Formed in 1997, Chicago-based alt-rock combo Showoff was comprised of vocalist/guitarist Chris Envy (aka Chris Messer), bassist Dave Envy, drummer Dan Castady, and guitarist Graham Jordan. Rising quickly in Windy City's music scene, the melodic pop-punk group signed a major-label deal with Maverick and released their self-titled debut, which was produced by Goldfinger's John Feldmann, in 1999. Their single, "Falling Star," made a decent showing on Billboard's Modern Rock chart and Showoff began touring with bands like the RX Bandits, Everclear, Allister, Citizen King, and Student Rick, among others. After recording their sophomore LP with Mark Trombino, they were dropped by Maverick, causing the album to be shelved indefinitely. Disbanding in 2002, Showoff's members moved on to form new projects like the Fold and Farewell My Enemy. Frontman Chris Envy relaunched a short-lived version of the band featuring a new lineup which yielded the Waiting for You EP in 2006. By the end of the year, however, they had again disbanded. Nearly a decade later, Showoff reunited with their original lineup mostly intact and resumed gigging and recording. In September 2017, the group delivered Midwest Side Story, their first full-length release in 18 years. ~ Heather Phares