"Do you ever find yourself scratching your head and saying, "Now, what exactly is alternative rock?" If so, Medicine Circus is a fairly solid example of a subspecies of rock & roll which has been slowly but surely mutating into something else for more than a decade now. Cinder & Ashes is made up of six songs which are essentially bare-bones, garden-variety alternative rock. Mind you, I’m not talkin’ about the glorious basement beginnings of Sonic Youth or Nirvana here; I’m speaking about prolific radio-friendly acts like Silverchair, Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. Cinder & Ashes features slightly dark medium-tempo guitar riffs and meandering vocals. Nothing too exhilarating here, but fans of driving, basic alternative rock will dig this record. There is something refreshing about listening to an album with transparent alternative-rock roots." - Jenny Poplar

"It’s a perennially tough slot, being the lead-off. Alternative rock quartet Medicine Circus, who’ve made the Showdown rounds in years past, were just happy to be at the finals; singer-guitarist Christopher Stearman expressed his gratitude between nearly every song, and even brought flowers for the other three acts of the night. Medicine Circus rocked through their guitar-heavy set (including a Stone Temple Pilots cover) for a still-arriving audience and the faithful who’d gotten there early, proudly displaying their MC (Medicine Circus) apparel. They were vocal! " - Bill Frost

"Despite the ’70s title sentiment, Medicine Circus’ fifth CD is steeped in guitar-marinated ’90s alt-rock (as were the previous four), but minus the grunge afterbirth (a newer development). The song arrangements are trickier, especially on the mood-hopping closing rockers ’Lucky Dog’ and ’The Angola Three’. Play loud." - Bill Frost

BOTTLE ROCKETS OF EMOTION
City Weekly CD Revue (In Haiku)

Veddy british, but


Yankee guitar splatter rules


And hooks reign supreme

- Bill Frost

Nice & Good

Locals Medicine Circus blast Bottle Rockets of Emotions at Todd's Bar & Grill.

Medicine Circus look, as Gary Busey said in Silver Bullet, nervous "like a virgin on prom night." Tonight the band releases their fourth CD, Bottle Rockets of Emotion (MedicineCircus.com), at Todd’s Bar & Grill. It’s set to be a good time and moment of truth; they fret over looking and sounding pretty, and whether the night will culminate in some sort of magical manner.

It’s strange that a 4-year-old, fourth-album band (whose singer-guitarist Christopher Stearman boasts another seven years’ experience with local once-greats Wish and Ramona Sway) would be nervous. Then again, for unsigned local bands, each new album marks elapsed and running time on the music-career clock. They hope, with increasing intensity, that this new record will break big when, often, it doesn’t. Still, where a lot of bands would’ve given up two albums ago, Medicine Circus endure.

As openers Last Response tear down, Medicine Circus don their game face. Stearman looks every bit the captain as he tapes set lists (indicating not only song order but also points at which to retune and address the audience), to the stage. He and his bandmates—drummer Brian Dove, guitarist Ben Moffat, bassist Christian Wadsworth—ensure amp rigs go up, effects pedals are linked, instruments are tuned, mics are check-checked. Then the band promptly disappears out the back door.

They’re gone for 10 minutes, long enough to wonder just what they’re up to. Few other local bands duck out after setting up—they just plug in and go. Not Medicine Circus: they’re working for the arena band handbook, cultivating anticipation. They return having changed into stage clothes—nothing major, no sequined coats and assless chaps, just added hats (or bandanas) and swapped shirts. However minor, they seem to help Medicine Circus get into its stage head, the idea being to create the effect of a rock show within an intimate dive bar.

Thus, the show commences with Moffat rapidly strumming a chord and letting it echo, ripple throughout the club. The crowd begins to hoot and whoop, anticipating the rock, which Medicine Circus delivered with opening numbers "Lost in Lux" and "Feelin’ Disco." The audience cheered both tracks like they were greatest hits, the songs they came to hear. Stearman promised more to come: Free CDs for everyone. The crowd cheered more.

Their fire stoked, Medicine Circus promptly dug into the first track from Bottle Rockets. "Lashes" is every bit like the band’s characteristic ’90s alt-rock/Brit-pop mix (with Zep-y inflections), but decidedly rawer, surging, pulsating, even thrilling. Here, they let up, working through slower material, serving to build tension until more new tracks, like the hard-charging "Americana" and "Nice & Good," blew the lid right off.

The song concluded in a flourish, with Moffat and Stearman jumping like pistons in a V8, and the crowd delirious. The ones who stuck with Medicine Circus were rewarded with ostensible fan favorites, to which the audience drank and danced and sang.

