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There are many things I miss about living in Chicago. I miss the lights of Michigan Avenue outside my window, I miss public transportation, I miss this really awesome bar on Damen/Ainslie called Gio's, I miss having things to do that didn't require driving five hours to Boston, and most of all, I miss seeing so many awesome live bands that lived in the area, or were passing through on tour. Now that I've been exiled to the north-east corner of our country (Maine, it's actually NOT part of Canada...) I realize that for the six years that I lived in Chicago, I was living the musical good life. Now I'm in Maine, and bands won't touch our state with a 237 mile pole. (That's how far it is from Bangor where I live to Boston, where any decent shows go on, ever.)

I was wildly into the local music scene in Chicago, because there are so many incredible bands to see, and new music in all genre's to discover by hitting up local clubs and venues, but the tip top of my Chicago favorites? The Fold. I was introduced to this amazing band by my friend Jonas who called me one night and said "Yo Caity, there's this band playing tonight, and we're going. You're going to love them!". And so it happened I saw my first show by The Fold, and Jonas was right, I LOVED them! Their show was so much fun to watch, they interacted with the crowd and gave me exactly what I needed that night: a damn good time. Since then, I have seen The Fold a total of 13 times in and around Chicago, each time living up to and raising the bar. They are just one of those bands for me that can instantly cheer me up with the first few notes of a song, and put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. As cheesy as it sounds, The Fold is absoltuely the band that my iPod and I turn to when I'm having a bad day and just want to turn it around. It reminds me of a great time in my life, going to college in Chicago and going out with my best friends and living life! When I listen to The Fold, I'm transported back to that time, before I had an insurmountable student loan debt to pay off and before I had a stupid job telemarketing colon cleanser over the phone to pay off the student loans.

The Fold has an ability to make everyone just shut up and enjoy the moment, dance like idiots and for a few minutes, forget about all the crap they have to do. Also they have an uncanny ability to make my 8 month old nephew stop mid-fit and laugh. (It's awesome). I am forever thankful to Jonas for introducing me to this band, they are far and away one of my absolute all-time favorites, and I am more than psyched to introduce them to all of my friends in return (that includes you, dear readers!).

So all right, a little bit about the band before we set you off to discover them on your own! (Hint: by clicking the links at the bottom of the page...)

The Fold is comprised of Daniel Castady, George Castady, Matt Pittman and Mark Rhoades. Their debut record "This Too Shall Pass" was released by Tooth & Nail Records in 2006, with a follow-up in 2007 titled "Secrets Keep You Sick". In 2008 the Fold independently released their third full-length record "Dear Future, Come Get Me". According to their website, "It's 2011! We're making our new record." I can't wait to hear what they come up with next!

If you haven't realized yet, we rotate month-to-month on which staff member gets to choose the band of the month to feature, since there are six of us, we get half a year to hem and haw over who we want to introduce you readers to, and sometimes we go back and forth a dozen times before we settle on one. Six months ago, I featured The Dollyrots, and the day after it went up, I knew for sure that I wanted The Fold to be next, it was time to get you readers on the page with me, and rocking out to incredible music! I highly recommend ANY song by The Fold, as I have yet to find one that I don't absolutely love, but my favorites would have to be "Beside You Now", "Neverender" and "Backseat Drivers", which special mentions to the Miley Cyrus parody "Every Band in the USA", and incredible cover of Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind". And hey! Good news: "Dear Future, Come Get Me" is only $5.99 for a digital download, available at The Fold Convenience Store.

But as always, dear readers, don't take our word for it. We are here to guide you towards potentially new and exciting music, but it's up to you to check them out and make your own decisions! So check out the links at the bottom of the page and give The Fold a try! Also, keep an eye out on their website for shows near you, I promise you won't be disappointed!

February, my favorite month, now has an awesome new band to compliment its awesomeness: The Fold.

