ALL THESE BANDS that I love are leaving town. M. Ward went to New Hampshire and now 2% Majesty are all set to be Chicagoans. Once there they'll become a four-piece electric band, leaving behind the folk for the folk-ROCK. I talked to violin player/singer Kyla Cech and singer/guitarist Ryan One and got their State of the Union.

MERCURY: How was tour?

RYAN ONE: We learned a few things about what direction we want to go with our music. When we get to Chicago, we'll be getting a band together and playing electric. It's great to play acoustic and stripped down too, but we've been playing as an acoustic duo for three years now. A change will be nice. I'm looking forward to playing electric. Musically, the tour was awesome! We toured on the East Coast with Alec K. Redfearn from Providence and that stint was the best. But, yeah, I got arrested in South Dakota for a hit of acid. I was in jail for 24 hours and we missed our Madison show. Jail is no fun, of course, and neither is paying a shit load of money to a lawyer! But just a few days ago the charges got reduced, thankfully, from a felony to a misdemeanor. So I won't ever have to see that jail again.

What are you guys sounding like with electricity?

KYLA CECH: I think our songs have always implied a band. We'll be as rock as can be with drums, upright bass, and cello (Doug Jenkins from Bright Red Paper is playing with us this Sunday). I'm not planning on doing much to my violin sound, I just plug it in.

ONE: A friend in Chicago heard a song we recorded electric and he said it reminded him of the Mamas and the Papas.