We left with our copy of Bottle Rockets of Emotion, easily the band’s most cohesive and realized album to date, and a reason Medicine Circus shouldn’t sweat. When, after four years together, you can still deliver a solid record and a largely hot live show, you can rest assured you should keep pushing, because you’ll still pick people up at the end of the night. - Randy Harward

Bottle Rockets of Emotion CD Release

Many scurry at the very sound of the phrase, "local band CD release" and rightfully so. Most local bands don’t even know how to play their instruments let alone write decent songs and then record them in a fashion that anyone would want to hear. Not this time around though.

Salt Lake’s Medicine Circus know how to play their instruments, write some damn good songs and their records don’t sound like their done with a Casio tape deck at a college-dorm party. Alt-rock influences stitched firmly on their sleeves, Medicine Circus venture into uncharted sonic territory with Josh Hommes’ stoned-out desert rock on one arm and Thom Yorke’s intergalactic-genius on the other. Find out where they end up at Todd’s on the 23rd.

Good Medicine

By our count, Salt Lake City’s Medicine Circus have now dropped four full-length CDs, counting the to-be-released-this-weekend Bottle Rockets of Emotion (MedicineCircus.com). City Weekly and other publications have universally raved about the previously three, and the latest disc from frontman Christopher Stearman & Co. should rack up even more critical accolades for it’s Brit-soaked guitar-drive, ace pop hooks and tinges of Brian Jonestown-esque psychedelia. Medicine Circus will be giving away 200 (!) copies of Bottle Rockets at this CD Release--grab at least one.

"As singer-guitarist Christopher Stearman dials down the amps and pushes the vocals and hyper-melodies to the forefront, Medicine Circus’ third hits a psychedelic sweet spot somewhere between the Dandy Warhols and circa-’68 Deep Purple."

"Increasingly Brit-poppy with each release, SLC’s Medicine Circus have hit a psychedelic sweet spot with Content. On his third CD, singer-guitarist Christopher Stearman dials down the amps and pushes the vocals and hyper-melodies to the forefront, landing on a grassy knoll somewhere between the Dandy Warhols and circa-’68 Deep Purple. From the opening anthem (’Good Idea’) to the finale, there’s no dead wood." - Bill Frost

Get Your Groove On

By Violet Leigh (XBox.com)

You’ve just found some sweet powder, so you dig out your earphones and free-ride to the beat. In the park, you’ve got your groove on, jamming between hip hop and rock while you grind the rails and ride the half-pipe. You ride on into the lodge and feel the heat on your cold cheeks while the speakers wrap you in pumping electronica.

Riding and tunes go hand-in-hand, so what would Amped 2 be if it didn’t give you a slamming soundtrack to drive you through your tricks? Amped did it. Amped 2 does it better. Check out the following list of songs available on Amped 2. No terrain park you’ve ever known rocks with such a vast and volatile music collection.

Featured Artists:   Medicine Circus
                                    Indian Summer
                                    Lost In Lux
                                    Blue Skies & Flowers

"Washes of abstract guitars, moody atmospherics, detours into hard alt-rock and armloads of angst-driven drama, stopping short of pretentiousness by cranking the amps to 11."

"Too dark to be called college rock, too intelligent to be mass-marketable, Medicine Circus is still very accessible. They have every element in place that a great rock band needs. Melancholy, very melodic guitar parts and vocals blend together perfectly... and I think that that doesn’t have much of anything to do with the great production.

I can almost feel jazz inflections wanting to break out from the upper skin of the music... maybe that has to do with the complicated, very repetitious bass lines, especially prominent in the title track, and the complex guitar and drum parts circling around each other like two men in an intense sword fight, eyes red with rage.

Some echoes of grunge can be felt, like "Moving On", reminiscent of Blind Melon’s "Sleepyhouse". Very advanced musically, Medicine Circus is definitely doing something different from everything out there right now.

This Local CD is a must to listen to. - Rebecca Vernon

*** (3 stars) Washes of abstract guitars, moody atmospherics, detours into hard alt-rock, armloads of angst-driven drama and a so-veddy-British air of cocksure overachievement-Medicine Circus really, really admire the (relatively) warmer Radiohead of old.

Lost in Lux walks the line between post-grunge Americanism and late-period "Madchester" pop psychedelia, stopping short of pretentiousness by cranking the amps to 11 and giving into arena-rock moments. The way singer Chris Stearman’s power-emoting outstrips even the epic dual-guitar clatter of "Beneath the Undertow" is sooo 1996 ... that’s what cool about it. - Bill Frost

"Swirling washes of bright Brit-pop guitars mix with latent grunge sensibilities for uber-catchy songs that just won’t quit running through your head or your speakers." - Bill Frost

What the Doctor Ordered

Medicine Circus has a cure for what ails ya.

