Somewhere between sermon and strip tease…old school funk and dj dance club… sincerity and innuendo… lies Planet Booty. Live shows leave unexpecting audiences soaked in sweat and inspired as Planet Booty’s unrelenting energy and sexual positivity infuse their explicit, highly charged dance anthems and occasional heartfelt ballad. Their ability to transform any venue into an inclusive, sexually charged safe space catalyzed by a never ending fountain of showmanship has earned them a fiercely dedicated, cult-like fan base across North America and Europe, and opening spots for Lizzo, Big Freedia, Ninja Sex Party, Sisqo, Peaches, K Flay, Capital Cities, TWRP, Escort, and Turquoise Jeep.
Planet Booty’s core trio — Dylan Charles Germick, Josh Cantero and Rob Gwin — combine multiple live instruments and electronics into a mixtape of pop, R&B, 90’s house, 70’s funk and classic hip-hop that might have been made by your strangely attractive high school gym coach. Their fourth full-length album “YES”, released in September 2021 and featuring an all-star cast of national and Bay Area musicians, is Planet Booty’s most mature and articulate delivery of their unique brand of irreverent west coast party funk preaching body positivity and acceptance.
Forged in steel in the dark woods of rural Sweden, Screamer flies their banner high! With their feet firmly planted in the deep traditions of Heavy Metal, Screamer never lose sight of what’s really important; good tunes, good brew and good times! ‘Cause with Screamer every night is Friday night and every Friday night deserves to be a party!
As ruthless Swedish peasants, the band grew up on meat and potatoes on their plates, and that’s what’s blazing out of your speakers when putting on any of the Screamer albums. That’s why Screamer never strays far from the proven sound of roaring guitars and pounding drums that works equally well in the war pit in front of stage as when blasting through your stereo. In their music you can hear the classic foundations laid down by the hard rocking heroes of old. With a combination of straight-forward choruses of the likes of Dio, guitar works in the style of ‘Maiden or ‘Lizzy on speed and the pounding beat of Judas Priest, Screamer has carved out their very own essence of heavy metal that stands the test of time.
With their latest album the songwriting has become even more focused and hard hitting. For the first time the band has been able to build on the last release with an intact set of members. This has really allowed them to build on their strengths and grow as a song writing unit. And, also for the first time, they’ve been working with an external producer, Gustav Hjortsjö from Bullet, who has really helped hone every song to be the best that they can be. Whether it’s the brutal Halo, the sing along friendly Out of the Dark or the anthem-like title track Highway of Heroes, all songs truly carry their own weight and together they fulfill the bands goal and war cry for this album; “All hits, no fillers”!
This also goes hand in hand with Screamers continuous efforts to play their music for all and everyone who dares hear it. So far those efforts have had them playing on countless stages in North America, Japan and of course all around Europe! To this date Screamer been on tour with Bullet (2012 and 2018), Striker (2013), Evil Invaders (2013), Night Demon (2018), Satan (2019), RAM (2019) and many others. They’ve also played festivals such as Headbangers Open Air (2013), Rock Hard (2014), Summer Breeze (2014), Muskelrock (2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019) and Bang Your Head (2019). And this is only mentioning a tiny portion of everything and everywhere they’ve played, by now they have well over 300 shows under their belt. And rest assured that whenever and wherever Screamer plays, they always deliver an energetic show and a good time!
Still, they are not done yet by a long shot! Having previously released the albums Adrenaline Distractions (2011), Phoenix (2013) and Hell Machine (2017) on High Roller Records they have now decided to switch to The Sign Records for the latest album to get the ball rolling even faster!
So grab a cold one, crank the stereo to eleven and join Screamer on an epic journey down the Highway of Heroes!
Screamer is:
Andreas Wikström – Vocals
Anton Fingal – Guitar
Dejan Rosić – Guitar
Fredrik Svensson Carlström – Bass
Henrik Petersson – Drums
From San Francisco, California. Hell Fire pulls influences like the twin guitars and soaring vocals of New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement of the late 1970s combined with the speed and intensity of the early 1980s Thrash Metal Scene
Fernando Rosa has gathered his extensive musical knowledge and research for the launch of his new Project ALIVE: taking to the live stage his own versions of hit songs alongside a trio including Jamiroquai’s drummer Derrick McKenzie.
Born and raised in the suburbs of São Paulo, he learned to play at the age of 8, beginning his professional career as a 14-year-old. An artist who remains truly authentic, Fernando plays whatever he feels like playing. A clever researcher, he goes beyond music. During the pandemic, he began producing dozens of videos for his social media pages, all of which are as simple and creative as they are powerful and revolutionary.
