Ladies and Gentlemen…Blue Eyed Jesus! This trio from Chicago draws its inspirations from the dawn of Rock and Roll and beyond. Formed in 2009 by Chicago guitarist, Steve Vazquez (ex-Woolworthy, Thing 3), bassist Mike Dobervich (Duck You Sucker, ex-Umbra and the Vulcan Siege) and drummer Zafar Musharraf (currently The Swan King, ex-Toro! Toro! Toro!), the band weathered many setbacks (we’ll spare you the details) but continued to charge forward. An early demo prompted one reviewer to write:
“Garage-y, proto-punks, Blue Eyed Jesus…. have(sic) absorbed many styles and influences into its music. There’s definitely some blues-rock riffs combined with buzzy alternative rock rhythms and plenty of fuzzy vocals. It’s a simple, yet hearty stew.”
Audrey Leon, loudlooppress.com
Playing many of the great rock clubs of Chicago, BEJ have steadily been building a loyal fan base and continue to turn heads with every show. More and more, lovers of the Rock and Roll are coming back to satisfy their cravings for tube amps, heavy-foot drums, and guitar solos straight from the mouth of Godzilla. One blogger, after a second visit to a BEJ show, wrote:
“For this reviewer, BEJ continued to amaze her ears with the band’s intermixing of genres heard amongst their songs. It’s their use of edgy guitar hooks and upbeat tempos (even while performing the ballad -Tell Me Again) that fuels the loyal BEJ fans into a fanatic frenzy at each show. They were excited to hear such favorites Hey Beautiful, Long Hard Nights and closer Velvet Years but this band had two new surprises rockin’ the stage for them…” She went on :
” New song, Too Late, jumpstarted this set with a loud rip-roaring bang in which SouthSide immediately liked the melodic rhythms …meanwhile Your Time (new song dedicated to the people in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere) blasted the ears with hardcore guitar rock sound. This rock anthem was the highlighted featured of this performance for the way BEJ had the stage under an electrifying glow. Who knows when and where (Blue Eyed) Jesus will appear on stage again, blogspot readers, but do visit this band…”
Blue Eyed Jesus is excited to release the new Velvet Years EP, (Recorded with Dan Glomski of Balance Audio and Metro Mobile) and will be playing often in support. They will also be recording new material in the Summer of 2012.
BLACK ANGUS is the premier North American AC/DC tribute band re-creating the sound, energy and rhythms of AC/DC.
Far beyond your average wig-wearing cover band, BLACK ANGUS consists of veteran Chicago rock & blues touring and recording musicians from the likes of Loudmouth, Cathedral, Urge Overkill, Skinwalker, The Last Vegas, Frank Bang’s Secret Stash, Thunderwing, Maiden Chicago, Head On, Fierce Atmospheres, The Cynics and more.
“Our current line-up are just great players” says Taran De Pablos, singer of BLACK ANGUS. “Our guys have toured the world, released hit albums, done stadium tours, you name it we’ve done it. When performing with Black Angus, it’s a band having fun, breathing some life into some of the best rock songs of all time. The bull has found the unmistakable, AC/DC boogie. People love it.”
Since 2018 BLACK ANGUS has been touring the club and festival circuit, building out a Grade A set list. They’ve released 2 promo videos, and recently recorded studio versions of three classic AC/DC jams; “Girls Got Rhythm”, “Shot Down in Flames”, and “Walk All Over You”.
AC/DC rules. BLACK ANGUS aims to rule, almost as much.
Black Bear Combo was formed in 2002 by Doug Abram, a noise drummer inspired to take up horns after hearing Romany musicians in Ceske Krumlov. Our travels have taken us across the country, to festivals on both coasts, Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, the Halloween party at the White House, and every nook and corner of Chicago. We’ve played rock clubs, basements, festivals, weddings, funerals and parties of every description. Our sound is rooted in different styles from eastern Europe which we play in a way that’s all our own. But it would be nothing without sharing it, so we’ll see you at the next show!!!
Black Breath is a band from the Pacific Northwest who have quickly shredded their way to popularity. With members of Shook Ones, Go It Alone, Blue Monday, Get the Most, and On, they began in 2007 as crossover band with a joking spirit such as songs like “Party Idea” in their 2007 Demo. In 2008, they released a 4-song 12” EP, Razor To Oblivion, which proved their step in a more serious direction, writing riffs that are reminiscent of first-wave thrash, black, and death metal bands such as Celtic Frost and Hellhammer, but maintain a traditional hardcore punk undertone.
