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Wheels Fall Off

by Tautologic

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    10-song CD in a Digipak with artwork/design by Ethan Sellers.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wheels Fall Off via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    Poster is 11" wide by 17" high. Signed/Numbered by Ethan Sellers. CD artwork and band photo. Shipped in poster tube. Limited Edition.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 45 

      $10 USD or more 

     

1.
Words and Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers Chorus: Let's keep driving 'til the wheels fall off We don't have money for the shop Let's keep driving 'til the wheels fall off And then we'll get out and walk
2.
That's What I Hear words/music by Ethan Taylor Sellers I see a lot of fear and blind frustration The seers say that the worst is on its way The paid-off prophets plead appeasement policies The scene is tragic and the politicians play That's What I Hear I hear it was stolen slowly in backroom whispers, An inside job, the fat men ate their fill Before we knew it, they'd stripped the cupboards bare Dine and dash, let the children pay the bill. That's What I Hear I see, I fear, I feel, I hear that It's time, and time is running out And we all know the status quo won't change itself Rome's burning, 'cause the fiddler calls the tune And ancient warnings ring unheeded through the ruins. That's What I Hear
3.
Memo To Your Self Words and Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers Lighten up! You carry existential weight As if it were the will of fate You're aging at alarming rate And it's such a waste of youth. I should know, I was once too serious, just like you Wrapped up in my own worldview And the knots I tied myself into. It's time to cut you loose. Write a memo to yourself That, for your mental health, Try to give the good life a chance. You might even find That I'll still respect your mind, But I still love to watch you dance. Won't you come, When the sun is setting in the west The daylight has been put to rest? The trixies in their cocktail dress Go stumbling down the street. I don't mind The common joys I once disdained The drivers that drove me insane For reasons that I can't explain, I like everyone I meet. Write a memo to yourself That, for your mental health, Try to give the good life a chance. You might even find That I still respect your mind, But I still want to watch you dance. In the end, All our worldly scales must fall And the things that drove us up the wall Well, they won't bother us at all When the clock says, "Out of time." We can dance! It's really quite effectual I know you're intellectual, But it's really more than sexual - As if that were such a crime. Write a memo to yourself That, for your mental health, Try to give the good life a chance. You might even find That I'll still respect your mind, But please, can I get in your pants?
4.
5.
Fat Dumb and Happy Words and Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers In my younger days, the urban life Was the only way that I could see The fridge was empty ‘cause we’d go out, Raise hell, roll in at three. At twenty-five, I hit the wall And suddenly the game was lost Where once the first round was always mine I now recount the cost. ‘Cause I got early mornings And a boss that’s hard to please And the tension ‘bout my pension Has got me on my knees. Wanna move to the suburbs And get fat, dumb, and happy? Wanna move to the cul-de-sacs? Wanna move out to the suburbs And get fat, dumb, and happy? Wanna move and never look back. My long-time girl’s been hounding me To save my money and buy a ring She really needn’t push so hard – I was thinking the same thing. But my friendly little neighborhood Has real estate that blows my mind If I’m to raise a family Gotta leave it all behind. We’ll buy three bedrooms Pound out the kids And silence any doubts, ‘Cause it’s what our parents did. They moved to the suburbs And got fat, dumb, and happy. They moved to a cul-de-sacs. They moved to the suburbs And got fat, dumb, and happy. They moved and they never looked back. I’ll have a two-hour commute to work The kids will wonder why their Daddy’s such a jerk We’ll shop in box stores and watch TV And tithe to mega-churches, ‘Cause Jesus’ love ain’t free. Jesus moved to the suburbs And got fat, dumb, and happy Jesus moved to the cul-de-sacs Jesus moved to the suburbs And got fat, dumb, and happy Jesus moved and never looked back. Let’s move to the suburbs And get fat, dumb, and happy Let’s move to the cul-de-sac Let’s move to the suburbs And get fat, dumb, and happy Let’s move and never look back.
