A Legacy Almost Lost: The Carraways

I’ve been slowing making my way through the 2500 (or so) CD’s that were boxed up in my garage for the past few years. It has actually been a fun little process. I’ve unearthed some good stuff that makes me feel way younger and makes me miss old friends. One of those bands is The Carraways.

The Carraways were: Aaron Link, Jacob Deems, Chad Watson, Steve Whitney, and Dan Hoye. They called Chicago’s Western suburbs home in the late 90’s and into the new millennium before calling it quits. Now before The Carraways, Aaron and Jacob played together in Juniper Nine while Chad and Steve were in a band called Spinning Jenny (which also featured Adam and Joe from Lucky Boy’s Confusion).

I went to high school with Aaron and I worked with Chad, but we lost touch when I went to college. A few years later when Amy and I moved back to Chicago after living in Indianapolis for a year, we happened to be listening to WONC’s local show when I exclaimed, “That sounds like Aaron.” It was.

Completely unknown outside of a few loyal fans and friends, The Carraways were always that band that wasn’t “indie” enough for the indie kinds but, then again, they were always better than that even if they were (we all were) still kids at the time. They were a band made up of great songwriters and great musicians, but they were also great friends. But as is the case with many bands that seem poised for bigger things, The Carraways broke up, but at least Aaron, Jacob, and Dan went on to form Moped Band (another favorite of ours).

What I present to you here (after all the inadequate ramblings above) are The Carraways’ two albums and a recording of their final live show. I’d suggest starting with Our Rainy Days if you’re unfamiliar with the band. These aren’t all the juicy details, but it’s how I remember it. Just have a listen to how it was back then (has it really been 10 years?) and enjoy.

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