F.B.F.

Dennis, Shad, and Larry have been friends for over 20 years, and have been in and out of bands with each other over the time. But now that they are older, wiser, and a bit more seasoned, they are doing what they love for the fun of it the way they used to.

With so many different styles and influences coming from each member, each and every song has a natural feel with individual textures. Keep an eye out for them at your town sometime… and give them a listen. They may end up being one of your favorites.

SISTER SPEAK

Sister Speak is a collaboration of musicians supporting the expression of the woman’s voice. Sister Speak has toured nationally and played over 500 shows, including appearances on Canada’s Global TV, opening for major artists such as Air Supply at Humphrey’s in San Diego, at NAMM, House of Blues San Diego, The Belly Up, Hard Rock Cafe, at various festivals and all over the USA and western Canada. In 2011 they were nominated ‘Best New Artist’ at the San Diego Music Awards.

Led by singer/songwriter Sherri-Anne, Sister Speak combines Sher’s captivating vocals and unique guitar stylings with drummer Lisa Viegas’s dynamic percussive beats. Sister Speak has performed with a variety of artists – Sam Cathcart, Swift Pony & Stephen Gentallali to name a few. Their most recent line-up features vocal harmonies and lead guitar by the soulful Tolan Shaw, and tasteful bass guitar grooves by Jacob Miranda.

Sister Speak’s presence is inspiring and refreshing, lending to a wide range of genres – mainly “Alternative/Blues & World.” With 2 live CD’s and a 2012 Demo under their belt, Sister Speak is currrently working on their DEBUT full-length album! Estimated release: November 2013

BLACK IRISH TEXAS

Emerging from the local cut-throat and highly competitive music scene of Austin, comes Black Irish Texas. And out of the proclaimed live music capital of the world they have exploded on the scene like a whiskey drenched force to be reckoned with. They have shared the stage with such International acts as Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, Social Distortion, and the Street Dogs just to name a few, as well as local Austin legends such as the Dicks and the Flametrick Subs.

The band started in 2004 after a few lineup changes and many tribulations, they have managed to keep their anything-but-common spaghetti western/Americana/punk infused Irish American act together just long enough to finally release their debut album “To Hell with the King.”

With backing from Jameson Irish whiskey and support from legions of local and regional fans they released their first full length album and have been running all over the country throwing their no holds barred Irish American party gaining devout followers everywhere they play.

Black Irish boast members of Austin favorite’s such as Mr. Lewis and the Funeral Five, Flatcar Rattlers, Los Hispanos,UK, The Bulemics, and Hipsterectomy just to name a few. With members from each of those bands bringing to the table their own particular styles and influences, your current line-up of James Fitzsimmons on guitar and vocal duties, Mark Maughmer II on fiddle, James Sheeron on drums, Shannon McMillan on upright bass and Bil David Zarate on banjo, you are basically looking at a powder keg lit by a few shots of Jameson. And what a site it is.

Do not, I repeat, do NOT try and pigeonhole these guys as an Irish pub drinking band, regurgitating overheard covers of “danny boy” and “whiskey in the jar” . In high demand at every venue from Stubb’s and Emo’s Austin to the Abbey pub in Chicago, Black Irish Texas is a coming to a venue near you. See what they’re doing at their website. www.blackirishtexas.com, and be on the look out for new releases roomered to release by the end of 2014..

CHICAGO SOUL SOLUTION

Chicago Soul Solution plays the best of Memphis soul from Stax, Hi and other related labels, then we head north to Chicago for some sides of Chess, VeeJay, OKeh and other great labels from our famed Record Row.

Chicago Soul Solution is unique in that it primarily comprised of members who are Chicago public school music educators and/or parents in addition to their roles as professional working musicians (one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets is it’s school music teachers).

OBSIDIAN TONGUE

Founded in January 2009 as a solo project by Brendan James Hayter.
An album was recorded on a Tascam 4-track in the summer of 2009, only to be discarded and used as demo material to find other members. Greg Murphy joined the band in November 2009.

Satisfied with their sound as a duo, they recorded a demo of all new songs in February 2010, once again on the same 4-track cassette recorder that begun the project. 100 copies were dubbed and hand-numbered and sold at shows when Obsidian Tongue begun playing live in the Spring of 2010.

After another demo, the Subradiant Architecture demo in 2011, their debut album “Volume I: Subradiant Architecture” was recorded and mixed onto vintage tape machines in March 2012 at Mystic Valley Studio in Medford by Alex Garcia-Rivera. The album was tracked on 2″ tape and mixed down onto 1″ tape. The sound is organic and raw, allowing the compositions and natural tones of the instruments to speak for themselves.
They self-released the album on CD under their own newly founded imprint Dissociation Records on May 25, 2012, backed by a distribution deal with Ragnarok Records.

The release was followed with another string of live performances within their native region of New England, including a direct support slot opening for black metal titans Agalloch and Fen in October 2012. This was followed by their first tour in November 2012, trekking across the east coast for 2 weeks. The journey proved to be a success and the band intends to tour much more in the future.

With nearly 5 hours of music composed and ready for release, the duo will continue exploring and celebrating the psychedelic, cathartic and unifying principles of extreme metal until the end of their days.

GOJIRA

It has always been hard to put a tag on GOJIRA, one of France’s most extreme bands the country’s musical pallet has ever known. But then again, the band has never really sought out such a tag, instead letting the music do the talking, preferring introspection and intelligence over preconceived notions and preexisting tags. Ever since the 1996 formation in town of Bayonne in the southwest of France, GOJIRA has been an ever-evolving experiment in extreme metal ultimately built upon a worldly, ever-conscious outlook with roots firmly-planted both in the hippie movement and an environmentally-conscious, new age mentality. This time, with The Way of All Flesh, GOJIRA harnesses a spiritual consciousness as well, but still culminates in a sound wholly heavy.

Originally dubbed Godzilla, after the scaly, green film star with an equally huge reputation as the newfound band’s sound, the brothers Duplantier – guitarist/vocalist Joe and drummer Mario – and fellow Frenchmen Jean Michel Labadie on bass and Christian Andreu on guitar, quickly released several demos, ultimately changing the band’s name and independently releasing the first GOJIRA album, Terra Incognita, in 2001, offering up a brief glimpse into the giant GOJIRA would eventually become through persistent hard work and years of toiling in the metal underground.

