GONZO CHICAGO

TEEN RIVER : Tapes made with love.

2012-02-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

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!

2012-01-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

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!

Watch : Prince Rama at Subterranean

2012-01-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, Prince Rama. A two-piece this time around, the sisters of Brooklyn headed up a show with Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan at Chicago's Subterranean. I was pretty drunk when I shot this. It's my birthday today. Yip! Enjoy. - jy

Announcing a partnership with Brooklyn's Impose Magazine.

2012-01-17T09:23:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note : We're excited to announce a partnership with Impose Magazine.

We believe Impose, based out of Brooklyn, shares our ideals. They cover many DIY spots, as well as normal venue based things, repping our gals and guys in Teen River, White Mystery, and all sorts of things.

They'll be featuring content of our choosing on their .TV site, as well as a few editorial articles here and there. We're excited to get good things out to a few more people. New year. New endeavors. There are some ridiculously exciting projects in the works, so as always, stay tuned.

Watch : Bomb Banks at the Dustbowl.

2012-01-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

It's sort of like the chest-bursting scene in Alien, or David Bowie at his coolest. They can go from a slight coo, to sludgy noise-punk in seconds. Bomb Banks are set to punch you in the face in 2012. Sure, they'll kiss you afterwards, to set you at ease, but you'll forever be weary of a raised hand from there on out. A record is coming soon. No website yet. Just be aware.

BREAKING : Same bands to play festival for third straight year!

2012-01-09T19:11:00.001-08:00

....plus Refused + At The Drive-In!

Hundreds of sites repeat same story over and over again!

Now with the same line-up on a different weekend for some fucking reason!

See the same thing twice for $10,000! Be totally uncomfortable and not enjoy yourself from hundreds of feet away from the stage, paying $8 for water! All the while tweeting the same shit as everyone else.

Then be bummed out when the four bands you wanted to see that "don't foresee any other shows but this" announce a full small-club tour!

You heard it here first.

Introducing : OOZING WOUND (video)

2012-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

With Cacaw now defunct, Zack Weil (Cacaw/Zath) and Kyle Reynolds (currently also in Bad Drugs) clearly wanted to keep the babies plugging their ears, so they grabbed Kevin from Unmanned Ship and formed Oozing Wound. This was only their second show, held at Crown Liquors on Milwaukee Avenue. Dig it.

Watch : Wishgift play in the Secret Garden...

2012-01-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

Chicago's element of surprise never fails. This was the first show at the Secret Garden. The room can hold...uh...about 8 people. Hard to film, but all the more fun. Wishgift opened. ReDemer closed. We drank. We were merry. Someone's birthday party happened...and all was well with the world. Songs are "Pillow is Trash Talk" and "Amphibian Country Prince".

Buy some shit.

Paper Mice announce new album : "The Funny Papers" (tracklist + studio photos)

2012-01-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

It's been three years since Paper Mice debuted their first full length "Paint It Pink". They've been a staple of our DIY scene for even longer, tearing up scuzzy basement and loft spaces, leaving the crowd a sweaty, grinning mess. We saw them make everybody go absolutely apeshit at the Mopery and have been in love ever since. Their songs are mostly minute-long bursts channeling The Minutemen that are over before you realize you were just crowd-surfing. Consistently spectacular live, we've been awaiting some new songs for a while, and they don't disappoint.

"The Funny Papers", due out in March, was recorded by Grayson Elliot Taylor, who has recorded Twista amongst others. It shares stories of madness in the world. "Banking Up The Wrong Tree" tells of Bank of America trying to foreclose a home of a couple...who didn't even have a mortgage with Bank of America. "Angry Meal", a tale of that woman who assaulted a Mcdonalds drive-thru employee. "Cannon Fodder" brings the story of rapper Rico Todriquez Wright, who shot a man and then wrapped about it in a song entitled "Hitting Licks for a Living". He's now in jail for the next 20 years.

Classically trained singer and guitarist Dave Reminick teaches music theory at Columbia. Drummer John Carrol teaches music to elementary school children where this very record was being recorded. There's no shortage of technical prowess in these tracks. The best part of seeing Paper Mice live is grinning at how the hell they stay so tight and energetic while banging out such insane songs.

We've seen some these new ones live, even filmed some of them, and hearing them come to life in the studio, we can safely say this is one high on our list of anticipated records of 2012. When I asked the band what the title meant, John Carrol told us it was "A play on words on the comical nature of the stories we tell in the lyrics. Another pun attempt. We almost called it "Pun's Not Dead!"

You won't have to wait too long to hear a sampling of this new record. We'll have an album preview video up in the next month or so.

Tracklist (final order pending) :

Hot Air
Swine Flue Suits
Cannon Fodder
Dog Only Knows
Simulacra
Don't Worry About The Governor
Banking Up The Wrong Tree
When Bugs Cry
Angry Meal
Big Blank
Research And Destroy

Watch : MINES

2012-01-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

Chicago based MINES have been around a long time. They've been tearing up DIY spots for years, and it seems they're finally getting some overdue recognition. It started as a solo project of Bill Satek in 2008, and aside from a singular lineup change, it's members have remained consistent. With current backing by members of Tiger Hatchery, Wyoming, and Battleship, and now with Ben Billington on second drum duty, we're hoping we hear a lot more in the future. Be on the look out. This was filmed at The Empty Bottle's first show of 2012.

Watch : Mines + Snacks at Happy Dog's NYE!

2012-01-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Happy Dog Gallery hosted one of the many end of the world parties on New Year's Eve 2011. Chicago's own MINES and a reunited SNACKS took the stage (floor) and made us all try to forget (or forever remember) what was either best or worst year of our lives.

I entered the place flu-ridden, hoping to Baby New Year Jesus it actually started at 10 like they said. It didn't, so I sipped on a cider that Battleship gave me, slowly, wincing with each tiny gulp.

I left after the ball dropped and both bands were finished, but I'm pretty sure more than just Rotten Milk ended up dj'ing and/or playing, which may or may not have included DJ's Mac Hines and Andicaine, and/or performances by The North, and I Love You.

Looking forward to a great year.

Watch : Dirtbombs + White Mystery at Subterranean...

2011-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

Dirtbombs! White Mystery! Along the line somewhere, Sailor Jerry decided they were going embed themselves in the rock n' roll scene. They threw a free party at the Subterranean December 16th, 2011. The Dirtbombs returned to Chicago after what seemed like a decade. White Mystery opened. Serious drum freak-outs ensued, and all was well with the world.

Watch : Toupée - "Slowski"

2011-12-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

'

2011 isn't done with giving us great shows. Here's another band you should know. Toupée. They don't have a website, but they do have a tape coming out on Teen River around February. They took a break from prowling around screeching guttural vocals over some heavy, driving songs to play one "for the lovers" entitled "Slowski". This was at "Dustbowl" in Chicago on 12/17 with Bomb Banks, Names Divine, and others. Keep an eye out. Enjoy.

Chicago in 2011, or, "Why We Love Our Live Music Scene". A Gonzo Chicago recap.

2011-12-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

"Cast" in order of appearance :

Bad Drugs
John Bellows
Ed Schrader's Music Beat
Titus Andronicus
Warhammer 48K
Wume
Tyler Jon Tyler
White Mystery
Work/Death
Running
Close Hits
Black Lips (w/ Bobby Conn, Ty Segall intercut)
Archers of Loaf
Cacaw
Obits
Magic Ian
Fat Worm of Error
Pile
Radar Eyes
Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan
Times New Viking (w/ Strychnine)
Cartright
Cave
Lechuguillas
Dana Falconberry
Andy Cigarettes
Absolutely Not
Double Dagger
Heavy Times
Handsome Furs
Mannequin Men
Mayor Daley
T'bone
ONO
Paper Mice
Snacks
Names Divine
R. Stevie Moore
Bomb Banks
Rabble Rabble
Thee Oh Sees
Magic Milk
Unmanned Ship
Wild Flag
Music Tapes
Outer Minds
...with an intro by Max Morris.

Instead of giving you some best-of list nobody agrees with, we thought you'd enjoy this more. 2011 was a hell of a year for Chicago music lovers. The current status of the Chicago music scene, as you can see, is very healthy. Some might say it is the best it's ever been. From our past experience, summer has been the most hectic, but it seemed like this year the noise didn't stop. January had the stellar "Tommorow Never Knows" festival, ran by the Schubas family, and this blur of a year went full speed ahead from there. April had Lightning Bolt destroying the Logan Square monument thanks to the Empty Bottle. Summer was, well, summer in Chicago. Bitchpork III. Double Dagger's final Chicago show. The Hideout Block Party. Festivals. A non stop stream of spectacular local, touring bands, underground shows. It was unrelenting. Luckily we had our cameras in tow, and an insatiable urge for live music.

As you may know, we ran a successful Indiegogo fundraiser in May, and things got a lot prettier from there on out. It was a one-of-a-kind experience that we will never forget. So many of you came out of the woodwork and told us you liked what we were doing. This video is for you. In the last 8 months we have attended over 150 shows, filming and shooting a good lot of them. Your interest and love for what has been created here only furthers our desire to give you what we think is interesting. Things you might not have heard of, seen, or would ever be on your radar. This isn't to shine a light on a dark corner, but to simply put good music, and good work, out to people that really care about it. It's that simple. That's what we've always strived to do here. This year, the gods aligned us with Nathan Christ and his Echotone Film crew. We held a Mortville show with Mannequin Men, Outer Minds, Close Hits, PPPMMM. We shot the skyline from 25 miles out. They have inspired us greatly, and for that we think the meeting was meant to be. We're also impressed at the quality of output by labels like HoZac, but also the insurgence of small-run tape labels like Lillerne Tapes, Plus Tapes, Priority Male, Catholic Tapes, Maximum Pelt, Nihilist Records, and many more.

This year had a few sour notes. Some of the boys in the spectacular Lechuguillas have moved to Texas, leaving a void in a sea of Chicago projects. They are sorely missed. Another one of the best bands Chicago had to offer, Cacaw, are now defunct. Sadly, it was right after a self-proclaimed "worst Chicago show we have ever played." which makes it even more hard to swallow. There was no grand 12-band farewell like the Lechuguillas threw. Just a quiet nod, and a goodbye. These things happen, but it still hurts when they come to pass.

That said, this video is just the beginning. As we grow in our partnerships, knowledge, and ability to create, you can surely expect even more eye popping content in 2012.

I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the people, bands, and spaces who have gone out of their way to help this project become what it is today. To those who supported the fundraiser that makes everything we do look so much better. :

The Schubas family,Chicago Reader, Drag City, Tyler Jon Tyler, Lechuguillas, Mannequin Men, Absolutely Not, Running, ONO, White Mystery, The Hideout, Micha Ward, Brian Jarreau, Threadless, A.V. Club Chicago, Nathan Christ and the Echotone Film crew, Kenny Alden, Loud Loop Press, Thomas V. Ryan, Chicagoist, the crew at Ball Hall, Mortville, Situations, Treasure Town, and countless others who have inspired us, selflessly displayed their love for what has been done here. We hope you enjoy this video. It was meant purely for the enjoyment of people who like energy in their music, and for those who love what's going on in Chicago right now. We think what's happening here is pretty special, and unlike anything else in the country. There are some glaring omissions, but we'll rectify that soon enough. Thanks for taking the time to have a look. Here's to an even more eye popping 2012.

-JY

Photos : Heavy Times at Schubas Tavern. Debut LP "Jacker" out now on HoZac Records!

2011-12-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

HoZac Records has been on a roll lately...or maybe they just haven't stopped rolling since their inception. Either way, Heavy Times' long-player "Jacker" is finally out, and to nobodies surprise, it rules. Rock n' Roll from your favorite jerks in Running, Loose Dudes and other notably scuzzy endeavors. Heavy Times are advocates of the DIY scene, but it was nice to see them at Schubas, a spot where you could, you know, actually hear what was going on. There are some seriously solid tracks on this record. A conversation in the green room before the show with Milwaukee's Jaill and Broncho had them jokingly proclaiming themselves as "Convict Punk", which we actually think is a pretty killer title. Buy the record and catch 'em live as soon as possible. You know, better yet, we'd suggest you pick up that fall three-pack with Wax Idols and the Radar Eyes 7". DO IT.

2011 : A Year In (Video) Review - TRAILER

2011-11-30T21:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, 2011. Instead of making some shitty list nobody agrees with, we're going to give you this instead. In classic "Best Of" fashion, you'll have it before 2012. The main track of this trailer is live, by the wonderful Chicago band OUTER MINDS. Bands to be included in this will be ONO, Cacaw, Mayor Daley, Running, Lechuguillas, Titus Andronicus, Ted Leo, Bad Drugs, Black Lips, Ty Segall, Cave, Rabble Rabble, Wume and more. It won't quite be a documentary. It won't quite be a footage dump. Just something fun and different for you all, which is always what we're after. It'll be in front of your eyes before 2012. Wait for it...

Watch : MYSTREATER at Nitetrotter Fest 2011

2011-11-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

You may know Andy Slater from Velcro Lewis Group, or if you've been around for a while, "Behold the Living Corpse" or Tijuana Hercules. Well, Velcro's got a new jam, and it's called MYSTREATER. This was Nitetrotter Fest 2011 at the Dustbowl, which ended up getting slammed down by the 5-0 something fierce. I think a car got set on fire in the end.

Watch : Mutts at Beat Kitchen - "Pray For Rain" Record Release show at Subterranean 12/1/11.

2011-11-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Mutts are a band conceived in Florida and currently residing in Chicago. They're steeped in dirty blues and rock n' roll, growling vocals and some heavy, hectic keyboard. Here's a video of them at Beat Kitchen covering Fugazi and melting into a song of their own. They have a record release show for their LP "Pray For Rain" at the Subterranean on the first of December, 2011 at 8PM. You should highly consider going. Huge thanks to Mike Maimone and crew for all the support over the last year.

Pre-order the record and listen.

Watch : Bitchpork III #2 - Work/Death + Bad Drugs

2011-11-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the second installment of our Bitchpork III video series.

Early in day one of the festival, a found-sound gospel sermon oozed out into Mortville. A grungy kid some of you probably know sat knees down, face into the floor, slamming his fists into the ground as the words entered his head....as if to let go of something troublesome to him. Not pictured, only background sound adding to the intensity. Work/Death is a solo noise project based out of Providence, Rhode Island. Bad Drugs are from Chicago, and you should go see them.