Although Black Breath is a fairly young band they are quickly becoming everyone’s new favorite band. They have absolutely stormed onto the hardcore and metal scene with their unique and uncompromising sound. After gathering a loyal cult following the band took their assault around the USA supporting Trap Them and Victims. Late last year Southern Lord released the very first recordings from Black Breath in the form of the Razor to Oblivion EP. Raw, intense and in your face this EP has created a immense buzz and effectively set up the highly anticipated next move!
For this, their debut full-length the band went into Kurt Ballou’s (Converge, Trap Them, Disfear) God City studios in Salem, Massachussets. The end result of those monumental sessions is a recording much darker, heavier and more brutal than anything they have done before. The direction of the album contains many of the punk and hardcore influences that were exhibited on the Razor To Oblivion EP. However, after listening to just five seconds of the albums opening track, “Black Sin (Spit On The Cross)” it’s painfully obvious the band has let their Swedish death metal obsession take control! One of the bands strengths is its ability to truly craft a memorable song with hooks that dig into your skull and never let up. This is heavily apparent on the thrashing burner “Children of The Horn”.
Not since the mid-eighties when bands like Motörhead, Metallica and Discharge were giving metal heads bangovers has brutality been so infectious. The decidedly more Death Metal direction of Heavy Breathing is a extremely bold move that will definitely set them apart from the rest.
Southern Lord is proud to present the new opus from The Bay Area’s devastating duo BLACK COBRA. Formed by drummer Rafa Martinez (ex-16, ex-Acid King) and guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian (ex-Cavity), BLACK COBRA catapulted themselves onto the scene in 2001 with their ravenous, upbeat and ultimately unique style of punk/hardcore-fueled sludge metal. They were picked up almost immediately by indie At A Loss Recordings becoming the band’s label home for the release of their debut full-length, Bestial, and follow-up album, Feather And Stone. By 2009, with the band then virtually a household name to the tens of thousands of fans who’ve seen their flooring live performances over the years, BLACK COBRA signed with juggernaut Southern Lord Recordings for the release of Chronomega, the band’s most diverse material to date.
For the recording of this, the band’s second release for Southern Lord Recordings, BLACK COBRA recently ventured across the continent to pound out their anticipated new album, the follow-up to 2009’s massively well-received Chronomega. This time around the outfit enlisted the talents of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and his God City Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. After a brutal week-and-a-half in the notorious lair, ‘COBRA hammered out what will soon be known to the world as their almighty fourth full-length album, “Invernal”. This is BLACK COBRA’s most honed and diversified material to date, and will definitely tear your face off completely. By the time you read this Black Cobra will have already decimated the fiends at the Power of the Riff Fest that their label put on in August. They also showcased songs from this album at the Music Fest Northwest festival in Portland and supporting High on Fire in Oakland. A rigorous amount of touring will continually be announced through the rest of 2011.
Black Tusk was born from sweat. There was blood, and maybe a few tears, too, but more than anything, it was sweat thatmarked the earliest years of Savannah, Georgia’s Black Tusk. Formed in 2005 by three lifelong friends—bassist Jonathan Athon, guitarist Andrew Fidler, and drummer James May—the band welded together what they called “swamp metal.”
Blackdog formed in the fall of 2005.
Heavily influenced by the Delta blues of the 20’s and 30’s, the Chicago Blues of the 50’s, and the Rock n’ Roll heroes of the late 60’s, Blackdog’s youthful energy delivers a strong mix of spirituality and sexuality that electrifies audiences, giving fans the opportunity to sit back awe-struck, or get on the dance floor to completely lose themselves. Their raw talent and explosive stage presence gives them the reputation of creating “mind-blowing adventures of passion and joy”. With exceptional originals and resurrected covers by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Ray Charles, Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Berry, and many more—Blackdog’s ambitious repertoire is something few can pull off so brilliantly, putting on 4 hour shows that are extraordinary front to back.
There is a difference between emulation and actualization. Blackdog is real, original rock n’ roll.
Visit www.yourblackdog.com for more about the band, and read about the confrontational beginnings of Blackdog. ..
Bill Ura Dik is a tenacious three-piece Chicago punk band, w/ a lust for wine, women, and song. Known far and wide for their original sound, as well as their ability to keep you laughing while they completely offend all your sensibilities w/ their sing along choruses and tongue in butt cheek humor.
