WHITE SOX OPENING DAY BASH

Come to Reggies and let us take you to the game in our Reggies Rock Bus! Watch the White Sox take on the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field, then hop on the bus back to Reggies at the end of the game!

LONESOME SHACK

The address on songwriter Ben Todd’s 2002 Driver License reads “Hwy 180 W South of SF Bridge, Alma, NM”. This vague location is where Lonesome Shack began. Living in the isolation of southwestern New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness, Todd hunkered down in the shack he built and studied the music of the American folk and blues lineage. Today Lonesome Shack’s songs continue to be informed by these early explorations as they combine the sounds of post-WWII electric country blues with a modern sensibility which plants them firmly in the present.

In 2007 Todd moved to Seattle and within a year joined up with drummer Kristian Garrard (Thousands). Together they recorded and released the “Bound to Die” LP in 2009, “Falling Down on Your Floor” EP in 2009, “Slidin Boa” LP in 2010, and completed two west coast tours and two national tours. With the recent addition of bassist Luke Bergman (Also a member of Thousands) the band has become heavier and more rhythm-focused. The band finds influence in the Georgia drumbeat styles of James Davis, the one chord drone blues of Junior Kimbrough, and the high energy boogie of John Lee Hooker. When performing live, they are known to stir a subdued crowd into a fevered dance party.

With a new full length album “City Man” to be released Oct. 26th, Lonesome Shack will be touring the west coast and Southwest to bring their latest material to new audiences.

 

JOHNNY V AND THE KILLER BZZZ

Johnny and KILLER BZZZ are musical artists that stay “true to themselves”… Their bluesy, folk, true americana sound has a flavorful twist that keeps the audiences attention and coming back, knowing that at their shows theres always an element of surprise. JOHNNY V AND THE KILLER BZZZ plays a unique selection of both original music and cover tunes From such artists as Neil young, CYSN, grateful dead, tom petty, bob Marley, paul simon, van morrison, allman brothers, Beatles, john prine , pink floyd, and the list goes on and on!!!!! While supporting two of their own cds, INSIDE REALITY and WOOD CHIPS, they will be releasing their latest album late spring early summer of 2013, BARNS AND BRIDGES. Their live shows cross a lot of boundaries of their musical influences. From their love of music from acoustic, r & b, prog rock, Blue grass, jam bands ect…

KIARA LANIER

Kiara Lanier is a singer, writer and educator from Chicago who seeks to use her work to inspire uplift and encourage.

AS MADE FAMOUS

Hailing from the streets of the Midwest’s pride and glory, Chicago Illinois, this Alternative rock foursome has some interesting influences weaved throughout their music. From the soulful blues licks to the chilling ballads of a broken heart, this group has a little for every type of fan. Don’t blink or these boys might surprise you.

JILL HOPKINS

If you didn’t come to party, don’t bother knocking on my door. I’ve got a lion in my pocket, and baby, he’s ready to roar.

CHRIS & LOLLY

Chris and Lolly first began performing as a duet while living in Hudson, NY where Chris was recording his solo albums “Lila” and “Evermore” at Waterfront Studios with Henry Hirsch. After moving to Fort Worth, TX the two officially began writing and performing as a duo. They recorded their first duo album in the fall of 2012 in Nashville at Blackbird Studios. After falling in love with Music City the two uprooted themselves again and moved out to Nashville, TN where they released their first duo album this year.

MARCH MADNESS

We’re kicking off March Madness this year with March Madness Specials
.99cents wings
Bucket specials

See all the Games with Sound here at Reggies on the Roof or in the Music Joint!

THE FACELESS

The Faceless is a technical death metal band from the United States who have astonished their live audiences with dizzying guitar work, lightning fast drumming and unmatched brutality. Formed by guitarist Michael Keene and bassist Brandon Giffin, the band quickly found the perfect mix of dedicated musicians to complete the line up. The Faceless have shared the stage with such talented acts as: Meshuggah, In Flames, Between The Buried and Me, Dying Fetus, Vital Remains, Suffocation, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cynic, Necrophagist, Decapitated, Cephalic Carnage, Neuraxis, Job For a Cowboy etc.

WES HOLLYWOOD

Wes Hollywood is at once a modern craftsman and a retro stylist, a purveyor of vintage rock songcraft. Wes has been a staple in independent music for more than a decade, first with The Wes Hollywood Show and then with a couple of well-received platters as tenniscourts. The name has changed, but the sound has remained a constant – two parts delirious Kinks melodicism mixed with one part Cheap Trick whipcrack, a splash of harmony and a bracing dash of fashion. This potent brew has never sounded better.

BRYAN MCPHERSON

In 2012 Bryan released the critically-acclaimed album American Boy / American Girl on State Line Records. He then launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for a reliable tour vehicle and embarked on an extensive national tour, sleeping mostly in his van in the parking lots of oppressive department stores, and singing his gospel for the masses. He has performed alongside Amanda Palmer and Michael Moore at

the Occupy Oakland Encampment, with Steve Earle in San Francisco for Litquake’s Woody Guthrie Tribute Show, and appeared at an exclusive show in East London, playing to a capacity audience. He has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Boston Phoenix, Dig Boston, and The San Francisco Bay Guardian. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

The following article appeared in The Boston Phoenix in April of 2012. By Barry Thompson

There’s no shame in baring your soul for the pleasant old folkees who haunt open mic nights at your favorite independent coffee shop. So, no offense to singer/songwriters who present their folk in that genre’s traditional contexts — but, should the opportunity arise, those people should all try playing a club packed with tattooed toughs who’ve just been prompted, by an Agnostic Front side project, to jubilantly punch each other in the face for 40 minutes.

The first time he knocked my socks off, Bryan McPherson contended with precisely these conditions on a 2009 bill headlined by Street Dogs at the Paradise. And he’d later go on tour with the Dropkick Murphys, including gigs in Boston during St. Patrick’s Day week. By the time emulating Billy Bragg became fashionable, or anybody was self-applying the phrase “riot-folk,” the Dorchester-bred songsmith was an old hand at being the token folk guy playing the punk-rock show.

