The legendary classic American Football from Chicago is coming to Taiwan for the first time. Near the University City of Illinois in the United States, a white cottage located at 704 W. High Street may not attract the attention of most people. But for loyal fans of American Football, it is a place like a holy land. This white cottage appeared on the cover of the band’s first album in 1999. Then the band announced its dissolution the year after the album was released. It reunited again after 15 years of silence. Without their own musical instruments and even the rehearsal time depends on whether they can borrow a guitar or bass. Their first album completed in four days has influenced countless people in the past 25 years, forming a genre and an irreplaceable milestone that continues to spread until now. Established in 1997 at the University of Illinois in the United States, American Football was initially composed of guitarist Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes and drummer Steve Lamos. These people can be said to occupy most of the Chicago Indie/Emo family tree, including Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owen, Owls, One Up Downstairs, etc. In 1999, the first self-titled album 《American Football》(also known as LP1) was released by Polyvinyl and the band disbanded the following year. In 2014, Polyvinyl re-released the band’s first album. This work released 15 years ago was snapped up as soon as it was put on the shelves, causing the website to crash. It even once reached No. 68 on the Billboard 200 chart. The three original members of American Football originally only planned to hold several special performances. Unexpectedly, the tickets were sold out instantly. Because for most fans, this is an album they have listened to through headphones or speakers for more than ten years. For the first time, it becomes a live melody. The enthusiasm of fans inspired the band to reunite and create new music again. In 2016, with the official addition of bassist Nate Kinsella, American Football released the second album 《American Football》(LP2) after 17 years. In 2019, American Football released the third self-titled album (LP3), inviting Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, Hayley Williams of Paramore and Elizabeth Powell of Land of Talk to be guest singers.
In 2024, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of American Football’s debut self-titled album, the band has invited the same recording engineer from the first album in 1999 to remix the original master tapes for re-release. Additionally, musicians such as Iron & Wine, Novo Amor, and Manchester Orchestra have been invited to reinterpret classic songs by American Football, compiled into ‘American Football (Covers)’ and released concurrently. A series of concerts known as the ‘LP1 25th Anniversary Shows’ have also been launched, with the band set to visit Taiwan for the first time in March next year! American Football’s music and sound transcend genres and geographical boundaries, sounding clearer and deeper than ever before; it once again proves the immense significance of the nine songs recorded by three college students in just four days. The full show will be open on 03/24, with performance times and durations subject to the live event.
