B. SLADE (formerly known as) TONEX has released several hundred songs on 24 albums over a span of 14 years, while producing several others for both gospel and secular artists. He has won 7 Stellar Awards, a GMA Award, and received 2 Grammy nominations: one for Best Soul Gospel Album for his 2004 gold album, Out The Box and another in 2009 for Best Urban/Soul Alternative Performance for his single, Blend, from his 2009 mainstream album, Unspoken.
His musical efforts have been known to blend a smorgasbord of styles, including pop, r&b, jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, rock, latin, electro, punk and trance, and has created a distinct sound and eclectic style of music.
When the annals of the past cross with the endeavors of the future, the many situations and occurrences have a chance to mingle and compare themselves to each other either to determine co-relativity or simply which lessons have been learned. This fellowship usually brings about an other-worldly and yet grounded reaction. Today, we’ll call this cataclysmic result: B. Slade.
JILT front man Peter Propaganda has been a fixture on the Chicago industrial scene, both as a Dj and with JILT and other music and multimedia projects. Currently returning to activity after a medial hiatus, JILT is on a fucking warpath to make up for lost time. You have been warned.
Beginning life in 1992, this Windy City force came together when Ricks’ Yifrach and McCoy as well as a host of others took their love for atmosphere, melody, and metal, creating something akin to the early releases put forth by their European counterparts such as old Paradise Lost, and even took influence from artists like Dead Can Dance, Loreena MacKennit, and Cranes. While Avernus’ first demo “A Delicate Tracery Of Red” was a measure of imbalance and inexperience, their second demo, the legendary “Sadness” propelled the band’s name throughout the underground like wildfire, making Avernus a force to contend with.
While said releases were a potent mix of death metal, doom, and cinematic atmosphere, the bands’ sound became like a chameleon, ever changing, and in 1997, MIA/OLYMPIC recordings released their debut album “Of the Fallen” which showcased a sound closer resembling Goth rock than the dark atmospheric metal Avernus became known for. The band also became notorious more for their ever changing line-up that often provided their ever changing sound, but despite the revolving door of members, Avernus still soldiered on, and despite many a hiatus, they managed to record material here and there, while never officially releasing them. That changed when Cursed Productions gave the world the much sought Sadness demo, alongside numerous hard to find and never released recordings entitled “Where The Sleeping Shadows Lie” which turned out to be a huge success and the last proper offering from the band.
In 2009, founding member and vocalist/guitarist Rick McCoy put the band into hibernation.
In fall 2012, the band reunited to perform the “Sadness” demo EP for a special performance with Macabre in Chicago. The fantastic energy from the rehearsal sessions and show inspired the band to pursue making new music. The band is currently writing brand new material to be released in 2013.
Avernus wishes to thank all those great people that have stood by us since our inception, we love you all… BERWYN!
Circle of Heat is a Minneapolis based band filled with lots of talent. Made up of four graduates of the University of Minnesota School of Music, their shows have a heavy focus on musicality and improvisation. Everything from blues to classic rock and funk to jazz are fused into an original style with a familiar feel. Circle of Heat uses unique instrumentation to create unique sounds, from the sout
hern feel of a slide guitar to the occasional addition of an electric viola. With progressive rock drums underneath quirky and clean vocal harmonies, no song sounds the same. With the release of their debut album, bigwheelin’hotstuff, Circle of Heat shows no signs of slowing down in 2012!Circle of Heat has played at notable festivals including, Summerfest, Bella music fest, and The Big Wu Family Reunion.
The Description: Pronounced ( Po-cheen)
Poitín, anglicised as Poteen or Potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled, highly alcoholic beverage (60%-95% ABV). Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning “pot”. Traditionally distilled from malted barley grain or potatoes, it is one of the strongest alcoholic beverages in the world (renowned for its ability to get the drinker intoxicated the morning after drinking it by drinking water and thereby bringing the remaining ethanol back into solution), and for centuries was classified as illegal in Ireland.
THE BAND:
Over the past 7 years Potcheen has seen many a pirate join us on our voyages across the country. Always something new but the spirit remains the same! The Capn’ has boldly ventured ahead in this mission with his crew, never willing to quit. They acquired a new fighting vessel (tourbus) “Bonny” after “Grace” was attacked and destroyed by the FED EX trading company and the Capn’ was seriously injured. But he came back fighting five months later… YARRRRRR
Crossing the terrestrial oceans of this country from New York to San Francisco, Potcheen has played thousands of shows, over 250 festival appearances and opened for some of the best performers in the world.