“Remember ska-punk? Same deal,” he says via phone, when asked about all the folk-punk bands that have been running around for a few years. Even coming from an artist who’s lumped into a notably unpretentious genre, that’s some impressive “cut the bullshit” candor. Then again, as the unfussy ballad of nuclear revenge he titled “Me, I Am Anger” reminds us, you can’t truly wear your heart on your sleeve while keeping its black spots hidden. A Boston release show for McPherson’s first album in five years, American Boy/American Girl(State Line), goes down tonight (Thursday) at T.T.’s in Cambridge.

Half a decade seems like a long time between albums, but something in McPherson’s head clicked once he soaked up a change of scenery. Not that there’s any “sunshine and surfin’ ” Best Coast–type shit on American, but his mostly for-the-fuck-of-it relocation from Boston to Berkeley 18 months ago provided an overdue muse.

“There are a couple of tunes on there about being somewhere where you don’t know too many people, and the experiences of going west: putting your shit out on a curb, getting on a plane, and ending up there,” he says, mid-jaunt somewhere in the vicinity of the mythic Oakland punk club 924 Gilman. “Sometimes you’ve got to wait for the right songs to come together to put something out.”

But as can be expected from someone who spends a lot of time at Occupy encampments, disgust with our generally shitty national condition inspired several of American’s trembling narratives. A forlorn harmonica heralds “Dangerous Friends,” a catchy-as-hell remembrance of Southie crime bosses and their murderous shenanigans. A jostling ditty called “Black Man” lists dilemmas that are routinely incurred by basically anyone who isn’t white, male, and unwaveringly heterosexual. The 2009 murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland provoked McPherson to pen

“I See a Flag.” Grant, unarmed and pinned to the ground at the time, was shot in the back by a public transportation police officer. “They said it was an accident, I guess,” muses McPherson. “If I shot a cop by accident, I think I’d be in jail for a very long time.”

SLUM VILLAGE

Chances are, if you are anywhere near the Detroit music scene, you have heard of the influential hip hop trio that makes up Slum Village. The group was founded in the early 90′s by 3 childhood friends: Baatin, T3, rapper and producer J Dilla, who all grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit, MI. After leaving Pershing High School, the trio began to forge a path into the Detroit underground hip hop scene and quickly found themselves steadily gaining popularity, where they originally went by the name Ssenepod.

With a growing momentum now cemented in the underground, the group took on a forward trajectory toward bigger and better things, and in 1991 changed their name to Slum Village. J Dilla joined the production team known as The Ummah, which produced the two last A Tribe Called Quest studio albums, as well as hits for a number of R&B and hip hop musicians, and in 1996, they recorded their first album Vol. 1″ , recorded in Dillas basement and RJ Rice Studios, it was critically acclaimed in the Detroit underground scene. It later found its way into the hands of A Tribe Called Quest’s own Q-Tip, who played it for some of hip hop’s elite, such as Busta Rhymes, Questlove, and D’angelo. This fruitful alliance led to an opening gig for A Tribe Called Quest on their Farewell tour in 1998.

Slum Village landed their first record deal in 1998 with Barak/AM records. Due to label politics, the group was forced to release their album “Best Kept Secret” under the alias J-88,. Their now classic record, “Fantastic, Vol. 2″ was also in production, but was not officially released until 2000 through Barak/GoodVibe Records. “Fantastic Vol. 2″ was dubbed an immediate classic from fans and industry tastemakers. This album featured an A list line up including Busta Rhymes, Common, D’angelo, Jazzy Jeff, Pete Rock, Kurupt, and Q-Tip who passed the torch to Slum Village on the record “Hold Tight”. On the heels of this record release followed a tour with The Roots on the Okay Players tour/D’angelo Voodoo tour.

In 2001, while sitting down to discuss future plans, J Dilla made the decision to leave the group to pursue his solo career, citing the group was well established enough to move on without him. With J Dilla still around helping Young RJ with production, Baatin and T3 started work on their next album “Trinity” through Barak/Capital Records, featuring Elzhi on 6 of the tracks. This album would feature their first commercial single “Tainted” which ft an unknown Dwele, also disco and the remix produced by Timberland. Slum was presented with their headlining opportunity on the Family Tree tour, featuring Phife from A Tribe Called Quest.

In 2002, Dirty District, a compilation of songs by Detroit rappers largely produced by T3 and Young RJ, was released. The group then became a duo consisting of T3 and Elzhi, Baatin became sick touring shortly before the release of their 2004 album, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit) and departed to seek treatment. The album included the hit single, “Selfish”, produced by Kanye West and featuring John Legend. The song samples a part of the intro to the hit song “Call Me” by Aretha Franklin. After parting ways with Capitol Records in 2005, they released Prequel to a Classic, a mixtape of mostly previously unreleased material, Slum went back into the studio to record the self-titled album Slum Village, with production from Young RJ and Black Milk. Following the album’s release, they went on tour with Shady Aftermath group, D12.

Tragedy struck in 2006 in the form of the loss of founding member J Dilla, to lupus, which put the group on a 4 year hiatus. In 2009, T3 reunited Baatin with the group, brought in Illa J (of Yancey Boys fame and J Dilla’s brother), and along with Young RJ, RJ Rice and Elzhi, started production on their next album, Villa Manifesto. Slum Village went back on the road as a trio including Baatin. Later in 2009 , Slum village performed at Rock the Bells as a trio consisting of T3 , Elzhi and Baatin, with the latter still coping with bipolar schizophrenia making him unable to travel when the tour continued into Canada that year. While T3 and Elzhi performed the Canadian shows, tragedy struck for a second time, claiming Baatin that summer at home in Detroit, his death was felt deeply throughout the Detroit Hip Hop scene.

