Earth Crisis is an American hardcore punk band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Earth Crisis’ chugging riffs and barked declarations served as the mouthpiece for the global vegan straight-edge movement throughout the ’90s, detailing the ideas of animal and human liberation, environmentalism, drug-free living, and personal empowerment through hardcore song.
Formed in 2008, Earthen Grave is a six-piece Chicago metal band that marries the sounds of metal past and future with a sweaty, pummeling live show. Bassist Ron Holzner served a 15-year sentence with Chicago doom legends Trouble and Rachel Barton Pine brings her frightening classical chops to a relatively new instrument, the Viper. Finding groups like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Saint Vitus, Trouble, Pentagram, Candlemass and Slayer to be common influences, the band wrote and played shows around Chicago for the first half of 2009, culminating in the release of the “Dismal Times” EP in June. Featuring three original songs that meld classic, crunchy doom and NWOBHM vibes with a solid dose of thrashy bludgeoning alongside covers of two choice doom classics by Pentagram and Witchfinder General, the EP was hailed by critics as “astounding, ” and “pure, head-banging bliss” (MaximumMetal.com).
One of the most original and energetic acts around today, ekoostik hookah is the nucleus of a family drawn to its lucid, improvisational treatment of psychedelic rock ’n’ roll, blues, funk, jazz and bluegrass layered with rich harmonies. Born early in 1991 in a smoky basement bar, the band has been continually evolving, cultivating a sound that has perked the ears of contemporaries and attracted fans who travel miles to hear them play.
The Ohio-based band began jamming during weekly open-mic nights when vocalist/keyboardist Dave Katz, lead guitarist Steve Sweney, bassist Cliff Starbuck and guitarist/vocalist John Mullins had full-time gigs with popular bands. The ensemble quickly found a following and began this odyssey when a stranger who heard them at a party bankrolled a trip to the studio to record Under Full Sail. By the end of recording, band members had committed themselves full-time to ekoostik hookah. Drummer Eric Lanese joined in 1993. Since then, the band has undergone a few changes in personnel, including the departure of Starbuck and the addition of bassist Phil Risko and the departure of John Mullins and addition of guitarist/singer/songwriter Eric Sargent in 2010. ekoostik hookah has always independently handled every aspect of its growth.
ekoostik hookah has played in more than 30 states at venues including New York’s Wetlands Preserve, Chicago’s House of Blues, Cleveland’s Nautica Stage, Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse, Boulder’s Fox Theater, Columbus’ Promowest Pavilion, Cleveland’s House of Blues, LA’s Whiskey a Go-Go and San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. In 1997 hookah was invited to play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ekoostik hookah played its first international shows in June 1999 in Negril, Jamaica. Since then the band has traveled to the Netherlands in 2003 and back to Jamaica almost bi-annually, bringing their fans along each time.
Though intense live energy fuels this band, hookah fans have snatched up more than 100,000 copies of its eight releases: Under Full Sail (1991), Dubbahbuddah (1994), an untitled, two-disc live set (1996), Where the Fields Grow Green (1998), Hookahville Spring ’98 (1998), Sharp in the Flats (1999), Seahorse (2001) and Ohio Grown (2002).
Hookahville, the band’s home-thrown festival featuring two nights of music and camping in Ohio’s green hills, has been called by fans and critics the best music festival in the Midwest. The biannual happening began in 1994 as a camp-out in Dave Katz and band manager Jeff Spencer’s backyard. Growing steadily, it has since been held at different venues on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. The attendance for Hookahville Spring ’00 exceeded 15,000. Hookahville allows the band to create its ideal “no hassles or bad attitudes” playing environment and share it with many fine live acts. Ratdog, David Crosby, Arlo Guthrie, David Grisman, Dickey Betts, Jazz Mandolin Project, The David Nelson Band, Willie Nelson, The Wailers, P-Funk, Robert Randolph, Little Feat, Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs, Blues Traveler, Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon and many others have played on the Hookahville stage.
Rock ‘n’ fucking Roll from Chicago!
Featuring members from The Blackbelts, The Larroquettes, and Van Buren Boys
El Segundo hasn’t lost the faith. Why kneel to the false idols of electro-post-indie-garbage-shit-pop when everything you need lies within a Chuck Berry guitar line? Hail Hail RocknRoll motherfuckers!!