After the 2003 release of the band’s follow-up, The Link, throughout Europe and the subsequent live DVD release the next year, of the aptly-titled The Link Alive, 2005 brought the release of From Mars To Sirius, the band’s breakthrough release, garnering high praise and a North American release through Prosthetic Records in 2006. Fans of not only heavy, extreme music took notice, but so did the intellectual world, thanks to Sirius’ thoughtful and expansive inner examination of the world at hand and the consequences of humanity’s struggle to coexist without harm. The metal world was amused and amazed: much of it hadn’t yet seen an equally intelligent and pummelingly heavy release that was as expansive and open as it was dense and concise.

Following the immense praise of From Mars To Sirius and recurring trips across the Atlantic for North American touring alongside the likes of Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, and Behemoth among others, GOJIRA established its stranglehold on the extreme metal spectrum with a linguist’s touch, a lyricist’s finesse, and a crushingly heavy live show that left audiences astounded, establishing the band’s live performance as a spot-on recreation of the band’s increasingly adept and intelligent studio output.

While 2007 wrapped with GOJIRA again touring North America on the Radio Rebellion Tour alongside Behemoth to the best reaction yet, the dawn of 2008 saw a nearly 10 month wait for while the band assembled The Way of All Flesh, one of the year’s most anticipated records. This time revolving around the undeniable dilemma of a mortal demise, GOJIRA’s soundtrack to the situation seems fitting. Shifting ever-so-slightly from the eco-friendly orchestra of impending doom on From Mars To Sirius to the band’s new message of the equally uncontrollable inevitability of death, The Way of All Flesh melds the open and airy progressive passages GOJIRA has become famous for with the sonically dense sounds and bludgeoningly heavy rhythms that makes the band an equally intelligent force as it is unmatchably heavy.

Featuring a guest vocal spot on “Adoration For None” from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe – one of GOJIRA’s most vocal supporters from their first moment making an impression in the Americas – and the now familiar Morbid Angel-isms of The Way Of All Flesh’s title track join the angular riffing more akin to Meshuggah on “Esoteric Surgery” and the epic, artful plodding of the nearly 10-minute “The Art of Dying,” showing that GOJIRA have indeed opened a new bag of tricks for The Way Of All Flesh, while not abandoning the sound that first showed a massive promise of potential on Sirius.

“It’s more inventive than From Mars To Sirius and at the same time more straight to the point,” GOJIRA frontman Joe Duplantier says of The Way of All Flesh. “The whole album is about death, death is like a step on the path of the soul. The mystery surrounding this phenomenon is just so inspiring, and death is the most common thing on earth.”

“This album is also a ‘requiem’ for our planet,” Duplantier continues. “We don’t want to be negative or cynical about the fate of humanity, but the situation on Earth is growing critical, and the way humans behave is so catastrophic that we really need to express our exasperation about it. It’s not fear, but anger. But we still believe that consciousness can make a difference and that we can change things as human beings.”

NARCOTIC

Narcotic was founded in August of 2012 by original members Jason Geist, Kyle Richier, David Tibbetts, and Pat O’Hara. Narcotic formed with the intention of blending together old school death metal and crust influences, but has since grown to encompass many styles within heavy metal, including black metal, thrash metal, and doom metal. With a vast amount of varying influences that each member brings to Narcotic, Narcotic will continue to grow and push the musical boundaries that confine many of todays metal bands.

THE JAGWEEDS

The Jagweeds salutes it’s Rock and Roll roots with a smile. Featuring; Sergio Castro, Bob Goins, Darin Mullins ans Gary Yek

“Genre: AM Gold”

Super Hits — later retitled AM Gold — was a 35-volume series issued by Time-Life during the 1990s, spotlighting popular music — primarily, soft rock and non-disco Top 40 music—played on Top 40 radio stations during the 1960s and 1970s.

THE JEFF GIBBS QUARTET

Jeff Gibbs is a chameleon to all types of music.  Playing everything from jazz, gospel, pop, hip-hop ,funk, and r&b. A fresh unbiased approach to music has allowed Jeff to create a new experience for the listener. 
 “Music is the 6th sense without it we wouldn’t have any other feelings… Without sound we would be numb… We would be emotionless.”  
 The Jeff Gibbs Quartet consists of Jeff Gibbs, Cleo Bryrd – keyboard, Dj Abernathy – drums, and James Carter – bass

THE FABULOUS NATURALS

It’s all about the groove. Everything this power trio does is built on a groove driven by the tightest rhythm section around, laying the landscape to blend all the styles of rock and roll into a wall of sound. With a million influences but our own style, the goal is to take everything musical that we love and create tunes that only sound like one thing – The Fabulous Naturals. You want bluesy? We got bluesy. No holds barred rock and roll? Check. Relentless rhythms that make you move? You bet. We have something for everyone, yet it all sounds unmistakably like us. Come out and hear it for yourself.

CHUCK WEBB

Chuck Webb is a first call electric & acoustic bassist who has toured the world many times performing with such notable artists as Ramsey Lewis, David Sanborn, Al DiMeola, Grover Washington Jr., Freddie Hubbard and many others. As one of Chicago’s top studio bassists Chuck has performed on hundreds of records, commercial jingles and sound tracks. A graduate of University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Chuck is a member of the National Federation of Musicians and the National Educators Association.

A versatile writer & producer, in addition to his film scores, sample CD, jazz and contemporary projects, Chuck is also the creator of the critically acclaimed educational music programs “Mind Games,” and “Multiply This.” These CDs are being successfully utilized by school systems and individuals throughout the country and as far abroad as Canada, Germany and Australia. Diverse groups such as the NEA and the Congressional Black Caucus have featured Chuck lecturing on the role of music in education.

Chuck is also on the faculty of Columbia College Chicago’s music department, serving as coordinator of bass studies, bass instructor, ensemble director and coordinator of the Contemporary, Urban and Popular Music ensemble program.

B.Q.