In 2010, the album “Villa Manifesto” was released under Ne’astra/Koch Records, featuring the late Baatin. By that time Elzhi had decided to move on and focus on pursuing his own solo career. Even though the group has suffered many heartaches and member changes, Slum Village always finds a way to reinvent themselves. At present, the evolution of Slum Village continues with a reinvigorated energy, with founding member T3 holding down the legacy , and grammy nominated producer Young RJ and Illa j, the young prodigy at his side. Slum Village has a new mixtape “Dirty Slums”, presented by DJ Mick Boogie, featuring artists such as Big Sean, Rapper Big Pooh, De La Soul, Focus, Skyzoo, Phonte, and Phife,after 100,000+downloads and rave reviews, the group released an official full length album and are planning on a sequel …As the industry changes, so has Slum Village, and yet and still while some think SV may have crashed and burned, they just keep coming up like the rising phoenix.

MEMORIAL FOR ANNA

THE BLUE VAN

Yes yes yes, you have all heard The Blue Van story… this band went to kindergarden together and started the band at the age of 12 because they heard Jimi Hendrix for the first time on a TV commercial. That they also found an organ in a chicken coup, practiced in a deaf grandmothers basement, and are from a town of 200 people that doesn’t even have a stop sign. The band is still in their 20’s and have no signs of slowing down.

After more than 15 sync. placements, including a worldwide Apple Ipad Ad, the theme title for the hit TV series Royal Pains, plus placements in shows such as NCIS, 90210, CSI and also the MLB video game just to name a few.. The Blue Van is gearing up to unleash their 4th studio album entitled ‘Love Shot’.

MAZ

Maz (Mike Maher) is a singer/songwriter living in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Milwaukee, WI, he was heavily influenced by the blues music of the region, as well as by Motown hits and classic rock that his father introduced him to. He began singing and composing music at the age of twelve and shortly after began performing around Milwaukee.

Since moving to New York Maz has maintained a busy schedule as a singer and trumpet player. He has toured the world with several groups including the award winning, genre bending Snarky Puppy. He formed a group in 2009 to showcase his original compositions.

 

 

 

ALISON WEDDING

“Magical”, “enchanting”, “healing”, and “transportive” are just some of the adjectives that have been used to describe Alison Wedding’s voice. The combination of her impeccable technique in jazz and improvisation, and her emotional intensity create a sound that is as powerful as it is musical. With one foot standing in the jazz tradition, and one in the realm of the modern singer-songwriter, Alison is taking female vocals in a direction that is truly unique. “This Dance”, her latest release, embraces these two worlds equally and with great authenticity. Michael League, leader of the groundbreaking group Snarky Puppy, brings not only his virtuosic bass- playing skills to the table here, but also his brilliant arranging and producing skills as well.

“Alison writes tunes with surprising and memorable melodies, interesting harmonies, and well-conceived lyrics, and she uses her voice and spirit to put all these parts together into one beautiful whole artistic sensibility.” – Chris Potter, ECM recording artist

“Alison is a sensitive and inspiring musician and composer. Her voice is pure, fluid, beautifully in tune. She is an amazing songwriter.”- Lionel Loueke, Blue Note recording artist

THE DRASTICS ft. MC ZULU

The Drastics are modern roots music. Their sound fits as easily in a Kingston dancehall as it does in an artist’s loft-party in the warehouse district. Though primarily classified as a reggae group, The Drastics embrace many styles of music both live and in the studio. This can be heard in their songs which draw from roots Jamaican music, hip hop, hard-bop jazz, afro-beat, dancehall, as well as folk music from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Take this powder keg cocktail of styles, add the pulse of gritty everyday urban living and you get one explosive sound. Not playing into any gimmicks or compromising to trends (“The Drastics deserve much credit for moving deep into unchartered territories” – allMusic Guide) The Drastics have been consistantly rocking crowds for three years from NYC to LA and everywhere in between (“dub masters, The Drastics … never fail to put on a killer party” – TimeOut Chicago).

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY was the initial brainchild of Chicago guitarist Andrew Trim. Trim roughly envisioned a new instrumental band that would allow him to use the guitar as a true electric instrument, exploring the soundscapes and textures from other genres while rooted in improvisation and melodic song writing. But the full fledged sound could never have been realized unless bassist Kurt Schweitz had switched to electric bass without even asking and master tenorist Tony Barba had showed up at a gig with his extensive combination of electronic contraptions wanting to “jam”. All the while, drummer Matt Carroll was holding everything together with his ruckus yet absolutely immediate drumming. Now coming to a club near you!

There’s is something extremely criminal about this insane band. Don’t miss it! – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel

Criminal Activity changed my life and gave me a vision of a brand new me. Deep song writing. – Chicago guitarist Roger Panella

I’ve got your song “Nimo” stuck in my head. You guys RAWK! – Chicago drummer Ian Springer

This is one of, if not THE hottest band in Chicago! Great hair! – Chicago musician Annie Reese

Andrew Trim -guitar
James Davis – trumpet, electronics
Tony Barba – Sax, electronics
Kurt Schweitz – electric bass
Matt Carroll – drums

STU MINDEMAN QUARTET

For this limited edition show, Stu Mindeman, one of Chicago’s busiest and best interpreters of Latin music brings together some of Chicago’s brightest and diverse young improvisors to perform original Latin Jazz, with a mix of influences from Cuban, Puerto Rican, Peruvian, and American Soul Music.
Stu has performed all over the world. He has toured South America and Europe and recently showcased his talents at the Lotos Jazz Festival in Poland. He has shared the stage with notables Fareed Haque, John Clayton, Rodney Whitaker, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Claudio Roditi. Stuart is on faculty at the Chicago Academy for the Arts and serves as a music director for Chicago’s own Second City.

