Watch : Wild Flag psych out, cover Fugazi

We captured some footage via BV Chicago of Wild Flag covering Fugazi, psyching the fuck out, and going ape at the Metro. Still surprised by this band. Girls just wanna have fun.

Watch : Timmy's Organism - "Scum Revolution"

"I'm part panther!" Human Eye's Timmy Vulgar and his cohorts Timmy's Organism dedicate "Scum Revolution" to Christmas Woods and the rest of us derelicts at Chicago's killer Burlington back-room. This was at the Guilty Pleasures reunion. Enjoy.

Watch : Heavy Times - "Might Not Shoot Myself"

New Heavy Times jams! The dancing bearded fellow screamed and yelled into the night. Surely you could hear him in the previously filmed Paper Mice song. He had his fun, and we had ours. Filmed in a very cramped "Situations" basement. Movement was difficult, but this one sounds so good, we had to share. Enjoy!

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

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

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

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

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

Watch : Paper Mice - "Cannon Fodder"

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

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

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

Watch : Islands at Lincoln Hall.

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

Enjoy!

(buy the record) islands

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

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

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

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

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

With live performances by-

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

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

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

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

Bring your pals and spread the word!

CAKE Chicago dot com

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

TEEN RIVER : Tapes made with love.

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

Made with love. For the children.

Current tentative February releases :

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

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

Watch : Guilty Pleasures reunited!

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

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

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

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

Buy the record!

Watch : Prince Rama at Subterranean

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

Watch : Bomb Banks at the Dustbowl.

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.

Watch : Wishgift play in the Secret Garden...

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)

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 Carroll 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

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!

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...

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"

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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.

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

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.