B.Q. is a project developed to cure the world of its chronic unfunkiness. The only antidote is a concentrated dose of raw unfiltered Funk, and bq is a Funk delivery system designed to tear the roof off of your mind and put your groove back on the One.

Bassist Brian Quinn formed the Funk collective bq in the Spring of 2013. Brian had been playing music around Chicago since 2007, and found a tragic lack of old-school Funk in the Chicago music scene. After playing with various Chicago groups for 6 years, Brian decided that it was time to gather the funkiest players he knew and form a project designed to play the kind of raw, energetic, in-your-face Funk music that he’s always loved. In July of 2013 bq played its first show, and they’ve been spreading the Funk around Chicago ever since.

 

G. LOVE

Tart, Tangy, Smooth, and oh so lip-smacking Sweet! Aaah yes, time to praise the almighty summer sippin’ thirst quencher, being served straight up G. Love and Special Sauce style, ice cool and always refreshing. On their second release for Brushfire Records, the Philly boys offer up “Lemonade”, a series of soul drenched tracks pouring out their blues infused hip-hop, which people have been trying to label for years. The best advice – dont try to tame it or claim it; its simply their sonic trademark, instantly recognizable and addictively delicious.

“The whole thing about lemonade for me was when I first set out from Philly to make it in the music world I went up to Boston, and I would just sit on the front porch of my place after playing the streets or practicing and make myself a big pitcher of lemonade. It just symbolized old time porch loungin’ for that’s where I did a lot of my shedding and writing. It was so simple and great, I said, if I ever get a record deal I’m going to get Lemonade tattooed on my arm.”

It’s there all right, and seven albums, thirteen years, and over a million worldwide units later, “Lemonade” is the most cohesive and rewarding album Garrett Dutton – a.k.a. G. Love (guitar, vocals, harmonica, sweat and tears) has ever delivered. Produced and engineered in the womb of Philadelphonic Studios by Chris DiBeneditto (Electric Mile & Philadelphonic) and faithfully anchored by the Sauce, Jimi “Jazz” Prescott (acoustic bass), and Jeffrey “Thunderhouse” Clemens (drums, percussion), G. pairs up with some of the best players in the game including Ben Harper, Donovan Frankenreiter, Jasper, Dave Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Blackalicious, Marc Broussard, Tristan Prettyman and Jack Johnson on a fourteen song celebration of his iconic career.

The tradition of the hip-hop blues has always been to rip open the heart and bare the soul. Tell the listener what they want to hear and you’ll have a fair weather friend; tell them the way it is and you’ll have true love. Thankfully, the Love is Alive, for G. delivers his loping lilt with bone humming honesty and he’s never sounded so clear. From the swarming infectious grooves of “Ride”, “Ain’t That Right”, and “Holla!” to the laid down easy of “Breakin Up”, “Still Hanging Around”, and “Missing My Baby” G. and The Sauce dance with the muses of their mentors, John Hammond, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Reed, De La Soul without ever missing the beat of their own signature time.

Pepper this with the mercury simmer of “Hot Cookin'” with Frankenreiter, the idyllic warmth of “Rainbow” with Johnson, the aching duet of “Beautiful” with Prettyman and the handclapping hallelujah of “Let the Music Play” with Harper and Broussard you’re left with the pure sound of summer ringing in your ear.

As G. says of all the collaborations, “We just reached out to a lot of our friends who just happen to be incredible musicians, and everyone was pretty enthusiastic about coming into the studio with us. So while the record maintains a real G. Love feel, it was a real group effort. Especially on “Let the Music Play”, I mean Ben and Marc just came down and demolished this track. We cut the rhythm track but left it wide open. So Bens comes through town and he’s just on fire. He wrote his verse on the spot, whipped up this tight Wurlitzer part and played a crazy slide guitar solo throughout the whole thing. I already had a chorus together, but he added this gospel style by stacking his vocals a bit which caught the vibe. To top it off I wanted to have Broussard sing some harmony on it, but once in the studio he wanted to try out one of the verses. I asked him if he thought he could do it and he says in his real New Orleans gruff voice, you think I came down here to suck, man? Well okay. Watch out, I mean I never appreciated what an incredible vocalist he is until he just went in, put his church on it and crushed it. To have Ben and Marc, who both come at music from such a soulful way, on the same track was simply epic.”

Even though G. is an insatiable musical omnivore when it comes to feeding off influences, “Lemonade” is his most stylistically cohesive and focused album yet. Grown out of the somewhat dark tension of “The Electric Mile” (2001) and the ass bumping smorgasbord of “The Hustle” (2004), “Lemonade’s” overall kickback beat begs the listener to blow out the speakers in musical reaffirmation. “Free” perhaps its deepest and most powerful track pulls the continuity string through it all, for its positive examination of the cycle of rebirth through a persons life backed with a “Fixin’ to Die” blues beat perfectly captures the sweat your funk out, soul searchin, dust ridden road warriors G. Love and Special Sauce have come to embody.

“I’m in a real comfortable place musically and in my life; I’m cruisin right now and it feels good. So when I set out to make this record, I wanted to take my sound, base it on the groove and really get into a deeper pocket. Lyrically, I wanted to talk about what I always talk about finding love, making love, losing love, life and lemonade.”

Yes indeed, what you hold in your hands is pure, fresh, organic, summer sound. So go ahead, scratch it, sniff it, squeeze it, bite it until its juices slide down your elbows and leave you satisfied.

The Piss Poor Players

THE PISS POOR PLAYERS

For the past 33 years The Piss Poor Players have been battling with the realism of demons. There aren’t many folks out there who have had to face the adversities that they have. They have struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, crazy women, hopelessness and the wildest twists and turns life can throw at one. They have looked death in the face on more occasions than one could count. Raised into a life of music they have deep roots in old school Country and Blues. Metal and Rock N Roll, Punk Rock, and East Coast Hip Hop. They don’t write songs that people want to hear. They write songs about the things they know about. The things they have seen and done, and the things that have happened to them. Day by day they deal with the struggles of life while maintaining steady focus on making real music for folks who give a shit about what is really going on. Being Piss Poor is a way of life they accepted a long time ago. Nothing has ever been given to them. Instead of laying down on there backs and feeling sorry for themselves like so many have done. They have taken their life experiences, and turned them into works of art. There wouldn’t be The Piss Poor Players if their lives would have been easy. Piss Poor For Life!

