Watch : Ed Schrader's Music Beat at Empty Bottle.

In 2011, a friend of mine held an art show in Chicago. It also housed some of our favorite local bands like Piss Piss Piss, Moan Moan Moan, and Lechuguillas. Smack dab in the middle of a 7 band line-up was Ed Schrader's Music Beat. Being unfamiliar, and properly sauced by the time these two took the stage, I really had no idea what I was in store for. He lit the drum, covered by a Double Dagger t-shirt, and they were off. It blew me away. They went from Joy Division to Jay Reatard in mere seconds.

The power in that evil gaze made me laugh, but this was no joke. I was laughing because it was so fucking spectacular. Wondering if my booze-addled brain was just wasted enough to trick itself into thinking this was, indeed, THAT good, I trekked to the Empty Bottle to see them again. As I hope you can see in this video, I was not mistaken. Some of the most powerful sounds and moments to come from a simple two piece, since, well, anything I can ever remember.

Ed lives in Baltimore, and is a comedian, journalist, talk-show host, and part of the city's "Wham City" collective. He's joined by Devlin Rice on bass, and I hope it stays that way.

"Jazz Mind" is out now on Load Records. Buy it!

Watch : Paper Mice - "Cannon Fodder"

Paper Mice have long been a staple of the Chicago DIY scene. I'll never forget the first time I saw them in the Mopery, a now defunct warehouse spot in Logan Square. The precision of these songs rests in the players, two of them being music teachers. It's a level of skill brought into what are basically sharp punk rock songs that has won over countless crowds over the years. This is a new song off "The Funny Papers", due in the spring of 2012. Enjoy!

Watch : Cut Teeth - "Gossip Choir" live at Beat Kitchen.

New Chicago band alert! Members of The Felix Culpa, Stay Ahead Of The Weather, Red Knife Lottery and Tornavalanche played their second ever Chicago show at Beat Kitchen the other night. This one's called "Gossip Choir" and it's off the loud-ass debut E.P. called Televandalism. Play it loud. Enjoy!

Watch : Islands at Lincoln Hall.

The ever-changing Islands landscape came to Lincoln Hall for a vastly different kind of show than what we've seen in the past. This time around, it was mostly a down-tempo, piano laden endeavor to highlight their excellent new LP "A Sleep and A Forgetting". Here's "Hallways" with a brief intro snippet of "This Is Not a Song". Filmed at Lincoln Hall.

Enjoy!

(buy the record) islands

Watch : Magic Milk laying waste to Chicago's VFW hall.

Hopefully this didn't cause any terrible flashbacks for any of those swell veterans hanging out that night. The first time I saw Magic Milk was when Turbo Fruits played a now defunct basement space bathed in deep red light. A young kid got up to the mic in a leather jacket, slicked back hair, and giant sunglasses. He sort of looked like a glam era reject with a hint of Fonzie. It ended up being a highlight of the night, simple garage rock tunes sang with soul, a harmonica, and tubes of paper confetti. The band was Magic Milk., and they've since gone through a slew of drummers, now with Maggie Laleman of Tiny Manatee behind the kit. She's a good fit here, and I hope she sticks around.

Magic Milk's songs are simple, and there's a heavy display of frontman showmanship here from singer Kenneth Alden, but it's not empty shenanigans. There's a heart and soul in these songs, and they're played with a serious demeanor, despite some ridiculousness. Sure, there's confetti, a chant, and he's got sweatpants on! Sweatpants! How he went from that first day, to this, I'll never know. You could easily laugh it off as a schtick band if you weren't dancing your ass off at the end of the night, completely fucking sold on the whole thing. Oh, and whoever threw that giant condom filled pinata at us at 3:28, you suck. 'Twas a hell of a shot, though. Second camera by the wonderful Mark Ciarleglio.

Watch : Ryley Walker w/ Andrew Scott Young

A few months ago I received an e-mail from Dustin Drase of Plus Tapes. “I've got this guitar wunderkid that we're putting out. The kid is incredible, I really want to chronicle what he's doing. He's like a young John Fahey / Tim Buckley.