ROBERT CORNELIUS 7

The Robert Cornelius Seven was founded in 1998 by Robert Cornelius (vocals) and Jesse Richardson (bumpin’ bass) after a particularly odd show Robert was doing out at Frankie’s Blue Room in Naperville. Having been put together with a group of blues musicians, Robert felt they weren’t compatible and at 2:00 in the morning on the way back to Chicago, he called his cousin Jesse and told him he had a month to get a band together. We had a rehearsal the next day and our first gig at Schuba’s Tavern a week later. Robert was with Poi Dog Pondering at the time, and recruited a couple of his bandmates to be in the original line up. When we began we had Paul Mertens (saxophone, flute, harmonica, coolness), Arlene Newson (vocals), Leddie Garcia (percussion extraordinaire), along with Chip DuBose (guitar hero), who has so many major credits on his resume, Rick Gehrenbeck (killer keyboards), Ron Lambert (drums), Chris Robinson (keyboards and vocals-the prodigy), and Eric Buehlman (vocals and management). Line up changes over the years have included John Bose (horns), YL Douglas (drums), Khari Parker (killer drums-left us for Destiny’s Child), as well as present members Kina Clayton (vocals), Chip DuBose III (drums), and Roger Harris (keyboards). The band has played just about every venue in Chicago, including a four year stint as house band at Schuba’s Tavern, Fitzgerald’s (with Mavis Staples), Metro, The Vic, Park West, Martyrs, House of Blues (opening for Average White Band), Navy Pier (on their own and with the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin), Subterranean, and just about every summer festival you can name. Their first record was a self released disc in 2001 titled To Your Soul, a live recording (thank you Timothy Powell) and their only cd to date. The band is currently hard at work on the long awaited follow up, due out this summer, and is gearing up to play a lot more live shows than they have in the past few years. Lastly we get asked about the seven a lot. There is more significance to it than just the number of band members, but if we told you, we would have to kill you, and we are NOT a violent band, except when it comes to grooves.

HER BRIGHT SKIES

Her Bright Skies have developed a distinctly modern sound, with piercing melodies, emotive vocals and an ever-rising tidal wave of fans – all on their own terms. “Causing A Scene” displays a band which has purified its sacred mission to carry your ass into a world where music is first and foremost a party – not psychoanalysis. With both feet firmly entrenched in the American tradition of melodic punk, pop and metal, Her Bright Skies have developed a way to lift themselves out of small town boredom all the while creating their own niche: energetic rock conveyed with a touch of that indefinable, Nordic sound. The cockiness and the musical language is American, but the accent is perfectly Swedish.

CROBOT

The sounds of dirt pouring out of old souls that were sold for the sake of rock n’ roll. Space rock n’ roll. Whatever it is, you can’t help but to feel your ears being dipped in nostalgia then taken to another dimension and back again with the songs of Crobot. A quartet from central Pennsylvania, conjure up sonic ghosts and stories that seemingly were interpreted from crop circles in their debut album entitled The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer scheduled for an October 30th release date. The standouts do not stop with songs like the celestial-birthed, riffy title track “The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer”, the infectious soundtrack of a stalker “Let Me In”, or the bouncy, groove-wet tidal wave of a tune called “In the Undertow”. This eleven-track effort would be loved by any classic or modern rock connoisseur, and with so many dirty seventies hard rock grooves with a modern twist, it’s clear why.

The Aristocrats Bandmembers

THE ARISTOCRATS

Over the past eight years The Aristocrats – guitarist Guthrie Govan (Steven Wilson, Asia/GPS, Hans Zimmer), bassist Bryan Beller(Joe Satriani, Dethklok), and drummer Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani, Steve Hackett) – have released critically acclaimed albums, toured the world, and established themselves as one of the most musically original, refreshingly irreverent, and astoundingly entertaining instrumental rock-fusion acts on the planet. Anyone who’s witnessed their live musical high-wire act – employing random amounts of rock, jazz, pop, metal, and even traditional country – can attest that it is informed by the spirit of a true band, one whose improvisational soul allows for anything to happen onstage at any moment…including the occasional wink and nod at the audience. Perhaps Guthrie Govan said it best when he called The Aristocrats “a rowdy democracy of musicianship.”

RICK BEAMZ

MACK MAKUTA

From the northside of Chicago, Mack Makuta first started rapping at an early age of 11 mimicking his favorite rappers and influences such as Tech N9ne, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Twista and many other artists from the midwest with similar styles. He quickly learned that he had a talent for rapping fast with the best of him and took to Youtube to showcase his rapping talents. With his Youtube channel climbing at over 1 million views, he’s on a mission to make everyone remember who Mack Makuta is and the music that he makes. He’s currently in the studio with production team Tha Executives and 1day Music Group working on his debut solo mixtape and album “High as Heaven” which are both slated for a summer 2013 release.

INANIMATE EXISTENCE

INANIMATE EXISTENCE is a Progressive Death Metal band from Santa Cruz, CA that started in the Fall of 2010. Originally the band would consist of Cameron Porras (former guitarist of FLESH CONSUMED), Ron Casey (BRAIN DRILL), Joel Guernsey, Ivan Munguia (ARKAIK, DEEDS OF FLESH) and Ian Rittmaster. After a few months of jam sessions the band went in to the studio to record a 2 song demo that would consist of the first recordings of , “The Discarnate Self Paradox” and “Iguanid Labyrinth”, during August 2011. Soon after the recording, Ivan parted ways and Mitch Yoesle became the new bassist. Once the Demo was complete, UNIQUE LEADER RECORDS signed the band to release their first full length album entitled “Liberation Through Hearing”. The group entered Castle Ultimate Studios with producer Zack Ohren (DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION, ALL SHALL PERISH) during March 2012. The album was released worldwide July 17th 2012 and also featured a guest solo by MATT SOTELO of DECREPIT BIRTH. As of now INANIMATE EXISTENCE has shared the stage with bands such as DISGORGE, SEVERED SAVIOR, DYING FETUS, ARKAIK, FALLUJAH, SON OF AURELIUS, CATTLE DECAPITATION, PUTRID PILE, VEHEMENCE and many other extreme bands. Currently INANIMATE EXISTENCE is touring to support their debut album and is writing for their 2nd album which is to be released on UNIQUE LEADER RECORDS.

Vale of Pnath

VALE OF PNATH

Denver, Colorado’s Vale Of Pnath are one the up-and-coming bands to watch for in the technical death metal field. In 2009 the band released their self-titled debut EP via Tribunal Records. The album was very well received around the metal community, both critically and by fans. Now, in 2011, Vale Of Pnath are ready to release their first ever full-length, The Prodigal Empire via Willowtip Records.