There are only so many times you can play Salt Lake City. You can rule supremely at whatever local club you like, but sooner than later you gotta load up the truck and move to Beverly; mow a new lawn, find a fresh market for your music. For Chris Stearman, the summer of ’99 was the time and his bandmates in Ramona Sway, which Stearman and guitarist Eli Probst formed from the debris of the once-promising local rockers Wish, decided to follow suit. Destination? Los Angeles. Result?

"L.A. sucked," says Stearman, "but it taught me what I need to know to be in this business. Things like what practices a ‘good’ band employs, and what kind of ethics control this industry." He pauses, then adds, "I’d have to say my L.A. experience kicked my ass, but I came away wiser than when I left."

Wiser, yes, but also depressed, poor and tired. And without a band. Salt Lake seemed like a good place to recuperate and, despite his L.A. experience, build a new band, Medicine Circus. The name would come from a comment Stearman’s father made some eight years earlier. "When I was 18, I did a report on nationalized vs. privatized medicine and I interviewed my father, a practicing physician at the time. During the interview he said, ‘It’s like a fuckin’ circus ... like some medicine circus.’ So, years later, it resurfaces as the name of my band."

Through placing newspaper ads and posting fliers all over town, Stearman met up with guitarist Ben Moffat, whom he began informally jamming with. Drummer Landy Alger, however, would be the official second member of Medicine Circus and the bassist would be Rob Brian. This first incarnation of Medicine Circus would begin playing out in Spring 2001. Four months later, Moffat would enlist, only to see Brian split. "So, back to the flyers I went," says Stearman. Christian Wadsworth responded and Stearman has "never worried about the stability of Medicine Circus since."

To avoid some kinks, chiefly in the creative dynamic that existed within Wish and Ramona Sway, Stearman established a nothing-sucks, we-explore-everything policy. "Anyone in the band can contribute anything they want. If they want to write a certain kind of song, I and everyone else will do our best to make it so. But no one can ever dislike anything. All that does is limit the ideas and creativity that would otherwise flow freely. Last time I checked, we are in the business of being creative. Why would I fuck with that?"

Well, guess what? It works. On their debut CD, Empty, Medicine Circus, in mining the maybe too-familiar sounds of Stone Temple Pilots and Radiohead, find a sweet psychedelic prescription: guitars and vocals rule in tandem; mood is the goal. For instance, "Sway" opens the disc, literally picking up where Ramona Sway left off: it was the final track on RS’ Thrill For TV (at least the lyrics are the same). Stearman jettisoned the original Pearl Jammy arrangement for a more paisley bouquet of jangly guitars and ethereal, overdubbed vocals, more suited to Medicine Circus’ aesthetic.

It’s a fine introduction, although Stearman has already dissected it and begun plotting Medicine Circus’ sophomore release. The first track, "Beneath the Undertow," has already been recorded with engineer Henry Miller (Luv Apple), who has given it a sonic Hi-Pro glow. "Empty is just a little repetitive. Everything on it has been reworked and has evolved. We’ve learned a lot about writing and arranging. Henry has contributed greatly to our band’s progress and we share many of the same ideals. We just hope he likes us as much as we like him."

The band plans to complete the disc for an April release, at which point they’ll hit the road. Not to L.A., just a tour. But first and foremost, they’ll court Salt Lake crowds. "Touring is absolutely essential. But I also believe that if we can’t develop a large enough fan base in our hometown, there is really not a lot of hope for us. So that leaves us with one option: draw a crowd or die." - Randy Harward

Empty CD Release

During Salt Lake City’s alt-grunge hey-day of the early 90’s, singer-guitarist Christopher Stearman fronted Wish, a band that enjoyed a bit of local commercial airplay and opened for national now-dead acts like Seven Mary Three and the Toadies.

Wish eventually folded, Stearman formed Ramona Sway, moved operations to Los Angeles and got swallowed by the Hollywood undertow. "We did make a pretty good EP", he recalls. "I still have like 800 copies in my closet."

Wizened and ready to rock yet more, Stearman returned to SLC and formed Medicine Circus, an ambitious band releasing their debut eight-song CD, Empty, tonight. It’s a good ’un, guitar-heavy with clean bone-dry production and hook loaded tunes that spark like Jeff Buckley gone "Madchester", circa Charlatans UK and James.

This Local CD is a must to listen to. Pick one up-lord knows there’s no room in the closet.