Watch : John Bellows - "Imaginary Friend" @ SAKI

2011-11-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Weekend! As previously stated, John Bellows is a goddamn treasure of Chicago. As a solo artist, he has recently again stopped jumping all over you for a little while to stop you cold in your tracks. Go see him live soon, as this incarnation may only last a few moments.

"Imaginary Friend" from his LP Clean Your Clock. It was part of an in-store with Advance Base at the wonderful store SAKI in Chicago....

points of interest tonight :
Nicole Miller / LKOP / Tyler Jon Tyler @ Enemy
Skoal Kodiak, Brent Koontz, Bad Drugs @ Mortville

points of interest tomorrow :
white mystery / magic milk / magic ian @ treasure town
ONO / mayor daley / wume / bomb banks @ happy dog

"I never play this one" :

Watch : Honus Honus sing "Heavy Tumbling" to intro the Mister Heavenly encore...

2011-11-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Mister Heavenly came back to Chicago for the first time since Januarys "Tomorrow Never Knows" appearance. This time, a smaller Subterranean show, with Camera and Mr. Dream. I'd say the crowd should shut up, but everyone was so happy to be there, you couldn't help but smile. Talking to folks who were equally excited to watch each individual member of this band play, you couldn't stop the yelling if you wanted to anyway.

A three piece without Cera, Honus, Diamond$ and Plummer reinforced our love for the songs we heard live in January. They were tighter, while having a hell of a lot of fun. They're nerdy enough without him, anyway. May this band put out twenty LP's and continue on to do a warped Carnival senior-tour in 2050.

This is called "Heavy Tumbling". Enjoy.

mister heavenly

Watch : Double Dagger's final Chicago show...

2011-11-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

What else can be said? Goodbye, Double Dagger. You were always there to jump all over us and manhandle everyone when we got docile. Treasure Town had a Hexagon themed art show on the same night, Black Ladies reunited. Hume played. It was held in the "meat locker" garage area where Eugenics Council played. Concerning this show, which was not only one of the wildest we've seen in that building, Double Dagger said : "The best words to describe tonight's show came from Bruce: "Chicago, you're like Baltimore, but bigger" That was one of thee wildest shows we've ever played. My head is covered in lumps and bruises and I couldn't be happier."

Gabe Deloach filmed the whole final tour. Expect a film soon.

Enjoy.

posttypography

Jeff Mangum to play 2 Chicago shows in February!

2011-11-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

We're not one for re-hashed news posts, but it's safe to say this is news you've been waiting for with baited breath for a long, long time. Jeff Mangum will be doing a short tour, and is playing Chicago's "Anthenaeum Theater" in early February. Tickets go on sale November 11th at noon.

dates :

Dates : Jeff Mangum 2012 Tour :
01/18 – New Haven, CT @ Shubert Theater
01/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Gilman Opera House
01/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Irvine Auditorium
01/27 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
01/30 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Memorial Hall
02/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
02/04 – Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre
02/06 – Chicago, IL @ Anthenaeum Theater
02/07 – Chicago, IL @ Anthenaeum Theater
02/08 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
02/10 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
02/11 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
03/07 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
03/09-11 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
03/13 – London, UK @ Union Chapel
03/14 – London, UK @ Union Chapel

PHOTOS : Dave Foley surprises Mayne Stage, joins Thompson and Mcdonald in "Two Kids One Hall"...

2011-10-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

The announcer says "Please welcome Kevin Mcdonald and Scott Thompson", and out comes Dave Foley...

Just as the Sun-Times hinted at, Dave Foley surprised Chicago tonight by joining the cast of "Two Kids One Hall" alongside Scott Thompson and Kevin Mcdonald.

The set was delightfully dirtier than we thought it was going to be. Dave started the night and stayed out a good 40 minutes, frequently asking if that was enough, only to hear Thompson yelling at him to keep going. Foley stated that if he "seemed rusty", that he hadn't done stand-up in a while, but nobody seemed to mind him shaking off a few cobwebs. His set was probably the dirtiest, talked blowjobs and pubic hair, ball shaving, and made fun of the audience member up front dressed in a "flying pig" costume. They all did.

They riffed on each other from on and off the stage. Foley told Thompson to "get out of the wing" as he paced back and forth on the side of the stage. Kevin Mcdonald sang two songs in the comedic fashion. They were convincingly hilarious. He made faces and delivered solid sets in between Scott Thompson's talk of how great foreskins are, interrupting Kevin from the audience, giving babies blowjobs instead of circumcisions. Vicious. Falling, lying, and "homer circling" on the floor, picking each other up, hugging between changeovers, it was clear they just wanted to have fun.

Stanhope would have laughed his ass off.

Foley plays the Improv this weekend, while Thompson and Mcdonald continue their five show run at the beautiful Mayne Stage.

Watch : Ty Segall live at Treasure Town in Chicago...

2011-10-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

After a sweaty show at the Empty Bottle, Ty Segall opted to play in the sprawling art wonderland that is Treasure Town. Here we have him slinking into the crowd, playing some Sabbath with Timmy Vulgar, and generally making everyone lose their shit. Do we see White Francis crowd surfing for a moment there? Human Eye, Mikal Cronin, and Heavy Times opened. Sadly, the memory card in our sound recorder got corrupted, or the vocals on this would be a lot stronger. Still sounds and looks pretty slick, considering it's just onboard sound. "Goodbye Bread" out now on Drag City. Enjoy!

Watch : Cartright live at Mortville...

2011-10-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

A few years back, we were taking shots of whiskey at the Mopery, vibing to some dirty noise-rock, when a guy with an ultra-sweet beard came up and handed us a very home-made CD-R wrapped in yellow construction paper. "Take this, we're called Cartright...we're playing soon", he said. So we shoved it in our back pocket, gobbled down the rest of that whiskey, and as these fellows started to play, our eyes went wide and our faces went blank. It was phenomenal. It was unlike anything we had ever heard in that dark, dirty warehouse. Like a bucket of water to the face...more proof that our DIY scene wasn't just a bunch of doped up kids banging on sheets of metal. The thing is, their songs often involve driving, razor-sharp breakdowns with them all whooping and yelling their hearts out in unison, only to switch to a song like this that makes you want to hug your grandmother. It stuck with us ever since. We still jam that album often.

Texas natives Cartright came back, this time to Mortville, with eleven other acts to send off our boys in Lechuguillas. This one puts a lump in our throats. Enjoy :

Tonight : Echotone Screening + Paper Mice set / Treasure Town art show + Double Dagger's final Chicago show...

2011-10-15T12:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight, Consequence of Sound welcomes Nathan Christ's Echotone to Empty Bottle , with a special performance by the amazing Paper Mice! The event starts at 6:30, with Paper Mice playing shortly after. There will also be a premiere of the new White Mystery video! Admission is $5.

Also, the amazing Double Dagger are breaking up! Sad news, but they're playing a second show, more their style. Your favorite DIY warehouse! The second night in Chicago, with a reunited Black Ladies, Hume, and more. It's in the basement of the Mortville building, and there's also a hexagon themed art show in the middle level, Treasure Town. The art show starts a bit earlier, and the show begins at 11PM.

It's a great day to be in Chicago. Come on out!

Here's a recent video we took of Paper Mice playing some killer new songs :

Occupy Chicago : National Day of Action SATURDAY, October 15th. Metropolis Coffee company to donate to-go boxes!

2011-10-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

We love Chicago's local businesses. With Occupy Chicago, and the Occupy movement in general picking up steam via rabid twitter accounts, and a National Day of Action coming up this Saturday, we thought we'd reach out to some great local companies. See if they'd like to donate some needed items to the cause. We contacted Metropolis Coffee, and our e-mail was briskly passed on to David Retzer, who responded almost immediately, saying the company would like to donate some to-go boxes of coffee, even though their monthly donation quota was full.

It's this kind of selfless mentality that will lead real change.

Join us, in a National Day of Action :

On October 15th people from all over the world will take to the streets and squares.

From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest.

The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.

United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us.

On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organize until we make it happen.

It’s time for us to unite. It’s time for them to listen.

There is a main march at 7PM on Saturday, saying they will leave from Jackson & Lasalle at 7pm to Michigan and Congress.

Occupy for change. Join us.

United for Global Change - October 15th, 2011
Occupy Chicago
Occupy Wall Street

Listen : Kurt Vile - Live at Reckless Records / Life's a Beach...

2011-10-12T17:38:00.001-07:00

Kurt Vile has a new track called 'Life's a Beach"! The "So Outta Reach" 6-song EP will be available on 12″ and digital formats on November 8.

On top of that, this little gem has been hanging under the covers for a while.

Back on April 1st, Kurt Vile played an in-store at good ol' Reckless Records. It was a precursor to a show at the Subterranean. Like a gentle fall breeze, he waded through new and old with ease. Yes! We love being corny! Enjoy!

Buy his stuff from Matador! :

Kurt Vile - Live at Reckless Records by Gonzo Chicago

R.I.P - Lechuguillas : 13 band send-off tonight at 8PM.

2011-10-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight, at 8pm, we release 2/3 of Lechuguillas into the Texas wild. Without them, the Mopery would not have existed, nor would a huge chunk of what has happened in the last few years. A staple of the Chicago underground scene for years, they were at the height of their power, with a new record to be released...tonight. They probably would have gotten boring or went all fucking prog-rock on us anyway. Chicago has a history of saying goodbye in style, as you may know. If you want a current status of the DIY scene here, well...the line-up is :

Lechuguillas release party for the new record Insurrection of an Erection

Lechuguillas : http://lechuguillas.com/

Velvet Underground : http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-p5753

ONO: http://ono1980.com/

Health&Beauty : http://healthbeautyband.com/plexi.html

Gun's N' Roses : http://www.myspace.com/gunsnroses

Naked Island

Plastic Boner Band/Instinct Control : http://www.myspace.com/plasticbonerband / http://liscentric.com/

Battleship : http://battleship.bandcamp.com/

Unmanned Ship : http://www.myspace.com/unmannedship

Judas Priest feat. Thin Lizzy feat. Black Label Society
:http://www.myspace.com/thinlizzynow/music
http://www.myspace.com/210419730
http://www.myspace.com/34131410

Green Pasture Happiness : http://brianlabycz.com/thegreenpasturehappiness

AIDS Goat: http ://www.myspace.com/aidsgoat

Running http://vimeo.com/25751512

Handsome Tyrants : http://www.facebook.com/handsometyrants

Cartright : http://cartrightmusic.com/

Sunsplitter: http://sunsplitter.blogspot.com/

SPECIAL GUEST/M.C. -- Dennis Rodman of your World Champion Chicago Bulls (96-98)

8:30 - FOREVER. Saturday, October 8th. MORTVILLE.

A night for the ages. Bring a cooler.

Cartwright are playing, too! Solid. Don't miss it : A Tall Tale Comes Of Age by Cartright

P.S. they're touring on their way, and will be running a record label in Texas. EAT MEAT RECORDS

Watch : WILD FLAG - Live at Subterranean : Part 2!

2011-10-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend, WILD FLAG return to Chicago for a sold-out two night stint at The Empty Bottle, here's a PART 2 of sorts of that crazy Subterranean show in July. Channeling Patti Smith, Brownstein and her spectacular lady cohorts left everyone freaking out. Go see this band! Click this to watch Part 1.

Watch : Broken Social Scene....live...on a Heineken billboard.

2011-09-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Things just keeps getting stranger and stranger for us lately.

In a weird, last-minute, WTF moment, Broken Social Scene played on a 600 foot stage with a Heineken billboard towering over them. Oh, and the billboard was...across from Wrigley Field. Unbeknownst to us, they only have an October 1st gig in the states before they play some South American shows and go on the ever dreaded "hiatus". In hindsight, that made comments by Kevin Drew, like "We're Broken Social Scene, don't forget us", and "Chicago, we love you, you know we love you" all the more potent. "Don't forget to look somebody in the eye." Despite the high stage, the show was fun. They played seven songs. Even a few off "You Forgot It In People". Thanks, Heineken! Please write us so we can give you the check address.

Enjoy :

Bitchpork 2011 #1 : FAT WORM OF ERROR.

2011-09-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

"We'd like to thank the CHICAGO POLICE for letting us have this party..."

The first video in our 'Biiitchpork' series. Fat Worm of Error are a band from Northampton, Massachusetts. They formed in 2002. Bitchpork was a music festival held on Chicago's south side. It included over 40 touring and local bands like Warhammer 48K, Work/Death, Running, Andy Cigarettes, Lechuguillas, Radar Eyes, and ONO.

Fat Worm of Error

Watch : WHITE MYSTERY at the 2011 Hideout Block Party!

2011-09-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

White Mystery played the 15th annual Hideout Block Party! Shilling out loud-ass tunes from their new record, and a few old ones peppered in for good measure. The band hasn't slowed down a bit since the last time you saw them, only upping the volume on the knob, screaming and bashing away, and touring like tomorrow might not come.

White Mystery are consistently good live, and have been long-time fans of the DIY scene in Chicago. You could often catch White Francis chugging down 40's in the Mopery. In fact, that's where we met them. They have a slick new VIDEO out for the Blood and Venom track "Birthday" that just so happens to be directed by Echotone's Nathan Christ. SMASHY! Enjoy :

Watch : Paper Mice play new songs at Ball Hall...

2011-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

If for some reason you live in Chicago and don't know Paper Mice, now is a good time to get acquainted. They've been tearing apart DIY spots and stages around Chicago for years. New songs like "Cannon Fodder" and the busted-out-for-the-first-time "Banking Up the Wrong Tree" made the smiles on the crowd a bit bigger than normal this night. Absolutely stellar. Enjoy.

Review / Photos : 2011 Hideout Block Party : 15 years of being awesome!

2011-09-25T21:42:00.001-07:00

The Hideout is a tiny little gem of Chicago, as you all know. I liken it to a small bar in upper Wisconsin. It's tucked away behind, and surrounded by, sprawling industrial buildings, and a giant parking lot. If you've never been to the Hideout or their block parties, they use that giant parking lot to throw a bash.

A few years back, it was a celebration of Touch and Go records in which Big Black, Girls Against Boys, and Scratch Acid played. After that, Bloodshot. It's always a really well planned, easy-going festival that a lot of other fests should go and take notes on. Very well-ran.

Either way, the Hideout has been at it for so long, and it shows in their musical partnerships. This year, Andrew Bird, White Mystery, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples, The Eternals, and more all chipped in to throw a good party.

Yes, I know, we missed a few acts. One cannot stand in one spot for 12 hours straight. Apologies if you don't find what you're looking for in this review!

Tim Tutten wasn't short on funny and inspiring words.