KAMIKABE

Formed in 2003.”Aberration of Man” Available now worldwide! on Unique Leader Records! Check out our bandcamp for free streams!

GOROD

Founded in Bordeaux (France) in 1997, under the moniker GORGASM, the band finally record its debut full-length album “Neurotripsicks” in 2004 for Deadsun Records. With this CD, they cut a deal with Willowtip Records (US), who decided to re-release “Neurotripsicks” in 2005 with two brand new bonus tracks. At this same moment, the band decided to rename themselves to GOROD to avoid confusion with the Chicago death metal outfit of the same name.

The album received a good response from the media and in 2006, the band returned with the much-praised “Leading Vision”. The band then toured over Europe and went to the mighty Maryland DeathFest (USA) and DeathFeast Open Air (D), only to impress and leave the many spectators in awe.

At the End of 2008, the band found a new drummer in Sam Santiago just before they entered the studio to record the new opus “Process Of A New Decline”. On this album, Sam pushed the band to a new level with his tight, fast and groovy drumming. With this new record, GOROD have cleverly spiced their diamond-cutting technicality with supercharged pinball machine melodies and fluttering sting ray guitar solos against a backdrop of grooves and bonkers bass playing. To promote this CD, the band toured Europe with NY death metal legends Immolation (USA) and done several shows and festivals in France

2010, GOROD start the production of its forthcoming EP ” Transcendence” including acoustic versions of the band’s classics, … they played Neurotic DeathFest and then flew to USA for 2 weeks to play several shows including Midwest Fuckfest and mighty Maryland Deathfest ! Back to France the band hit mainstage at Hellfest and played an incredible show in Paris with Cynic (USA)…GOROD then embarked to a European summer trek with Cattle Decapitation (USA). Right after this tour, Arnaud (guitars) and Guillaume (vocals) left the band for personal reasons… End of 2010, the band welcome Julien “Nutz Deyres, who already toured with the band, on vocals, and, young and talented guitarist, Nicolas Alberny.

2011… “Transcendence” is out… Amazing acoustics versions of old GOROD songs, a CYNIC cover, an outstanding progressive, epic 15′ song…..a true masterpiece! To promote this new EP, GOROD done a successful 2 weeks French tour with Benighted and Kronos… then hit the road for a month across Europe with talented The Faceless (USA). Fall 2011, the band enter studio to record a new album with crazy and talented french metal producer Frederic “Elmobo” Motte… a new masterpiece is on the run !!

GOROD is ready to spread its technical and radioactive songwriting all over de world… For sure…GOROD is among the most amazing “Tech Death” bands…

WEST WATER OUTLAWS

A heavily rock-based group from Boulder. West Water Outlaws have many different influences including reggae, blues, soul, funk etc. In the age of the iPod, the Outlaws mix it up while keeping a sound all their own. Their shows are a mix of soulful melodies and driving riffs with wailing vocals and good feeling grooves. Not to mention a rowdy, fun-loving atmosphere that seems to recall the quote: “have a good time, ALL of the time” – Viv Savage

CATCHINGYOURCLOUDS

Hello, my name is Drake Christopher. I”m from Bryant, Arkansas. Music is my art, creativity, ingenuity, personality, ambition, and love.

Music is also my story, and therefore to learn more about me, you’ll just have to listen. It means so much if you do. Leave me a post on my wall, I do my best to reply to everyone. ♥

 

FAREWELL, MY LOVE

Rock n’ Roll should be larger than life. Rock stars are superheroes who take the stage propelled by a pomp and circumstance rivaling the royalty of old. They adopt fantastical personas that enrapture an audience, transporting participants away from their every day struggles and problems into a world of freedom and possibility.

Farewell, My Love has arrived carrying the torch aloft for a new generation hungry for the power, energy and magnetic combustibility inherent in the best rock. The five young men of Farewell, My Love have come together to share their individual hardships, triumphs and passions through a collective vehicle. They’ve taken the sum total of the lives they’ve lived thus far and fashioned them into a unique weapon to hand over to their audiences for the mutual uplifting of all involved.

SNOW WHITE’S POISON BITE

With rip-roaring riffs to terrifying screams and charmful clean vocals, Snow White’s Poison Bite brings a storm of pulsing emotion complexity and intensity.

 

LATE NITE READING

Late Nite Reading is hitting the pop-punk scene with a youthful vigor not seen in ages. With a majority of the band being just juniors in highschool, LNR packs a punchy, hook-driven mature pop sound at an unheard of age. Backed by their recently released studio EP “Dedicated to Deadlines”, LNR is forcing their way into the limelight as one of the youngest professional acts in the business.

Late Nite Reading started out of necessity. Not really, but you get what we’re saying. One day, not too long ago, (the start of the summer 2009, actually) Brady (Bassist) approached Dalton (Singer) with the idea of doing a pop punk band together. They plunked around with the idea, wrote some songs, and recruited a drummer. The trio had a practice together, and immediately fell in love. A few more practices later, they added a lead guitarist and they were ready to record. So they did that. The Summer of 2010 they released their first 5 song EP, “Cycles and Sounds”. Since that time the roster has changed slightly and their sound has matured. They are currently supporting their most recent EP, “Dedicated to Deadlines”.

DEEFIZZY

My name is Damon. I’m just a goofy, awkward kid who lives in Flo Rida. I’m a huge fan of FOOD and you’ll hear me talking about it quite a lot, haha. I absolutely love my friends and family and just am so grateful for the littlest things that I have in life. I like to make the best out of whatever life gives me and I am huge lover of animals and a strong hater for cruelty which is why I am a vegan. I lived in apartments as a young-in with my mom and brother, but we always got kicked out because my brother and I were so loud so we moved into a trailer in a sketchy neighborhood and lived there up until I was 11. I am so grateful for the smallest things because I didn’t have much as a kid and I am so amazed about how far we got and I owe it all to my mom who was a single mother and struggled paying the bills, but she never gave up and we have gotten so far because of it. I want you to know that I truly appreciate you watching my videos, reading my tweets, sending me letters and everything else that you have done. You guys get me through the hardest times with a smile on. And please remember, you’re not my fan, you’re my friend. Thanks ♥.