MR. E

Mr.E, born 1987 in Aurora (AUR-city) IL, spent most of his childhood exposed to music. Because of his difficult upbringing, writing became his escape from the harsh reality he dealt with. Mr.E was influenced by artists such as Eminem, Tupac, Andre 3000, Snoop Dogg, Do or Die and Twista.
He prides himself on his versatility and ability to think outside of the box. He released his debut album “What U Asked 4” in July of 2011. His hit single “Takin Off” was featured on Chicago’s biggest radio station, WGCI’s “Go Ill Radio”, as the #1 song for 3 straight weeks. Mr.E followed up his debut album with his latest mix tape “Thru The Smoke”, Hosted by one of Chicago’s most notorious, DJ Victoriouz, in the month of February 2013. Mr.E has opened up for artists such as Lil Wyte, Project Pat, 3 Piece and Lil Durk. He has also headlined multiple shows in and around his city and the Chicago land area. With a growing fan base, Mr.E is working to become more than a good rapper; his goal is to be a great entertainer. With an arsenal of music videos online, Mr.E shows no signs of slowing down. He is one of the hardest working young hip hop artists in AUR-city. He takes time on quality, and truly is working hard to get past the mix tape stepping stones and continue his professional career towards greater success.

 

ANGEL DAVANPORT

Angel Davanport was raised in Chicago’s Gage Park area. She is a rapper & songstress with a raw, soul pop vibe. Last year, she bodied a track with both Tech N9NE & The Game, skyrocketing her career. Oh… And she’s a petty good pastry chef!

THE JACKPOT GOLDEN BOYS

The Jackpot Golden Boys from England are “one of the most exciting and experimental bands around” according to Louderthanwar.com. Brothers Alex and Jim are taking a duo version of the band on tour across North America this summer supporting Nice Peter. Stripping down their instruments but cranking up everything else this fun-time duo combine rocking guitar riffs, funky drumming and two part vocal harmonies to make their own unique style of rock. They have built up a great underground fanbase and a large collection of songs with lyrical inspiration coming from the 1980’s, tropical islands, science fiction and horror B movies. Their musical influences are diverse including bands like Weezer, RHCP, and also the Beetlejuice sound track. The Jackpots never fail to have the audience singing along to their catchy hooks and bopping to the beat no matter how bizzare the lyrics or music maybe.

KING CLOUD

King Cloud is a new indie rock band out of Evanston, IL. We’ve been known to get twinkly on the keyboards, bust out electrifying guitar solos, and, when the time is right, break it down and get real funky.

“You guys rock” — Kenny Loggins

 

KENEALLY BENDIAN LUNN

“Keneally-Bendian-Lunn are:
Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, Dethklok) on guitar, keyboard and vocal; Gregg Bendian (Mahavishnu Project, Pat Metheny, Cecil Taylor) on drums, percussion and vocal; Doug Lunn (Andy Summers, Wayne Kramer, David Torn) on bass.
All three are accomplished composers and improvisors with years of performing experience together and separately, but 2014 marks the first time the three of them have undertaken a tour together. The tour repertoire is largely drawn from Keneally’s lengthy album career (25 or so albums over two decades), with selections from Bendian’s and Lunn’s own projects, and a smattering of unusual covers (including songs by The Beach Boys, XTC, Elvis Costello and Led Zeppelin).”

 

Mike Keneally:  “Keneally is the leading progressive rock genius of the post-Zappa era.” – All Music Guide

Long acclaimed as one of the world’s most creative and intense guitar and keyboard players, Mike Keneally’s talents as a vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist are nearly unequalled in rock music. He’s released 24 albums of his original music since 1992, and has built a body of work of remarkable inventiveness and originality.

Keneally played in Frank Zappa’s last touring band, performing as a vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. He’s appeared on many Zappa albums, is currently a touring member of Dethklok (as a guitarist) and the Joe Satriani Band (as a guitarist/keyboardist), and has also recorded or performed with Robert Fripp, Flying Lotus, Wayne Kramer, Kevin Gilbert, Steve Vai, Chickenfoot, Henry Kaiser, Michael Manring, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Solomon Burke and many others.

Keneally’s latest releases include Wing Beat Fantastic: Songs Written by Mike Keneally & Andy Partridge, a collaboration with XTC’s Partridge that ranked highly on several critics’ “Best of 2012” lists; You Must Be This Tall, a mostly instrumental 44-minute complex rock thrill ride; and the deluxe reissue of 1997’s Sluggo!, now sporting an improved new stereo mix, a mind-boggling 5.1 mix and oodles of bonus audio and video artifacts.

www.keneally.com

www.facebook.com/mike.keneally

https://twitter.com/MikeKeneally

Hear Mike’s music 24/7 at www.radiokeneally.com

 

Gregg Bendian:

Drummer/percussionist/composer Gregg Bendian is widely known for his innovative and wildly varied musical output. Active in the fields of jazz, rock and classical music, he has collaborated with some of the strongest personalities in contemporary music, including Pat Metheny, Todd Rundgren, Jan Hammer, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Zorn, Nels Cline, Derek Bailey and Keiji Haino.

Over the last 20 years, Gregg has led the repertory band, The Mahavishnu Project, in addition to his own ensembles, Interzone and Trio Pianissimo. Gregg is a consultant and producer of archival recordings for Sony/Legacy, including the upcoming “Live at The Bottom Line” series.

www.greggbendian.com

www.facebook.com/greggbendian

 

Doug Lunn:

Doug Lunn is a multi-instrumentalist/composer who specializes on the five-string fretless bass. He has appeared on hundreds of recordings in a wide range of styles.

Over a 30+ year career, he has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Andy Summers, Mark Isham, Sting, John Abercrombie, Don Cherry, Wayne Kramer, Reeves Gabrels, Eddie Jobson, Martha Davis/The Motels, and Art Lande among many others. Doug was a founding member of the band Fire Merchants with guitarist John Goodsall and drummer Chester Thompson. From 2005 to 2011 he performed nationally and internationally as a member of the band Out Trio with drummer Terry Bozzio and guitarist Alex Machacek.