6.
Covered in Grit Words by Ethan Taylor Sellers Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers and Emily Albright We slide astride the city streets At sloth-like southern paces Skin absorbs the summer sun In melted candle faces Heated asphalt addles our brains South Side sewers never quite drain Six days ‘til the trash truck comes And a brand-new stank replaces. Sun beats down on your head And sweat begins to pour You'd take a shower to wash it off But you'd only sweat some more Break into sweat if you sit Airborne gravy covers you in grit The only way to get relief's To swim at the Lake Shore The humid heat bounced off the street When you walk out the door Your sweaty grip begins to slip Your aggravated pores Covered in Grit Covered in Grit The highways are a parking lot They've shut off all the streets Drivers stew and honk their horns Their cars will overheat An hour and a half forever lost Just sitting there sucking on exhaust You change your lane to move along But it ends in fifty feet Tempers flare in heated air The traffic moves like snails The gasket blows the coolant flows Your air conditioner fails Covered in Grit Covered in Grit
7.
8.
Summer, 1995 07:44
Summer, 1995 Words and Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers The hottest weeks that Chicago has known Remembered as days when I made it my own The air outside was hot and dry A jello cube of heat Suspended time like ambered flies In a snapshot of the street In '95, I burnt, alive and free. Bronchitis floor in a summer sublet Independent but poor - solo futon I slept I came of age on a tiny wage Made just enough to eat Newspaper page of shut-ins, aged Expiring from the heat The lake baptized, address revised And I believed In '95, reborn, alive and free.
9.
High School Reunion Words and Music by Ethan Taylor Sellers I got the invite the other day to my high school class reunion Can't place a face to the sender's name and the timing seemed too soon Ten years - has it been that long? The pull of nostalgia ain't strong Because I never felt that much at home amidst the kids at school I found the cliques and politics both asinine and cruel So I marched in my cap and my gown Went to college and moved out of town And I won't go to my high school reunion There are few there that I'd want to see The memories may fade but I like it that way The future's where I want to be My friends who went all filled me in on the schadenfreude news The closet cases who came out, the rehab stints, and boozers I don't really care who got fat Or how many kids they begat So I won't go to my high school reunion There are few there that I'd want to see The memories may fade but I like it that way The future's where I want to be
10.
Wheels Fall Off words/music by Ethan Taylor Sellers Chorus: Let's keep driving 'til the wheels fall off We don't have money for the shop Let's keep driving 'til the wheels fall off And then we'll get out and walk My battery's dead, my tailpipe rusted The fan belt needs replaced My car ain't much, and it ain't pretty It gets me place to place. My roof has leaks, the concrete's crumbling It starts to rain indoors We're mortgaged clear up to our eyeballs We are the landed poor. Chorus It's been years since I've seen the dentist My teeth are feeling loose My arteries clogged, my lungs are blackened Blood pressure through the roof Chorus Bridge: If it ain't the one thing, it's gonna be another We don't dig deeper, 'cause we fear what we'd discover Our only hope is for better luck tomorrow 'Til then we pay late on all the time we've borrowed Chorus