In an era of hype, trend mongering and style without substance comes a band that stands for craft and integrity. Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls look for hope and life affirmation in that heart of darkness throughout their second album, Packed for Exile, released independently on Still Small Recordings.
Firmly entrenched in organically American music, the band mines elements of rock, country and folk coupled with rich storytelling and the poking and prodding of emotional contexts both personal and worldly.
Packed for Exile follows Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls’ first release, The Vain Hope of Horse, which PASTE Magazine called “a wonderful debut: ragged, soulful and well-written.” The compelling collection included guest appearances by Tom “The Nightwatchman” Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Wayne Kramer (MC5) and Wilco’s Nels Cline on lap steel. The songs resonated with strains of working class rock’n’roll and rustic punk, leaving Dave Marsh, legendary rock journalist and author, to comment, “Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls speak to the heartache and joy in the world, with the wisdom not to try to separate them, and the skill to make all of it beautiful.”
The Greedy Souls include the core of Heath, Jason Federici (son of late E Street Band member Danny Federici) on accordion and organ, Ben Perdue on upright and electric bass, and Heath’s lifetime compadre Abe Etz on drums, as well as distinctive touches from guitarists Jonathan Chi and Aaron Gitnick, pianist Chris Joyner and fiddle player Ysanne Spevack.
“It’s Americana in terms of being American country, folk, blues, punk and rock ‘n’ roll influenced,” he says. “We like to call it Post-Americana Acoustelectric, Agit-POP, Arena Folkountry Rawk…. It’s all working class music, with common themes – love, loss, redemption and the search for justice.”
Birthed of laser lights and glow sticks, relating stories of dark corners and past mistakes. A sense of danger surrounds Shotgun Zombie whose blend of electro-rock speaks of a night out that never ends. Guitar harmonies that sear like cinnamon whiskey, drums that pound like beer, and vocals like smooth Guiness, with a soundtrack of electronics as heavy as a night of regret. And that’s before the after party.
Formed in Chicago, Shotgun Zombie features Brian Rowe on vocals and production, Brian Sanchez on lead guitar, Marko Preradovic on rhythm guitar, and Zack Porter on drums. The music was born out of desire to bring talents together and tread new ground in genre blending, starting with one part metal riffs, one part double kick, one part wobbles and subs topped off with slick pop vocals. Influences ranging from tech-metal to R&B and jazz to dubstep, nothing is safe or sacred.
In 2000, Pound of Flesh released their debut record “Red & Black” and received critical acclaim and support from 250+ radio stations across the US and charted within the top five of several of those stations.
During performing regionally in support of the POF record, Darrell met Al Jourgersen from “Ministry” and he came on board to produce the record. Darrell was stoked. Al Jourgensen is the godfather of industrial music and the fact that he wanted to produce his record… words cannot express Darrell’s excitement. It wasn’t too long after Darrell started working with Al when he was asked if i’d be interested in playing keyboards for the 2003 Ministry tour. He said hell yeah and headed off to Hell Passhole for Ministry boot camp rehearsals then hit the road.
He came back to play keyboards on the 2004 Ministry tour, and while on the road he wrote and recorded tunes with Mike Scaccia and Louis Svitek. A couple of the tracks they worked on together will be included on the new POF record. He had an incredible time and felt very lucky to have the opportunity to tour with such a legendary group and all the madness that it was. In 2005 Darrell worked with Al in Hell Passhole doing keyboard and engineering work on Ministry “Ranthology”, Revolting cocks “cocked and loaded”, and Ministry Rio Grande blood records which earned him a couple grammy nominations. He continued to work with Ministry until 2006 when he felt it was time to get back home to Chicago.
The next couple of years Darrell worked with guitarist Mike Scaccia ( Ministry , Rigor Mortis ) and wrote a bunch of Metal tunes together. Halloween 2010 Darrell felt it was time to get back to work on Pound of Flesh. Mixing his experiences with Ministry with his style of industrial/dance music has created a new hybrid of music that won’t be denied.
2012 is here and the shylock is back for his Pound of Flesh. We will all pay the price.