Already a fan of Ryley Walker, I kept a more keen eye on when he was playing, and tried to attend every time. If I did have my cameras, most were entirely dark unfilmable affairs like a full-band warehouse show, or the new back room of the Burlington, bathed in black and red.

After an almost pitch-black set by Jake Acosta, the space enthusiastically produced at a lamp that fit so well with the warmth of this show. Julie Byrne followed, opting for the side of the room, in a warming setup of lights and candles. Bill Satek (Lechuguillas) gave a solo noise-guitar freakout that ended with rapping from the audience. Bones supposedly finished this night out, but I was on the road by then. An extremely enjoyable Teen River tape release show for Julie Byrne.

Andrew Scott Young of Mines / Tiger Hatchery joined Ryley on bass.

So, Dustin, this is for you, those who weren't there, or those who want to relive it.

Teen River

Julie Byrne :

The Funs - "Memorize Me"

Two piece "buzz fuzz" from Chicago. This was at Casa Donde with the mighty PILE, from Boston, and Mines! Pile needs to get back to Chicago. One of our favorite shows of 2011.

the funs

TONIGHT! A benefit for CAKE w/ April Camlin, Unmanned Ship, Bomb Banks, and more...

If you like excellent art, performances, and winning shit from Quimby's, then come on down to Mortville! It's a benefit for the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo!

With live performances by-

Bomb Banks
Unmanned Ship
Violet Mice
Matchess (Whitney Johnson of Verma and E+)
Feast of The Epiphany (Baltimore)
and a live comic reading by Brainframe All-star Lyra Hill

The entire show will be presented by MCs Glucuous and his pal April Camlin (who will be doing ventriloquism!)

It's a $5 Donation to get in, and those who chip in the full amount will be entered into a raffle for excellent prizes provided by Quimby's.

This thing is also starting on time at 8pm, because we have a lot to fit into one night! A fun night to support a great cause!

Bring your pals and spread the word!

CAKE Chicago dot com

EDIT : Here's two photos from the night. Yep.

TEEN RIVER : Tapes made with love.

Featuring Ray Ellingsen. Teen River is a Chicago based tape label ran by Gordon, and Katrina Stonehart. For a new lbale, they release an ungodly amount of tapes that is now hovering around 20 per month.

Made with love. For the children.

Current tentative February releases :

TR033 WILD OATS
TR034 GANGES
TR035 NO SCHOOL GET FUCKED UP
TR036 HOT EYE COSMIC EYE
TR037 DANIEL FROMBERG
TR038 DE7
TR039 CITY CENTER
TR040 SEN DI NA
TR041CAMPFIRES
TR042 AD9
TR043 THIN HYMNS
TR044 TIDDLJEY BONEZ
TR045 KIERNAN PARADISE
TR046 ESOTERIC TAPIOCA
TR047 MEGA BRUISER
TR048 MANUAL CINEMA
TR049 POTIONS
TR050 KATRINA STONEHART/VEHICLE BLUES
TR051 KUBIKIE JO
TR052 KG PRICE
TR053 GABE
TR054 DANIEL AND KATRINA
TR055 PLASTIC BONER BAND

For a full release list and more info :
VISIT TEEN RIVER

Watch : Guilty Pleasures reunited!

It almost seemed refreshing that Guilty Pleasures chose the Burlington for their Chicago reunion show. They picked a dark, relatively new spot over, say, The Empty Bottle, a place where half of its members have worked and likely played or at least attended hundreds of shows.

Formed in 1997, they're often tagged as getting lost in the shuffle of a new era of garage rock. They recorded one record. It never came out, but now that's been rectified by Dusty Medical. Its members have since gone on to such notable projects such as The Ponys, Hot Machines, and Football.

Reunion shows can be a drag, but this was a solid, no-bullshit show for people who just wanted to see these guys, whether it be for the first or possibly the last time.

The excellent Timmy's Organism and Touched by Ghoul opened.

Buy the record!