about

Airplay on 150+ radio stations throughout US/Canada, reaching #8 on the Relix/Jambands.com radio charts.

"I reviewed a previous set from this Chicago act. In that review I mentioned that the music was unusual, and even a little odd, but yet compelling. Well, some of the alternative rock weirdness mentioned in that review is still present here, but in some ways this moves more toward more mainstream prog and jazz styled sounds. That said, there is still enough quirkiness to keep it unique. However you slice it, this is another particularly successful release from a very talented act."
- Gary Hill, Music Street Journal

"As usual, Tautologic give us a decidedly engaging, intriguing, varied and surprising work ... We can't help but listen to it again ..."
- Valentino Butti, Arlequins

"It’s the kind of album that grows exponentially in the heart and mind the more it’s listened to. It’s in the synthesis between male and female vocals, jam-band propensities, genre-morphing (I counted seven) and the kind of delicious studio trickery that can be categorized as ear candy. With songs like “Fat Dumb and Happy,” “Rocket Surgery” and “Covered In Grit” leading the way, one can get lost in their space/time continuum enough to ponder the inequities of life while doing some hard grooving."
- Mike Greenblatt, Goldmine Magazine

"Tautologic doesn't make "standard prog", but I find it challenging, intriguing and refreshing. And the most important to me is: I use the repeat button. This album really came as a surprise to me."
- Jacco Stijkel, Progwereld

"Funky and fun loving, Tautologic combines so many genre layers it's truly mind blowing. Reflecting the influences of its six members, there are elements of irish punk, ska, funk, blues, soul, new wave, R&B and ‘70s rock, all stirred into a soup of musical oddity that could only be born in the 21st century."
- Chicago Crowd Surfer

"Few albums come full circle without dropping the ball a few times along the way, but Wheels Fall Off by Chicago based progressive art rock sextet Tautologic is one of them. After a short intro/nursery rhyme featuring the band's songwriter Ethan Sellers kids they are off for a visit to a musical candy store, touching base with ska (Memo To Yourself), Zappa-esque instrumentals (Rocket Surgery) and breakneck speed folk (Fat, Dumb, and Happy, High School Reunion). Tautologic cater to fans from so many genres that it could have turned into a muddy, faceless mess, but they are able to get to the core and add a smathering of bells and whistles that lets each track shine like the queen of the prom. Whether it is funky disco (Covered In Grit) or a late night jazzy torch song (Summer, 1995), this band really has both the stamina and the skills 'to keep driving 'til the Wheels Fall Off.'"
- Hans Werksman, Here Comes the Flood

"'That’s What I Hear' is the latest off their upcoming record Wheels Fall Off, and it’s a whole bowl full of goodness. Now, sure, it’s about the crumbling of society at the hands of our government, but it’s also a great example of how you can make a fun song out of something serious. Listen to the interplay of instruments throughout this whole composition-it is very satisfying."
- Josh Terzino, Music Defined

"Well-arranged funky & jazzy Zappa-esque orchestration punctuated with brass and pop sensibility. The lyrics are relevant. The message is bitingly true."
- Rock At Night

"They've got some nice rocking genre splicing going on here and they are well worth keeping an ear out for. "
- Midwest Record

credits

released April 2, 2021

All songs by Ethan Taylor Sellers, except “Covered In Grit.”
“Covered In Grit” music/lyrics by Ethan Taylor Sellers, with verse vocal melody by Emily Albright.
All songs © their respective authors and published by Turtle Down Music, LLC.
This sound recording is © 2021 Turtle Down Music, LLC.
All album artwork is © 2021 Ethan Taylor Sellers and licensed to Turtle Down Music.
All rights reserved.

Produced by Ethan Taylor Sellers
Recorded by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording and Ethan Taylor Sellers at home
Additional recording by Brian Frost and Jay Montana
Mixed and Mastered by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording

Tautologic is:
Emily Albright (violin, vocals)
Pat Buzby (drums)
Nathan Britsch (bass)
Chris Greene (tenor and soprano sax)
Jay Montana (electric guitars)
Ethan Sellers (keyboards, vocals)

With Special Guests:
Tom Culver (cello)
Johnny Showtime Janowiak (trombone, track 6)
John Moore, Jr. (trumpet, track 6)
Ezekiel and Naomi Sellers (vocals, track 1)

Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and talents to this project. Special thanks to our families and friends for their support and encouragement.

This album was made possible in part by generous financial support by the Illinois Arts Council.

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Tautologic Chicago, Illinois

"an impressively ambitious example of virtuosic musicianship and deft arrangements navigating myriad sounds and styles without ever losing that essential melodic thread or propulsive rock drive." - Jim DeRogatis, NPR's Sound Opinions

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