It started with Steve Krakow (from Plastic Crimewave, Solar Fox) holding a celestial "guitar orchestra" where anyone and everyone could get in for free if you brought a musical instrument. That's right...show up early, get in free. It was pouring rain up until, well, the moment it was supposed to start. The clouds parted, as if a gift to the festival itself, and the sun came out.

Travis from ONO had a megaphone and barreled in a reading from a book he had, which cut in and out of the skreech-drone-blam of the some 20-30 instruments on hand. You had Muya from Humminbird, P. Michael of ONO, children and their families, and many others I didn't recognize.

White Mystery played immediately after, shilling out loud-ass tunes from their new record, and a few old ones peppered in for good measure. The band hasn't slowed down a bit since the last time you saw them, only upping the volume on the knob, screaming and bashing away with reckless abandon.

I do not know the catalog's of Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones, Andrew Bird, or the Eternals well enough to pick apart their sets and offer you a long, drawn out opinion.

All I can say is this : It's well known that the Hideout is one of the best venues on the planet. Mavis Staples recorded a live record there. Jeff Tweedy just sang fucking Black Eyed Peas songs after Mayor Emanuel hung out. It's a Chicago staple, really. We could go on all night about the who's who that love the little shack on Wabansia, but we won't.

The Eternals played a stellar set, spitting out a few newer tracks that skittered along and got the day well on it's way.

We watched wide-eyed as Booker T. Jones played songs from his back-catalog that spanned decades, so much so that they've been covered and twisted and warped so many times over the years, we were often left laughing at the fact that he actually conceived these songs.

Mavis brought the proverbial house down. A true performer. She brought Andrew Bird on stage for a song. Inspiring. Similar to Booker T where you just hear these songs being played, but they're seasoned with the grit of, well, being sung and played by the actual person that wrote the song in the first place. An amazing set that moved me and shook me to to the core. Maybe because I was so close. Would have loved to see her at that Hideout show. She sure can pose for photos, too.

Andrew, playing a few new ones of his own, seemed to leave everyone really happy. We looked to the side of the stage, as people seemed to clamor for one last hit song after a chunk of new material. We saw the sound guy make the call to stop. People seemed a little bummed, but it certainly didn't put a damper on a rainless day that ended up being a highlight of the last few months.

Few can throw a festival and party like the Hideout. May they have continued success (and continued block parties) for years to come.

Photos :

View the whole set...
WATCH : White Mystery

Last Mopery Show documentary to screen at Backyard Film Fest! Use code 'GONZO' for discounted tickets!

2011-09-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 1st, the Backyard Film Festival will celebrate its fourth year.

Victor Spatafora's The Last Mopery Show has been chosen to be a part of it!

Started in 2008, this small, literally backyard film festival has grown in size, taken on musical performances, and changed venues.

From the website : A number of changes were implemented this year, including the addition of a film panel. The film set, scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. at the WPAC, will feature short films from both local and international artists. Patrons will also have access to premium libations and several of Chicago’s hottest food trucks throughout the day.

The Festival will also feature the premiere of Chicago band Judson Claiborne performing original material to a 1942 silent documentary. The film features two explorers traveling from Fairbanks to Seattle by motorcycle, at a time when no roads existed in the area.

Entertainment will resume at the Viaduct Theater for a 9 pm showcase of artists, including San Francisco singer-songwriter Bhi Bhiman, New York (by way of Pittsburgh) Wise Blood, who recently declared their intentions to take over pop music, and Chicago hip-hop group BBU.

So, how much is this thing, and how do you attend? Well....good news! We've partnered with the BYFY to offer discounted tickets to the complete festival! Enter the promo code GONZO for $5 off a full ticket price! So instead of buying seperately and paying $25, you're only paying $15!

Come support your local (and international) short filmmakers. Buy tickets!

Watch : CAVE playing live....on a flatbed truck!!!

2011-09-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

"We want to put CAVE on a flatbed truck, like the Stones, man...can you come film it?..."

Drag City is a great record label. They didn't even know if they were going to be able to do this until...well...it actually happened. So, Enjoy!

Much love to Drag City.

CAVE are on a "neverendless" tour :

9/21/11 Pop Montreal - Il Motore Montreal Quebec Canada w/ Liturgy
9/22/11 Outdoor BBQ Monson ME
9/23/11 Wherehouse Boston MA
9/24/11 Monster Island Basement Brooklyn NY Live With Animals
9/25/11 Cake Shop New York NY
9/27/11 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia PA
9/28/11 Floristree Baltimore MD
9/29/11 Tea Bazaar Charlottesville VA
9/30/11 Nightlight Chapel Hill NC
10/1/11 Broadways Asheville NC
10/2/11 New Brookland Tavern Columbia SC
10/3/11 Tin Roof Charleston SC
10/4/11 Burro Bar Jacksonville FL
10/5/11 The Snooze West Palm Beach FL
10/6/11 Boca Fiesta Gainesville FL
10/7/11 Evolution Records Lakeland FL
10/8/11 New World Brewery Tampa FL
10/9/11 Farm 255 Athens GA
10/10/11 529 Atlanta GA
10/11/11 The End Nashville TN
10/12/11 Proud Larry's Oxford MS
10/13/11 Skihouse Carbondale IL
10/14/11 2720 Cherokee St. Louis MO
10/15/11 The Hideout Chicago IL w/ Chandeliers
11/6/11 Mickey's Madison WI
11/8/11 Medusa Minneapolis MN
11/9/11 The Cave (Carleton College) Northfield MN
11/11/11 Mojo's Columbia MO
11/17/11 The Comet Seattle WA
11/19/11 East End Portland OR
11/23/11 Verdi Club San Francisco CA Drag City Thanksgiving Blowup
11/28/11 Pehrspace Los Angeles CA
12/3/11 Solar Culture Tucson AZ
12/5/11 Bryan Street Tavern Dallas TX
12/8/11 Siberia New Orleans LA

Listen : Mayor Daley + Bad Drugs full sets from Empty Bottle last night...

2011-09-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Last night, the wonderful Permanent Records celebrated their fifth birthday.

If you missed it, take a listen to the spectacular Mayor Daley and Bad Drugs' sets from last night.

Enjoy!

MAYOR DALEY - Live at Empty Bottle by Gonzo Chicago

Bad Drugs - Live at Empty Bottle by Gonzo Chicago

Oh, and (Liz) <3 :

Watch : Julian Koster play us a song in an alley (plus Olivia Tremor Control photos)

2011-09-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

Here's a special one for you. Julian Koster and Robby Cuchiarro play "Spare the Dark Streets" in...well, a dark alleyway behind Bottom Lounge.

Last year, in October, Music Tapes did one of their "Holiday Surprise" tours, in which they stopped at people's homes for a small group of people to play holiday inspired songs. Singing saw, banjos with bows, horns, mechanized human towers, games, singing mice. The whole thing brought a smile to our face for weeks. It was one of the best shows I ever attended, both musically, and for the environment.

Well, last night, Julian Koster brought his Music Tapes fellows, along with the 7 foot metronome, to open up for Olivia Tremor Control at the Bottom Lounge.

They were great. Playing a few old songs, and a bunch of new material from a record that will be out next year.

Olivia Tremor Control seemed to have fun on stage, laughing off sound issues. It was a great set, filled with cuts from their past, with new material. There was an eleven year old boy present (who appeared to be accompanied by his father and Michael Martello from Nothingheads / Absolutely Not). He ended up giving them a tape of the songs he recorded. The band shook his hand and said they were surprised he has recorded already. OTC dedicated a song they "weren't expecting to play" to him. Cutest goddamn thing ever.

We asked Julian Koster to play us "Spare the Dark Streets" in the alley behind Bottom Lounge, so he grabbed his banjo, and Robby Cuchiarro, and they did just that. Magic.

PHOTOS :

MUSIC TAPES
PREORDER BOTH OTC REISSUES HERE

Watch : PILE at Casa Donde last night...

2011-09-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

...and go see them at MEMORIES tonight!

I thought you'd want to have a quick piece of this. Not too many videos of these folks.

This band is called PILE, and after combing through a Casa Donde show listing yesterday that included Mines, The Funs, and New Diet, we came across their bandcamp.

So we listened....and listened...and listened...and suddenly we had realized we went through every album fucking twice, and it was time to go to the goddamn thing. Mines are great. Bill Satek from Lechuguillas sings pop songs with Andrew from Tiger Hatchery. The Funs are a stellar as shit two-piece rock band. New Diet started things off right. Treasure Town was pumping smoke from a smoke machine in from a hole in their ceiling. You will see more video from this show.

Enjoy :

John Bellows : Live in various locations around Chicago

2011-09-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

John Bellows is a singer-songwriter and a performer. If you want to bust a hard cliche, we would say he's a Chicago staple. Chances are you've probably seen him playing impromptu acoustic sets around the city. He's spastic, but the thing is, his songs are really well written and can be powerful enough to convert an entire room in twenty seconds. Empty Bottle had him playing with a few other people. As you can see in this video, crowd participation varies greatly, as it switches from the last Mopery show to a dark, restaurant based DIY venue in Pilsen called Al Teatro. Whether he's performing to two people, or two hundred, you can count on it being a memorable experience. Even at our most inebriated, his sets were the ones we remembered in the morning.Enjoy :

Listen : Cacaw - Live at Crown Liquors

2011-08-29T00:37:00.001-07:00

Remember when Cacaw headlined a show with Tinsel Teeth and Running?!

Listen to them beat the hell out of new songs. Turn it up :

CACAW - Live at Crown Liquors by Gonzo Chicago

Some thoughts on the AIDS benefit, our D.I.Y culture, and a word about Bitchpork video coming soon...

2011-08-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

image courtesy of TJ Superfan

This past Saturday, we held a show at Treasure Town. It consisted of six of some of our favorite bands. Call Me Lightning, Paper Mice, Lechuguillas, Unmanned Ship, Magic Milk, and Snacks. Snacks played their last show for a while, as their drummer Evan has moved. It was originally going to be filmed for the Echotone film project that we are constantly looking to get amazing footage for. Nathan Christ ended up having to go off to New York City to start filming the NYC chapter of that. I will find a way to somehow fit these bands in that goddamn movie! So, we ran with what we had going, which was a hell of a show.

Shortly after setting it up, Dave Reminick of Paper Mice called us up and asked if we would mind having his yearly AIDS fundraiser be a part of this. He said he had some good things in line. We immediately said yes, because hell, we love a good cause, and you all were so gracious in helping us with a fundraiser to help out the site. We also really like giving back to the community in any way we can. Big or small. Dave rangled up a bunch of prints by the ever-amazing Ryan Duggan, who also contributed a skateboard deck. Grimes chipped in a painting. Handlebar and Lula Cafe contributed gift certificates.

I had no idea how it was going to do, all I know is that we pushed it, and we pushed it hard. Believe it or not, the DIY culture here is really strong, and Chicago itself, loves social causes. However, in a dirty warehouse in the ghetto, you never know what you're going to get. 20 people could have showed up and scoffed at the idea of buying raffle tickets. You just never know. Our D.I.Y culture is strong, but sometmes the people just don't come. It's a long train bike and train ride out there, and those trains stop running at about the same time the shows start. Nobody wants to ride their bike home from a shitty neighborhood alone at 3 a.m.

...and you know what? Chicago rose up. We raised over $1,000 for funding of housing, employment, and prevention services for over 1400 Chicagoans living with HIV/AIDS. Over twenty people hauled countless amounts of gear, to the ghetto of Chicago, to do something good, on their own time. You took the time to come. Spent your money (even if it was to get cool shit in return). It could have gone the opposite way just as easy.

That makes us feel pretty damn good about what we're doing here. So, thank you, Chicago. A ton of really talented people chipped in, and it was more than worth everyone's time. We had FUN, too. A hell of a lot of it. Every band played for free, and left happy. This was before we knew what we even raised.

When Nathan Christ filmed an interview with the Mortville household for Echotone, they told us how much time they spend on their installations. How much effort goes into it. I knew somewhat the amount of time and effort, and money, these things took. To hear it come out of their own mouths was truly something special. These houses, be it Mortville, Ball Hall, or the venues of the past that are no longer with us....the people are putting their time, money, and effort to create something special. Whether you care or not, they're doing it. Often multiple nights per week. Often to twenty people. Often spending money out of their own pockets. This is aside from their "normal" day-to-day life. To most of us, the house-show scene is about more than just having a place to go to get fucked up on the cheap. It's about community, music, and about sharing musical experiences in an environment that's completely controlled by us. Free of the monetary and regulatory practices of normal venues, we are free to listen. Free to create. Free to, well...do it ourselves.

Are there shitty aspects to this culture? Of course, but there's even worse aspects and even more demoralizing aspects in the "normal" musical community. It's the way it is. This is something very dear to us, and we're extremely happy to be a part of it.

On that note, an entirely amazing, completely ear-obliterating music festival happened the other month.

It was called BITCHPORK, and it was the third installment.

We filmed pieces of every single band that weekend except for two. You all showed massive interest in the subject, and we don't want to keep you waiting on video for 6 months. Please realize that we do not receive any money for what we do here. Hell, we just now registered gonzochicago.com, and it will surely just forward to this shitty blogspot blog for half of it's first year in existence. We can justify spending hundreds of hours of time doing this, because we love to do it. We can't justify going deeper into debt than we already are.

Feel free to reach out : hotmetaldobermans@gmail.com

AIDS Walk + Run Benefit this SATURDAY w/ Paper Mice, Call Me Lightning, Lechuguillas, and more!!!

2011-08-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, bringing it hard for this one.

***D. REM is holding an AIDS Walk & Run fundraiser!!!!!***

RAFFLE PRIZES... (raffle: $2/ticket or 20 for $20)

#1 of 65 "The Last Mopery Show" Poster

+ SKATEBOARD DECK by Ryan Duggan (Hated Skateboards)

prints and art from Ryan Duggan, Grimes, and more!

Handlebar + Lula Cafe gift certificates!

Tattoo / piercing gift certificates

Fine quality liquor

+ MORE!

Some will be silent auctioned, some will be raffled off.

THIS WILL BE EVAN'S LAST SHOW WITH SNACKS. SEND HIM OFF RIGHT.

Just don't ask me where those blood stains came from :

PAPER MICE
http://www.myspace.com/papermice

CALL ME LIGHTNING
http://www.myspace.com/callmelightning

LECHUGUILLAS
http://www.lechuguillas.com/music.html

MAGIC MILK
http://www.myspace.com/magicmilk

SNACKS
http://www.dothesnacks.tumblr.com/

UNMANNED SHIP
http://www.myspace.com/unmannedship

9PM. (REALLY. 9PM. SERIOUSLY.) SATURDAY AUGUST 20TH.