Just him, his bass and a camera travel through the universe of classics from Black, Funk and Disco Music.
From John Coltrane to Flying Lotus, Mateyko Jazwinski blends an incredibly wide variety of influences into his music. Mateyko has played in prominent venues such as SFJAZZ, has appeared on ABC 7 Chicago’s Windy City Live, and hosted a 10-week residency at Andy’s Jazz Club. Mateyko has also performed at several charity events for Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Children’s Heart Foundation.
Born with the heart condition Tetralogy of Fallot, he could not engage in contact sports with other children while growing up in a sports-heavy community. Music gave him an outlet to express himself and connect with other people. Mateyko’s dedicated passion for upright & electric bass, composition, and performance provide a sense of escape and exploration to those around him. Mateyko is currently pursuing B.M. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He studies with Matt Brewer, Scott Pingel, and Sharay Reed.
The Band Royale was born out of love for big guitar riffs, an appreciation for the finer things, and a mutual obsession with science fiction. And they are able to sneak these things into their sound without scaring off the opposite sex.
Since it’s release on New Years Day, …As Long As The Money Lasted has sold in over 59 countries worldwide and featured in SPIN, Consequence of Sound, AV Club, NYLON, Chicago Tribune, Modern Drummer, Bass Player Magazine & more.
Brothers Joel, Nate, and Zach Bauman grew up in the working-class town of Kalamazoo, MI, each with an immediate passion for music (passed down from their parents — their mother, a music teacher and their father, a school principal). At an early age, their shared obsessions with music, sports, and culture made the pursuit of playing in a band together an obvious choice. Once they moved to Chicago, they teamed up to make the heaviest music they could that would inspire some serious baby-making.
Our music will always be free because your money is not why we do this. The Band Royale’s goal is to redefine what being a “successful” band means in the New Music Industry, and using the Internet and social media to put our music in people’s hands whether or not they’re in the same hemisphere we are. The world is a smaller place than it used to be, and the “old ways” of promoting your band simply don’t matter to us.
Born Zarif Wilder, theMIND is an alternative R&B and hip-hop artist from Philadelphia. He began writing music when he was 9, as a means to cope with being in and out of different foster homes; eventually, he was taken in by a teacher, who supported Wilder’s dreams of pursuing a music career. He moved to Chicago to study music business at Columbia College in 2007, and subsequently forming the production group @THEMpeople the following year with 4 other friends. Though a Philly native, Chicago has adopted Wilder. Since moving here, the singer has worked with a handful of notable Chicago artists, including G- Herbo, Mick Jenkins, Noname, and Chance the Rapper and so many more. As theMIND, Wilder released his latest tape Summer Camp in 2016, and recently released the single “Miss Communication” with Soulection producer @Da-P, via Zane Lowe. Wilder’s forthcoming project “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head” is out now.
Drawing on the anthems of Face to Face and Midwestern pop punk, The Distractions have carved out their own niche of melodic punk. The band has been writing and playing the type of music that they find personally appealing with little consideration for a trendy stylistic approach.
MARBIN is a progressive jazz-rock band based in Chicago, IL, with a unique story that stands out in today’s music world. With a do-it-yourself approach, Marbin started touring extensively in 2011, bringing their original instrumental music to every part of the United States. Through word of mouth, Marbin has gained hundreds of thousands of devoted fans all over the world and has sold tens of thousands of albums. Marbin has released eight albums: Marbin (2009), Breaking the Cycle (2011), Last Chapter of Dreaming (2013), The Third Set (2014), Aggressive Hippies (2015), Goatman and the House of the Dead(2016), Israeli Jazz (2018), and Strong Thing (2019). Marbin regularly plays in clubs all over the US and in jam and jazz festivals around the world.
Raquel is a classically trained violinist with 20 years experience. She has taught both adults and children via in-person and online lessons for the past 9 years. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Lakeview Orchestra in Chicago. She has spent the last five years as a studio and live musician for various bands throughout the midwest.
She studied music and audio engineering at the University of Colorado Denver (class of 2017). She had the honor of serving the Metropolitan State University of Denver orchestra as their concertmaster in 2016. Along with playing in the current Lakeview Orchestra season, Raquel is currently collaborating with several musicians for string arrangements, composition, and chamber ensembles in addition to her own Sonic Creations series.