The Chicago-based band is awesome. That's the long and short of it. They have a great guitar-driven rock sound that is just great to jam out to (or move into a new place to - my life at the moment). I dug their sound from their first myspace offering, "neverender," but what cemented my love for this band was the cover/parody of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," called "Every Band in the USA." Any band that has the ability to poke fun at themselves and their industry has my instant love, though it also helped that the song is insanely catchy. If I had a better internet connection, I would be able to tell you the wonder of their most recent independently-released album, Dear Future, Come Get Me; but since I don't, I'm going to surmise from their myspace offerings, "Neverender," "Red Wine," and "File Under: Ground (Take Me In)" that it's awesome-sauce. I'll refer you to the link Caity provided to download it from their site (only $5.99!).

So, if you like local, independent bands, who have a great ability to poke fun at themselves, please check out the Fold! I mean, other than the fact that they are a great band to rock out, and listening to them can even make moving a toe tapping adventure, what other reason do you need to hear in order to check them out?

I have to be completely honest here, I had never heard of The Fold untill I met Caity. I didn't even know that the Chicago based band existed at all. Numerous times I have went to their myspace page to take listens to the tracks they had there, most times putting it on blast to enjoy as I puttered around my apartment doing random things or recovering from the numerous things that plagued me last year. I managed to purchase an album on itunes, and it is currrently in constant rotation on my playlist most times smushed between tracks from Britney Spears and Bleeding Through, or between Bond and Gershwin. I have to admit that my favorite track to listen to is Neverender. Especially with the lyrics "Better odds await the faint of heart I've got a new disaster to start I'm gonna make my day".

The parody of Party in The USA, which they aptly titled Every Band in the USA is completely hilirious and totally worth your listening pleasure (who cares if you don't like Miley or you do, just listen, you won't regret it I PROMISE you). I have to admit that Jay-Z holds a special little place in my heart (don't ask why, just go with it), and to hear their cover of Empire State of Mind, it was pretty amazing and I greatly enjoyed it.

Needless to say, I think you need to take a chance and listen to The Fold. Even if you think you might not like them, open your ears and your mind and explore new chances and new music. I mean sometimes you might never know what you might find. I know I've found some amazing music in the past three years, mostly thanks to these amazing girls. I have officially added The Fold to my list of bands that you MUST listen to.

I have to say, it's about TIME we're using The Fold as out Band of the Month! Caity has been allllll about these guys for some time now, and listening to the music that you all know I listen to, I can completely understand why.

They're punky and upbeat and catchy as hell, not to mention with a damn good sense of humour (If Caity hasn't already linked the world to the "Every Band in the USA" video, here ya go:) [Caity's note: Caity has linked the world to this video about a thousand times, but once more can never hurt!]

Now when you can make a SPOOFED song so catchy that I'm humming it and singing along with it after hearing it once, you're golden.

I want to go more into their music, but I have a feeling after every song, I'm definitely just going to say "...and it's fun and you should go listen to it!" which... is obviously a painfully good sign.

I have to thank Caity for introducing them to me, because it's really hard to find good pop-punk these days. If you like old school Good Charlotte, and bands like The Cab, you'll find similar sounds in The Fold I think, and you'll definitely dig them.

Now, 'scuze me, I'm gonna go listen to "Every Band in the USA".

Again.

Caity told me about The Fold a while ago, but I don’t think I really gave them a listen until she and The Sound Faction's "Shepalicious" friend Katie Shepard came to Canada for what was probably the best visit of all time.

As we toured around Toronto dropping Manda off at work, driving to a bookstore or just getting back to Manda's apartment Caity decided it was time I heard The Fold. I’m glad she did. I can’t remember the name of the song, but it was the first TF song I heard and I loved it. (Caity if you remember the song Shep said she really liked... it was that one. I think it was kinda slowerish. It was on our way back from dropping Manda off at her work party...??) [Caity's note: It was "Beside You Now".]

I requested that Caity put some more of The Fold on and one thing I loved more than anything was their cover of Empire State Of Mind. ...OK don’t hate, but I don’t listen to Jay-Z. I really enjoy that song... but I can’t listen to it because I can’t stand Jay-Z. Enter The Fold. I love covers because it gives the band a chance to put themselves into someone else’s song, and I love the way this one turned out. I can listen to it. Yaay! I really enjoyed The Fold and they should most definitely be given a listen... and then one hundred more after that.