TREASURE TOWN.

E-mail us for the address.

$5. Help the AIDS jam and throw more if you want! No jerks. Come and ruin your hearing to all killer, no filler.

Best drummer on the planet award will go to who gets the most sheer screams of joy.

See you Saturday.

Photos : Joy Formidable - Double Door

2011-08-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

These are dedicated to Micha Ward, Chirp Radio DJ, and all around good guy. He was generous enough to help with the fundraiser I ran a while back.

The Joy Formidable played a free show at the Double Door, on the eve of Lollapalooza. I hurried there to gain entry with only the knowledge of a few song snippets. Half expecting some nice, quiet pop songs, the band ripped through my expectation with a howl. Almost violent with their energy, the place was packed by the time they loosely started the set. A phenomenal live band, with great presence, and really nice band-members! How refreshing! The bottom two photos are from when they agreed to an off-schedule interview for us during Lollapalooza. Huge sounds fit for arenas, just not in a shitty way. They already made the hop from Schubas to Lincoln Hall. I look forward to them coming back. Little Hurricane and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. also played this show! Double Door really brought it! We were squished in like sardines by the end. Both were fun in their own right. Some of Little Hurricanes songs were amazing.

Thanks to Micha Ward for thrusting this band into our universe. Enjoy :

VIEW MORE!

LISTEN : Das Boton - Live at Quencher's Saloon

2011-08-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

Here's a serious one for you : Bill Dolan again joined by John Herndon! Only a few months after wailing through a dark Beauty Bar set opening for The Lonesome Organist, Das Boton came back to a lightly attended Quencher's Saloon. Opening were Mad Anthony, The Faders, and Three Cheers for One Dead Man. Play this one loud :
buy stuff from them.
Das Boton - Live at Quencher's Saloon by Gonzo Chicago

Lollapalooza weekend 2011 : Thoughts, aftershows, and too much standing...

2011-08-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, Lollapalooza weekend. You bring thousands of people from all the around the world to herd around our fine city, our smaller venues, restaurants, and aleys. Truly staggering in scope, Lollapalooza is a bastard behemoth of a festival.

We lined up with some swell folks (like lost in concert) to film interviews all weekend. Reptar, Fitz and the Tantrums, Naked and Famous, Slug from Atmosphere, a last minute interview with the wonderful Grace Potter. I snagged the wonderfully nice Joy Formidable by myself last minute on Sunday. It was a weird-lovers festival.

The rain, the mud-pits, beer, unknown fluids, ridiculous amounts of degenerates. Somehow, between interview shoots, I saw great sets by Phantogram, DFA1979. Girl Talk brought some heat to the Perry's tent, but I dared not get up front in such a shit-show. Met a slew of very wonderful people. Walked way too much . Drank way too much. Caught a good Black Lips set at the tiny Empty Bottle, a better set from Titus Andronicus at Reggie's, and probably the best (and surprising) aftershow was the Joy Formidable. I was unfamiliar with their songs, but shot the show for an Indiegogo perk for Micha Ward. Sheer energy! One of the best performances I've seen lately. It made it that much more fun to grab 'em for an interview a few days later.

Let it be known that the front-woman of Joy Formidable was the only one to do a gonzo-style off schedule interview. They were really swell. Did we mention how amazing that Double Door show was? No? Well, we have photos. I'll get to this in a little bit.

Fitz and the Tantrums were great storytellers, saying that George Lopez has the best green room. Conan supposedly has a massage chair that everyone fights over. Chain Gang of 1974's Kamtin Mohager was ridiculously generous with his time. I saw him often, and then finally, on day three when he was in the middle of the herd, frustrated by his cellphone performance. The boys in J. Roddy were hilarious. You will like this footage. The press area was well ran, relaxed and flowed well over the weekend. That fried chicken was the jam. Sunday was a little squishy, but a classic end to the weekend, really.

All in all, on it's 20th anniversary, in what some say was a very mediocre lineup...it was a better Lollapalooza weekend than I can ever remember. Maybe it was the beer, or the fact that i left with two pairs of jeans that are better than anything I will ever purchase anytime soon (thanks Lucky Jean co). Any time you walk two miles, over and over again for three days, you're going to be exhausted. This was a surprisingly relaxed, cool (in comparison), and (mostly) dry weekend in the park, and Chicago's smaller spaces.

Stick around.

Photos :

VIEW MORE

Photos : Handsome Furs : Bottom Lounge Chicago

2011-08-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

In an interview I did with the band in January, during Tommorow Never Knows 2011, Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry told me of the "sparkly" and aggressive, digital sounds that would be incorporated into their new record.

It's exactly what we all got on Friday night, a hazy, futuristic dance-party, complete with lasers. ...Lasers, people!

Parlovr opened. Their bio says they're "sloppy", but it was definitely in a good way.

Handsome Furs played all but one song off Sound Kapital. Dan left his guitar silent for a good amount of the night and focused on the pummeling, slick chunks of new material. They played a few of these, like "Memories of the Future", live for the first time ever in front of Chicago in January. The new record's songs have only gained potency in those seven months.

Though the crowd took a little warming up, half-way through , when Repatriated kicked in, they had everyone screaming like each song was their last. The Montreal based duo proved once again that they can be fully engaging without a set filled with Dan's guitar slinging. They obviously enjoy playing these songs. They love Chicago.

"Serve the People" is a driving stunner they now call "Fuck the Police." "Agony" didn't make the record, but is still one of their best songs live. They ended the set with an encore of "Legal Tender" and "No Feelings". Dan jumped into the crowd more than once. A Handsome Furs show has some of the best chemistry you'll ever see, and this night, we were all happy to watch it unfold. Smiling and wide-eyed, like little children.

Setlist : 1. When I Get Back 2. Damage 3. All We Want, Baby, Is Everything 4. Memories of the Future 5. Bury Me Standing 6. What About Us 7. Repatriated 8. Radio Kaliningrad 9. Serve the People 10. Agony Encore : 11. Legal Tender 12. No Feelings

Photos :

VIEW MORE

Watch : Ball Hall art show w/ Snacks, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Lechuguillas, and more...

2011-07-28T19:48:00.001-07:00

...with bands! ...Snacks, Lechuguillas, Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, Orbit Perturber (intro), and Ed Schrader's Music Beat. Not in this video, but equally good, were Henry and Hazel Slaughter (John Olson's solo jam), and Hatehearted. Artists included : Scott Krave, Dylan Haysworth, Katie Klein, Drew Labarre, Brenden Henning, John Yingling, and Carrie Hartmann. Cover photo by Caylee Griffis. As Falco from Mcclusky once told me, you're not a proper rock n' roll band unless you're at the point of exhaustion after each show. Thanks again to all of these great bands, Ball Hall!

http://www.dothesnacks.tumblr.com

http://www.myspace.com/orbitperturber

http://www.myspace.com/pisspisspissmoanmoanmoan

http://www.myspace.com/edschradersmusicbeat

Photos : Ted Leo and the Pharmacists @ Fireside Bowl

2011-07-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

"It's good to be back at the Pritzker Pavillion", Ted Leo joked during the sold out show at the iconic Fireside Bowl. "Compared to the bathrooms of old, it really is like the Pritzker Pavillion". The Eternals warmed up the crowd, and were exceedingly better than the last time I saw them. Proggy, fuzzy, screamy, they blended a gamut of sounds that won everyone over, especially Ted Leo. He thanked them for "leaving a splinter of a stage for us to play on" (and later tweeted "EEEEEYYAAAAAAAAH I wanna move to Chicago and just be in the Eternals!! #SoGood")

Unlike the previous day's Pritzker Pavillion where they played "Tyranny of Distance" in full, the set consisted of a wide array of cuts from the bands entire history. The crowd threw jokes about his cut-off jean shorts, and Ted said his knee felt better. Even with a strained knee, he hopped around with all the normal energy. I was shockingly unfamiliar with a lot of the songs, but found myself dancing around more than most in the crowd. However, those who weren't dancing had huge smiles plastered across their face, likely happy to just witness Ted Leo in his old stomping ground. A great performance by a true front-man.

Enjoy :

VIEW MORE

Photos and Video : Wild Flag at the Subterranean last night...

2011-07-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last night, Carrie Brownstein thanked Radar Eyes and Mickey for opening their set, and said "if you're looking for the underground, it's here, on Hozac Records"

Wild Flag, an all-girl quartet consisting of Carrie Brownstein (vocals, rhythm guitar), Mary Timony (vocals, lead guitar), Rebecca Cole (keyboards, backing vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums, backing vocals). They played their first-ever Chicago show at the Subterranean.

We had only watched a handful of songs on that NPR live-stream they did a while back, but we liked what we heard. Really, we just wanted an excuse to see Carrie Brownstein scream away in such a small environment as the Subterranean. We weren't surprised to hear that these songs were really great live! Great tapping from Mary Timony, when she wasn't singing her own guitar-drenched songs. Rebecca and Janet held back-up vocals in the brief moments the guitars went silent, sometimes bringing the entire building to an uproarious scream. People LOVED this show. Lots of talk about these women being their idols. The band grinned and laughed the whole time. In a past interview Brownstein said "chemistry cannot be forced", and they really needed no forcing. It was a great set that, for being such a new band, guitar flubs aside, it all seemed effortless to them. You will be hearing about this band, hopefully for a long time.

Photos :

BITCHPORK III : Some words, photos, and a teaser trailer...

2011-07-14T20:41:00.001-07:00

48 bands. 20 touring acts. Three days. Bitchpork III happened. Some insanely dedicated and talented folks made it happen, and for that I hope anyone who attended is very grateful for. We're still in a cryogenic sleep chamber trying to heal.

We decided to skip that other festival entirely, and that decision was reinforced every day with some of the best things we'll see all year. Three days of sweat-lodge, mopery-style heat, and pretty much every single imaginable music genre covered.

I still have no idea how my body even functioned on a normal level after that first full day. It just went into auto-pilot and said "well, if this is what you're fucking doing to me, I guess i'll get used to it." We filmed at least a song from all but two bands. Warhammer 48K made everyone go nuts. Ono made people cry. Bad Drugs surely gave everyone some nice bruises. Mahjonng...Running....Mayor Daley...Bobby Conn...Lechuguillas...Fat Worm of Error...Radar Eyes.....these are just a handful of the bands who turned in great performances. Really, if you didn't like something, all you had to do was wait 20 minutes and chances are an entirely new genre would be pounding away.

Some of the best performances came early in the day when just a handful of people were there. Toilet, Ami Dang. Work/Death, Andy Cigarettes, Cloud Becomes Your Hand and more had a little room to move around in each 100 degree corner. Such a huge array of amazing talent. It really gave the spectrum of how much cool shit everyone is doing these days.

There was usually very little time between sets, but unlike more poorly run or larger festivals, the environment we were in made for one of the most hauntingly beautiful, ear-splitting, well-ran three days of music one could ever hope for . Truly staggering in scope, and an absolute success with what they tried to do, which was give you a no-bullshit three part block of raw fucking tunes. The small scale gave the ability to see EVERYTHING, really, so that's just what we did. This is a festival for people who like music. Who like actually seeing it. An experience.

After countless hours of gentle to brutal sets from across the country, it ended with an alien, acid-nightmare-freak-out cluster fuck called called Turtle Powder. We're talking GIANT, awesome fucking alien heads, people. "alien karaoke" , from the future! Warped squeals of vocals, Hugely loud pounding rhythm, with hilariously twisted background video. The thing would've surely make art-school snobs and dub-step kids cry and lose all hope of doing anything remotely this cool.

View (literally) a HUNDRED more photos, and tag all of these wonderful people.

More soon. Stick around.

VIEW MORE

Obits : Live at the Empty Bottle now up on WFMU-curated Free Music Archive...

2011-07-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Our recording of Obits set at The Empty Bottle up on the FMA with five others, including that first Cake Shop show! :

WFMU : FREEDOM IS FREE FORM!

"In the aftermath of Obits' first gig (Jan 12th 2008 @ Cake Shop NYC), word spread fast about this four-piece fronted by underground rock veterans Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu) and Sohrab Habibion (Edsel).

Along with the word came the sound: the Cake Shop bootleg, attesting to the nascent band's greatness (and their full year spent gearing up for this show!) as it was passed around by fans online. it's a lo-fi document, but a cohesive Obits sound shines through: one with incredible live energy, drawing on a wide range of influences with wisdom and sparseness and a rhythm section to match. That recording soon reached the ears of the mighty Sub Pop label, for whom the Obits are currently two albums deep.

The Cake Shop recording is now one of six Obits live performances hosted here on the FMA, where the group has taken ownership over their "bootlegs" by actively adding new sets to the archive. In addition to sets curated by WFMU (Evan "Funk" Davies show in 2009, June 4th 2011 on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic) and KEXP ("Put It In Writing", 5/16/2009), there are recent sets from Athens GA's Caledonia Lounge and Chicago's Empty Bottle. The latter two were recorded by local scene archivists whose websites yield many more gems: Southern Shelter (Athens GA) and Gonzo (Chicago).

For Obits on record, check out I Blame You (2009) and Moody, Standard And Poor (2011) at Sub Pop, who also co-released two 7"s ("One Cross Apiece b/w Put It In Writing " & "I Can't Lose" b/w "Military Madness") with Comedy Minus One. All of these releases are highly recommended."

Interesting article. Almost made it to NYC for that show. Did we mention how great the artwork on the newest record is? Damn. Really, though.

Photos : Marnie Stern's Guitar Clinic in a small Latin American restaurant in Chicago.

2011-07-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

Before her sold out show opening for the Flaming Lips at the Aragon, Marnie Stern hosted a guitar clinic at a small Latin American restaurant named Pancho's. Marnie brought her full band with her, and they played a few songs, like "Crippled Jazzer", before demonstrating each.

She worked one on one with everyone more than once, guiding people and pointing out her form. Someone brought in some paintings he did of her. She signed people's guitars, and talked with the lucky few who attended.

The whole thing ended up lasting over 2 hours. A unique event, that judging by the shit-eating grins on the people faces below, was really fun for everyone involved.

VIEW MORE!

Watch : Songs from LOOSE DUDES final show at Empty Bottle...

2011-07-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

"R.I.P Punk Rock" Loose Dudes played their last show on June 27th. People bought beers just to throw at them. Running opened, and all was well with the world.

