n the great tradition of The Monkees, The Partridge Family and Josie and the Pussycats comes a band actually built around a TV series. Not only does Flabby Hoffman star in their own weekly television series in Chicago (Thursday nights from 11:30pm to 12:30am on CAN-TV Cable Channel 19), but the titular figurehead of the band, Flabby H. himself, is a true activist who believes in and is attempting to instigate a modern day revolution driven by the empowerment of the righteous as a methodology for change in a world gone horribly wrong due primarily to the co-opting of media by elements of the pathological aristocracy. One can of course find the Flabby Hoffman Trio (which depending on the evening is anywhere from a four piece to eight piece band) performing and/or tooling around at nearly every decent club in town once in a while, where the Flabby Hoffman team of volunteers and cross-dressing harlequins are responsible for booking each of the bands that perform at the club for the evening in what is called The Flabby Hoffman Caravan. The Flabby Caravan is a series of shows throughout the Chicago rock circuit with about 300 gigs under its belt which features tons of great organically driven music (usually a four band line up) as well as prize giveaways, occasional comedic and acoustic tweener acts, a freaky host, customized event programs and more all of which is videotaped to gather footage for the Flabby TV series. The Flabby Hoffman Trio itself, unlike the TV bands mentioned at the top of this description who were primarily designed for teeny boppers and lumberjacks, looks to appeal to all of the disenfranchised of the world. Those pushed to the side by a mainstream media which seems like an electronic Spanish Inquisition forcing us to conform or be tortured. A mainstream cultural indoctrination device that seems more concerned with turning everyone into a mindless robot than encouraging truly creative people to create. With their hard rock, riff oriented, axe blistering antics and soul stirring lyrics, there is no doubt that this band is not in the mood to compromise. Will this trio get crushed by the weight of the imposing forces in control of our culture, or will they learn how to thrive in a world run by sociopaths that seek to crush every last vestige of individuality… If you would like to be part of this effort, join us on the TV series, join us on our efforts at movies productions and webisodes, fool around at a Flabby live show, do some original productions and help make this thing resonate…be my guest.

NIKKI LYNETTE is a suicide survivor and multi-hyphenate artist who fuses
mental health activism into her performance art, film projects and visual art,
creating a lane that is uniquely her own. Her journey with mental health
outreach began in 2016 when she returned to the public eye after a long
hiatus with a confession: she’d secretly been battling mental health issues. In
a time when being open about mental health struggles was taboo, Nikki
began writing articles about depression and suicide for prominent media like
Afropunk and AllHipHop. As the opening act for Pussy Riot’s first American
tour, Nikki workshopped the material that would soon become her musical
about depression, GET OUT ALIVE. In 2019, Nikki made history as the first
black female playwright to have a musical produced by American Music
Theatre Project, in 2022 she became the first Steppenwolf LookOut Series
work and first female AMTP alum to be featured at NAMT’s Festival of New
Musicals, and in 2024 Nikki Lynette became the first American Playwright to
be invited to Cove Park’s Musical Theatre Writing Residency in Scotland. GET
OUT ALIVE is currently in development under the guidance of Tony &
Grammy Award winning producers Octopus Theatricals. A proud ambassador
and board member for the Chicago chapter of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI), seeing her music used to tell stories in tv shows led Nikki to an
interest in filmmaking. Since adapting her musical about depression to film
during the pandemic, GET OUT ALIVE has been invited into over a dozen film
festivals and won three awards. Her zeal for crafting edgy multimedia
theatrical experiences that center mental health is on full display in Nikki
Lynette’s second film, the new documusical entitled Happy Songs About
Unhappy Things.

Gaining the majority of her industry experience writing and touring with other artist as a background vocalist. Chicago’s Alt/Rocker Esh makes a splash taking center stage. With her dynamic, emphatic delivery, Esh moves hearts and hips; with her glam/punk rock sartorial style. One must not forget Esh’s four piece band that packs hard-rocking compositions with powerful guitar-, bass-, and drum-driven punches. Just enough sauce to allow the pint size rocker the freedom to stir up a host of emotions from the affectionate to the aggressive. If Esh’s upcoming EP is any indication of that which is to come from her first album, it will be a big year for her. Shes already one of new artists to watch in 2012.

20 Mark Helga was formed by Phineas Gage in 2007. She turned her first trick in April 08 to lively crowds in the Chicago area. Helga has enjoyed playing the party and club scene around the city. Helga can be found strutting the classic venues in Chicago including Double Door, Cubby Bear, Underground, Elbo Room and a variety of special events and Chicago Street Festivals.