Everything’s coming up Dillon : Music : Smile Politely

Everything’s coming up Dillon

Posted in MUSIC to Interviews to Previews by Joel Gillespie on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 11:00 am

Momentum can be a funny, fickle thing. Local husband-and-wife duo You & Yourn (formerly Casados) are on a bit of a roll, having recently secured a slot opening for Andrew Bird at Foellinger Hall on December 8; released their first album under their new moniker, It Would Make Things Worse, on Parasol; completed a month-long tour of the western U.S.; and garnered mentions of their new album on blogs for Seattle's KEXP and Largehearted Boy.

They'll try to keep the good times going Saturday night with their album release show at Indi Go Art Gallery, at 9 E. University in Champaign. Iowa City's Caleb Engstrom opens the 8 p.m. show, cover is $5 and it's BYOB.

I caught up with Nic and Heather Dillon (and their dog, Sadie) at their east Urbana home on Tuesday, as the news of opening for Andrew Bird had begun to sink in.

Photo by Jason Berg

They'd just received an email from StarCourse on Monday asking them if they'd like to open for Bird. "Nic called me from work and he was like 'You're not going to believe this,'" Heather said. "That's probably the best show offer we've ever had," although they'd previously opened for Low and David Bazan.

Nic agreed, explaining, "I would put a person like Andrew Bird down as one of the bigger voices of the last decade, and I would have never even fathomed that I would do more than attend Andrew Bird concerts."

The opportunity to play in that venue is also a thrill for the Dillons. "I never would have dreamed of playing in Foellinger," Nic continued. "That's a way bigger venue than I would have ever thought You & Yourn would have played in." Heather explained, "We totally don't feel deserving of that." She joked, "From now on, we'll only play auditoriums."

"It's ridiculous, because we don't have a 'team,'" Nic related. "We really have enjoyed working with Parasol, but they don't help us with booking. I'm just baffled with how much we've been able to accomplish on our own, without a booking agent or..."

Heather added, "I think Parasol has helped, though. To be able to say, 'Parasol's putting out our album, and they'll be handling tour and album promotion,' I think that helps. Makes us sound more legit."

The mention on KEXP, among a couple dozen new releases (including U2's new live album and the Swell Season) was also a surprise. "We were in good company," Heather said with a laugh. Nic noted, "I've listened to KEXP online and when we are in Seattle, on the radio, for at least five-plus years now, to be even mentioned by a station of that caliber was really shocking to me."

On the KEXP list, they were listed immediately after Wolfmother, which is about as rock 'n roll as it gets, until you realize that on Largehearted Boy, they followed The Essential Weird Al Yankovic.

Trying to put his finger on why they're getting all this attention all of a sudden, Nic said, "I don't know what it is, it's a big mix of elements. It helps to have [Parasol] promoting the record. It helps that it's a good record. It helps to be touring. We had a good show in Seattle [with Eyvind Kang], maybe that kind of stuff gets around, and maybe not."

Speaking of It Would Make Things Worse, Heather said, "I think the album as a whole is something we'll be proud of for a really long time. I feel like it's something I can stand behind.'" One of the things that makes the album special for them is that a lot of their close friends played a part in making the record, from playing on it, to mixing, to producing the album art.

It's a heady time for You & Yourn, and tomorrow night's show should be a celebration of that. Nic adds, "It's always fun to play for people that we know, and to play in our hometown. And we're playing pretty well right now, having been on tour, which basically amounts to very consistent practice of the same repertoire every night. It's fun to play if you're good, and we're pretty good right now."

Second photo by Cody Bralts.

Full disclosure: My wife and I are friends with the Dillons, and Gillian did the album art for It Would Make Things Worse. I fixed Heather's bike once.

2 comments

Ben Valocchi

11/06/09 at 11:34

they’re on WPGU at 3:30 today as well

Seth Fein

11/07/09 at 11:10

Hands down, You & Yourn are the model that all bands in this town (and in the world) should be aspiring towards. Recording albums, playing tasteful local shows, bringing in other artists from the region, and working their ass off to book themselves tours.

Cheers, Nic and Heather!

Add A Comment

A note about our commenting policy.

Most Recent Music Comments

Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…

Posted by Rex Bennett to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…

Posted by @bbryon to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…

Posted by Ben Valocchi to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

sux

Posted by thisband to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

whats a zmick?

Posted by Phinestone to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/01/10.

Here is a link to download the aformentioned 2007 show at Red Herring, a true gem from the early Zmick archive, again recorded by Ben Valocchi: http://www.archive.org/details/zmick2007-11-02.logitech

Posted by Josh to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/01/10.

My biggest concern is that the free Caribou show at the Krannert is now not at the Krannert and no longer free. But then, I guess if that’s my biggest concern, then I’m doing pretty well—at least I still have potable water! Still, I would prefer it…

Posted by Croÿ to the entry 'Pygmalion schedule changes, Emeralds and new Erin Fein project added on 09/01/10.

Who’s got the crack?

Posted by Adam to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/01/10.

Any band that makes the effort to pay homage to ! = Metallica @ = Beatles # = 2pac $ = Moldy Peaches % = Grateful Dead ^ = Dave Clark 5 All in one show! (with Herb Alpert interpolations to boot) That’s what tasty jams is all about

Posted by JPSherrill to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/01/10.

THE CAKE IS A LIE

Posted by Gabe Jackson to the entry 'The Overture: August 30 - September 5 on 08/30/10.

Music Archives

2010

2009

2008

2007

Most Recent Comments

Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.

By T. McDade to the entry 'Arch Rival preview on 09/02/10.

Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…

By Dan Schreiber to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…

By Robert Knilands to the entry 'Welcome CUcircle.com to our online community on 09/02/10.

I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…

By Jason Brechin to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…

By Robert Knilands to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…

By Jason Brechin to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“

By Rob McColley to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?

By haulers to the entry 'Champaign to close recycling drop-off center on 09/02/10.

Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.

By tmcdade to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…

By emma reaux to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.

And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.

By Dan Schreiber to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.

By Dan Schreiber to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.

By Timbo to the entry 'The fall of Champaign-Urbana on 09/02/10.

What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…

By Timbo to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.

By Pete to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.

By Rex Bennett to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

By @bbryon to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.

@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.

By Joel Gillespie to the entry 'Mug club! on 09/02/10.

Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.

By Tracy Nectoux to the entry 'Champaign Library to start charging Tolono and Mahomet residents on 09/02/10.

By Ben Valocchi to the entry 'Zmick: Don't fear the jam on 09/02/10.