Hip-Hop beats, Blue Note Horns, House Bass, South Side Drums, and West Side turntables take listeners and dancers into the music of Pete Carney and Ghost Farm. The ten piece ensemble is a head on collision between jazz and the underground sound of Chicago. Ghost Farm brings 5 horns, turntables, and Chicago’s best bop improvisers together in a show for listeners and dancers. Their set list tags music from Wayne Shorter and Maceo to the Killers and Radiohead.
Following his breakout Orange Alert ensemble, Carney brings the DJ generation into jazz playing analog bop over downtown grooves. In concert, this Nu jazz warehouse party from the Midwest requires serious listening and mad dancing. From Europe to New York, the Midwest drive of Carney’s music has been recognized on NPR, NBC, and BBC.
“Very funky isn’t it sir!” -BBC Radio
“The best show of the year” Kate Mohl, producer of Jazz in the Park Festival
“Their music captured the audience” Rob Adams, Scotland Herald
“Right on time for the next generation of jazz listeners” R. Dunscomb, President of the International Assoc. of Jazz Ed.
A Northern Light are an alternative-rock band based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The three-piece, Darren, Omar and Colm, hit the Belfast music scene in 2010 to much acclaim, boasting a variety of musical styles in the vein of Angels & Airwaves, Blink182 and Pendulum.
One of the main objectives behind the band’s music is to inspire solidarity and optimism among listeners – themes which run through the first two EPs, ‘Chase the Ghosts Away’ (2010) and ‘The Right Thing To Do’ (2011).
Among the band’s highest-profile performances, so far, are three Radar headline slots at the Speakeasy bar, a support slot with rising stars, Mona, and a live session for BBC Introducing on Radio 1.
A Northern Light are on the verge of releasing their debut, double-A side single – ‘Pilgrim’/’March Into The Light’ – which sees the band further-crafting their own eclectic mix of traditional band and electronic music. Accompanying the songs are two high-concept music videos – among the most ambitious work from an unsigned artist ever to come from Northern Ireland.
Just as the title of their single suggests, A Northern Light are marching toward a bright future; with plans for a full-length debut album already in the works, and a strong DIY ethos, the band are set to achieve great things in the coming months.
With their roots lying mainly in the metal and hardcore genre, Friday Night Vendetta uses this as inspiration to cultivate their unique brand of folk music. Ambient pieces of music layer sorrow filled guitars with brooding synths leaving the listener with a sense of introspection. Respectfully borrowing from multiple genres, FNV progressively works to pull their artistic vision together.
DAN HUBBARD AND THE HUMADORS
Illinois-based singer-songwriter Dan Hubbard has released six albums and toured extensively through the Midwest and both coasts. In the process, he’s built a strong fan base, become a refined songwriter and earned critical acclaim for his efforts. With its foundation in the classic sounds of Tom Petty, Van Morrison, Neil Young and Jackson Browne, Hubbard’s music incorporates folk, country, blues and even a little funk. With a dynamic and powerful voice, Hubbard carries songs of love, loss and soul searching (and occasionally getting drunk enough to forget it all). Like the influential front-men before him, Hubbard delivers a message that people can relate to in good times and bad.
In 2008, the Humadors joined Hubbard on the road. That fall, they released their self-titled debut- a collection of songs showcasing graceful lyrics, vibrant melodies and innovative sound. The band got its first taste of success when the release of their 2010 album See You Again received national airplay on over 120 radio stations, and climbed to #190 on the AMA charts. Their popularity continued to grow in 2011 with the release of their most accomplished record to date entitled The Love Show. The album appeared on the Top 50 Roots Rock Chart and continues to receive national acclaim and radio play. Dan Hubbard and The Humadors are currently touring the Midwest in support of The Love Show.
After establishing himself as a supporting player in the Philadelphia music scene, playing with artists such as Phil Moore Browne and Miss Argentina, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist Blayer Pointdujourstepped out on his own in 2008. Bringing together Dan Peterson (drums), Charles Duquesne (percussion), Tyler Hayduk (keyboards), Ian Nauroth (guitar) and Camico (vocal stylist), Pointdujour created TheRockers Galore.
After a few years spent making booties shake in Philadelphia clubs,Blayer Pointdujour and The Rockers Galore released their debut EP, Port Au Prince, on Philebrity records in the summer of 2011. That effort got them noticed by media outlets such as XPN, who crowned them with a best new music award and also profiled the band on The Key.