In addition to extensive work in film and television, Doug spent a year in the house band of the Dennis Miller Late Night show. From 1996 to 2005 he was also the bassist/percussionist/music director for Peter Buffett’s multi-media show Spirit- The 7th Fire that included a PBS special, live CDs and DVDs, and hundreds of shows on the road. His solo CD, Doug Lunn Project, featuring Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Maunu and Mike Keneally, was released in 2011.

http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=9827

THE FULLERTON TRANSFER

The Fullerton Transfer are a Funk-Rock band from Chicago featuring the Diliberto brothers; Gino (Guitar), Dino (Keys/Guitar), Marcelleno (Drums), Bassist Dave Wright and Lead Singer Drew Delneky.

The three triplet brothers (who don’t look alike so it’s not that cool), after searching all over the city for musicians who could hold down the Funk, finally found the bassist they needed with a big fat bottom… under the Fullerton L tracks singing James Brown songs to anyone who would listen. They formed their first group and began performing around their hometown of Chicago, eventually recording their album with world renown producer Larry Sturm. Later, they had the privilege of touring California multiple times, regularly playing at the famous Whisky A Go Go and Viper Room, as well as throughout the Venice Beach, Santa Monica and Hollywood areas. Aside from that they have also performed in Las Vegas and Hawaii.

Farther on up the road they came to a crossroads and began a new project together, searching for and enlisting the help of singer Drew Delneky; whom they discovered performing in packed local venues. Drew is no stranger to touring and recording and has had the opportunity to perform around the world with various groups. Once this lineup was complete, they named themselves The Fullerton Transfer. By blending Rock ‘n’ Roll with Old School Funk to create a unique sound that is fresh, funky and will slap you in your face… in a good way… they have been bringing back funk to a new generation – Chicago style.

Get ON up!

ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE

Armed for Apocalypse came from nowhere and nothing. The sludgy four-piece from the small Northern California college town of Chico have worked relentlessly to leave their imprint on metal. Through tours across Europe, around the states and up and down the West Coast, they’ve continued to spread their name in the best way possible: word of mouth. They don’t play dress-up and they don’t turn down. They just play crushing songs that go from slow to slower, from muck to mire, from mosh to circle-pit. And sometimes they’ll make a left turn and end up at epic. Simply put, it’s rock ‘n’ roll music tuned way down and pissed way off.

The upcoming full-length, “The Road Will End,” promises to be a complex study in heaviness. One-finger chords and single-string riffs, complicated by sophisticated voicings and even an occasional solo. No triggers, no wanky “shredding,” no posturing, no cowardice, no frills.

TEXAS IN JULY

Texas in July is a metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States formed in 2008.

Being one of the youngest bands in the local scene, with ages ranging from 18-21, Texas in July hails out of Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Texas in July can be described as nothing but dedicated to their music, fans and promoters. They are signed to CI Records. Back in the summer of 2009, Texas in July and An Early Ending started their tour together hitting Elmira, NY first and then to travel across the US.

Uearth

UNEARTH

Unearth is an American metalcore band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1998. The group consists of vocalist Trevor Phipps, guitarist Buz McGrath, bassist Chris O’Toole and drummer Mike Justian. They are currently signed to Century Media Records and have released eight studio albums.

 

TAKEN BY THE SUN

In many ways, the idea of a “local” music scene is an old one. Changes in technology over the last decade have enabled metal musicians and listeners from Jakarta to Jacksonville to exchange ideas, band recommendations, and music itself in seconds. In general, it would seem geography no longer determines how a band sounds or which bands a listener hears. But the Chicago metal scene stands as an exception to this. It has all the earmarks of a local metal scene: certain venues with a reputation for featuring the best local metal, promoters who arrange shows not only for money but for the love of the bands they promote, and enough bands to make sure Chicago’s metal audiences have enough local metal to keep them interested.

Many subgenres are represented in this Chicago scene, from doom to djent and every microgenre in between. But it seems fair to say that within the city limits itself, a dominant tradition has emerged from the influence of bands like Minsk, Pelican, and Russian Circles and from the production sensibilities and attitudes of local metal hero Sanford Parker. Called post metal, stoner metal, doom metal, experimental metal, sludge metal, or some combination of those and other descriptors, these bands have influenced their neighborhood devotees to make crushing, massive metal which is at once modern yet rooted in vintage tones and textures. Standing squarely in this tradition, yet seeking to move it forward, is Taken By The Sun.

The songwriting sensibilities of guitarist Patrick Auclair (ex-Fire Is Born) and drummer Nicholas Lorenz form the core of the band’s sound: thick, wooly, often atonal riffs over polyrhythmic beats. No doubt Auclair and Lorenz seek to challenge listeners and aim to show technical prowess. But Taken By The Sun’s songs always bring relief and closure out of chaos. Take, for example, the conclusion of “Demons Tempt The Dying Man With Crowns.” It is a classic, massive stoner riff which shows their debt to an Isis or a Neurosis. But it is all the more satisfying as it emerges from the mathcore complexity and tonal experimentation which comprises the majority of the song.

The throaty roar of frontman Kris Ziemlo should, in one sense, be familiar and comfortable to listeners of various post-metal subgenres. But a closer listen reveals a distinguishing characteristic: Ziemlo’s scream sounds a bit more modern than say, Aaron Turner’s (Isis) or Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly (Neurosis). Tonally, a listener might expect to hear Ziemlo’s scream in a metalcore or deathcore band. The juxtaposition of the modern textures of his voice over Taken By The Sun’s vintage fuzz-based guitar sound provides a new experience for those familiar enough with the genre to perceive it.

Guitarist Mark Cichra and bassist Bill Arroyo (both ex-Denial Machine) each bring their own performance and composition sensibilities to the band’s sound. Cichra has a distinct preference for melody, which he uses to provide the aforementioned breathing room in the band’s otherwise dense, complicated songs. Arroyo has a jazz background; fans of Intronaut’s Joe Lester will recognize a similar approach to bass performance in Arroyo, whose basslines seek to provide the correct complement for each song: complex but subtle and never inappropriate.