“A kid once said to me “Do you get hangovers?” I said, “To get hangovers you have to stop drinking.Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister of Motorhead
As long as any of us can remember, all we wanted to do was make music. While we came from different backgrounds, found inspiration from different influences, and developed different styles; we were united by our love of music. It’s the reason we saved all of our money to buy albums, memorized every word, learned each chord, bass line and beat. It’s the reason we spent all of our time together writing, playing and producing in a garage. It’s the reason we sleep in the studio and live on stage.
Down With Webster officially formed for a junior high talent show (we won). Since then, we have played more concerts than we can count (hundreds and hundreds). Every show is a party and we dare the audience to have more fun than us (usually it’s a tie).
Down With Webster’s new single “One In A Million” is currently available on iTunes.
NATIONALLY TOURING FUNK / PUNK / METAL / EXPERIMENTAL ROCK BAND from DETROIT MI
Modern music taking cues from 80’s Post-Punk and 90’s Alternative, with inspirations drawn from a host of bands from those eras and beyond. DH captures the spirit of these inspirations and updates the sound for today.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (also known as D.R.I.) are a United States hardcore punk/thrashcore/crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas, in 1982. The band currently comprises founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bassist Harald Oimoen.
D.R.I. never gained a mainstream audience, but the integration of their hardcore punk roots with thrash metal influences was a stylistic catalyst for their contemporaries —most notably Suicidal Tendencies, Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtroopers of Death— alongside whom they are considered pioneers of what would later be called “crossover thrash.” This subgenre was also coined from their 1987 album Crossover.
With over ten years on the DIY indie rock circuit, Driftless Pony Club has harnessed the power of YouTube to expose their angular, 90s styled indie rock to a diverse and widespread fanbase totally outside of the mainstream music industry. Through his quirky Youtube videos, lead singer Craig Benzine (AKA Wheezy Waiter) has amassed over 350,000 subscribers and pulled in fans from all corners of the world. The Chicago-based crew (Craig Benzine, Matt Weber, Sam Grant, and Nate Bartley) has packed venues in cities across the United States with more shows and more cities in the works.
Influenced by bands like The Pixies, Weezer, and most notably Modest Mouse, Driftless Pony Club has released three full length LPs and an EP. Their most recent album (released on DFTBA records), Buckminster, drew inspiration from the life and works of visionary architect, Buckminster Fuller yet ” . . somehow manages to rock despite its nerdy genesis.”
Droids Attack laid it’s first groove down in the small utility room of singer/guitarist, Brad Van’s, legendary vintage arcade, Aftershock Retrogames back in the fall of 2000. Brad, and drummer, Tony Brungraber, had met at a video game resale shop years earlier, and had started jamming shortly thereafter. By this they time had finally found a bassist, Nate Bush, to join them, so everything was in place. They began writing songs, and focused on developing a sound for what was intended to be their long term project. Once a full set’s worth of material was amassed, the band was off trying to land as many shows as it could. As fate would have it their first show was booked by then Crustacean Records representative, and future Droids Attack bassist, Darwin Sampson. It was a chance meeting that would help shape the group’s progression in several ways. Darwin enjoyed the band’s set that night, and saw potential enough to convince him they were a project worth adding to Crustacean’s expansive roster. Their debut album, “All Your Chicks Are Belong To Us” was released in 2004.
The gears started shifting, and before you knew it Droid Attack became recognized as one of the best live shows around Madison. “All Your Chicks” was met with great acclaim, earning the band some excellent press, and a Madison Area Music Award for best punk album of 2004. Moving forward, Droids continued writing and expanding on their sound, getting more epic in scope and feel with their 2006 Crustacean Records release, “Fatal/Error.” This album saw the group traveling outside of their Midwestern territory as the road beckoned them forth, most notably to Toronto for North By North East, and a Crustacean Records showcase in Austin at South By South West. Shortly thereafter, another independent label, Round 13 Records, took interest in the band and a split twelve inch record entitled “Thee 1987 Inch,” was released with new label mates, Imperial Battlesnake, on the flip side in 2008.
