Meatbodies is a band born from the mind of Los Angeles rocker Chad Ubovich, a long time fixture on the California garage punk and neo – psychedelic scene. Meatbodies’ guitar-heavy sound is as hard-hitting as the best punk while also brimming with bent, pop-friendly melodies. 2014’s Meatbodies, self titled, is an undying timeless rock ’n roll mosh pit, a sonic experience truly evocative of its creator: unabashed, unrestrained, beautiful and strange. 2017’s Alice is an underrated concept album that vaulted Ubovich into the same realm as his predecessors, and 2021’s 333 expands the group’s reach into new sonic realms while retaining all the punky punch of earlier works. We now reach 2024’s Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom, an album completed by an ironclad will and steely determination. It’s also Meatbodies’ most ambitious, varied, and realized record to date—and possibly their finest hour.
Passion. Hunger. Determined. Consistent. Just a few words that might come to mind when you hear Chicago Rapper “Taco”. Hailing from Chicago’s now defunct LeClaire Courts housing projects, Taco realized his love for music early on. After receiving inspirational feedback, from an open mic performance, Taco began his rapping career at the age of 14. Influenced by a variety of hip hop artists in the game such as J.Cole, T.I, Meek Mill, Kendrick Lamar and more. He started Battle rapping during lunch period in high school and never losing made him want to compete in other areas of music such as creating full length songs.
Pouring out personal thoughts and feelings that many fans can relate to, Taco released his first mixtape “The Truth” January 27, 2015 on datpiff.com for free. After receiving positive feedback with over 60,000 views from his first mixtape he began working on his next project “The Truth 2” released May 16, 2016 which also was a great success he decided to put this project on a variety of digital streaming outlets such as iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Google play and More!
“Taco” has been on a mission to share his craft with the world. With a hunger for music, unique style, and versatility in hip-hop, he released his 2017 Album titled “Hot Winter”, which was both captivating and relatable. Highlighting issues plaguing the city of Chicago, such as gun violence and growing up with no father in a poverty environment. You can also grab his other projects which are an EP titled “Never Doubt Me” released November of 2018 and a Joint Album with another Chicago artist G.S titled “Masterpiece” released in December of 2019 on those outlets as well.
Taco had a successful 2018/2019 having 11 consecutive Sold Out Concerts in Chicago in which he Headlined at major venues such as Wire, Bottom Lounge, Reggies, Subterranean, Bourbon on Division ,Club Red , JC Martini Club and even having a concert on the “Summers of George” Boat. Taco also Sold Out his dream venue “House Of Blues” (Chicago) in 2019 with 1300 in attendance. Taco is also set to release a New Album titled “Underrated” New Years Day 2021 exclusively on TacoMusicOfficial.com with the partnership deal he inked with Sony (The Orchard) in late 2020 you can expect some BIG things to come in the future!
Julia Morrison (they/she) is a singer, songwriter, painter who writes approximately a song a week, usually of the folk or psychedelic rock genres. They came out with a second album, Venus this past summer, and are finishing a new album this spring.
Boston based deathrock dealers. A harrowing journey through all things Hardcore, Metal, and Goth, Mourning Moon drags the listener through the dark in 12 thrilling tracks, and drives a stake right into the heart of 2023’s most compelling releases.
24-year-old Indie Pop artist Jenny Scara, originates from Batavia, Illinois while having strong roots in the Bloomington/Normal area of Illinois after attending school at Illinois State University. During Jenny’s time there, she honed in on her sound and began writing and recording her own music. Following her graduation in the spring of 2023, Jenny dove head first into the Chicagoland music scene releasing notable singles, “Bottom of the Ocean” and “Not Again!”, while playing at prominent venues such as The Raven Room, The Bookclub, and The Burlington. Jenny’s debut EP, “Love You Always” was released in February garnering over 3,000 streams in just one month. Following the release, Jenny went on to sell out her next two shows at The Coffeehouse in Normal and Montrose Saloon. Jenny has been able to share the stage with other great talents, such as Parijita (The Voice – Top 8 Finalist) and Bryce Bishop (137k monthly listeners), showcasing her star power and stage presence among more established artists. Jenny has also earned press recognition (Wavy Magazine, Buzzslayers) along with her recent performances and releases.