Enjoy...

TONIGHT : Mannequin Men, Close Hits, Outer Minds @ Mortville

2011-07-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

We are flattered and honored to be helping director Nathan Christ fulfill his vision of a Chicago version of Echotone, a documentary mini-series.

We grabbed some of our favorite bands for a show tonight at Mortville.

The line-up is :

Mannequin Men
Close Hits
Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan
Outer Minds
Static Swamp

It's a $5 donation. Come around 9, in case it actually does indeed start at 10 for once. It might.

If I could make a suggestion, it's that you come early. Outer Minds are playing second, and we think they're really great. Mannequin Men are touting them as "the best thing to come out of Chicago in a long time". We would agree, and so are Close Hits and PPPMMM.

If you don't know these bands, you should most definitely come. It'll be a night of vastly varying music and sounds. A feast for the eyes. Who knows, maybe you'll end up in this Echotone film, which juding by the amazing Austin version, is going to be really, really good.

I think this mini-series is really going to be something.

See you tonight.

Watch : Running @ Empty Bottle

2011-06-29T00:19:00.000-07:00

Loose Dudes played their beer-drenched final show Monday. Running opened (as well as Empty Heads).

As the dumbing of america just said in an article entitled "Your new favorite band" :

"You want indie? I’ll give you some f-ing indie. Meet Running. They’re from Chicago and like they’re hometown heroes Big Black, they make a cacophonic noise that has a brilliant sense of anti-melody and rhythm deeply embedded. In this day of social media madness, Running are blissfully undercover."

This article probably won't change that, but you know what? If you are a reader of this site, you will like this video. If you don't know Running, you probably will have a new favorite band. Go see them live. Enjoy. Second camera by Matthew Youngblood :

R.I.P Loose Dudes : Free tonight at Empty Bottle...

2011-06-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

poster by the amazing Ryan Duggan

"someday there will be a loose dudes coffee table book that cool punk rock dads buy at barnes and noble. RIP. loved you guys since the first time i blacked out watching you." - Ryley Walker

Well, this is it folks. Loose Dudes final show. The end of punk rock, again. Tonight! 10pm. Where is this, you ask? The Empty Bottle. How much, oh.. well...it's free. Well, shit! Who are they playing with?!

Go.

Photos : Les Savy Fav - Subterranean 06/26/11

2011-06-26T13:41:00.001-07:00

Hoo-lee hell. Les Savy Fav's Subterranean set came up quick yesterday, leaving our sick, cold-ridden selves to hide in the corner, sitting indian-style. Such fun. Lots of new tracks. Enjoy!

They play Green Music Fest tonight at 8:30, with Soft Speaker, the Eternals, and more before them! We'll try and make it because we love you.

VIEW MORE

Also, here are some CLOSE HITS photos! Yee-haw!

Watch : R. Stevie Moore @ Mortville + Empty Bottle - Chicago

2011-06-25T02:21:00.000-07:00

Home recording legend R. Stevie Moore came to town on Tuesday, July 21st, for what would be his first Chicago show ever. It was held, fittingly, at Mortville. A monstrous, art-splashed warehouse in the ashes of Cabrini Green, Chicago. His second night in the two-night stint? The Empty Bottle, for free. Each show had different cuts from his extensive past, and each was a wonderful rare experience to bask in the splendor that is RSM. This video is 17 minutes long, and has a pretty funny ending. Sit back, partake. Enjoy.

View photos from Mortville HERE!

View photos from Empty Bottle HERE!

R. Stevie Moore

Empty Bottle

Photos : R. Stevie Moore w/ Tropical Ooze -Chicago - Mortville w/ Billy Crystal Meth, Nude Sunrise, I Love You

2011-06-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Edit : watch the video :

Nitetrotter got R. Stevie Moore to play his first Chicago show, fittingly, at Mortville. Tropical Ooze backing / playing, Billy Crystal Meth, Nude Sunrise, and I Love You. We thought the show was phenomenal, and left around 3:30 AM while more than a handful of people still danced away to I Love You. RSM has some serious merch, so be sure to pick some up when you head to his free Empty Bottle show tonight.

Video to come...

VIEW MORE

---edit---

EMPTY BOTTLE PHOTOS :

VIEW MORE FROM THEE EMPTEE BAWTULL!

Photos : PEELANDER-Z : Taste of Randolph 2011 Chicago

2011-06-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

We couldn't help but go watch the mighty Peelander-Z go freak the squares at Taste of Randolph. Children had no idea what was going on. Some laughed. Some cried. Then we all laughed. Amazing live performers. They brought our buddy Bryan Mcclaran from the band Absolutely Not up to drum, and Wesley Madison, who lives at the wonderful Ball Hall. Enjoy these photos, there's more after the jump.

VIEW MORE!!

Watch : Lechuguillas live at Mortville last night...

2011-06-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

It was mostly dark for last nights bill of Tiger Hatchery, Sunsplitter, Lechuguillas, Names Divine, and Socially Retarded. I hate using flash. Time to get that 1.4 lens. Thanks to S. for turning a lamp on for this. A great show! Good to see Tiger Hatchery.

This is Lechuguillas. Enjoy!

We're hosting another show Saturday July 2nd. Mannequin Men, Outer Minds, Close hits and more...

2011-06-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

The last two shows we set up were super fun, and a lot of people saw each others bands that they haven't seen, met people they didn't know, and generally had a good time, so :

If we may get serious with you all :

Saturday, July 2nd, 9PM. MORTVILLE. Doughnation :

MANNEQUIN MEN :

CLOSE HITS

PISS PISS PISS MOAN MOAN MOAN

OUTER MINDS :

STATIC SWAMP

Footage (of the bands, not your ugly mug) will be captured for an eventual Chicago version of the music documentary ECHOTONE. To find out more about the project, go to http://echotonefilm.com/ and watch the trailer.

Come. Party.

Album Review : Lechuguillas - LONG LIVE THE CHUPACABRA

2011-06-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up with this cd in bed with me. They literally threw them at us after their set. It can't be very good, then, can it?

I hope this doesn't suck. What is this, 1994? What the fuck...ok, whatever. here we go.

Track 1 - HOLY SHIT these bass lines make me want to fuck something up! it's so loud! like i'm being given ice cream and being jerked off at the same time! ohhh god the guitar isn't stopping! it just keeps going! scream for a purpose! kill your family!

Track 2 - WHAT THE FUCK this shit is even faster! jesus. aneurism! aneurism! oh my god it's only noon! what have i been doing with my life! damn this is good, who cares. i guess i could shotgun this beer.

Track 3- DAMN. my roomate woke up! he shotgunned a beer and he's throwing shit everywhere! He can't handle it! Broken glass everywhere! Lechuguillas....what have you done? We're headbanging like stupid 13 year old metal kids at a Puddle of Mudd show!

Track 4 - I JUST punched my roomate in the face! we shotgunned more beers! we accidentally hit the repeat button so we listened to this one 5 times because we're too busy blowing shit up with m80s! the neighbors came over and complained, so we punched them in the face, too!

Track 5 - MY ROOMATE IS CRYING! sludgy metal type shit! chug chug! we just burned our plants! this is amazing! the noise and smoke give the morning a nice smell! people are concerned and gathering outside! oh my god....they're nodding their heads! one of them has backpack beers!

Track 6 - THEY'RE GETTING WASTED and beating up by-passers! They want me to play it again! I can't turn it up any louder! My roomate went downstairs....wha......HE'S MAKING OUT WITH A GIRL!

Wow...

Thanks, Lechuguillas!

Listen to it loud.

Free / Recommended this weekend : SAKI turns one, Lechuguillas, Birthday Suits, and more...

2011-06-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

We love free shows. For the perpetually broke / almost-homeless, Chicago has 'em spades, every week. Whether it be the Empty Bottle mondays, a free in-store, or just free for the sake of free.

Aside from Taste of Randolph (blergh) :

We could see Lechuguillas play in Mortville every weekend and remain smiley about it. The line-up tonight : Tiger Hatchery, Lechuguillas, Names Divine, Socially Retarded, Sun Splitter. Sounds like a good Friday to us.

Tommorow is looking good, too. Leave it to the Empty Bottle to not only announce ANOTHER new summer music series at the Logan Monument with Thee Oh Sees and a ton of other great bands, but they're also giving you another FREE show, on a Saturday night, with one of our favorites, the spastic and amazing BIRTHDAY SUITS! Not only that, but TERRIBLE TWOS, RADAR EYES, and more are on the bill! Holy free Saturday show, Bartman!

YOU NEED TO RSVP TO THIS BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!! DO IT!!!

If you need a little something else, Saki is turning ONE this weekend, and has some great things planned...

So, there you have it. We planned your weekend for you. Go have fun.

Watch : Dana Falconberry - Live in Chicago

2011-06-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

We first saw the brilliant Dana Falconberry pop up on our television when we sat down to watch Echotone. (www.echotonefilm.com) Needless to say, we were taken aback quite a bit. Upon finding more videos, songs, and live performances, we became enthralled in the all of beautiful, haunting harmonies and swirling guitar.

Dana is currently on a solo tour with the wonderful Matt Bauer. who's a very talented singer in his own right. She backed Matt Bauer on songs while he played his own solo set. She was nice enough to let us film her set when they stopped by Chicago to play a small DIY house show. Her family was there. I had never been to said house, and it was a quiet, seated affair complete with wonderfully nice people. The director of Echotone, Nathan Christ, helped me shoot this. We'll put those up soon. A great night that ended in some serious storms. Girls bring the lightning lately, it seems.

These songs are off her yet to be released new record. Look for it in 2011.

Pestoskey Stone
Possum Song
Leelanau

Enjoy. Her new record should be out soon. Dana also played some songs with Matt Bauer. We'll have those up soon.

Dana Falconberry

Photos :

You can also listen to her Daytrotter session here!

PHOTOS : Tinsel Teeth / Cacaw / Running : Crown Liquors

2011-06-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

We love Rhode Island. They've given us greats as Chinese Stars, and the ever-spectacular TINSEL TEETH, who played smack dab in the middle of a bill with the pummeling CACAW and the excellent, noisey-as-hell RUNNING opened it up.

A three band smack to the face that was over before anyone even realized they had a shit-eating grin on their face.

Running are great. They've been around a while, are in other bands who are all equally killer. They play short, bursts of a set that can sometimes be over in the blink of an eye. Really great layered fuzzed-out vocals and guitar, Alejandro Morales on drums wailing away until they all seemingly collapse in exhaustion.

Tinsel Teeth ran around freaking the shit out of everybody, the female-frontwoman covered in fake blood, running around the bar, and eventually jumping off, while a wall of noise and screams from every member filled every inch of the place.

Cacaw have new songs, and they're really good. You should know by now these Chicago ass-kickers are the real deal. Catch them live.

edit : short, dark-ass running video :

Here's some photos of what you missed out on :

Tinsel Teeth are on tour with CACAW!

TINSEL TEETH - 2011 TOUR DATES
Tue, June 7th @ CSMA in Ithaca, NY
Wed, June 8th @ Now That's Class in Cleveland, OH w/ Pleasure Leftists, Night Birds
Thu, June 9th @ Crown Liquors in Chicago, IL^
Fri, Jun 10th @ E and E's Warehouse in Minneapolis, MN w/ skoal kodiac^
Sat, June 11th @ Mad Ave in Lincoln, NE ^
Sun, June 12th @ Rhinoceropolis in Denver, CO w/ hot white^
Mon, June 13th @ The Compound in Provo, UT^
Wed, June 15th @ Cillanova in Sacramento, CA w/ the burgers^
Thu, June 16th @ TBA in Oakland, CA w/ sister fucker^
Fri, June 17th @ The Cave in San Francisco, CA ^
Sat, June 18th @ The Smell in Los Angeles, CA w/ foot village^
Sun June 19th @ The Soda Bar in San Diego, CA ^
Mon, June 20th @ TBA Palm Springs, CA^
Tues, June 21 @ the Tribe in Phoenix, AZ^
Wed, June 22 @ Badlands in El Paso, TX^
Thurs, June 23 @ Rubber Gloves in Denton, TX^
Fri, June 24 @ the Conservatory in OKC, OK^
Sat, June 25 @ Emo's in Austin, TX ^
Sun, June 26 @ The Mink in Houston, TX^
Monday, June 27 @ Siberia in New Orleans, LA*
Tuesday June 28 @ The Farside Collective in Tallahassee, FL*
Wed. June 29 @ TBA in Macon, GA - MATINEE SHOW*
Wed. June 29 @ Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta GA *
Thursday, June 30 @ CFBG's in Greensboro, NC*
Friday July 1 @ The 5th Dimension in Baltimore, MD *
Saturday July 2 @ Kung Fu Necktie in Philly, PA *
Sunday July 3 @ Death By Audio in Brooklyn, NY*
* W/ SATANIZED
^ W/ CACAW

DIG IT.

NEON MARSHMALLOW FEST begins TODAY!

2011-06-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

Could this be the fate of the Empty Bottle's disco ball by the end of the weekend?

If you know the ins-and-outs of the Chicago music scene, then surely you know about Acid Marshmallow.

Whether it be the hundreds of videos he has up on his site, or the tireless dedication he spends updating his local and diy show list just so you can easily pick and choose what you want to do, Acid Marshmallow have been providing entertainment for years.

You probably also know they hold a music fest with NEON BLOSSOM, and this year's fest is spectacular :

NEON MARSHMALLOW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011
June 10-12 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, in Chicago

Friday - Doors open at 6 pm
screening of Experimental ½ hour
C V L T S
Spiral Joy Band
Baker/Colligan/Zerang
James Plotkin
Mountains
Rene Hell
White Rainbow
Lucky Dragons

Saturday - Doors open at 6 pm
screening of selected animated Alice Cohen
Leslie Keffer
Dylan Ettinger
Sword Heaven
Outer Space
Sickness
Bill Orcutt
Oneohtrix Point Never
Pelt

Sunday - Sonic Celluloid at Neon Marshmallow - Doors open at 2:30 pm
David Daniell
Lichens
Sam Prekop

Sunday - Main program - Doors open at 6 pm
Film screening begins
Tiger Hatchery
Beau Wanzer
Sick Llama
Mike Shiflet
Telecult Powers
Pulse Emitter
The Rita
Morton Subotnick

We think we could talk all day about how legendary Morton Subotnick is, the killer Lichens, Tiger Hatchery, Sick Llama, Mike Shiflet...but we think you should just go ahead and BUY TICKETS NOW

Watch : Thao and Mirah perform at Do Division Street Fest!

