Get Out of the Car is the sound that results from a decades-long conversation between friends. Since their first discussions in the pre-high-rent-district of Wicker Park in the early 1990’s, Mindy Thomas and Karl Kuhn have been engaged in robust, high-volume arguments about what constitutes “Rock and Roll Worth Considering.” After years committed to other projects, they decided it was time to start their own damned band. Get Out of the Car formed to bring to life a new, uniquely Midwestern sound grown from the roots of traditional rock and roll.
With Karl on guitar and vocals and Mindy on bass and vocals, they began as a songwriting team. After setting down some jams that they agreed would sit nicely amongst their record bins, Seaghan Brien was brought in as the drummer. With Seaghan’s propulsions, Get Out of the Car began to venture beyond the initial Detroit Garage and Prairie School freakouts to reflect the grit and grace of not only Chicago but the wider Midwest and its graffiti rail yards, 3rd shift taverns, river valleys, as well as endless back roads.
Get Out of the Car’s first full-length LP, Mission (2014) is a collection of narratives evoking this landscape and its characters. The haunted guitar, the relentless rolling of the rhythm section, and the interwoven vocal lines create a driving backlit atmosphere to the band’s answers to the question of what lies at the darkened but still beating heart of Rock and Roll.