As the band stayed busy on the road touring steadily in support of their Round 13 release, Crustacean Records clamped down on it’s Midwestern focus with the hopes of branching off into more national territory, kicking out releases from acts like Killdozer, Off With Their Heads, Peelander Z, The Giraffes, and The Soviettes. Thankfully, the label continued to see value in their relationship with Droids Attack, and agreed to put out the band’s third full length album, “Must Destroy” in 2010. A music video was released for their song, “The Great Wall Of ‘Gina,” and a buzz began, earning Must Destroy steady airplay on independent radio, and favorable reviews on metal blogs and international publications such as Outburn, Decibel, and Giant Robot. This exposure opened up more opportunities, and the band was invited to play some heavy gigs, opening up for national acts like High On Fire, Torche, Floor, Priestess, and performing at the nation’s largest independent music festival, Riot Fest. It was at this time that the group decided if it was to ever move forward from here, they had to go big or go home. They decided to take a shot, and began writing material for their fourth album, “Sci-Fi Or Die,” intent on giving it their best possible performance, and producing the best sounding recording they had ever achieved. Once enough new material was amassed, they began the process of demo recording.
Many challenges presented themselves to the band during this period of time, which culminated in a parting of the ways with Nate Bush in the midst of their demo sessions. It was a difficult hurdle to overcome, but in an effort to keep the project working steadily toward their goal, the band recruited Crustacean label mate, Dennis Ponozzo, bassist from Below The Sound, to fill in. The re-formed group hit the practice space, and before too long the band was back on it’s feet. The demo sessions were revisited, and the band resumed their busy road schedule completing several regional, and national tours over the course of a year. By then, the group felt confident in their performance, and ready to begin the final recording sessions for “Sci-Fi Or Die.” The process of seeking a studio and engineer to take on the final project had begun. But alas, it was not meant to be. Dennis could no longer afford to spend the time it would take to commit to seeing everything through, and had to step aside. Once again the project was stalled at a crossroads, but Brad had another capable person in mind.
Darwin Sampson, no longer affiliated with Crustacean Records, was now running his own venue in Madison, WI, The Frequency, and maintaining an active role in the local music scene handling bass duties for several bands in the area. A call was made, the invitation to join Droids was enthusiastically accepted, and it was evident from the very first jam session that this line up was a solid match. After familiarizing himself with the entire Droids Attack catalog, it was time to take another look at “Sci-Fi Or Die.” Once again, the demo sessions were dusted off and pulled down from the shelf. After everything was completed to their satisfaction, Droids Attack booked time with Mark Whitcomb at DNA Studios to record and mix the final “Sci-Fi Or Die” sessions. Once everything was a wrap, Roger Lian at Masterdisk put the finishing touches on it, and after much consideration the band was satisfied that they had achieved everything they had initially set out to accomplish. “Sci-Fi Or Die” is to be released on the independent Midwestern label, Riff Reaper Records, on February 26th, 2016.
Formed in the Fall of 2008 on Chicago’s South Side, Drop Steady is a six-piece band hailing from across the United States and the carribean. Inspired by the traditional roots music of Jamaica, Drop Steady blends the sounds of reggae, ska, soca, dub and soul into a sonic cocktail guaranteed to awaken even the heaviest of dancing feet.
Combining a fresh diversity of musical talent, Drop Steady has already graced some of Chicago’s biggest stages, as well as being declared the winner of Harry Caray’s Battle Of The Bands 2009. Known for their raw on-stage energy and explosive live performances, Drop Steady captivates audiences with their soulful melodies, intricate harmonies, and powerful, driving riddims.
Drop Steady’s goal is pure and simple – MAKE ‘EM DANCE
Chicago’s own Dropped Once sets the bar with their trademark blend of reggae and rock. Their deep reaching bass lines, robust horns, and tasteful keys are topped with razor-sharp leads and unmistakable vocals that sell thousands of songs worldwide. Showcasing a lineup of 8 standout musicians, Dropped Once has built a sound that seamlessly fuses old world beats of the Caribbean with raw grooves of modern rock. Their innovative, original songs will drive crowds to dance, and a diverse selection of covers will hit home with fans of everyone from Bob Marley and Sublime to Radiohead and Pink Floyd.