The everyday life of the daredevil is not too far from ordinary. That is, until they suit up and prepare for the next stunt full of risks.
Instead of going with the flow on a smooth path to their destination, it's speeding up a ramp, jumping through an obstacle on fire to leave your audience stunned at the feat and the risk involved.
For Eau Claire indie pop-folk band The Daredevil Christopher Wright -- named after a fictional character the band created -- a musical journey full of extremes shares that same mentality.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright, which opens for national touring band These United States tonight at Club Garibaldi, is ready to launch into the sonic hemispheres full of dynamic moods and adventure. Just don't expect large ramps or flaming rings of fire. In their place are three musicians who have wowed fans and the national media alike with their determination to push the limits of "joyful indie pop" music.
"We're trying to broaden the arrangements, to try to challenge ourselves to change our instruments and not rest solely on the bass-drum-guitar formula," says singer and guitarist Jon Sunde.
"In that sense, we're working to challenge ourselves to be more complex in our arrangement and see where we can go and not always do whatever comes naturally; to try to get something a little more interesting."
Sunde is joined by his brother, Jason, on bass and close friend Jess Edgington on drums. With only three members and such a large ambition, the band continues to find ways to beat the odds. They all sing in addition to playing their instruments.
"It's slowly progressing towards something more vocally heavy," says Sundae. "With us being a three-piece we try to multiple us as much as we can because sometimes you're limited by the numbers. We've learned to sing a lot more in the writing we've been doing recently."
For the two brothers in particular, singing has been around for awhile. At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, both attended courses on classical voice training. Edgington, who for a year played as a duo with Jon, provides the band an outside perspective and further depth in how they create music.
On the debut album, "In Deference to a Broken Back," released in May, the band showcases an ability to push their sound and ventures as they learn the hoops of both the music and the business. They've achieved critical success around the country, with articles in major media such as Paste Magazine and Daytrotter. Wisconsin's own Muzzle of Bees also has provided coverage.
"I tell all my friends that The Daredevil Christopher Wright remind me of a folk-influenced Flaming Lips," says Muzzle of Bees editor Ryan Matteson.
"At the core, bands like The Daredevil Christopher Wright are proof that bands from Wisconsin can attain national acclaim and press."
The band's sound doesn't revolve entirely around sounds made by instruments. The lyrics, often surrounded by three-part harmonies, primarily focus on the ordinary things and events that make up normal life.
"We like this idea of finding the profound or mundane and glimpsing really big things in kind of normal life or normal events," says Sunde. "As with the name it has some of that just being a normal everyday name paired with the daredevil being kind of an extreme character."
The album features serious life topics such as cancer, but handles them in original and realistic ways. In this manner, Sunde is confident that at least a few people will get a sense of hope listening to the songs that he says have an "unassuming genuine, and honest in presentation." One of these songs is "Conversation About Cancer."
"There are things at work bigger than the face value of the song," says Sunde. "Someone's battle with cancer is not all supposed to be all this depression or anger although that's part of it. There's the joy of this person and the meaning of this person and their struggle and courage. How you kind of frame that topic gives it more of a broad or fuller understanding. We try to look at it from different angles and hopefully give these topics more broad or rounded perspectives."
Inspired by other artists who juxtapose with serious topics, Sunde adds that they handle a serious theme with a "jaunting, light kind of arrangement" and pare it with a bittersweet view.
As with the daredevil, there are certain people the band uses for inspiration to test limits. When the band began recording their album, they found themselves with the opportunity to have one of their inspirations, Justin Vernon, a fellow Eau Claire friend and visionary behind the critically acclaimed Bon Iver, mix the majority of their album.
"We really appreciate the esthetic that he's created," says Sunde. "He was all about everyone working together and finding a sound we were all positive about. I appreciate his ability to freely present his ideas and work and collaboratively hone in those ideas."
Sunde adds Bon Iver and the band get inspired by bands such as Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective, who push the limits of sound and voice. He says that the attention that his band's received is exciting and to play new places is always an honor. The band plans to tour the Midwest, head south, swing east and then possibly out west this year -- so the band has plenty of opportunities to thrill new and old fans alike.
Matteson says that Wisconsin is lucky to have a band that's willing to constantly evolve with a daredevil "out-do yourself" mentality.
"I love bands that can wrap their talents around a lot of different sounds," says Matteson. "That's why I loved the Beatles so much -- they were always able to change and push themselves to constantly challenge their own creativity. I hear that same restlessness in [The Daredevil Christopher Wright's] records, their interest in continuing to challenge themselves and push the boundaries. That's pretty special these days."
