Mr. Blotto was born in Chicago as an off-night vehicle for musicians who loved each others playing but were in different bands at the time. The only rule was that they would only play what they loved. That philosophy continues today and has led Mr. Blotto into unique musical situations.

Mr. Blotto takes the Jam band asthetic into areas unfamiliar to the standard Jam Scene. They have been known to cover entire albums by Led Zeppelin and the Who as well as perform entire shows of Country and Reggae. Artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson and The Velvet Underground have seen their material interpreted by Mr. Blotto in the 2000+ shows the band has performed in the last 15 years, yet covers only pepper the bands hefty catalog of original material stemming from five studio albums and other unreleased crowd favorites.

Noah Gabriel, a mainstay in Chicago’s suburban scene since 2004, is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Aurora, Illinois. Drawing from the musical styles of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, Lucinda Williams, Chris Whitley, and BB King, to name a few, Noah’s music rests uniquely on blues/rock with nuances for R&B/soul, folk, and alternative country.

Noah Gabriel seems to be in constant evolution as a singer, songwriter, guitarist. Already a prolific songwriter, and never wanting to be comfortable, he keeps on pushing himself. Embarking on his first ever solo acoustic tour this past July, Gabriel made his way back from Austin, Texas to Chicagoland via the west coast. Upon return, he linked up with new drummer Justin O’Connell and bass player/vocalist Chad Watson, now known as the trio Noah’s Arcade. The new trio helped release Gabriel’s seventh album, Austin Bound, on December 28, 2012. They’re currently recording album number eight.

The Electric Habit started as a song writing project, that has recently started to transform into an actual band. Our main goal is to morph as many genres into our tunes as possible; we hope to never be tied down to one style of music.

Our band name is a reference to the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Phillip K. Dick. In the book, humanity becomes addicted and relies heavily on technology to understand their own human emotion. In an age of smart phones, and other distractions, our society seems to be heading in this same direction.

So put down your phone, turn off the tube, get those old headphones out, and let your mind wander to The Electric Habit.