Liz + the Baguettes grew out of Chicago's storefront theater scene, with band members Liz Bagby, Thomas Zeitner, and Zachary Sigelko first playing together in various productions with Strange Tree Group. Zeitner met Charlie Crane (The Dyes, The Parasites) because of a shared love of They Might Be Giants; soon they were playing with Bagby and Ryan Gatenby in the first incarnation of The Loudness War. Sigelko joined the Loudness War lineup in 2013.
Bagby had been writing and performing as a singer-songwriter for years; when she wanted a fuller, louder sound, it was only natural to turn to the band already rehearsing in her basement. The Baguettes name began as a joke during taping for an episode of Chicago Acoustic Underground, and it's too late to change it now. Bagby continues to be the band's songwriter, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist.
For the album Everything I Think I Know Is Wrong, the Baguettes included Crane (lead guitar, drums, keyboards), Sigelko (drums, guitar, mandolin), Zeitner (bass), Liesl Downey (backing vocals), and Sarah Scanlon (backing vocals, keyboards). Andy Miles drummed for some live shows.
Crane (guitar, percussion, bass, keys, backing vocals), Zeitner (bass), and Sigelko (backing vocals) all appear on Highway Gothic as well. Additionally, Scott Cupper plays French horn, and Julie Jurgens adds backing vocals. Crane also produces, engineers, and masters all the Baguettes albums.
Bagby's composition work for theater—if you care about that sort of thing—has included The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen (Strange Tree: Best of NY Fringe, 2014; Jeff Award, Best New Work, 2011), Shakespeare's King Phycus (Strange Tree), The Ballad of the Sad Café (Signal Ensemble Theatre), Tuxedo Love (Theatre 5.2.1), Practical Anatomy (Sansculottes), and more. She will return to Asheville, NC, in 2019 to direct music and play in The Ballad of R&J (American Myth Center), having composed the music for the show's Chicago workshop and directed the music for the premiere production in 2018.
Bagby had been writing and performing as a singer-songwriter for years; when she wanted a fuller, louder sound, it was only natural to turn to the band already rehearsing in her basement. The Baguettes name began as a joke during taping for an episode of Chicago Acoustic Underground, and it's too late to change it now. Bagby continues to be the band's songwriter, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist.
For the album Everything I Think I Know Is Wrong, the Baguettes included Crane (lead guitar, drums, keyboards), Sigelko (drums, guitar, mandolin), Zeitner (bass), Liesl Downey (backing vocals), and Sarah Scanlon (backing vocals, keyboards). Andy Miles drummed for some live shows.
Crane (guitar, percussion, bass, keys, backing vocals), Zeitner (bass), and Sigelko (backing vocals) all appear on Highway Gothic as well. Additionally, Scott Cupper plays French horn, and Julie Jurgens adds backing vocals. Crane also produces, engineers, and masters all the Baguettes albums.
Bagby's composition work for theater—if you care about that sort of thing—has included The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen (Strange Tree: Best of NY Fringe, 2014; Jeff Award, Best New Work, 2011), Shakespeare's King Phycus (Strange Tree), The Ballad of the Sad Café (Signal Ensemble Theatre), Tuxedo Love (Theatre 5.2.1), Practical Anatomy (Sansculottes), and more. She will return to Asheville, NC, in 2019 to direct music and play in The Ballad of R&J (American Myth Center), having composed the music for the show's Chicago workshop and directed the music for the premiere production in 2018.