that is so major. Hawley’s pleasantly pop produced vocals run the gamut from vocoded musings to soulful convocations, toying with the groove just as they should. One of the most significant elements in funk and disco, as well as the foundation of hip-hop, is the bass line. Schwarm’s bass bumps in such a way that makes it all work together: there’s a synergy between the bass and everything else that flutters around it, contributing to their trademark sound. Live, the group is fleshed-out by Malcolm Michiles and Dan Flynn, accomplished musicians in their own right. Malcolm played side-by-side with Sage in Milwaukee’s Citizen King, and Dan comes from an intense jazz background. As a four-piece, all of the elements are there: a soulful electricity with staccato jabs aimed at the dance floor. Hawley’s approach to crowd-interaction: jumping and shouting, corralling the audience like a poptimistic preacher at an interplanetary tent revival, casts out any doubt that Codebreaker is serious about having fun and funking shit up. Having previously shared the stage with the likes of Hot Chip, Phoenix, Chromeo, Outhud, VHS Or Beta & Datarock (among others) the group has been taking its show on the road - most recently playing at clubs such as the Mezzanine in San Francisco and the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.