Now, the band is gearing up to release their first full length album, The Bull, on September 18th, 2012. As with his previous releases,Pointdujour oscilates from nightclub anthems to social treatises with his signature mix of reggae and hip-hop. Influenced by 1970’s sounds, as well as classics like Buddy Rich and Buddy guy, with some modern flavors such as Kanye West, Pointdujour strives for big, quality sounds in the studio. He says, “I’m trying to bring back old music but make it bang like it’s 2012.”
This fusion of old-school funk and brand new spunk, rooted in Hatian kompa music, reggae and punk create a sound impossible to resist. The Bull is slated to drop on 9/4/12.
David Dallas began his rapping career under the name of Con Psy part of the group Frontline (band), a producer and MC group along with producer Nick Maclaren. Frontline released two albums, What You Expect? and Borrowed Time. After meeting in 2001 in Auckland, the pair formed some tracks together & released a street album ‘What You Expect?’. During this time Maclaren produced tracks for the likes of the ‘Deceptikonz’, ‘Mareko’ and more while Dallas completed a BSc in computing. Without any formal broadcasting or distribution, it sold over 1200 copies. Frontline then released their official debut album ‘Borrowed Time’, in October 2005. The album has produced the singles ‘Breathe With Me’, ‘What ‘Was You Thinkin, ‘Hold ‘Em’ and ‘Lost In Translation’. Borrowed Time charted at #26 on the RIANZ charts and one the group Best Hip Hop/Urban Album at the 2006 New Zealand Music Awards.
GUGUN BLUES SHELTER
Gugun Blues Shelter, or Gugun and The Blues Shelter (often abbreviated as GBS), or Gugun Power Trio (for US and Europe Market) is an Indonesian blues band, formed in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2004. The current members are Gugun on guitar, Jono on bass and Bowie on drums. They’ve released four albums in Indonesia, Get The Bug (2004), Turn It On (2007), Gugun Blues Shelter (2010), Satu Untuk Berbagi (2011) and two albums in US Far East Blues Experience (2010) and Solid Ground (2011).
Lone Wolf is a one man band who consist of Bruno Esposito singing raspy, dirty, vocals, playing slide banjo, bass drum with his left foot and giving a thumb tap rhythm against the banjos snare like drum, while picking the strings and playing harmonica. This style creates a unique, real, authentic sound that is unlike anything you”ve ever heard.
–Sasha Go Hard, Chicago’s next female rapper up, has had an exceptional year. The 20 year old, Chicago female rapper who came up with Chief Keef, was featured on MTV Sucker Free Chicago, performed at MTV’s Sucker Free Chicago Show, made the cover of Chicago’s Redeye Newspaper, made artist of the week for her video on WorldstarHipHop, had a large feature piece in Complex, will be featured in Pithfork TV’s Documentary on Chicago’s Rap Scene, and has had her music featured on Diplo’s BBC Radio 1.
With two mixtapes out, that include her recent mixtape, “Do You Know Who I Am” receiving press from major media outlets that include Pitchfork, The Fader, Complex and more, this female artist has came a long way from her first video, “What We Do” which blew up doing nearly 300,000 views with appearances from Chief Keef and many of the other Chicago major label signees. With production from Chicago producer, Young Chop, work with Chief Keef, and videos from 33 million view, director DGAINZ, her collection of music has many major labels calling to sign her.From her first shows in Chicago at Olympic Theater to performing around the country and having her music played on major radio and corporate endorsement opportunities, Sasha will definitely be an artist that people continue to talk about. Look for much more coming from Sasha Go Hard in 2012.
JOSE GUAPO IS A 19 YR OLD AFRICAN AMERICAN NATIVE FROM ZONE 3 ATLANTA, GA BUT WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SEVERAL PROJECTS OF THE METRO ATLANTA CITY. JOSE GUAPO IS A DIE HARD ROCK STAR IN LOVE WIT MONEY & GIRLS. FORMLY MEMBER OF THE ATLANTA RAP GROUP “THE RICH KIDZ” IT WAS HIS VOICE THAT BROUGHT YOU “MY PATNA DEM” FT YOUNG DRO IN 2009 . GUAP NOW SOLO HE’S SOLEY MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF WIT INSPIRATION FROM FAMILY & FRIENDS TO BE #1. GUAP OR GUINAP AS SOME MIGHT SAY IS KNOWN TO BE QUITE THE TREND SETTER FROM HIS OWN LANGUAGE WITH GUAPONESE TO THE CA$H TALK CLOTHING HE BRINGING. GUAP HAS ALOT IN STORE FOR THE WORLD. GUAP WHO OFTEN QUOTES HE DON’T CALL IT RAPPING HE CALLS IT “KICKIN PIMPIN” IS ABOUT TO TAKE KICKIN PIMPIN TO A WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL!
