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

"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 better 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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 :



SNAXXXX

CLOSE HITZ

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

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

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

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!!!!

PHOTOS : Human Eye @ Permanent Records / Close Hits + Snacks @ Palmer Attic

WILD day yesterday!

Human Eye played a great set at Permanent Records at five p.m....which left me a little time to recollect myself and head over to "pauly zee's" attic on palmer to let all these crazy bastards do their thing. What a blast. The line-up was :

SNACKS
http://dothesnacks.tumblr.com/

CLOSE HITS
http://closehits.tumblr.com/

STRYCHNINE
www.myspace.com/strychninechicago

CHELSEA BOYS (mpls)
http://www.myspace.com/chelseaboysmusic

SPYDER BAYBIE RAWDOG (mpls)
http://www.myspace.com/spyderandmuck