NORDIC THUNDER

An air shredding beardo who believes air guitar will change the world.

SUNS

“Suns are back for another round of dragging atmospheric rock into the alley to smack the stars out of its eyes. Armed with their first full length, “When We Were Us,” the band takes a leaner, meaner and more melodic approach to its distinct brand of ribcage-shaking density. The darkness, the drunkenness, the desperation – it’s all still there, but now it digs in with sharper hooks…. Suns plan to self-release “When We Were Us” on lavishly packaged vinyl and digital download, supported by endless touring in their full-size decommissioned school bus. These guys won’t do anything on a small scale and we’re just going to have to get out of their way.” – Sara Enderle

KANGAROO

We are a rock band and we love you. Hop in our marsupium and let’s go for a ride!

CLOUD CULT

Cloud Cult developed in 1995 as a solo studio project of Craig Minowa. His first full length album, “The Shade Project” caught the interest of a few small independent labels who urged Minowa to consider performing the songs live. Craig worked the next four years on a new studio project which would be the first official Cloud Cult album, “Who Killed Puck?”. Sarah Young appeared on this album for the first time on cello and Eduardo Vaz assisted with drums on a few of the songs. Minowa’s early work earned Cloud Cult several offers from record labels, but all were rejected in favor of self-publishing and maintaining total control over the ethical aspects of the business practices.

In 1999, lead singer Craig and Connie Minowa formed Earthology, a not-for-profit environmental organization that would later gain its nonprofit 501c3 status. Craig worked on developing the Earthology Records branch, which was focused on helping to green the music industry. Earthology Records would become the homegrown powerhouse where all of the band’s booking, publicity, CD replication, t-shirt production, and recording would take place. Through Earthology, Minowa developed the first 100% postconsumer recycled CD packaging in the U.S. market.

Earthology Records was later moved to an organic farm, powered by geothermal energy and built partially from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. Minowa co-developed the first 100% postconsumer paperboard cd jewel-case, and the band began zero net greenhouse gas practices for tours long before it was trendy to be green. The band’s merchandise is 100% postconsumer recycled or made of certified organic materials. Cloud Cult has planted several thousand trees to absorb the band’s CO2 output. They also donate heavily to projects that build wind turbines as revenue generators on Native American Reservations.

In the year 2002, shortly after the unexpected death of his two year old son Kaidin, Minowa wrote over a hundred songs to deal with the loss.They Live on the Sun was finished in 2003 and went to #1 on college radio station charts across the country. Since that album, Cloud Cult’s music has been strongly inspired by the loss of Kaidin and the “big picture” issues of life: “who are we, why are we here, where did we come from, where do we go”. Minowa seems in constant pursuit of the light at the end of the tunnel. The success of the album convinced Craig to create a live band to perform the album’s songs. Minowa added Dan Greenwood to the band roster on drums. The first live shows consisted of a three piece: Craig, Sarah and Dan.

In January 2004, Cloud Cult added Mara Stemm on bass and released “Aurora Borealis” just six months after They Live on the Sun. Shortly after, Cloud Cult was nominated by the Minnesota Music Awards as “Artist of the Year” along with Prince and Paul Westerberg. With a van covered in solar panels, the band began touring nationally. Cloud Cult’s stage show began to garner the attention of national press, as they included two live painters on stage, Connie Minowa and Scott West, as well as back screen video and performance artists.

In 2006, Cloud Cult released “Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus”, which Pitchfork Media called “insane genius” and rated the album with an 8.3. The Denver Post ranked the 2007 release “The Meaning of 8” as one of the top ten albums of the past decade, along with bands like Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips and Radiohead. During that period, Matthew Freed replaced Mara Stemm on bass and the band began to work with different violin players, ultimately discovering Shannon Frid who joined the band full time on violin. The band received offers from major labels but continued to turn them down in favor of maintaining control of their art and environmental efforts.

Cloud Cult released the album entitled “Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)” on April 8, 2008. As with the past Cloud Cult albums, the album was recorded and produced at Minowa’s small organic farm in Northern Minnesota. “The place is so far out in the boonies, you can barely find it, because it’s not on the maps,” said Dan Montalto, an MTV Producer who brought a camera crew to the farm to film a short MTV feature on the band. Arlen Peifer replaced Dan Greenwood on drums and Shawn Neary replaced Matt Freed on bass.

In October 2008, Cloud Cult was featured in an animated Esurance commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. The band is shown playing their song “Lucky Today” while floating on clouds and promoting ecological driving practices. In exchange for the work, Esurance helped fund some of the band’s costs for greening the recording of albums. During 2008 and 2009, the band’s growth continued, with a heavy tour schedule and appearances on MTV, Carson Daly, Rolling Stone, Spin and a plethora of other media outlets.

In the Spring of 2009, Cloud Cult released “No One Said It Would Be Easy” a full length documentary about the band, created by John Burgess and Scott West.

At Coachella 2009, Craig revealed that Connie would not be performing because she was “not feeling well…. she’s pregnant.” The band toured nearly up until Connie’s due date and took a break from touring with the birth of their new child. During this downtime, Minowa worked heavily on a new Cloud Cult album, and the band released a new version of “Lost Songs from the Lost Years” a collection of previously unreleased songs spanning the band’s 15 year history.

The band took up touring again with the 2010 release of “Light Chasers”, which would be Cloud Cult’s first album to make it onto the Billboard Charts. Meanwhile, Craig has been increasing his work-load of scoring Cloud Cult type music for National Geographic documentaries.

The band will be releasing a new full length album on March 5, 2013, Presale began on the Cloud Cult website in December. The Cloud Cult documentary, “No One Said It Would Be Easy” will be available on iTunes and Google Play in early 2013.