Taken By The Sun seeks to make the magnitudes of tension and relief in its sound even more prominent through its live show. Typical of post-metal genres, the music is best experienced live, where audience members can not only hear but feel and see the force of this band, and likewise feel and see the relief provided by the band’s digressions away from this forcefulness. The band members especially enjoy performing with their peers in the Chicago metal scene. It is exciting to see so many musicians expending such great effort to explore the possibilities of metal as an art form. It is this effort which defines the Chicago metal scene; it is an effort with which Taken By The Sun are proud to be involved.

VALKYRIE

Driven by brothers Jake and Pete Adams, Valkyrie draws from pre-metal style to create a rich and earthy heavy rock sound. They formed in summer 2002 in Rockbridge County, Va as a three-piece consisting of vocalist/guitarist Jake Adams, bassist Eric Seaman, and drummer Luke Shafer. In 2004 Jake’s brother Pete was introduced on second guitar and soon after, a five song demo was recorded at a local college radio station. Shafer soon departed and was replaced by Mike Hoke on drums and a new demo, Sunlight Shines, and a split 7″ with VOG were recorded. Seaman and Hoke parted ways with the band at the end of 2004 and were replaced by bassist Nick Crabill and drummer Nic McInturff (Napking, Stifling). This line-up recorded the eponymous debut album, which was released by Ric Bennett of Starchild’s Twin Earth Records. In early 2006 Valkyrie again parted ways with its rhythm section and recruited current bassist Will Barry-Rec (Hit by a Hearse, Accursed Dawn) and drummer Gary Isom (Spirit Caravan, Pentagram). This lineup played numerous festivals throughout the United States, including the final Emissions from the Monolith Fest in Austin, Tx, and the long-running Stoner Hands of Doom festival in Phoenix, Az. Isom and Valkyrie parted ways in mid 2007 and Valkyrie recruited veteran drummer Warren Hawkins (Big Dixie, Devil Take The Hindmost, Mass Sabbath). In 2008 Valkyrie released their second album, “Man of Two Visions” on the band’s own label, Noble Origin. Kreation Records, of Seattle, Washington, released both the S/T and “Man of Two Visions” on 12″ vinyl in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Pete joined Relapse Records recording artist Baroness and began to tour on a nearly full-time basis. In July of 2010 Meteorcity Records (Obsessed, Nebula, Atomic Bitchwax) re-released both the S/T and Man of Two Visions albums in CD format. In March of 2012, Alan Fary (Earthling, Lost at Sea) joined the band on bass. Currently the band is writing their 3rd full-length album.

SLOUGH FEG

Slough-Feg’s style is an eclectic mix of Celtic Folk and Traditional Metal peppered with buckets of energy and lyrical depth.

MICKEY & THE SNAKE OIL BOYS

Started in 2011 by Mickey (formerly of Rustbelt Homewreckers, Down the Hatch & Skull Cap) in a small town in Kentucky….his music is steeped in Honky Tonk …. covered in Bluegrass and is rough around the edges!

SUENALO

¡Suénalo! (sweh-nah-low) verb
1. To sound, slap, or play upon a
musical instrument, object, or person.

Miami’s Suenalo has been crowned the Miami New Times’ Best of Miami Awards: Best Latin Rock Band in 2005, Best Latin Band in 2011, and nominated for Best Band in 2013. If Suenalo’s one of a kind fusion is hard to pinpoint, it’s only because no one’s ever done anything quite like it before.

Afro sounds from Cuba and Puerto Rico meet reggae and rock on top a funky groove. Jazz and electro hook up for a sidewalk make-out session. Hip-hop hums from the pavement, and R&B drifts in the warm nights of Miami. Suenalo reaches to far-flung corners and retrieves all these elements, mashing them together and marrying them into a truly multicultural family.

With three albums under their belt, Suenalo has managed to display a mastery of both the studio and the stage. They have shared stages in the past year with the likes of Pitbull, Ozomatli, Chaka Khan, Soullive, Spirogyra, and Doug Wimbish (Living Colour, Lauryn Hill, Mos Def), just to name a few.

From their 2003 debut “Collages” to 2006’s self-titled studio effort and 2009’s “Live at Transit,” the band has been hard at work building momentum for their selection as an official 2012 SXSW Artist. Crowds should expect the same high energy that they continuously bring to local and national festivals such as Calle Ocho, Carnival on the Mile, Virginia Key Grassroots, Langerado, Tropical Heatwave, and Shakori Hills–and beyond to cities like New York, New Orleans, Asheville, Tampa, Orlando and Chicago.

About the members:
The 11-year compromise between some of Miami’s most talented musicians thrives on one ideal: that music should move the audience. Nine full-time members driving the eclectic sound are musical director Carlos Guzman on bass, vocalist/MC Amin De Jesus, vocalist Michelle Forman, sax and flute player Juan Turros (formerly a member of David Lee Roth’s and Maynard Ferguson’s bands), Chad Bernstein on trombone and conch shells (also of Spam Allstars, and has played with Pee Wee Ellis’ African Tribute to James Brown project, and Natalie Cole’s band), percussionist Edwin Bonilla (Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder), drummer Abner Torres (formerly a member of Julio Iglesias’ band), Adrian Gonzalez on piano and vocals, and guitarist Eric Escanes.