Barnyard Stompers play the roughest and rawest Country music allowed by law and then some. Outlaw Country assassins who go against the grain with their own brand of old school Honky-Tonk, Dirty Blues and Southern Rock!
“As their name rightly suggests, The Hayfield Concept began in a field just south of Chicago. While they’re not afraid of the “jam band” label, their sound reveals a diverse and perhaps unexpected range of influences. Featuring a unique fusion of rock, funk, country, reggae, pop and jazz, the band has created a sound that is familiar, yet distinctly their own.”
Scott H. Biram unleashes a fervent display of conviction through, not only the genuine blues, classic country, bluegrass, and rock n roll, but he seals the deal with punk, heavy metal, and frankly, anything else he wants to. He’s The Dirty Old One Man Band.
He will still the room with haunting South Texas blues, then turn it upside down, into a truck driver’s mosh pit. Like he says, it might be baptism, or it might be murder, either way…you gonna see the light.
This legally ordained preacher’s singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin’ and hollerin’ is accompanied by sloppy riffs, and licks literally yanked, one at a time, out of his collection of crusty, worn out, Gibson hollowbody guitars, and battle axes. All this held down with a pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot, and self customed stomp board. The remainder of this brutally charming one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables. Don’t get too close! You gonna get some grease on ya!
As a teenager, Jesse, heavily influenced by his parents’ vast record collection, began to fuse rock, punk, soul, and funk with the hip-hop of his generation. “My parents musical tastes really shaped mine. My first cassette was Led Zeppelin and my second was Sam Cooke.”
Soon, Jesse began deejaying prep school parties around Manhattan largely filling his crates with his parents’ records. He laughs, “I was the only sixteen-year old deejay in the City playing Buddy Holly and Lauryn Hill.” Downtown crowds, however, quickly gravitated to his eclectic sets and by the time the young deejay graduated from high school he was a staple behind the velvet ropes inside New York’s most exclusive nightclubs.
Jesse’s encyclopedic knowledge of music and remarkable skill have since taken him around the globe spinning private parties for celebrities including Jay-Z, Heidi Klum, Russell Simmons, and Spike Lee. Jesse has become a favorite of the fashion and art worlds playing high-profile events for Alexander Wang, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Donna Karan, Diesel, GQ, and Kaws. Of his choice to hire Jesse to deejay his Milan Fashion Week runway show, Tom Ford said Jesse’s “musical taste reminds me of my childhood.”
Between celebrity and corporate events, Jesse deejays at the most recognizable nightclubs in the world including Liv (Miami), 1OAK (Las Vegas), MIXX (Atlantic City), VIP Room (Paris), and Chinawhite (London). An emerging producer, Jesse’s official remixes of The Knocks, Peter Bjorn & John, and Brandon Flowers have become blog favorites.
Jesse’s 2012 is off to a rapid start. His debut single, “Daddy Cool”, released on Big Beat / Atlantic Records spent weeks on Beatport House chart. He is featured in a starring role in Todd Phillips’ blockbuster film Project X. In February, Jesse, Machine Gun Kelly, and Pusha T went on an eleven-city, Vice Magazine-sponsored tour to promote the film. This spring, Jesse and nightlife photographer will tour together crashing the ten best college parties in America.
Jesse has modeled for Marc Jacobs, Uniqlo, and Converse. He has been featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, Us Weekly, In Touch, W, The Hollywood Reporter, and The New York Post.
The DANCING NOODLES have been hailed by many (including the Chicago Sun-Times) as the best cover band in Chicago. With a mix of ROCK, SOUL, BLUES, and FUNK, the NOODLES provide a night of timeless classics guaranteed to supercharge any party or fest.
