SongVault Artist Profile

MEN WHO LISTEN was formed in 2008 by Dan Pokorni on the heels of his solo release, “Guitarscapes.” Teaming up with top Chicago-area musicians, drummer Patrick Doody (Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop) and Bill Harrison (Clark Terry, James Moody) the band started making demos. Later, Gary Loizzo (Styx’s producer) came on board behind the console and the MEN WHO LISTEN sound began to take shape -- a sound in which the song comes first. Fusing elements of British invasion, 60s pop and 70s hard rock, the self-titled MEN WHO LISTEN was released in June of 2009 and immediately started getting air-play on a number of college and Internet radio stations.

David C. Eldredge of the Illinois Entertainer described the band as “serving up an extremely well-produced 9-song debut that runs the gamut of rock styles: from the fun, fast, tongue-in-cheeky "I Hate Tom Cruise" and the honky-tonkin' "My Baby's the Bartenda," to the Led Zep-esque chorded "(Dead & Buried) In Your Love" and prog-esque ballad closer "Forever." Proof of the production savvy is found where the band wisely double-tracks the plain-spoken vocals and its crisp sound throughout, making for a solid intro."

The next phase of the band began in December 2009 when singer Jeff Anthony and bassist John Falstrom made their MEN WHO LISTEN debuts on “Cast Our Love Away.” This was followed by the rock ballad “Change in the Blink of an Eye” (featuring Emmy-award winner Greg Potter on drums.) Fueled by Jeff’s vocals, the band sound began to evolve into a more modern, but still melodic hard rock style that is evident in the angry, up-tempo “Bad Days” and continues in the keyboard-drenched “As Far As We Can Go” which was recorded in October of 2011. The 4-song EP, MEN WHO LISTEN 2 was released two months later on December 1st. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come!