Mikey Harms is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the Southside of Chicago.He plays Indie folk and alt rock. To keep it short, you don’t wanna miss this.
Listen to a Transylvanian Rock sound born on the streets of Chicago! Experience a different musical perspective about life through the eyes of a faraway mysterious land overlooking Carpathian Mountains of Romania, where legend, mystery and reality are often found to be part of a daily routine.
Fugu Dugu is a female-led Eastern European gypsy punk rock band inspired by the fields of Moldova, the mountains of Romania, railroads of Ukraine and Russia, with a touch of Klezmer and Americana. Born in Chicago in 2017 and conceptualized by Grammy-winning violinist and lead singer Olya Prohorova and Chicago singer-songwriter Mark Adkison, Fugu Dugu has been performing a combination of original and timeless Eastern European songs across the Midwest. With its style deeply rooted in the folk traditions of Eastern European melodies, Fugu Dugu songs are sung in three languages – Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian and English. Fugu Dugu is often referred to as “female Gogol Bordello.” Originally a duo, in2021 Olya Prohorova and Mark Adkison expanded the band by adding bass and drums. In 2023 the band performed together with the “GodFather of Ukrainian rock and folk-rock music” Oleg Skrypka and he called Olya “a genius violin player”. First band album “Last Lunatic” is released in May 2024
Playing locally and internationally since 1988, it is safe to say, Mike Scharf is a veteran of the Chicago Blues scene.
Mike has backed many of the premier talents in blues. He has recorded or shared the stage with artists such as Lefty Dizz, Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials, Sam Lay, Barkin Bill, John Edelmann, Tom Holland, Son Seals, Pinetop Perkins, Jools Holland, Mississippi Heat, Lynwood Slim, Johnny Sansone, Morry Sochat, Mud Morganfield, Mark Wydra, Keith Scott, Dave Weld, The Big Swing, Hubert Sumlin, Shawn Pittman, Johnny Adams, Dave Specter, John Primer, Nick Moss, Bill Lupkin, Jon McDonald, Rick Kreher, Little Mike and the Tornadoes, Studebaker John, Rockin Johnny and other Chicago Blues artists.
In addition to performing at top blues venues throughout the US, Mike regularly tours the globe; playing music in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, and India
Mike Has recorded for Blues Boulevard, Delmark, Johann’s Face and Parsiful Records
HELLWITCH arose from the depths of HELL in October 1984. Formed by guitarist Patrick Ranieri and drummer/vocalist, Harry Tiyler. The project expanded into a full band set up in February of 1985 with the introduction of current PRECIPICE drummer Dave Silverthrash (Silverstein), replacing Tiyler, and Andy Adcock on bass/guitar. HELLWITCH shared the stage with such heavies as CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, G.B.H., CORONER, DARK ANGEL, KREATOR, DEICIDE, DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, ATHEIST, AGNOSTIC FRONT, D.R.I., ANTHRAX, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and many others.
October of 1989 brought about a contract with Wild Rags Rec. for the debut album ‘Syzygial Miscreancy’, recorded at the renown Morrisound Studios with veteran Thrash producer Scott Burns. In August of 1991 HELLWITCH entered Morrisound Studios once again to cut the three track EP ‘Terraasymmetry’ for Lethal Records.
2009 saw the release of their long awaited sophomore album ‘Omnipotent Convocation’. With the existing line up from 2005’s ‘Epitome of Disgrace’ promo. The second full length CD, ‘Omnipotent Convocation’ , came out in August 2009 on Xtreem Music. This album marked the second coming of HELLWITCH.
The release of the 30th Anniversary, 10-LP (!) box set on Germany’s IRON BONEHEAD Records came in 2016. Currently, the release of the NEW HELLWITCH album on Listenable Records titled,”Annihilational Intercention” is slated for June 2023. The band will tour in June as well as do several festival appearances later in 2023!
