John Cunningham - keyboard
Ben Imdieke - guitar
Elizabeth Lindau - violin / vocals
Megan O'Connor - piano
Matt Priest - vocals / bass / trombone
Colin Sheaff - drums

Canasta came together in early 2002 when three members of the short-lived Langoliers joined forces with three friends to create a new, more ambitious sound. Since then, the six-piece band has holed up in attics and basements, augmenting the standard rock set-up with piano, violin, keyboard and trombone to craft a winning set of tuneful, majestic chamber pop. Canasta songs are nothing if not eclectic. At a typical show, you'll hear everything from bouncy, horn-driven ditties to epic, sweeping anthems to slow, country-tinged narratives to instrumental post-rock. But what's constant is an emphasis on melody and orchestration that has won them comparisons to Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Sea and Cake, The Delgados, and Yo La Tengo. And they're just getting started.

Canasta has performed for sizeable audiences all over Chicago , at venues such as Metro, Empty Bottle, Double Door, Subterranean, Bottom Lounge, and Beat Kitchen, as well as a sold-out show at Schubas. They've shared stages with artists such as The Posies, The Delgados, Elf Power, Earlimart, Crooked Fingers, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Sea Ray, Beauty Pill, The Sights and The Impossible Shapes, as well as local talents Edith Frost, The M's, Head of Femur, The Like Young, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Owen, Central Falls, The Changes, Palaxy Tracks, The Children's Hour and Nad Navillus. They've done charity performances to benefit domestic-abuse, AIDS, and arts organizations.

The band first created local interest in late 2002 with "Rescue by Christmas," a haunting waltz that appeared on FREEZE-TAG: A Compilation Benefiting Chicago's Tangerine Arts Group and Rainbow House. But in December of 2003, Canasta released its much-anticipated debut. The five-song EP Find the Time was engineered by Paul Heintz of the band Midstates and mastered by Keith Cleversley (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev). The record features audience favorites "Slow Down Chicago," "Just a Star," "Chance at Greatness," "Two if by Sea," and their rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model." The success of the album led to the band being named one of " Chicago 's Best Unsigned Artists" by the Illinois Entertainer, and won them airplay on major Chicago radio stations such as WXRT, Q101 and WBEZ, as well as countless college frequencies. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times called the record "splendid," and Monica Kendrick of the Chicago Reader praised Canasta for their "lovely, lilting sound," noting that "they emphasize each melody as if nothing else matters." The online press has been kind as well: PopMatters says the record is full of “bright and catchy songs to stick in your head” with arrangements that are “smart and efficient”, while Splendid singled out “Slow Down Chicago” as “pure chamber pop bliss”, a song which has spent a number of weeks atop the pop download chart on 15 Megs Of Fame. A year after its release, the EP has sold nearly 700 copies.

Recently, Canasta returned from the prestigious CMJ Music Marathon in New York City and released a free two-track disc of demos in preparation for their forthcoming full length debut. In March, the band plans to do short tour of the South, culminating in a performance at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin , Texas . Beyond that, they'll open for U.K. buzz band Kaiser Chiefs in March, followed by a return to the studio to begin recording the album.