“Dangerous bad ass boys have the guts to blend the best of late 70’s glam, 80’s Hollywood sleaze, and the Motor City’s musical early heavy sounds.”
-Michael Rys (punkglobe.com)
Formed in the spring of 2008, Black Actress delivers an authentic, high energy rock ‘n roll insemination: bringing an action packed live show and bombastic recordings to new friends and fans all over the country. Having shared stages with the likes of Electric Frankenstein, The Bronx, DiamondHead, New Bomb Turks, Red Fang, Wednesday 13, The Adicts, Airbourne, Michale Graves, Faster Pussycat, Nashville Pussy, LA Guns, and more.
The Heroes and Pirates of the music history we all know and love shine in this Chicago explosive.
*The Debut Self-Titled Album “BLACK ACTRESS”, Now Available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and more!*
The last time we heard from B. Dolan he was writing to us from a bomb shelter as the world ripped apart at the seams. On his newest album “Fallen House, Sunken City” he joins up with legendary indie-rap beatsmith ALIAS to survey the aftermath.
Dolan has already established himself as a master storyteller, but this time through he presents us with a full-throttle, unabashed, boombap hiphop record. You know, the kind of hiphop that was too grimy for mass consumption so it was declared “dead” by the unelected powers that be? With Alias behind the production board, B. Dolan’s aggressive delivery is accentuated by a special brand of bass-heavy breakbeats while the tailor made musical backdrops assist in the mood of impending doom.
As the title of the album may suggest, there is a fair amount of cynical content here, but that doesn’t mean the lyrics are wholly devoid of redemption. That would be too easy. What makes B. Dolan particularly unique as a lyricist is his ability to have philosophical underpinnings to every song without preachiness getting in the way of his art. The opening track, “Leaving NY,” is a great example of this technique. It balances the literal with the metaphorical and never tells the listener what they should or shouldn’t feel. The song has a truth of it’s own. In fact, that truth and message can easily be taken as the mission statement of “Fallen House, Sunken City.”
In 1999 B. Dolan moved from Rhode Island to NYC to pursue his passion. He had been writing and rapping for years, but Brooklyn’s Nuyorican Poets Cafe introduced him to spoken word which is when his career as a stage performer began. Finding himself on hard times he slept on park benches and subway trains before scoring a job as a doorman at a building that happened to be in close proximity to the Twin Towers. Just as he began piecing his life together the 9/11 attacks happened, leaving him in a paranoid mental state which ultimately resulted in his self-imposed exile from the birthplace of hiphop.
“Was I a coward to abandon the broken down mechanics / that crowned Biggie Smalls as the King of Atlantis?”
The move back to RI in 2002 proved to be a wise one for Dolan. Over the next few years hhe tapped into the local arts community, volunteered for at-risk youth programs, created the consumer activist website Knowmore.org, teamed up with Sage Francis, signed to Strange Famous Records and toured relentlessly from 2005 onward (most notably the Paid Dues Tour 2008 and Rock the Bells Tour 2009.)
It was on Sage Francis’ “Death Dance Tour” in 2007 that Alias and Dolan first conceived the idea of working on a full album together. Although Alias’ production is rooted in 90’s era hiphop, he had never produced a full rap album for anyone. In fact his production style had taken a turn toward more down tempo ambient-driven instrumentals by the early 2000’s. When the prospect of doing a full album with B. Dolan was presented, he took it as a challenge and an opportunity to fire up his MPC and return to a more traditional hiphop form.
It took two years of relentless work to mold the kind of album that not only avoids the spectrum of hiphop cliches, but downright destroys them. The true value of this record, however, is not in finger-wagging nostalgia for a lost golden era. At its heart, “Fallen House, Sunken City” is a record full of focused experimentation that would rather lead by example than romance the dead. “Economy of Words” finds Alias executing dubstep rhythms, “Body of Work” has Dolan exploring the mindset of a sex worker, and “Border Crossing” has a Providence marching band playing throughout.
Unlikely as it is, the two New England natives have crafted a sound rooted with authority in the best traditions of hiphop, with enough irreverence, energy, and vision to deface its tombstone and reanimate the corpse. This is post-rap, psychedelic-hop horrorcore politics.
Welcome to B. Dolan.
Welcome to a new breed of emcee.
Hip Hop is Undead.