The notorious and prolific Cleveland cult, Midnight, have been slaying the metal/punk underground with their own, highly addictive brand of lust, filth, and sleaze dating back to the band’s inception in 2002. Vocalist / guitarist / bassist / drummer Athenar has always known exactly what he wanted Midnight to be, and over the course of countless demos, EPs, compilations, splits and three full-lengths he has stayed true to his roots. Building up a strong reputation and a rabid following in the underground, the band’s trademark blend of speed metal, black metal and punk rock, Midnight’s most recent opus, Rebirth By Blasphemy sounds both fuller and more raucous than ever before.
Longboards Rule! DJ Rogue Wave has been riding the nose, goofy-foot ever since he crawled ashore to shake up this once in a lifetime cocktail of sun, sand and surf for the background vibes at the summer’s hottest performance of Surf Rock. This playlist is available to rock your private beach party. Search: Rogue Wave / Beach Blanket Bingo on Spotify…
THE REAL PRETENDERS
Real Pretenders are four Chicago music scene veterans with a passion for the hard driving rhythms, catchy melodic hooks, soul-tortured lyrics, and back alley sex appeal that characterize the music of the Pretenders. They aren’t a costume act and they don’t play the original members of the band as characters. Instead, these established players with audiences of their own have come together to thread the musical needle between faithfully rendering the Pretender’s sound and joyfully harnessing these timeless and lustful pop rock gems as a means to expressing their own musical identity. Not only do they take on both the band’s classics and deep cuts, they also offer a new take on songs covered by the Pretenders as well as those that perhaps might have been. Real Pretenders aren’t simply a tribute to the music of the Pretenders, they are a tribute to their essential spirit. Do not miss.
The ever-metamorphosing entity that is GONG launches, as ever, into unknown – and unknowing – territory with new tours destined to be talked about, discussed, and argued over, up and down the land.
From its beginnings in a French commune in 1967, through the Virgin Records years, mismanagement, court cases, break-ups and re-joining’s, deaths and rebirths – there has always been a continuous thread of beautiful, dangerous and extraordinary music.
The current holders of the flame have come together over the last eight years; sinuous bass player Dave Sturt joined just as the album 2032 was shown to the world; Ian East (Sax, Flute) was the next to blow in through the portal; Fabio Golfetti brought his guitars from Brazil (after working with Daevid Allen for many years); Kavus Torabi (lead vox and guitars) appeared to Daevid in a vision; Cheb Nettles (drums) just sort of turned up.
In 2015, Daevid Allen passed away. His influence and legacy were honoured on the band’s subsequent album, Rejoice! I’m Dead! (2016). In recent years GONG has performed with the Steve Hillage Band (himself a former member of the 1970s GONG line-up) and released the critically acclaimed album The Universe Also Collapses (2019) and a stunning new live album Pulsing Signals (2022) captures the band at a creative peak with tracks drawn from their 2019 tour. Their new studio album, Unending Ascending, was release in November 2023.
Gong’s musically diverse world includes shades of psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes.
GONG KAVUS TORABI vocals, guitar FABIO GOLFETTI guitar IAN EAST sax, flute DAVE STURT bass CHEB NETTLES drums
DAVID CROSS is an English electric violinist and keyboardist best known for playing with progressive rock band King Crimson from 1972 to 1974. Cross appears on their studio albums Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (1973) and Starless and Bible Black (1974), as well as “Providence”, a live track on Red (1974), in addition to numerous concert recordings that have been released by Robert Fripp’s Discipline Global Mobile label in the decades since.