The DANCING NOODLES began on Chicago’s South Side more than two decades ago when members of several “it” bands (Freewheelin, M & R Rush, and Steve Dahl’s Radiation) united to form a band that drew record crowds at many Chicago night clubs. Founding members Terry Canning (drums/ vocals) and Brian Sarna (bass) serve at the NOODLES’ rock solid rhythm until this day. Relative newcomers, Phil Miller (guitar/vocals) and Chris Heroldt (keys/vocals) are also seasoned pros of the South Side music scene, while the NOODLES’ horn player include saxophonist Charles “Dez” Dezmoreauz, and many more of Chicago’s finest players.
From the Rolling Stones to Earth Wind & Fire, from John Mellencamp to Stevie Wonder, the DANCING NOODLES bring the whole spectrum of classic hits that always have festival crowds dancing and singing along.
Kurt Schweitz has been playing various musical instruments since age 4 but didn’t begin to consider a career in music until moving to Chicago to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Chicago. Kurt has performed internationally on stages in London, Paris and most recently at the Aberdeen Jazz Festival in Scotland. Back home, his schedule has included performances at the Pritzker Pavillion in Millenium Park, the Chicago Jazz Festival, South Shore Cultural Festival, Meet the Composer, Chicago Humanities Festival, Asian-American Jazz Festival, Milwaukee Jazz in the Park Festival. Kurt plays regularly at Chicago’s many jazz clubs, has performed with local orchestras like the Rockford Symphony, and appears on several local jazz and pop/rock recordings. Kurt enjoys writing and performing in many musical genres. In addition to bass, he occasionally performs on piano, cello, viola, and laptop. He was awarded a 2011 Individual Artist grant from the Illinois Arts Council. His lone movie credit is as a cellist in the 2005 movie Proof, which is ironically about a University of Chicago mathematician.
Mutts first played together with tape rolling on Pretty Pictures EP in July 2009. Bob Buckstaff pitched the idea of recording Mike Maimone’s new material after they met as hired musicians for Company of Thieves. The pair instantly clicked over respect for honest, unrefined recordings and love of Tom Waits, Nirvana and Elliott Smith. They called mutual friends Jon Alvin and Chris Faller to engineer and play drums, respectively. Over a 3-day session in an old warehouse on the north side of Chicago, Mutts wrote, arranged and recorded their seminal release.
While citing Black Sabbath as an influence for any heavy band makes for easy stoner rock shorthand, North Carolina’s Caltrop is one of the few shining examples where the influence can actually be heard. The quartet, hailing from Chapel Hill, was formed in 2005 by Sam Taylor (guitar/vocals), Murat Dirlik (bass/vocals), Adam Nolton (guitar), and John Crouch (drums). With thick, fuzzed out riffs leading the charge on most of their songs, Caltrop exists at the improbable intersection of Sabbath and the Allman Brothers Band, creating detuned, psychedelic dirges with a soulful Southern blues/rock inflection. Add a touch of the long-form, post-metal song structures of bands like Baroness and Earth, and you begin to see what makes the group tick. In 2006, the group self-released an eponymous demo, and in 2008 they released their first full-length outing, World Class, on Holidays for Quince.
This Chapel Hill, NC power trio has been tuning down and turning up since late 2005, constantly evolving their aural offerings of psychedelic sludge. With a combination of the foreboding heaviness of blues based proto-metal, the spry attitude and approach of punk, and the dynamics of progressive rock, their songs often project a dark & urgent energy. Black Skies is: Kevin Clark, Tim Herzog, Michelle Temple
All original heavy Chicago quartet for fans of metal, pysch, noise, and punk. “The quartet’s lineup is like the ultimate marriage of local garage and metal” – J.R. Nelson, Chicago Reader.
The Fortieth Day is the duo of Isidro Reyes and Mark Solotroff, both key players in the heavy-electronics outfit BLOODYMINDED, a band known for its aggressive and confrontational live shows. In The Fortieth Day, Reyes and Solotroff utilize guitar, bass, drum machine, and analog synthesizer to create epic, blackened, psychedelic-industrial drone soundscapes.
We’re a doom-crust punk band from Chicago. Our sound is not your run-of-the-mill hardcore sound, as we mix elements of traditional Middle Eastern music instrumentation; heavy, sludgy, crust punk; and experimental music influences. Our music incorporates rhythmical, theoretical, ideological, and structural hybrids of these various types of music…to create something new. We’re glad to meet you. …. we’re definitely interested in releasing split records, collaboration, and other stuff. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any reason!!!