2011-06-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Thao and Mirah played a wonderfully energetic set in the mid-day on Saturday. It, to me, was the highlight of the festival. The perfect mixture of pop and energy, dual vocals, multiple instruments. The clouds were dark just as they ended their set, but the rain held off until they were done. Lovely day.

Enjoy!

PHOTOS :

C.A.S.H.E.D, or, how I learned to stand back at certain shows...

2011-06-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just don't know what you're getting yourself into with DIY line-ups. It could be a dude in a pink skirt screeching guttural metal, or one guy bashing away on a single pedal. Chicago gave me a new appreciation for seeing live music I've never heard before.

However, sometimes shit just gets crazy. It's the nature of the beast. Not to bring up Eugenics Council again, but there's a direct correlation of bat-shit craziness.

This is C.A.S.H.E.D. The bands description from a friend online was "Portal Opening Knife Wielders from Kansas City"

When you go to a few shows a week, it's impossible to look up every single band you're going to see, and finding some of them in internet form is impossible because nothing exists.

In this instance, I figured it'd be a laid back, harmless Names Divine / Meester Magpie / BrokeFree set in a carpeted basement.

Well, that didn't really end up being the case. :

'''

Aside from the obvious concern for new equipment, sometimes you can just feel the energy in the room and something tells you to stand back a bit. Chicago brings some serious shit, both physically and sonically. Dig around on Acid Marshmallow. Hell, go to Neon Marshmallow fest! Guaranteed shit-show of eye-widening glee.

Enjoy this video from afar. Second one with the new camera. Some brutal moments. Sheer energy. Commitment to performance. The last minute of it is particularly haunting. "WE RESPECT YOU" while he gushes blood.

Make it full screen and take a closer look.

It wasn't anything to do with the performance, really...if you look here and there they're checking on each other to make sure they're okay.

Who knew they'd all in that final push fall into a 3 inch thick piece of glass. One of them severed two tendons and required a skin graft. One of their elbows was cut open and required stitches. Please just be aware of your surroundings, and stay safe, Chicago.

EVERYBODY'S BROKE, EVERYTHING IS FREE :

NAMES DIVINE :

Watch Shellshag and Underground Railroad to Candyland last weekend....

2011-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

After the Marked Men played the Empty Bottle, around 3AM, this happened. Shellshag + Underground Railroad to Candyland. Prizzy Prizzy Please and Conniption Fits played, too. We all drank the kool-aid and went to bed with sun shining in our faces. When I awoke, it was darker than when I went to bed, and I still had plaster in my hair from the PPPMMM show earlier in the night. Enjoy!

A photo to summarize the weekend : Shellshag. 4AM last night.

2011-05-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

New gear : Photo #1.

Shellshag. A Marked Men aftershow that started at 2AM. This was...oh...4AM? :

Some has arrived. I've shipped some stuff. Be on the lookout! I think I found out how to not dick around with AVCHD. Thank you, again. I think you'll find your time spent here from now on will be much, much more enjoyable. New site...this year. heh.

Names Divine - Live at Mortville - Chicago - 2011

2011-05-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the full set of the Mortville CD Release show with CMI, Ryley Walker, The Speers, CJ Boyd, Teaadora, Three Brained Robot, Charles Joseph Smith.

It's a pity we couldn't get there to see Teaadora. I thought of it as a great night. I've heard some interesting stories that made me try to piece more memories together. Didn't really work. Enjoy! :

Names Divine - Live at Mortville - Chicago - 2011 by Gonzo Chicago

"Scenic. Conservative. Secure. Free.

Names Divine, inspired by Blake’s use of the words, is a 10 piece National Act, from Chicago, IL and touring the USA. Names Divine, once known as “Call Me on the Allophone, Names Divine”, a conceptual hybrid, became whole and free as the singular entity “Names Divine” in early 2009 with the addition of its first second and now-retired member, Morgan Krauss. Since then, the band has instated an open door lock n’ load drawlin’ policy, multiplying itself 5, 6, and 7 times before settling on the divine numbers 1 and 0, “divided for love’s sake” and featured as such":

Kendra Calhoun (Manhattan Raid) – guitar, harmonica, vocals
Jillian Musielak (Manhattan Raid) – Drums, Birdflute
Ike Floor – Vocals, Violin, Mandolin
Nicole Miller (Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan) – Theremin
Marcus Kirby – Guitar
Justin Cheng (Panda Riot, Joywheels) – Bass
Joe Dummitt (CMI) – Bottles, Trumpet
Lukas Wolever (RRRainbow Family, Nude Sunrise, Sunshine 9, Purple Chong) – Drums
Lara Bourbon (RRRainbow Family) – Musical Saw, Percussion
Kalina Malyszko – Clarinet

Retired Members:
Jon Ziemba (Manhattan Raid, Suckling Pigs, Coughs) – Drums
Brooks Johnson (Manhattan Raid, El is a Sound of Joy) – Drums
Right Eye Rita – Bass
Morgan Krauss – Flute

-
www.namesdivine.com

Hozac's BLACKOUT FEST begins TODAY!!!

2011-05-26T12:45:00.001-07:00

"From 2001-2006, the Chicago Blackout Festival was the first purely Midwest rock & roll festival, celebrating the yearly release of Horizontal Action Magazine. We (Empty Bottle) decided it's been too long so we asked HoZac, now a dynamic independent label that's released 80 records in their first four years of operation, to curate a fest for 2011.

Purchasing a Golden Ticket allows buyers access to BOTH days of the Chicago Blackout Festival. This purchase also includes guaranteed access to Thursday's exhibition preview and party."

Thursday 5/26: FREE Art Show/Blackout Opening Party

Friday 5/27:
The Spits
The Brides
K-Holes
TV Ghost
The Happy Thoughts (debut LP available at the show!)
Mickey (debut LP available at the show!)
Squish

Saturday 5/28:
Nervous Eaters (the original mid-70s Boston punk band!)
Nobunny
Tutu & the Pirates (Chicago's 1st recorded punk band from '77 : Gizmos meets The Damned)
Timmy's Organism
Puffy Areolas
Idle Times
Reading Rainbow
People's Temple
Heavy Times
Radar Eyes
Outer Minds
Nones

Grab your tickets now!

Listen to Rabble Rabble's 7" Release Show tonight at Empty Bottle...

2011-05-23T23:49:00.001-07:00

We arrive to the Rabble Rabble 7" Release Show at Empty Bottle to find a line. It was 11:30, when they were scheduled to go on. Distractions and We are Hex played earlier.

10 minutes later...

Rabble Rabble - Live at Empty Bottle by Gonzo Chicago

Sold out. Everyone threw beer all over each other.

Rabble Rabble band dot com

Cover art / poster / design by Zissou of Fug Screens

Listen to SNACKS full set at the Treasure Town BBQ 2011.

2011-05-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Mutiny show was REALLY fun.

Such a great line-up. Great turn-out. Thank you!

Best show I will throw in a long, long time.

on top of it....

Treasure Town had the first BBQ of hopefully many. It's line-up?

QUINGO
CHRISTMAS BRIDE
BUOYANT SEA
SUNGLASSES
HOLLOWS
BRAIN IDEA
BRET KOONTZ
SNACKS

... We were there for 8 hours.

Snacks. SNACKS. Do you know them now? A crazy talented group of super nice people. They played my benefit show. They have another band called CLOSE HITS who just played the victory show. Equally great. Better? Go see them both and decide for yourself.

These fine fellows were not to be missed. Arrival at 6 o' clock they said. Snacks (the band) at 7! Given the amount of bands, I obliged, knewing it would be just as entertaining to hang out for a bit, regardless of start time.

After cutting and squeezing some limes for Ms. Litteral, tequila shots, good conversations, I realized it was going to be a long night. The show itself was diverse enough to satisfy any sort of musical urge you could dream up.

Snacks took the stage at, oh...9:30?

Keep an eye on that Bandcamp page. More coming. Listen to CAVE, OBITS and LIGHTNING BOLT while you're there.

This was how the huge night kicked off. Enjoy :

Snacks - Live at Treasure Town by Gonzo Chicago

SNAXXXX

CLOSE HITZ

Victory Party TONIGHT! Magic Milk! Tyler Jon Tyler! Close Hits! The Brothers Gross!

2011-05-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

Please join us, and a slew of really great bands, in celebration of a successful fundraiser.

Tonight at the Mutiny.

2428 N Western Avenue.

9pm.

Magic Milk
Tyler Jon Tyler
The Brothers Gross
Close Hits

Close Hits go on first, and that is something you don't want to miss, so come early!

See you tonight!

THANK YOU. Some words following a successful Indiegogo campaign...

2011-05-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank you, again.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter were brought to my attention. I didn't use Indiegogo because I didn't have faith it would get funded. Kickstarter told me I could not donate 100% of the funds above the goal to CHIRP RADIO. Simple as that. People told me I should do it. I was a little apprehensive, so I asked around. I asked Rebecca from Tyler Jon Tyler. She said "GO FOR IT!" so I asked her if her band would play a show. She said yes. Tyler Jon Tyler is not only one of my favorite Chicago bands, but one of my favorite bands in general. I'm a sucker for pop-hooks, and their minimal approach just hits me in the right way.

So, if I could get one of my favorite bands to play, why not three? I asked my friends Close Hits and Magic Milk too, they all shared similar shit-eating grins, and said yes immediately.

So began the windfall of support that lead to a rabid victory.

Lincoln Hall, Schubas, Hideout, Reggies Rock Club, the CEO of Threadless!...

Every single person that I asked for help said yes. They did so without elbowing. They did so with grins and hugs. High fives.

So, I closed my eyes, and hit the launch button. Upon pacing my house for the first 48 hours, I was blown away to have hundreds of dollars in donations within the first few days. I slept very little. I then went on tour with Tyler Jon Tyler, an exhausting, amazing endeavor that had me sleeping even less. I tried to do live, or even daily updates, and was unsuccessful. It's amazing in cities with wi-fi everywhere, how difficult it is to actually sit down and collect yourself for an hour while on the road.

I also did not expect such kind words, and arm-open support for major media outlets :

One Kind Radio - Having covered local music from Chicago for over 20 years with One Kind Radio and know how hard it was to cover a handful of shows a month for the site…. I have yet to find a person more dedicated to covering the Chicago music scene than John Yingling.

The Vinyl District - "As you hopefully already know, Chicago has been blessed with one the most active and exciting independent music scenes in the world. John Yingling, the man behind Gonzo Chicago, has taken it upon himself to document our vibrant scene, filming nearly 500 performances over the last four years."

Gossip Wolf "Four years ago blogger and filmmaker JOHN YINGLING, who runs the site GONZO CHICAGO, moved here from Appleton, Wisconsin, because he was so in love with our ol' music scene...all donors get free admission to a summer show with TYLER JON TYLER, CLOSE HITS, and MAGIC MILK...."

Chicago Reader "I'm generally a little wary of people going online to beg for money, but having seen Yingling at a genuinely impressive number of shows over the past year or so, filming and generally just going completely buck, I feel all right vouching for the guy"

Onion A.V. Club "Videographer John Yingling started Gonzo Chicago with a simple mission: to bring fans closer to their favorite bands with in-depth pics, videos, and interviews"

Chicago Garage We all know what a great music scene we have here in Chicago. Every weekend there’s multiple quality shows to choose from at multiple quality venues. This is not just because of the musicians who entertain us, but also because of the people who tirelessly cover the scene for little or no pay (in many cases, at a cost to them.) One such person is John Yingling. John’s been documenting Chicago’s music scene for 3 years with his own shoddy equipment, and he needs your help to give these great bands the exposure they need.

Loud Loop Press embedded the WIDGET on the side of their own site!!!

...countless others showed support.

One thing I didn't really mention, is that I had a TERRIBLE cold while doing this video! I was already a week behind, so I had to do it! I put that stupid "Hackers" quote in the end there, but I really meant it. I needed an army, and an army was what I got.

Such vehemently kind words still have me giddy this morning, and it's really tough to convey in words just how much this all means to me.

If one needs proof of how spectacular a city Chicago is, I really think you can just look at this campaign.

People told me I should throw a benefit show. I was leaving on tour in a week and a half. I called Robby at Reggie's Live, and asked him if he was into it. He immediately agreed to host a show in his record store, Record Breakers.

So I asked some dear friends Alejandro Morales, Nicole Miller (of Piss Piss Piss, Moan Moan Moan) Dan Rico, and Ian Wiznieski (of Snacks / Close Hits) if they could play. They both, seriously, said "HELL YES"

Later the next day, I asked Alejandro if he knew of one or two more bands that could play. He said "Homie, let me make a phone call". Later that night, at a show at Drone City, he came up to me and said "Lechuguillas and a band from Vancouver called Yellow Thief are in..."

...and so began the show that would be PPPMMM / SNACKS / LECHUGUILLAS / and due to an infection, YT's other member had to fly back to vancouver, so Dan Rico, Nicole Miller, and Poib from the great Yellow Thief on drums played an improv set.

It was a blast! Chicago's music community came out! Battleship was there! CHIRP was there handing out t-shirts! Liz volunteered her time to come. We've become friends.

Not one, two, but SEVEN local bands have donated their time, gas, energy, and music to play TWO FREE SHOWS for me. For this crazy idea.

Myself, a kid from Wisconsin, with a crazy idea that I really didn't know if people would go for. Really! I knew it would be popular with my friends, but the outpouring of generous support, kind words, and HUGE donations from people I don't even know...

I know them now.

Everyone came out of the woodwork. It was a collaborative effort. It really means a lot to me.

It hit home. It left me speechless. I am forever grateful.

I will get these "perks" out. Some I will mail. Some I will hand deliver. Some of you will pick them up and have beers. Some of them will be done over the summer.

I am blown away the $200 custom short films sold out. People e-mailed me asking if I'd still do one! I LOVE that!

We raised over a hundred dollars for CHIRP Radio!!

I'm throwing some of my own money in to supplement some of this gear. The final list :

Canon Vixia HFS21
Canon 7D
Lenses
Macbook Pro
Mics , Memory Cards, Batteries.

It takes a week or two to get the final funds. Indiegogo takes 4%, and Paypal takes another 3%, and after shipping, I will likely end up with something around $3,200.

I have some amazing people willing to help me film a whole slew of things over the summer.

I hope you're all ready for a SERIOUS jump in quality.

I'm amazed at how many people have told me they really like this site. They check it every day. They're honored to have media posted. It's a far cry from the one-sentence + video updates I used to do. I didn't realize people were so into it. I will work on making it even better.