After leaving the band, David was a senior lecturer in Music Education at the London Metropolitan University and besides several projects and recording sessions, he kept alive his own band since 1994 releasing 10 albums. In recent years David Cross has toured all around Europe, Latin America and Japan with Stick Men (with other King Crimson alumni, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, plus Markus Reuter), vexing featured on albums Midori and Panamerica; as well with David Jackson, the legendary sax player from Van Der Graaf Generator. In 2023 David toured with his band all around Europe celebrating the 50th anniversary of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic album. In 2024, DAVID CROSS and his LARKS’ TONGUES BAND will continue touring all around Europe, Japan and North and South America, adding some material from Starless And Bible Back and Red album to the band’s live repertoire.
Hailing from the depths of Long Beach, California, Pythagoras emerged in 2016 as a relentless force in death metal. Founded by guitarist Ian Espinosa and bassist Etienne Bouyer, the band has undergone dynamic transformations in both sound and lineup.
The current roster, featuring guitarist Juan Morales, drummer Dylan Cutler, and vocalist Andy Henriquez, delivers a ferocious blend of old-school death metal and technical intricacies inspired by the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Archspire, Dying Fetus, and Obscura.
Having shared the stage with Psycroptic at Los Angeles’ iconic venue, 1720, on September 3rd, 2023, Pythagoras has solidified their presence in the live music circuit. The band’s sonic journey includes two EPs, “Active Shooter” (2019) and “Killdozer Rampage” (2020), along with their debut full-length album, “Botched Field Surgery,” released in December 2022.
Pythagoras continues to captivate audiences with their unrelenting energy and commitment to pushing the boundaries of death metal. With a history marked by evolution and a relentless pursuit of sonic extremity, Pythagoras stands as a formidable name in the California death metal scene, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to experience their intense musical journey.
Ever wanted the theatrics of emo and the horror of hardcore to smooch a little? Are you a lil freak boy who desperately wants to be Mommy’s Favorite??? Gross. May we introduce to you, Chicago’s own eerie, dancey, scream-soaked… Carnivore Mommy.
The duo of Niko Kapetan & Bailey Minzenberger – an essential addition to Chicago’s long lineage of forward-thinking indie rock. On Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, their full-length debut release on ATO Records, the band merges elements of post-punk & chamber-pop & experimental rock, magnifying their music’s exhilarating power with a steady barrage of spirited gang vocals. Poetic, explosive, & sublimely raw in feeling, the album brings an equally visceral intensity to brutally heavy anthems & heart-on-sleeve ballads alike, creating an immediate outlet for the most unwieldy emotions. Formed in 2019, Friko soon began taking the stage at legendary Chicago venues like the Metro, Empty Bottle and Schubas Tavern, self-releasing their acclaimed debut EP Whenever Forever in 2022 and making their festival debut at Bonnaroo the following spring. Known for their high-energy live show, Friko aim to deliver a live experience that’s fantastically disorienting in its emotional arc. Mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Big Thief) and engineered by Jack Henry and Scott Tallarida, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here embodies a sonic complexity befitting of a band that names Romantic-era classical music and the more primal edges of art-rock among their inspirations. Friko hopes that their music’s emotional potency might have a galvanizing impact on audiences. Niko says, “I want our music to pick people up, so that they can actually go out and do something with whatever they’re feeling.”
The album, often referred to as “The Blue Album”, was released July 25, 1995. The album contained three successful singles, “Don’t Stay Home”, “All Mixed Up”, and “Down”, resulting in the band’s mainstream breakthrough. It has been certified triple platinum with sales over three million albums. The album, unlike the first two, was recorded live, with no instrumental over-dubs. This album is home to some of their most relaxed music (“Purpose”) and also some of their hardest-hitting (“Hive”, “Brodels”). It is also the first album to not feature heavy slap bass, with the only appearance being in a small segment of “Misdirected Hostility”.
YANA RENEA
“Meet Yana Renea, a dynamic performer and visionary entrepreneur hailing from the South Side of Chicago. With a passion for the arts and an unrelenting drive for business, Yana has become a shining example of creativity and ambition. Her talents have captivated audiences, while her entrepreneurial spirit continues to inspire those around her. Yana Renea: a name synonymous with talent, innovation, and the heartbeat of the Windy City.”