Raquel has been a sponsored artist member of Synth House Chicago Museum since Fall 2021. The museum generously loaned her a Lyra-8 synthesizer to compose music with her violin. She creates lush soundscapes, ambient drones, and experimental string music in her home studio. She has composed and arranged string parts for bands throughout Chicago. Raquel remains an active violin teacher and enjoys applying music theory and improvising concepts to her lessons.
Psychedelic thrash band Sadistic Ritual have returned, spewing their very metal take on Americana, infused with enough electrifying energy to propel them into the bright future they surely deserve. Ripping their way into 2022 with a freshly inked deal with Prosthetic Records, and the release of their sophomore album, The Enigma, Boundless, on the horizon. Their debut album, Visionaire of Death, was described by Decibel magazine as ‘a fearsome thrash ripper’, whilst other publications leveled comparisons to the likes of Kreator, Watain, and Sodom. The 2019 album was released after honing their craft – on the road and in the studio – and refining the vision that Charlie Southern (guitar and vocals) first brought to life back a decade prior. Sadistic Ritual delivers classic thrash licks in spades, set against a backdrop of chugging, headbang-worthy tunes. The accessibility of their songs – which will delight metalheads across subgenres – belies the thought and consideration that goes into each element of Sadistic Ritual. With a disdain for authority, and themes of real world horrors – specifically spiritual and political fears being confronted – running through the album, there’s a dark and sometimes paranoid undercurrent to the lyrical content on The Enigma, Boundless, penned by Southern. Throw in an affection for LSD and the psychedelic part of ‘psychedelic thrash’ starts to become further apparent to annihilate the fallacies of a fabricated reality.
In Chicago, it’s not fun with the names of groups. Urine Hell was not only noticed for [their] name but especially for [their] first (virtual) demo in December 2020. The group returns with Weakling, a four-track cassette on Already Dead Tapes and the jet is monstrously good. And corrosive, wickedly incisive. Not really noise-rock in the historical lineage of many bands from Chicago but a little bit with Chat Pile or Bruges inside and Dazzling Killmen also in the intentions, that is to say a more unhealthy, tortured, distressing approach, a song between the spoken and psychopathic mode for a unique result which takes the guts to better return them. Diabolically intense and hellish like the end of Judas Song.
–Perte & Fracas (translated from French)
BANGLADEAFY is back with a new beast. Housefly brings you thirteen anxiety-ridden compositions exploring the industrial influences of the duo’s youth such as Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, and Devo.
Armed Forces is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 5 January 1979 in the United Kingdom through Radar Records. It was his second album with the Attractions–bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer Pete Thomas (no relation) and keyboardist Steve Nieve–and the first to officially credit them on the cover. The album was recorded in six weeks from August to September 1978 at Eden Studios in London under the working title Emotional Fascism. Produced by Nick Lowe and engineered by Roger Béchirian, the sessions saw Costello exert more control over production compared to This Year’s Model (1978), while Nieve contributed more to song arrangements.
GhostSigns is a hard rock band based in Chicago Illinois. The band was formed in 2020 by Wayne Garamoni and John Hackett, two of the founding members of Who’s Who, during the shutdown in live music caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The band is putting together an album of originals culled from several newly written songs and songs written over the past 10 years. GhostSigns has its roots firmly in classic rock influences, but it also incorporates elements of punk rock and heavy metal combined with lyrics influenced by the pandemic, political upheaval and polarization, and the protests taking place across the country.
TAFOYA
Michael Tafoya is one of the Midwest’s most popular and accomplished musicians, guitarists, songwriters, and performers. Most for his Powerhouse windmill swinging guitar playing power cords. In the mid 70’s Mike joined with some neighborhood buddies in a St. Charles Illinois based band “The Boyzz From Illinois“ which landed a deal on Epic records. Featuring Dirty Dan Buck (Front man), Anatoly Halinkovich (Keys), Dave Angel (Bass), Kent Cooper (Drums), & Gil Pini (Guitar). But now! In 2021! He is doing the same guitar POWER MAGIC, but you add Mike’s two bandmates to the mix, Craig Cederholm (Percussion-Vox) and Leslidiana F. Biocic (Bass-Vox), which Mike proudly calls “TAFOYA”! What you have is a combustible Rock ‘n’ Roll show and performance that will have you dancing and singing and remembering the show weeks and months after you have seen it. It is a one-of-a-kind rock performance. Great music, great presentation.Mike plays guitar, lead singer and bandleader along with Craig, and songwriter for TAFOYA the band.
Funk Sauce Brass Band was formed in 2019 in Normal, IL.The band consists of members playing horns and drums.