JOHNNY OUTLAW AND THE JOHNSON CREEK STRANGLERS

Johnny Outlaw is a man on a mission! Saving Country Music is that mission! In 2009, Johnny formed the Johnson Creek Stranglers in a basement in Newport, Oregon. After auditioning and having numerous players perform in the band, John finally settled on the current line up featuring himself, Aaron Lowrange, Joe Sanders, Dusty Rust and Robert Ellison who bill themselves “as true to ourselves and true to the music”. Johnny Outlaw and the Johnson Creek Stranglers are a dedicated group of musicians and songwriters ready to play it, live it, and sing it from the heart!

Left Lane Cruiser

LEFT LANE CRUISER

Headed by singer/guitarist Freddy J IV, Left Lane Cruiser is a bona fide blues rock band from the American mid-west. Far from pretending to be rambling hobos for the sake of a manufactured image, Left Lane Cruiser has been genuinely living the blues for over a decade, bringing its freestyle jams to crowds all over the world.

ABOUT NOTHIN’

As Chicago’s premier quirky-alt-prog-hard-grunge-rock-power-trio, about nothin’ is comprised of ever inimitable guitar player, slayer Jay “The Monster”, the prominent in his own mind bassist/vocalist “Nicky T.” and wannabe outlaw Greg “The Caucasian”.

PSALM ONE

Recently finishing up a tour with Brother Ali of RSE & recent mention in Billboard Magazine, Psalm One is by far the next level of the female emcee. Formerly a member of the Chicago crew Nacrobats, she has been releasing music independently for nearly 4 years recording w/ the likes of Casual (Heiroglyphics), Brother Ali & Ant (Rhymesayers), Illogic, Maker, Overflo, Offwhyte, Thaione Davis, Chester Copperpot, Longshot, Lord 360, & others! This album was originally released in 2002 independently, but now is being released through Birthwrite with 5 new exclusive songs & new artwork!

Lyrically Psalm finishes ahead of the pack on not just one verse, one song, but throughout the entire album. Her songs range from childhood stories to hardcore style joints, and the beats won’t let you down. Her delivery is smoothe, polished, and sensual with clever rhyme schemes & wordplay. Psalm One is the next shit!

LADY DAISEY

Lady Daisey has rocked venues around the globe – from small smokey clubs to massive hip hop festivals – her message is one of love and happiness, soulfully presented over head noddin’ beats. Singing since she was 5, Lady Daisey has developed a playful powerhouse style that’s sure to grab the attention and steal the hearts of everyone within ear’s reach.

QWAZAAR & BATSAUCE

South Side Chicago representative, QWAZAAR is the co-founder of one of the most respected and influential Hip-Hop crews with Typical Cats (Galapagos4), and has built a strong cult following as a member of the experimental crews Dirty Digital, and it’s darker parallel, OuterLimitz. Qwazaar’s 2011 collaborations w/ producer Batsauce, entitled “Style Be The King” & “Bat Meets Blaine” earned him not only album of the year mentions but also Top 10 Come-Back artist of the year and his September 2012 release with Typical Cats entitled “3” garnered him praise as “one of the best natural Rappers of this era.”

STEVEN ROTH

With roots in the classics and an eye on innovation, ROTH’s sound can best be described as a refreshing flavor of pop-rock soul, filled with melody, mood, energy, and honesty. ROTH’s musical approach is entirely organic, and it’s this sense of purity that sets him apart.

DAWES

While the city of Los Angeles has been both an inspiration and a home to the four members of Dawes, they found themselves traveling East last fall to record their third album in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with newly enlisted producer Jacquire King.  It was a chance to hunker down and work each day for a month away from familiar landmarks and routines. The tracks they laid down at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studio have yielded a 12-song disc of tremendous sonic and narrative clarity, book-ended in classic album fashion by two very different versions of the wistful “Just Beneath The Surface” – a misleading title, really, since the songs stacked in between dig so deep. Stories Don’t End is not so much a departure from the quartet’s previous efforts as a distillation of them. It spotlights the group’s maturing skills as arrangers, performers and interpreters who shape the raw material supplied by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Taylor Goldsmith into an artfully concise and increasingly soulful sound.

Once again, Goldsmith displays a particular gift for tunes that balance tough and tender, hardboiled and heartbroken. As a writer, he prowls his psyche like a forties detective, looking for clues to the mysteries of life and love.  “Just My Luck” has the irresistible pull of a vintage country tune, though the arrangement is understated and contemporary. If Goldsmith’s vocal delivery weren’t plaintive enough, the band ups the emotional ante with a beautiful wordless coda that intertwines Tay Strathairn’s piano and Goldsmith’s lead guitar. Similarly “Something In Common” is a morning-after shuffle that builds into a bigger and more dramatic track before dropping back to a quiet melancholic finish. Goldsmith takes a few simple words, like “something in common,” and uses them like chapter headings to develop a compelling story, full of unexpected twists, from verse to verse. “Someone Will” includes the same kind of word play while boasting a little more swagger. “Hey Lover,” a cover of a tongue-in-cheek tune by Dawes’ good buddy Blake Mills, is a playful mid-album break with Taylor Goldsmith and his young brother, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, trading off lead vocals.

Before he started composing for the album, says Taylor, “I went through a Joan Didion tear.” It was right after he read the legendary author’s Democracy that he found the title, Stories Don’t End, in her work. Though Didion is currently a New Yorker, she is most associated with Southern California, its culture of the sixties and seventies, a subject she examined in gimlet-eyed prose. When Goldsmith started penning new songs after several months on the road in support of Dawes’ 2011 disc, Nothing Is Wrong, his writing was even more keenly observant. “From a Window Seat” was the first he completed and, he admits, “It’s a very singular song. A lot of the songs on the record can be a little more broad, about a period in someone’s life or trying to explore a certain feeling. This song is about a specific experience of being on an airplane and that’s not a very poetic or lyrical idea.” Yet Goldsmith, employing an accumulation of small details, once again finds the bigger picture, about the narrator’s past and his (and our) uncertain future, about the history lurking beneath the swimming pool-dotted landscape below him. Just as important is the track itself—lean, propulsive and guitar-driven – lending urgency to Goldsmith’s in-flight musings. Similarly, “Bear Witness,” a last-minute addition to the lineup that the band arranged during the Asheville sessions, is an almost cinematically vivid rendering of a man having a conversation with his child from his hospital bed.