If you saw the equipment and computers I was using before, you would laugh. You'd shake your head.

I will try my best to launch a serious website in the summer months.

I've been asked if you can still donate, and the answer is YES, ABSOLUTELY!! Anything would help defray the fees and shipping costs. You can Paypal : hotmetaldobermans@gmail.com , or contact me directly!

It is really tough for me to convey just how blown away I am at all of this. Your support, the things people have said and done. The community rallied for this. A battle-cry for Chicago, a victory for the city, myself, your ears and eyes...

Thank You. Come out on Friday. It's free. The bands are great.

- John Yingling

Benefit show for Justin Boyer - TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-05-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

"Justin Boyer has been a part of the Chicago music scene for about 9 years as frontman for Yarn and The Fair Moans, and is also Edgewater's most beloved bartender. On his way home from work he was assaulted by some asshole with a knife, and for a while was in pretty bad shape."

So Bryan Mcclaran and some friends are hosting a benefit show for him.

Benefit for Justin Boyer
Featuring:
Absolutely Not
Hammer No More The Fingers
The Velikovski Affair

There will be a raffle, we are taking any donations that are given, and 100% of the $$ that hasn't come from food and drink goes to help Justin.

730pm, MONDAY May 16 (that's tonight) at Reggie's Music Joint (2106 S. State)

Please go and show your support. It's a goddamn shame such shitty things happen in this city, but if we have a chance to help, we should take it!

WE DID IT!!!!! Victory party @ MUTINY - Friday 5/20 - 9PM!!!!

2011-05-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

WE DID IT!!!!!

You guys are amazing. I am speechless. Huge thanks to Deborah Jackson and Paul Hadfield for the donation that brought it over.

12 hours left, and your donation goes directly to CHIRP Radio!

We've already raised $130 for them!!!

I have been e-mailed asking if you can still contribute, and the answer is YES, ABSOLUTELY!!! You can Paypal : hotmetaldobermans@gmail.com, or e-mail me for arrangements. Anything would help defray the fees Indiegogo takes, shipping, etc. Thank You!

VICTORY PARTY :

MUTINY
2428 North Western Ave
9PM
21+ (sorry to the underagers, it had to be that way!)

**Magic Milk**
http://www.myspace.com/magicmilk

**Tyler Jon Tyler**
http://www.myspace.com/tylerjontyler

**The Brothers Gross**
http://www.myspace.com/thebrothersgross

**Close Hits**
http://www.close-hits.com/

ENDLESS THANK YOU to everyone who donated, shared, wrote articles, and helped with this fundraiser, and the businesses in Chicago who showed their support from the beginning :

Lincoln Hall
Hideout
Schubas
Reggie's Live
Threadless

We got some really wonderful, touching comments, amazing thoughts, and press. Thanks to A.V. Club, Chicago Reader, Vinyl District, Chicago Garage, One Kind Radio, Loud Loop Press (who had the fucking WIDGET EMBEDDED ON THE SIDE OF THEIR OWN SITE) ....and so, so many others! That helped immensely, was unexpected, and really appreciated!

I don't think there was a single corner of the internet that wasn't blanketed by this thing. Truly amazing.

Come celebrate with us Friday, May 20th! WE DID IT!!!!

New Tyler Jon Tyler : "Pacific Daylight Time" + Fundraiser Update!

2011-05-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

Tyler Jon Tyler's East Coast tour was a huge success. They NAILED WFMU!!! So proud of them. A ton of media coming from that, but for now, here's a new jam called "Pacific Daylight Time"

Super good :

Fundraiser Update :

We're SO CLOSE to $3,000!!!

HUGE thank you to some huge donors of the last fews days :

Nathan Christ (director of the spectacular Austin music documentary "Echotone")
Danielle Elise
Emil Ceric
Seth Sil
...and Anonymous donors!

HUGE!!!

We're going to do this!

The victory show has a venue, and a date, and will be revealed after we hit the goal!!!!!

Thank you guys, so much for making this a reality!!!!

John Yingling

Tyler Jon Tyler Tour Diary....

2011-04-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

We're ALMOST 75% OF THE WAY to our fundraiser goal!!! HUGE thanks!! We've come so far!! If just 50 people donated $20, we would hit the goal! If you can spread the word, or donate, I'd really, REALLY appreciate it.

The first stop on Tyler Jon Tyler's East Coast tour brought them to Athens, Ohio to a bar called the underground. It was a packed show for a Wednesday night, and probably the most fun I've had in a long time. The drive wasn't too bad, 4 hours. Rebecca brought the LOTR trilogy for when we get really van-crazy.

First off, Athens is beautiful! Super gorgeous. Everyone was really nice. I mean, REALLY NICE. The bartenders at the Underground fed us as much beer as we wanted. People told me stories all night. We walked through "murder alley"...I think that's what it was called. Broken glass everywhere. Tyler Jon Tyler played better than I think I've ever seen them play. Tom was especially potent on drums. Bashing. Met a ton of really nice people. TJT played a new song they've been working on called "Pacific Daylight Time".

We slept at someone from Wheels on Fire's house. It looked like a cabin in upper Wisconsin. In fact, a lot of Athens reminded me of upper Wisconsin. The people, the scenery, the diners. Outrageously nice, outgoing people, really into music.

Wheels on fire, and an opening band who's name eludes me (members of WOF) were GREAT! Everyone went wild! Tyler Jon Tyler got everyone dancing. It was a rough morning. Stopped at "Miller's Chicken" and got breakfast sandwiches. Long drive.

Tons of great video from this show. Unfortunately, WIFI spots are a bit hard to come by with tight schedules.

I'm currently sitting in a bar in Chinatown in NYC trying to nail this update out for you guys. Tommorow and the subsequent few days should be a little bit more lax.

10 hours of driving today.

Here's some photos from Athens!!!!!

Having trouble putting a lot of these images up, and just updating in general. There's only about 72 hours until we're home, so aside from maybe a few photos here and there, and fundraiser updates, I'm just going to wait until we get back. This computer can barely handle uploading a few photos. Sorry! NYC was super fun. Washington DC has been a blast. WMFU live tommorow!!! See you!

We're taking the fundraiser on the road with TYLER JON TYLER!!!

2011-04-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today, we got into the NUMBER ONE FEATURED slot! We've been shifting in and out, but we're still featured! Help us stay there! HUGE thanks to the donors of today, like Brian Jarreau who threw in some dough, along with the benefit show $!

Tommorow :

East Coast, we're coming for you!!!

That's right, I'm heading out on tour with a bunch of my favorite local pop-floozies, Tyler Jon Tyler, and I'm taking the fundraiser with me! I have printed off hundreds of mini-flyers and will be decking the halls of NYC, DC, and Ohio with 'em!

I'll also (do my best) to do live(ish) updates while I'm on the road! Words and photos for sure. Will likely just film and record whole mess of things and edit it together when I get back.

Be stoked!

DATES :

April 27 – ATHENS, OH @ THE UNION // with Wheels on Fire
April 28 – NYC @ SWAT (Chinatown) // Presented by FUZZ NYC
April 29 – WASHINGTON, DC @ COMET PING PONG // with Cheniers, Greenland
April 30 – ???
May 1 – NEW HAVEN, CT @ POPEYE’S GARAGE // Early Show 7pm
May 2 – CLEVELAND, OH @ NOW THAT’S CLASS
May 5 – CHICAGO, IL @ BEAUTY BAR // Wheels on Fire, DJ Ryan Weinstein // Early Show 7pm

Yeah!

Photos : Gonzo Chicago Benefit : PPPMMM/SNACKS/LECHUGUILLAS

2011-04-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to Record Breakers. It didn't really do a whole lot for the end goal ($80 which will go in tonight on top of a donation from Brian Jarreau), but the support, the kind words, and the fact that it even happened was humbling beyond any dollar amount you could throw out there. Huge thanks to the bands and people who donated their time to help. As you can see, it was a blast. It really meant a lot to me to have my friends there, playing music with a fire under their asses, for a fundraiser that has really shown me just how great Chicago's community really is. Humbling. Brian Jarreau took all of these lovely photos. Thank you!

FUNDRAISER UPDATE :

Huge thanks to the donors of the last few days, and the lovely write-ups and love we've received from all over.

The Onion's A.V. Club : "Videographer John Yingling started Gonzo Chicago with a simple mission: to bring fans closer to their favorite bands with in-depth pics, videos, and interviews. Since the inception of Gonzo, Yingling’s videotaped more than 500 shows, creating a virtual archive of modern Chicago rock. Whether it’s a local shlub strumming an acoustic guitar at a sandwich joint or indie superstars Handsome Furs, Gonzo wants the skinny."

I answered some questions for The Vinyl District : : "As you hopefully already know, Chicago has been blessed with one the most active and exciting independent music scenes in the world. John Yingling, the man behind Gonzo Chicago, has taken it upon himself to document our vibrant scene, filming nearly 500 performances over the last four years. Recently, John decided to kick it up a notch, taking to indie fund raising site IndieGoGo, in an effort to raise to funds to replace and upgrade broken and outdated equipment, which will help him better capture the scene he (and we) love so much..."

Lovely donors of the past few days :

Jamie Baird
Josh Reed
Andrew O'Connor (who gets a custom short film of a band of his choosing made in the summer!)

BENEFIT SHOW PHOTOS :

Photos : Black Lips/Vivian Girls , Benefit show is TONIGHT at RECORD BREAKERS!!!!

2011-04-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

We got in Gossip Wolf, and the amazing Keith Herzik from Chicago drew this up!

Flyer by Alejandro Morales!

Black Lips + Vivian Girls hit Logan Square Auditorium last night. I don't get the hate for Vivian Girls new record. It sounds good. It's a little more fresh than the other stuff they've put out. They sing more clearly, with a bit more purpose. It seems in some people's eyes they're damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Black Lips were good. They're always consistently entertaining. It got a little crazy toward the end. Some girl got a foot...stuck in her hair....right before Bad Kids. All of these kids were trying to pull this lodged foot out, and when that song started, I thought something really terrible was going to happen with that whole situation, as everyone went crazy as they always do. I hope she's alright.

Security got on stage, and didn't leave. Black Lips should play some 21+ shows around Chicago here and there. Tween drama.

The benefit show is TONIGHT!!!!

Music starts at 8PM. CHIRP will be there from 7-9 handing out swag! Show is done by 11pm! NO PUNK ROCK TIME! Come early. Drink. Eat. Have fun!!!

SNACKS
YELLOW THIEF
LECHUGUILLAS
PPPMMM

HUGE thank you to the donors of the last few days, we're SO close to $2,000!

Victor Spatafora (who will have mopery DVD's tonight!)
Katie Patterson
Andrew Hertzberg
Anonymous donors!

See you tonight!

PHOTOS :

Double dose of White Mystery tonight! "New Garage Explosion" film screening! Cacaw @ Mortville!

2011-04-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Whoaaaa, mannnn! Today is a RAGER!

Spend your 4/20 with your favorite red-headed Chicago duo, White Mystery! They're releasing their second full-length, "BLOOD AND VENOM", so they're having a huge double-show party with some great bands opening up each show! BUY THE RECORD! We have it! It's awesome! It'll pair well with these times.

They're playing TWO shows at Pancho's (2200 N. California Ave) this evening!

The first show is all ages, starts at 6PM and amazing openers CLOSE HITS and LOOSE DUDES start your Wednesday off right.

Set 2 is 21+ and begins at 10:30 with openers RABBLE RABBLE and SLUSHY!

SCION is throwing a VICE party!

Century Centre Cinemas for the screening of Vice's New Garage Explosion: In Love with These Times. You NEED TO RSVP for free entry, but entry is not guaranteed with RSVP. Get there early to ensure a seat.

About the film :

After a brief nod to garage's humble beginnings amongst American youth in Detroit during the 1960s and its contribution and influence on '80s punk, New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times focuses on the scintillating present. As it pans trans-nationally, the camera profiles artists like the late Jay Reatard, Black Lips, The Dirtbombs, Thee Oh Sees, Smith Westerns, Vivian Girls and many more in an attempt to understand not only the exponential ascent of garage rock's popularity but the reason these people feel so passionately about it. A wide-eyed glimpse into a musical movement, the film is as much about the music as it is about the people contributing to the distinct scenes of the San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, New York, Memphis, Atlanta, and Portland garage communities.

VBS directors Joseph Patel and Aaron Brown worked with producer/journalist Mike McGonigal to offer a particularly in depth examination of a multi-dimensional and often misunderstood slice of popular culture unfolding in front of us. New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times is a candid snapshot of this magically vibrant moment in rock history, inspirational and brimming with DIY purity.

4/20/11 7pm-9pm
Century Centre Cinema
2828 N. Clark St.
Century Shopping Center
Chicago, IL 60657

Last, but certainly not least, your favorite pipe-bomb, black-out inducing warehouse is seriously bringing it tonight :

WITCH HAT

SUPERSONIC PISS

MAYOR DALEY

CACAW

DJ RYON

Dude. Duuuuuude.

Get out your house tonight!

HUGE thank you's to the donors of the past few days :

EDIT : JUST BROKE 50% of the goal due to a ***HUGE*** donation from Andrew Nicolaou!!!!! ANDREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CLAMS!!
Mauricio Dangond!
Rebekah at Betta Promotions!
John Lombardo
and SAMORAMA!

We're getting Gossip Wolf'd, so pick up a Chicago Reader late this afternoon, or tommorow.

So stoked for Saturday.

I can't say it enough : None of this would have happened without YOU.

Please TAKE A LOOK! and if you're into it, share! donate!

Much love,

jy

Watch a song from Tyler Jon Tyler + Bad Drugs' Record Store Day in-stores...

2011-04-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

In classic Record Store Day form, I awoke at noon, and had one hour to get from Avondale to Wicker Park for :

TYLER JON TYLER "Faster than Light" at Reckless Records 1PM.

I talked tour with Tyler Jon Tyler, doing daily updates on the road...

They're embarking on a trek to NYC and back from April 27th - May 4th, so I'm tagging along. More about that later.

We ate free pizza with our beer-mosas and split off to Laurie's and Permanent for :

BAD DRUGS @ Permanent Records. 5PM.

I failed a trip to Laurie's Planet of Sound, somehow found enough energy to go back to Logan, celebrated one of my good friend Jason's birthday, and then slept for 10 hours. Record Store Day...exhausting...even when you're lazy about it...