The band performs a variety of covers across pop, rock, funk, & jazz and aims to please audiences of all ages. With the power of winds, brass, and drums the band brings a powerful horn-driven sound to great songs.
The band released its first album, “Band Kids for Life” on April 29, 2022. The album celebrates the culture of band kids and the American brass band sound combined with a diverse set of covers in popular genres.
In 2021 Funk Sauce completed a 15 show tour on a mission to spread the joy of brass band music to new audiences surrounding central, IL.
Funk Sauce is embarking on our first national tour in 2022, Funk sauce is planning to support music education in our schools by working with the young brass, woodwind, and percussion musicians of today and performing shows nationwide.
Is This It is the debut studio album by American rock band the Strokes. Recorded at Transporterraum in New York City with producer Gordon Raphael, the album was first released on July 30, 2001, in Australia, with RCA Recordsas the primary label. The record entered the UK Albums Chart at number two and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard 200, going on to achieve platinum status in several markets. “Hard to Explain”, “Last Nite”, and “Someday” were released as singles.
Black Sea is the fourth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 September 1980 on Virgin Records. It is the follow-up to the previous year’s Drums and Wires, building upon its focus on guitars and expansive-sounding drums, but with more economical arrangements written with the band’s subsequent concert performances in mind, avoiding overdubs unless they could be performed live.
SLIFT
French trio Slift make long-burning progressive epics, part metal fury and part cosmic exploration. They grew from the garage punk sound of their earliest albums into increasingly complex and drawn-out arrangements and a sound that veered more toward psych-metal thrashing. Amid heavy touring and a growing international profile, Slift released their expansive third full-length, ILION, with Sub Pop in 2024.
Slift was formed in Toulouse in 2016 by brothers Jean and Remi Fossat. Jean handled guitar, vocals, and synthesizers; Remi was on bass; and the band was rounded out by drummer Canek Flores. Their first recordings were more on the psychedelic garage rock side of things, with undercurrents of science fiction and space rock influences. This sound showed up on their 2017 EP Space Is the Key and their 2018 debut album, La Planète Inexplorée, before they transitioned into a heavier, prog metal approach on their second album, Ummon, released in 2020. By this time, Slift had become known for their powerful live shows, with video of their 2019 KEXP session recorded at the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes introducing the band to many new fans. In 2022, the group played their first North American dates, which included appearances at the Desert Daze and Levitation festivals. That year, they also released a single on Sub Pop that consisted of outtakes from the Ummon sessions. Sub Pop issued the band’s third LP, ILION, in January 2024. The album was another step in the direction of overpowering compositional psychedelic metal, with just eight songs stretching to an almost 80-minute run time. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi
A short ride on the South Shore rail line brought me to the 1988 Chicago Blues Festival and my first exposure to the blues as a teenager. To my young eyes Downtown Chicago seemed like a different planet compared to my home in Northwest Indiana. A little slide guitar from Homesick James Williamson and some harmonica from Snooky Prior and I was hooked. In a few years while earning a business degree at DePaul University, I pursued another education in smokey blues clubs at night. Blues icons Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Son Seals, Robert Lockwood, Magic Slim, Jimmy Rogers and many, many others still prowled the stages of Chicago in those years. I’ve since devoted much of my time learning the intricacies of the music and it’s history. Over the years, I’ve absorbed what I could and have done my best to put my on spin on the blues. I’m constantly trying to find that sweet spot that, for me, lies somewhere between the raw Delta Blue of the south and the stomping Chicago Blues of my youth.
Today, you’ll still find me in Chicago wherever Blues is played, listening and learning. You may also see me around town guitar in hand performing – see the Shows page on this site for details. Hope to see you there.
Old Coke started in 2019 as a bedroom project, inspired by wall of sound guitars, noise rock, and energy-driven punk and metal.
Throughout 2021 the band gained traction from a set of impressively tight and energetic live shows. Now at the top of 2022, Old Coke have leveled up their sonic aesthetic further and is ready to flex their dexterity on their fast-approaching, independently released debut EP, “Sorted”. Working with Cloud Nothing’s Dylan Baldi, frontman and songwriter, Christopher Ruiz was able to approach his songs from a new angle due to lessons and advice from Baldi on the material that would then become part of the debut EP.
Freddie Sunshine is an artist who works in a variety of sounds. By applying a poetic and often metaphorical language, he creates intense personal moments that can be seen as self-portraits, both luring and captivating the listener time and again. Sunshine prides himself in DIY music culture.