Nothing Is Wrong had garnered considerable acclaim, with London’s Independent declaring, “It’s as close to a perfect Americana album as there’s been this year.”  Up to then, the band had relied on good friend Jonathan Wilson as producer, cutting its 2009 debut disc, North Hills, at Wilson’s Laurel Canyon studio and its follow-up with Wilson at a larger room in Echo Park. But Wilson’s own career as a solo artist was taking off following the release of his Gentle Spirit disc, and the band began a search for a new collaborator.  King boasted an impressive and unusual resume, having produced an eclectic range of artists, including Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, Norah Jones and the Punch Brothers. Says keyboardist Strathairn, “He’s really easy to work with. As a producer he doesn’t want to be the artist, he simply tries to make the band sound the best that the band can be. And the work speaks for itself.”

Recording with King and foregoing the quickly cut, straight-to-analog tape approach of its first two recordings was a way, says Taylor, for Dawes “to push the boundaries of what might be expected of us, or feel like a comfort zone for us, while trying to be the same band we always are. That was important to us. We didn’t want to abandon anybody’s sense of who we were and, more importantly, our sense of ourselves. We wanted to stay true to this thing that we had while starting to widen the spectrum a little bit.”

The reprise of “Just Beneath the Surface” at the end of the disc, however, is a first-take document of the band figuring out the tune together, and it was too good not to keep. As bassist Wylie Gelber recalls, “We knew the vibe we were going for and we were running through it while Jacquire was setting up. But we were completely unaware that he was recording us. We were fooling around and towards the end of it, we stopped for a minute and Jacquire said, Hey man, I think we’ve got it. We tried to beat that take but we couldn’t. You can hear it there, you can feel that it’s the first time it’s being played, it’s a simple song and there’s a subtle art to doing it. It ebbs and flows.”

“With Jacquire,” explains Taylor, “we were able to hold on to an essence of what we had been, but I feel now, more than with our first two records, that this makes a case that we’re a band from 2013. There a lot of bands that harken back to a period or style of a different time and that can be really limiting. That was never our intention.”

“The album is very honest,” concludes Strathairn. “It’s us.”

NILOTIC

PANORAMIC & TRUE

Formed by songwriter John Lennox after cutting his teeth in Montreal’s mid-2000 scene, Chicago’s Panoramic & True deals a heavy and often orchestrated brand of pop: it is overdriven dirt and shimmer, explosive tom drum rolls, high modern chamber pieces; it’s rock music with a wide-angle lens. Together, the group embellished Lennox’s attic studio of castaway analog gear and spent the winter of 2012 recording the blend of garage, 60s soul, British Invasion, and indie pop that would become Wonderlust.

Wonderlust, released July 20 on Raymond Roussel Records, exceeds expectations: 14 tight tracks of buzzing guitar hooks and cinematic orchestration that bed Lennox’s confident “honey voice” (Chicago Reader) as he looks out the window with mixed wonder and dismay: “a week of good health / pin your hair back / get some new clothes for yourself / get ‘em black on black” (“A Week of Good Health”). Dark yet quizzical, the mercurial tone of Wonderlust allows heavy noise pop (“Pretty Faces”) to stand with songwriterly piano ballad (“Token Resistance”) and dirty psych dirge (“A Hold On You”), all three united in “Dakota Child,” in which a noirish 1958 Hammond funeral organ leads a fugitive charge across the country that leaves only broken dreams in its wake.

The world of Wonderlust, partly inspired by the surrealist novels of Max Ernst, spans nature and city, love and industry; it’s peopled by mystic hunters, farmhand philosophers, seaside goddesses, crusading protesters, mystic angels living in fire, and Lennox himself as he digs deep and finds repulsion and marvel in the modern world. Cues taken from introspective early 70s Dylan as well as from contemporaries Frog Eyes and Bill Callahan inform Wonderlust and what it offers: imaginative engagement without illusion. Once the illusions are gone, we see things as they are: “the prayer is answered as soon as you ask it / the carpenter makes both cradles and caskets” (“House Carpenter”). Armed with this knowledge, Wonderlust will grace stargazing road trips, metropolitan hikes, and late nights by the turntable with a complex joy.

Wonderlust’s arrangement, the culmination of Lennox’s five years writing for string quartet, also sets it apart: as they dive and soar, the strings evoke Ben E. King or the intimate side of John Lennon. Joining the glimmering Rhodes and organ as supportive color, they eerily lift the songs and give Panoramic & True its unique sound: warm, electrifying—a summer storm that inspires exaltation.

Including the string quartet Panoramic & True is John Lennox (guitar, vocals), Jamie Carter (guitar), Patrick Pritchett (bass), Daniel Majid (drums), A.J. Bautista (violin), Amanda Bautista (violin), Randy Mollner (viola), and April Savage (cello).

DIVINITY COMPROMISED

Divinity Compromised is a melodic progressive metal band with a heavy yet accessible sound and a focus on musicianship as well as symphonic and electronic soundscapes.

NEVER WE SEE

Never We See was conceptualized and composed by Scare Crow, recorded track by track at SINISTERSTUDIOS in Buffalo Grove, IL. The music was brought to life in order to create something that would keep metal roots alive, and people banging their heads for years to come.

THE BOXBERRYS

The BoxBerrys are an American Indie Rock band founded and fronted by singer/songwriter, Jerry Wilson. The BoxBerrys are currently based in Chicago, IL.

DIZMAL DAZE

Scott Davidson formerly of Earthen Grave called vocalist Mykil Grim of Withering Soul, bassist Rob Hultz of Solace & Godspeed, Guitarist Hawk of Septer, Transgressor, Imperial Rage,& Mike Legros of Earthen, Disinter & formerly of Novembers Doom & Nachmystium to start DIZMAL DAZE