JY

BENEFIT SHOW THIS SATURDAY : PPPMMM/LECHUGUILLAS/YELLOW THIEF(BC)/SNACKS

2011-04-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

You are all confirming why Chicago is one of the best cities in the world. We have come so far in mere days. Some really good friends decided they want to help, so I'm having a party :

ALL AGES.

PISSPISSPISSMOANMOANMOAN
LISTEN

LECHUGUILLAS (PLAYING NEW JAMS)
LISTEN

YELLOW THIEF (VANCOUVER)
LISTEN

SNACKS
LISTEN

Trenton Willey doing 5-10 minutes even though he bailed to L.A.

+ MORE TBA.

at RECORD BREAKERS REGGIE'S LIVE : 2105 S. State

$5 suggested donation for the campaign / touring band. Check out the great sounding touring band., Yellow Thief.

7:00pm DOORS
8:00PM MUSIC
11:00PM END!

Has to be done by 11PM as it's AA.

CHIRP should be there handing out swag!

Reggie's is having TWO SHOWS aside from ours at the same time, so let's blow the roof off the place.

I know it's short notice but i'm going on tour with Tyler Jon Tyler the week after, so it has to be this way.

I had to make the video while I was sick because I was a week behind. I'm glad you all think it's funny. It's supposed to be a little ridiculous. I did the best I could with such crappy equipment and super short time-frame.

I would like to thank you all for your support. It means the world to me. I did not expect this. We currently hit page 3 of 5 on Indiegogo's "Popular" section, out of thousands of campaigns. If it hits page 1, we get on the FRONT PAGE of Indiegogo. Not only will this help the end cause of hitting the goal, but will put Chicago's music scene / CHIRP Radio's mission directly in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Reggie's Live has an amazing record store above it called Record Breaker's. That is where this show will be held.

We're creeping toward 50%. This might tip the scales for CHIRP Radio in a huge way.

Please take a look and consider donating...

I want to thank the donors of the past few days. We've gotten HUGE support, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it :

One Kind Radio
Marisa Labry
ONO (Travis and Michael + Co!)
Mtenebra
Sophie Burton (my dearest seattle transplant)
Anonymous Donors

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

John Yingling

Loud Loop Press sums up RECORD STORE DAY 2011!!!!! Fundraiser update!!!

2011-04-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

Loud Loop Press, the brain-child of Sun-Times writer Richard Giraldi, who said some really kind words about us Wednesday, has put together an AMAZINGLY in-depth Record Store Day preview :

"One thing to keep in mind: If you’re on the hunt for the Record Store Day Exclusives, GET THERE EARLY. All of the exclusive releases are being released in limited quantities. Plus, some stores are even offering free goodies, but only to the first few who show up. Finally, we’ll be updating our guide up until Saturday morning with more information as to who will have what and maybe even add some additional locations that we’ve found will be participating as well. But enough small talk. On with the Loud Loop Press Guide to Record Store Day in Chicago:

BEVERLY RECORDS

11612 S. Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60643, 773-779-0066
In-Store Performances?: Nope.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Yes! They’ve ordered quite a bit from the big RSD 2011 Exclusive Release list, but they won’t know exactly what they’ll have until Friday night.
Deals?: 20% off all used all vinyl LPs on the floor.
Free Goodies?: Yep! CD giveaways! And various goodies from labels! Hurray!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DAVE’S RECORDS

2604 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60614, 773-929-6325
In-Store Performances?: Local band I Was Totally Destroying It will play a free acoustic set in the little store at 4 p.m.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: You betcha! Dave ordered all the exclusives. But who knows what will come in? So, he will be posting exactly what he does have on the Dave’s Records Blog at precisely 10 p.m. this Friday, April 15, so keep an eye on it!
Deals?: All used 7″ and 12″ singles will be 50% off. All 78′s are $1 and booklets are $1. Free cupcakes if you purchase more than $25 (until they run out)! Free Dave’s Records T-Shirt if your purchase is more than $100 (until supplies run out)!
Free Goodies?: YES! Free candy for everyone! Also, some free bonus 7″, vinyl, stickers, DVDs, download cards and more (quantities are limited).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEADWAX

3819 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60613, 773-529-1932
In-Store Performances?: Nope.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Nah.
Deals?: 50% off all used vinyl, 20% off all new vinyl, single disc DVDs and more!
Free Goodies?: TBD.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DUSTY GROOVE AMERICA

1120 N. Ashland Ave. Chicago, IL 60622, 773-342-5800
In-Store Performances?: Yes! How about some magic? Magic By Randy will entertaining from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Then the legendary Phil Cohran & Arkestra will perform at 4 p.m.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: They’ll have tons of the RSD 11 Exclusive Releases (but they’ll have them in very limited quantities).
Deals?: TBD – but they will be opening an hour early at 9 a.m. and stay open an hour later until 9 p.m.
Free Goodies?: Free CD to first 50 costumers! Free refreshments and Vinyl giveaways – maybe some free T-shirts as well!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMAPHONE RECORDS

2843 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60657, 773-472-3683
In-Store Performances?: Yeah buddy! Tim Larson from Tim Larson and the Owner Operators will perform at 11 a.m. Then the rest of the day will features countless DJs spinning away!
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Oh yeah. A bunch of the Records Store Day exclusive releases – check out exactly what they’ll have at the Gramaphone Records Facebook page!
Deals?: Nope.
Free Goodies?: TBD.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

HARD BOILED RECORDS

2010 W. Roscoe St. Chicago, IL 60618, 773-755-2619
In-Store Performances?: Nope.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Yes, they’ll have a few from the massive RSD 2011 Exclusive Release list.
Deals?: Nope.
Free Goodies?: TBD.
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JAZZ RECORD MART

27 E. Illinois St. Chicago, IL 60654, 312-222-1467
In-Store Performances?: Yes sir! Jason Adasiewicz with Josh Berman will perform at 11 a.m. and then Rockin Johnny and Tail Dragger will perform at 1 p.m.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Yes, a few from the BIG LIST.
Deals?: 50% off main room 78s and secong hand big band/trad jazz/jazz vocals/gospel LPs, 20% off any box set, $.99 delmark cassettes will be $.49, all cassettes are $5 for $10, vinyl graveyard section will be 5 for $1 and red circled 45s will be 5 for $1. Whew.
Free Goodies?: Free snacks and refreshments!
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KSTARKE RECORDS

1109 N. Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60622, 773-772-4880
In-Store Performances?: DJs all day until 5 p.m.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: A very limited amount of RSD 11 Exclusive Releases.
Deals?: TBD.
Free Goodies?: Free food and drinks. Record and CD giveaways! Oh yeah!
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LAURIE’S PLANET OF SOUND

4639 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60625, 773-271-3569
Laurie’s opens at 9 a.m.
In-Store Performances?: Oh, hell yeah! Here’s the schedule:
11:00am- DJ Peroxide
12:00pm- DJ Rachel Hinsdale
1:00pm- CANDY GOLDE LIVE (feat. Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick!)
1:30pm- DJ Mike Bennett (CHIRP)
2:30pm- DJ Mark Richardson (Pitchfork Media)
3:30pm- DJ Josh Rosenthal (Plaguebringer)
4:00 – 5:00pm Guest Laurie’s employee TERRI HEMMERT (XRT)!!!!!
4:15pm- DJ Rebecca Flores (Tyler Jon Tyler)
5:00pm- VEE DEE LIVE PERFORMANCE
5:45pm- DJs Eric Marsh & Alex Foucre Stimes (BLVD Records)
7:00pm- DJ Owen Harris (CHIRP, Kiwi Brunch)
8:00pm- POPULATION LIVE
8:45pm- DJ Eliah Einhorn (Scotland Yard Gospel Choir)

Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?:Yes, 200 copies of an exclusive Vee Dee 7” on red vinyl that can only be found at Laurie’s. You can find the rest of Laurie’s record store day goodies on this sweet Facebook note.
Deals?: Nope.
Free Goodies?: The first 50 people get a Laurie’s LP tote filled with goodies!
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PERMANENT RECORDS

1914 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60622, 773-278-1744
Permanent Records will open from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, for all you hardcore record shoppers!
In-Store Performances?: Yeppers!
5:00 p.m. Bad Drugs
6:00 p.m. Silver Abuse
Stay after the music ends for Permanent’s annual Flaming Lips Zaireeka Boom Box Experiment Listening Party at 7 p.m. Bring your boombox!!
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Um, yeah. The limited, color vinyl edition Purling Hiss/Puffy Aerolas 12” that is only available at Permanent.
Deals?: Nada.
Free Goodies?: Free grab bags. Gotta love it!
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RAFFE’S RECORD RIOT

4350 N. Cicero Ave. Chicago, IL 60641, 773-725-1327
In-Store Performances?: No, but it’s still possible, says the owner.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Quite a few from the official RSD catalogue. There’s a box full of stuff they’re waiting to unwrap.
Deals?: All used items are 50% off: Books, DVDs, 45s, etc.
Free Goodies?: A free album of your choice with purchase.
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RECKLESS RECORDS

3126 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60657, 773-404-9588 | 1532 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60622, 773-235-3727 | 26 E. Madison St. Chicago, IL 60602, 312-795-0878
In-Store Performances?: You bet your bottom dollar! Here’s the schedule:

WICKER PARK Store (1532 N. Milwaukee)
1:00 p.m. Tyler Jon Tyler
2:00 p.m. Joan of Arc
3:00 p.m. Candy Golde (featuring Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick and Nick Tremulis)
3:30 p.m. Jeff Parker (of Tortoise)
4:00 p.m. Singleman Affair
5:00 p.m. Cairo Gang?
Rock n’ roll caricatures by Steve Krakow aka Plastic Crimewave (12-5)

LOOP store (26 E. Madison)
2:00 p.m. Roommate
3:00 p.m. Slow Witch (Angela of Sybris)

BROADWAY Store (3126 N. Broadway)
12:00 p.m. Cult of Youth?
1:00 p.m. Raw Nerve?
2:00 p.m. Owen
?3:00 p.m. Population
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Yessir. Get your copy of White Mystery’s Blood & Venom before it officially comes out on April 20. Not enough for ya? Get your mitts on Raw Nerve’s Tall Tales on white vinyl. Ooh la la. And you can also find the No Peace/War compilation 7” by Organized Crime Records. Get down on it!!
Deals?: Nah.
Free Goodies?: Negatory.
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RECORD BREAKERS

2105 S. State St. Chicago, IL 60616, 312-949-0125
In-Store Performances?: Yes! Record Breakers got it going on! The store opens bright and early at 10 a.m. Performances kick off at 11 a.m.

Flame Shark
Darling
A Rocket to the Moon (acoustic)
Ornery Little Darlings
The Steepwater Band
Certain Stars
Hemmingbirds
Harry Breitner
Aetiology
Magic Child

Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Yep, they’ll be offering most if not all of the Record Story Day Exclusive Releases in limited quantities.
Deals?: A 10% off storewide sale!
Free Goodies?: Oh yeah! Expect special giveaways, raffles and even free food and drinks will be provided!
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SAKI

3716 W. Fullerton Ave. Chicago, IL 60647, 773-486-3997
Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In-Store Performances?: Hells Yeah!
1:00 p.m. Distractions
2:00 p.m. Bob Dey’s Tank Engine Man
3:00 p.m. Chaperone
4:00 p.m. The 1900s
5:00 p.m. Rabid Rabbit
6:00 p.m. In Tall Buildings
7:00 p.m. This is Cinema
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Too many to name. But how about Nirvana’s Hormoaning 12” or The Rolling Stone’s Brown Sugar 7”? Well, they got ‘em.
Deals?: there will be store-wide sales.
Free Goodies?: Simply too many to name. How about free Telekinesis pencils? A free Chimera Music sampler? Save your Saki receipt for tons of food, drink and show discounts like free PBR at the RSD aterparty at the Burlington! Or free admittance to Bottom Lounge’s RSD afterparty with Hollows, Suns, Light Pollution and Secret Colours. Find out more at Saki’s blog.
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SHAKE, RATTLE & READ

4812 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640, 773-334-5311
In-Store Performances?: Nuh uh.
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: Numero Group’s exclusive RSD releases.
Deals?: 20% off on all vinyl.
Free Goodies?: Not today, friend.
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THE OLD SCHOOL RECORDS

7446 W. Madison St. Forest Park, IL 60130, 708-366-7588
In-Store Performances?: Affirmative! Here’s the scoop:
11:00 a.m. F. Patrick Kevil
3:00 p.m. Morris Mill & Friends
Live DJs
12:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sonorama
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Soul Clap
Exclusive Record Store Day Releases?: TBD
Deals?: 25% off all budget CDs. 25% all budget LPs. 25% all 12” singles. 25% off all cassettes!
Free Goodies?: TBD."

HOLY COW!!!!

Us? We'll be at Tyler Jon Tyler at 1PM, Bad Drugs at 5PM, Lauries, and everywhere in between. We're stoked!

Tyler Jon Tyler are just one of the bands that are going to play for you if this fundraiser succeeds, which, by the way :

The new total as of a few minutes ago : $1,255!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to say THANK YOU.

I'd like to yell it off my rooftop. I probably will a little bit later into the night.

You guys are blowing me away with your support. A few bands like Piss Piss Piss, Moan Moan Moan, Close Hits, Rabble Rabble, and Mannequin Men, amongst others, have been very vocal about their support.

I don't even know what to say, aside from...Thank You. This party i'm planning, it's going to happen, and I've put a call out to some really, really ridiculous bands to try to get them to play. Chicago staples. Let's just say i'm really going for it. We'll see...

However, HUGE, MONSTROUS thank you's are in order :

Courtney Vandanbroek (who snagged a custom photo set at the $100 level)
John Gorman (who snagged one of the few remaining Threadless t-shirts)
pisspisspissmoanmoanmoan (collectively. thank you guys!)
Veronica Murtagh of the spectacular Cream Team
Anonymous $200 donor
Anonymous $10 donor
Mannequin Men (collectively. thank you!!!!!!)
Marisa Labry (who grabs a Mopery DVD)

Indiegogo called me on the PHONE yesterday and told me it's going well, and that I should be on their radar soon to be featured. If this happens, I need you all to kill it for me with sharing the link. This could potentially EXPLODE for CHIRP Radio, which was the point of getting so much of the scene involved.

We're firming up a possible benefit show next Saturday, April 23rd with (tentatively) SNACKS, PPPMMM, DISTRACTIONS/ABSOLUTELY NOT, and others at Record Breakers, the huge, sprawling record store above REGGIE'S LIVE,

Thank you.

- John Yingling