LIONFIGHT

lionfight is a Nu Metal/Energy Rock quartet based out of Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in April 2013 by singer Nick Astacio, guitarist Akash Hans, and bassist Bryan Patrick Cole, later adding Pete Dornowski on Drums. lionfight began writing music and shortly after started playing shows around the greater Chicago area. With an ever swelling fanbase driven by their intense and haunting liveshows, lionfight began booking bigger shows such as the Bad Blood tour with Blood on the Dance Floor and a slot on the South by so What?! Fall Edition Festival. Now, lionfight will be embarking on their biggest tour to date, when they open for Breathe Carolina on the We Are Savages tour in February. With a dark and heavy feel that can be attributed to such influences as Tool, Messugah, Slipknot and letlive, lionfight makes each song their own. You can feel this in their first two singles, Vine and Fake Friend. The band is currently in the studio with Marc McClusky (Chiodos, letlive, Hit the Lights), putting the final touches on their debut self titled EP due to be released February 4th. lionfight will be touring the west coast with Breathe Carolina in February for their WE ARE THE SAVAGES tour and touring Texas in March. During their tour in Texas, the band will be featured on the Main Stage of the South by So What festival in Grand Prairie, TX. Always looking after their fans, the band stays in touch through social media and each member can be followed on twitter. Normality is not an option, because we are all #FREAKS >:)

The Lucky Dutch

THE LUCKY DUTCH

The Lucky Dutch is an American roots-rock band from Illinois, formed in 2008 in Chicago by guitarist Nathan Graham and singer Claire Corriveau. They began their career as an indie band, performing extensively around Chicago’s bar and festival scene. In 2014, they released their first full length record, Bury the Night.

In the past two years, they have toured extensively and performed with Marc Broussard, Jackson Mudd and Marc Ford of the Black Crowes. 

 Nathan Graham has been performing as a guitarist on the Chicago blues scene since he was 15 years old. Over the years, he has worked with musicians such as Buddy Guy, BB King, and Koko Taylor and has toured extensively with Carl Weatherby.

Claire Corriveau has worked consistently as a performing musician since 2008, working with a wide variety of bands. She released a solo record in 2014, titled secrets i can’t keep.  

David Padula has been playing bass since 2006, working in a jazz trio through college before moving to Chicago in 2012. 

Ben Dacoba started playing drums at age 15 in Virginia. He draws inspiration from classic rock bands from the 60s and 70s and works as a touring drummer all around the country. 

ZEBRAS

Started in 2007 as a high energy spastic synth-punk band from Madison, WI but over the years and four line-up changes have added elements of noise rock, industrial, doom metal, and thrash. Zebras’ self titled album was released in 2012 to positive reviews from several countries and is very often compared to various Alternative Tentacles and Am Rep artists like Lard and Dead Kennedys. Members of Zebras are also, or have been, members of Those Poor Bastards, Call Me Lightning, Haymarket Riot, Hero Of A Hundred Fights, Multiple Truths, and more.

RETOX

2012 has come and gone and we’re still not dead yet. You can log into the 24/7 smiling face, pictures of your friends drunk and/or naked, click “like”. The gray-faced man in a suit who hates you is still alive too, but now he isn’t always wearing a suit, and he’s smiling, 24/7. He likes what you like, sees what you see, hears what you hear. So where does punk go when the underground’s all tidily arranged on a shared screen? Does it roll over and play dead? Shrug? Smile? There’s another man, this one with a microphone jammed halfway down his throat, cord coiled carotid-tight around his neck, dangling his body off the edge of the stage, screaming words that ache. Another is methodically destroying his guitar with his hands while his feet twist tail-ends of the signal into electro-rubber-echo nightmares. Two others are so precisely abusing a bass guitar and a drum kit at such a frenetic pace it’s hard to believe these sorry objects will last more than a few more seconds, but then you realize it’s over. A minute or so, tops. They stare out at you, maybe say thanks. Spit. Breathe. And then they begin again. This will happen for maybe fifteen minutes, altogether. You are not alone. The gray-faced man is not here. There’s the screen, but then there’s this. 2013, and punk is not dead. No more dead than the rest of us.

—Zack Wentz

Retox formed in Southern California in 2010 and released their debut album, Ugly Animals by Retox, via Ipecac in 2011. Their new album is titled YPLL by Retox and will be released by the Epitaph recording company, May 2013.

Michael Crain: Guitars
Thor Dickey: Bass
Brian Evans: Drums
Justin Pearson: Vocals

ROBERT HYNES BAND

The Robert Hynes Band is an eclectic group of Chicago musicians led by prolific Chicago singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Hynes. His band blends his crafty original songs, infectious rhythms, a wide variety of musical styles and retro influences. Smoothly shifting from floor stomping barn-burners to 30’s style Hawiian slide guitar, blues to rock, jazz to country the band changes like a chameleon.

Robert Hynes grew up in a house where music was always on. The Beatles from Dad and Elvis from Mom, but a also lots of other artists. Starting on piano, viola, then dicovering Dad..’s guitar as a young child. Dad could play any song by ear on the guitar and piano and did so fequently. Robert had early formal piano lessons from an elderly nieghbor, friend and musical mentor named George Krajecki.

Robert studied under many great gutiarists including the highly versatile Tom Sanchez (formerly of Liquid Soul), jazz-fusion guitarist Steve Ramsdell, classical guitarist Scott Johnston.

In 1996 Dragonfly was born, Robert’s first professional band. Largly considered a Jam Band, the group featured a large line-up including horn section, percussionist, organist, 2 guitars, drums and bass. A huge mix of styles was always present including Latin Jazz, funk influenced grooves, rockabilly and open ended improvisation. Robert has collaborated with many of Chicagoland’s top acts, and over the past 15 years has performed at almost every venue in the area.

Robert Hynes Band is a 4 peice group stripped down to feature the songs, more than the long winded solos of the past. The spontaneous spirit of the music is still alive but displayed in a crackling show of musicality. The band seamlessly manuvers it’s way through a myriad of genres without missing a beat. Prewar slide guitar, fingerpicking blues, stomp boxes, vintage guitars, and alternate tunings have made their way into the music over the past 2 years. This infusion of blues influences can be heard on the upcoming 2010 release “Rust Bucket”, the latest addition to Robert’s rapidly growing disograpy.

Terminal White

TERMINAL WHITE

Terminal White is a global force in the rock and roll scene. Since the band’s start in 1984, dozens of musicians from multiple countries have joined band leader David Pistrui in writing, recording, and performing Terminal White’s unique blend of industrial dance rock.

Musicians, artists, and other such vagabonds from the U.S., Romania, the U.K., and Spain have been an integral part of Terminal White. Although Chicago has always been the band’s home base, Terminal White has set up temporary quarters in Bucharest, Romania, Frankfurt, Germany and Barcelona, Spain.

