It's From the Sky. formed in late 2007 when David Lee (Guitar, Vocals), Christopher O'Keeffe (Guitar, Vocals) and Chad Dravk (Drums) started practicing in Cambridge, MA.  After a short search for a bassist proved unfruitful, the trio began playing shows in and around the Cambridge/Boston area.  Their brand of self-described “Sci-Fi/Horror Noise Rock” featured the melodic dual lead singing of Lee and O'Keeffe, blasts of guitar noise, and Dravk's punk-influenced drumming.

Their first recording, electric sle[ep], was recorded and mixed over a weekend at New Alliance Studios in Cambridge in early 2008.  Most of the album was tracked live and featured the original two guitar, two voice, and drum lineup.  According to O'Keeffe in the band's 2009 documentary Formative Days, “Every song on that first EP is either set in space, about a zombie, about a werewolf, or about a zombie or werewolf in space.”  Indeed, the band's initial infatuation with b-movie culture would define the early days of its sound.

Following the release of electric sle[ep], the band found itself expanding its sonic palette, enlisting friends from the Boston music and art scenes to help intensify their live shows.  Over 2008, the core of Lee, O'Keeffe, and Dravk was bolstered by inclusion of extra bassists, keyboardists, guitarists, live painters, and a standing collaboration with digital visualist Chris Roby at dozens of shows up and down the east coast.  The band also created self-directed videos for each of the five songs on electric sle[ep].

Similiar to It's From the Sky.'s lyrical content, the band's visual design highlighted an affinity for science fiction and horror.  According to Dravk in Formative Days: “With It's From the Sky. I went with a 1950s, almost 60s detective/horror/romance comic feel.”  This style is stamped all over everything the band touches, including its award-winning website (www.itsfromthesky.com).

Propelled by the dual songwriting of Lee and O'Keeffe, the band accumulated dozens of original songs after the release of electric sle[ep], and, in late 2008, began putting select tracks together for their followup,  the concept album Barbara's Bloody Footprints.  “If the first EP was about b-movies, sci-fi and horror, this one is a little more concentrated, more genre-specific,” says Lee in Formtive Days. “It's a detective story about a girl that gets murdered.”

Just as the band's live shows had departed from the bassless, three-piece blueprint of electric sle[ep], Barbara's Bloody Footprints featured more layers: baritone guitar, bass, keyboards, foley work, and increasingly intricate vocal harmonies.  The album takes place in a small town in 1963, and opens with the murder of a young girl on prom night.  The rest of the story focuses on reactions from the townspeople.

Barbara's Bloody Footprints was released on Bampf! Records in December, 2009.  They are currently working on videos for the tracks “Pistol & Passport” and “Class President”.  They have also added a fourth fulltime member in the line-up, bassist Rich Marscher.

Reviews
The Herald
Boston, MA

The Day
New London, CT

Barbara's Bloody Footprints
The Diary of Jude Newcomb

electric sle[ep]
The Noise (5th from bottom)