The Awkward Robot is the result of the minds of Jason Martins and Javier Martinez, graduates of Full Sail University. Jason originally From NH and Javier a native of El Paso Texas relocated to Austin TX to give the music industry a try. With comparisons to Kevin Devine, Bob Dylan, and bright eyes they are ready to show the world what they have.
The Runaway Five are a band born in the desert and living in the city of Chicago. A love of loud guitars, square wave synth leads, and impressive video game collections brought these kids together. They play sci-fi music. The R5 blend consists of guitar-driven rock, Nintendo Gameboys, and hook-filled dance music– the kind of music someone in an 80s movie might have imagined people would listen to in the future. Influenced by The Talking Heads, The Cars, and 8-bit battle music, The Runaway Five many recordings available at music.therunawayfive.com!
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials were among the premiere party bands to come out of Chicago during the ’70s and ’80s. Often compared to Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor, fiery, flamboyant slide guitarist Lil’ Ed Williams and his group have continued to play dedicated, rough-edged, and hard-rocking dance music, establishing an international reputation that has lasted into the new millennium. A native of Chicago, Williams was first inspired by his uncle, renowned slide guitarist J.B. Hutto, with whom he studied as a young teen. Hutto not only taught him slide, but also introduced Williams to bass and drums. Williams’ half-brother, James “Pookie” Young, was also a student of Hutto, and later became the bassist for the Blues Imperials. The brothers co-founded their group in the early ’70s and went professional in 1975, playing at Big Duke’s Blue Flame on the West Side. The gig earned them a whopping six bucks, which the group members split evenly. In those early years, Williams worked days at a car wash while Young drove a school bus.
Despite their humble start, Williams and the Blues Imperials kept performing at night and by the early ’80s had developed a substantial regional following. Signing to Alligator in the mid-’80s, they released their debut album, Roughhousin’, in 1986 and found themselves receiving national attention. They began playing urban clubs and festivals all over the country and eventually toured Canada, Europe, and Japan. They released their second album, Chicken, Gravy & Biscuits, in 1989, and the success continued as the Blues Imperials began appearing with such artists as Koko Taylor and Elvin Bishop during the Alligator Records 20th anniversary tour. They released their third album, What You See Is What You Get, in 1992.
If Ed, Pookie, and the latest members of the revamped Blues Imperials never did much to modernize their blues or develop a new sound, that was just fine with the band’s followers (“Edheads,” no less), to whom the raucous, rocking slide guitar heritage of Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor, and Elmore James is blues nirvana. Following its third album, the group went on hiatus for a few years, during which Lil’ Ed Williams released two albums on Earwig, 1996’s Keep on Walkin’ with Dave Weld and 1998’s Who’s Been Talking with Willie Kent. In 1999 the band reconvened and released Get Wild. They followed it up with Heads Up, their fifth Alligator record, in 2002. Their sixth, Rattleshake, appeared in 2006, followed by their seventh, Full Tilt, two years later. ~ Jim O’Neal & Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Birthed in the fires of Minneapolis, Jt and the Sloppy Seconds make music to get down to. We bring the funk. We bring the pop. We bring the soul. Dance. Sweat.
Bear Hive is a band from St. Louis. It consists of three people: Chris Phillips, Joel Burton, and Nate Heininger.
Because each member of Bear Hive handles an impressive number of duties onstage, those who have heard but not seen the band may be surprised to learn it is merely a trio. Bassist Joel Burton and drummer Nate Heininger supplement their setups with secondary synthesizers, either hopscotching between instruments mid-song or tending to both simultaneously. Chris Phillips’ vocals are remarkably expressive, especially since he belts them out while tap-dancing on pedals to loop layers of prickly guitar riffs and managing a hands-on drum machine. The variety-show spectacle is far from effortless, but this demanding, sweaty routine is the process necessary to execute Bear Hive’s eclectic electro-indie party rock, which ranges from Battles-meets-Modest Mouse roof burners to lounging smoke breaks akin to Yo La Tengo. – The Riverfront Times.
Lakeside Collective was formed on a cold fall night, on the Northside of Chicago. We met through school and open ears. After spending the time jamming and creating we decided to pursue what we had.
Still an early band we are moving quickly on the scene and playing as much as possible, trying to express our art and the limits in which we are willing to go for improvisation.
Lake County band coming out with a different sound that we hope everyone will enjoy. With Adam on bass and vocals, Sergio on guitar, and Rey on drums the trio makes a big impact in sound!
