McLuhan ‘Anomaly’ Release Celebration

Named after media theorist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Chicago-based progressive rock band McLuhan began its musical journey as a mixed-media group and was the brainchild of David Wright, who composed most of the music and wrote the lyrics on their lone album Anomaly, which was released by the iconic label Brunswick Records in 1972.

McLuhan formed after meeting as students at the University of Illinois-Chicago in the late 1960s and their early gigs, including a residency at The Wise Fools Pub, incorporated mixed-media footage to complement the band’s use of offbeat instrumentation, sound effects, and free jazz/fusion/orchestral arrangements.

McLuhan’s initial line-up included Paul Cohn on flute, clarinet, and tenor sax, Neal Rosner on bass and vocals, both Michael Linn and John Mahoney on percussion, Dennis Phillips on guitar and vocals, Tom Laney on keyboards, and Wright on trumpet and vocals.

Based on the their growing local popularity and the strength of their live performances at Wise Fools, McLuhan caught the attention of producer and A&R man Carl Davis, who signed the band to Brunswick, then known mostly as an R&B and Soul label, in an attempt to court white listeners with a “crossover” act with some mainstream appeal.

McLuhan’s aptly titled album for Brunswick, Anomaly, certainly stood out from the label’s other signings at the time but failed to generate much in the way of sales as the band was unable to tour or play larger hometown venues to promote the release.

Now coveted by record collectors and fringe music enthusiasts, Anomaly has gained a cult following and the band has since been featured in the Chicago Reader, Prog Archives, Sputnik Music, and a slew of underground music blogs.

Current McLuhan band leader Neal Rosner, who also has a flourishing solo career, enlisted the help of another noted Chicagoan, musician and producer Ellis Clark, to reissue Anomaly on vinyl for the fist time in over 50 years and the pair have been working closely with vinyl manufacturer Smashed Plastic for a fall 2024 release.

A revamped version of McLuhan featuring original members Cohn, Laney (now using his given surname Tojza), and Rosner with longstanding collaborators Luke Meyer, Mitch Marcus, Barb Rosner and new recruit Bart Coyle, have been building a new generation of followers by performing regularly at small venues in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.