Terminal White continues to produce new material and play occasional shows in the U.S. and Europe. Their latest EP, Fifty is a collection of new material recorded during 2012-13 in the brief moments when David wasn’t teaching, consulting, researching, or travelling the world.

TEX RAILER’S DOOMTOWN

Since the release of their first full length, The Battle of Bunker Hillbilly, Tex Railer’s Doomtown has become a high octane national touring act, hitting just about everywhere in this fine country with their heavy-honky tonkin’ sound. With a new release due this summer on Wayward Parade, it doesn’t look like they’ll be slowing down any time soon!

Combining outlaw country, surf, roots, and good ol’ rock n’ roll, Tex Railer’s Doomtown has played Muddy Roots, Heavy Rebel Weekender, the Psychobilly Luau and other festivals on the east coast, as well as extensive tours from coast to coast.

YAUTJA

LE TRAVAILLANT

Le Travaillant plays Cajun music, the dance music of French-speaking Louisiana – perfect accompaniment for a crawfish boil.  The phrase “Le Travaillant” is Cajun French for “the working man,” and its members have a great time living up to that name, playing long sets of upbeat two-steps and waltzes. The hard-working men behind their backporch-style acoustic Cajun sound are Sean Colledge (accordions, vocals), Ethan Sellers (guitar, vocals), Dorian Gehring (fiddle).

THE ZEPPELIN JAZZ PROJECT

Like thieves in a pawnshop, The Zeppelin Jazz Project wants to steal their blues rig back. The Jazz Zeppelin Project stirs blues roots, contemporary jazz and fusion with Zeppelin’s legacy into a mash of urban music.

Like a musical tow truck, ZJP takes what is owed. It is a new approach to the songs that originally inspired it’s members to explore progressive music at a very young age. Instrumental versions of Led Zeppelin tunes utilizing the beauty of odd time signatures and alternate chord changes is a glimpse of what can be expected.

Founding drummer Brian Abraham puts together trio, quartet and quintet versions of The Zeppelin Jazz Project featuring Pete Carney on saxophones, Zoey Szmulewitz on guitar, Vijay Tellis-Nayak on keyboards and Curt Bley on electric bass.

 

DEATHHAMMER

A cult name in the underground, the Norwegian duo of DEATHHAMMER skillfully honor the ancient masters with a blackened thrash attack replete dive-bombing leads and piercing screams and wails from the abyss.

With dark and dynamic songwriting that memorably moves between blitzing surge and locomotive pulse, DEATHHAMMER will take you “Onward to the Pits”!

SOUTH SHORE REGULATORS

Our purpose is to keep that outlaw edge of outlaw rock alive. Something creative happens when we get together and write music. It’s almost as if a force of nature has clinched our hands to point us in the right direction. Since our May 5th 2012 release of our debut CD “Hellfire & Brimstone” there has been a great response towards the music that SSR has created, from both, traditional Country music listeners to the Rock N Roll music listeners. Anyone can purchase a CD at any show, as well as online purchasing via Amazon.com & CDBaby.com. SSR derives from influences such as, Merrill Haggard, Randy Rogers Band, Willie Nelson, The Allman Bros. Band and Johnny Cash to name a few.

NATHAN KALISH

Midwestern atom bomb rock and roll dirtbag softspoken candle light reader song and dance show

COLONEL GUNN’S WILD WEST MUSIC SHOW

Come on out to Colonel Gunn’s Wild West Music Show and enjoy a wide array of your favorite classic rock, classic country and cowboy music!

Valentiger

VALENTIGER

Valentiger plays charismatic pop rock that caters to a wide variety of sensibilities. Carefully crafted and effortlesslyorchestrated, their collective confidence as a band is as deserved as it is tongue-in-cheek. Their infusion of wit and humor with an enlightened cultural outlook creates a product as reflective of their individual personalities as it is cloaked in surprising wisdom. 

KID ART

MOTION PICTURE ART DEALER VIDEO ARTIST KID A. CHXXR$ NY CHEERS CLUB HARLEM WORLD SOUND DESIGN MODERN ARTIST @KIDARTNYC

MANY MOONS

Many Moons, an ensemble consisting of Edie Rivera Gust (vocals), Bill Holland (piano, synthesizer), Alexander Bassett (guitar, vocals), Mike Guidry (bass, vocals), and Brian Amacher (drums, percussion). They had their very first debut performance during Lollapalooza 2012!

 

TASTY GASOLINE

PASSING SHIPS ORCHESTRA

bloodletter

BLOODLETTER

Born in the bitter cold winds of Chicago, Illinois, Bloodletter was formed in 2013 to help spread melodic, heavy and fast thrash metal. With influences from bands like: Skeletonwitch, Kreator, At The Gates, Iron Maiden and Slayer then combining them with a strong interest in: all things supernatural, the occult, witchcraft, and the afterlife, they ended up with a furiously fast, catchy and menacing brand of metal.

Bloodletter has shared the stage with such acts as: Exodus, DRI, Havok, Arsis, Jungle Rot, The Atlas Moth, Blood Incantation, Immolation, Onslaught, Artillery, Lich King, Exmortus, Tengger Cavalry, Allegaeon, Powerglove, Elder, and Cross Examination to name a few.

Bloodletter is: Pete Carparelli on Guitar & Vocals, Pat Armamentos on Lead Guitar, Tanner Hudson on Bass and Zach Sutton on Drums.

Romeo Dance Cheetah

ROMEO DANCE CHEETAH

“Romeo Dance Cheetah is a flamboyant musical performance artist with electronic/rock/pop roots and a sense of humor. Imagine if Beck, Tenacious D, The Spice Girls and Sisqo had a baby!! That would be crazy right?! Now imagine if Barbara Streisand, Barbara Walters and Conan The Barbarian had a baby!! Even crazier. The real point being that none of these people should be having babies together, but you should stop by and enjoy some music, beers and laughs with your new best friend Romeo Dance Cheetah.
For reals…Romeo’s act was featured on America’s Got Talent, The Today Show and he’s performed in numerous festivals around the country including Bonnaroo. After a short hiatus, he’s back with some new material and wants to be your best friend.”