With a sound that has been dubbed “a refreshing fusion of rhythm and blues, gospel. jazz and hip hop” and the stage presence of music legends, B. Lilly sings, writes and performs from his soul. Born and raised on Chicago’s west side in the Austin community, he discovered his love for music at Greater St. John Bible Church where he grew up enjoying the band and choir. At 13, he channeled his love into learning to play the piano; then, during his senior year at Chicago’s Providence St. Mel School, he landed the role of Tony in at production of “Westside Story” and fully embraced his love for the stage.
B. Lilly was named a Hurvis Scholar at Lawrence University. There, he received a B.S. in Anthropology; activated his passion for community outreach; and further developed his musical talent. His songs and performance style range from passionate and high energy to smooth and classic — taking his audiences on a soul-filled and soul-stirring musical journey.
B. Lilly also has a heart for people and serves as a school-based mentor with the College Mentoring Experience (founded by his dad, Bernard Lilly Sr. in 2014), where he leads life-empowerment workshops for middle- and high-school youth. He is also a member of CHICAGO 200, a program for emerging leaders whose goal is to enhance the quality of life for residents across the city.
Voice of the community… lover of music… man of faith: B. Lilly is set to take the nation – and, ultimately, the world – by storm.
Chicago Soul Explosion is 10-piece horn show band that plays R&B/Pop/Soul/Motown/Funk. Music directed by Robert Burks, musical director/guitarist for Chicago’s own The Chi-Lites, this band made up of all-star musicians from all over the Midwest who’ve played with many well knows acts including The Jacksons, The Temptations, Prince and The Chi-Lites among others. Chicago Soul Explosion stretches their reach with tunes not many bands usually cover and try to make themselves unique amongst the music community.
Bold, sensual vocalist, Alysha, mesmerizes audiences with the sultry vocal styling of jazz and soul music. Her endearing aura bewitches listeners into the essence of love, individuality and self-actualization. Surrounded by incredible musicians who strive to push their music to an innovative level, Alysha’s creativity and originality continue to ascend upward. An experience with Alysha is striking, genuine and poignant.
Jenise Grandberry who goes by the moniker of Harmoney Chicago is a leader in the new school of contemporary artists. She’s a multi talented
Singer/ songwriter and rapper who was born and raised on the west side of Chicago.
She began her career performing cover songs by artists such as Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan and an array of others on the Red/ Blue line Chicago train platform.
Since a child, she has always had a vast array of musical influences, however; she accredits the pivotal influences in her music to R&B and soul artists such as Fantasia, Missy Elliot, and Brandy just to name a few.
She draws inspiration from her own life experiences while using her music as a vehicle to express her perspectives and tell stories. It is clear that Harmoney Chicago is on her way to becoming a worldwide phenomenon and a musician that will continuously change the status quo of the industry. Harmoney Recently released her latest single “POPPIN” in 2023 and plans on coming into this new year harder than ever. Not only is she planning to release her next single entitled “BottomLine” February 2024, but she also will be releasing her 2nd Mixtape, entitled “ 7 DAYS A WEEK …
Guardin is an alternative singer songwriter from Western New York whose music has inspired countless others through his honest lyrics and creative endeavors. Guardin has toured around the country as a headliner and co-headliner and in support of Oliver Francis, Gnash, Wicca Phase, Guccihighwaters, Lund, and Sewerperson.
Artur Menezes’ playing is a distinctive blend of fiery, hard-rocking blues that at times borders on shred, combined with an ability to effortlessly switch gears into swinging, jazz grooves. His Brazilian roots add a unique flavor to the mix and further distinguish his playing from that of his contemporaries. Menezes’ songwriting sparkles as it switches between straight-ahead blues and funk- flavored workouts, and his vocals channel the deep emotional content of his songs as effectively as his guitar playing. Fading Away, Menezes’ latest album (produced by Josh Smith and featuring a guest appearance from Joe Bonamassa), was a serious step up in both writing and playing. Its arrival laid down a clear marker for his place among the front-runners of the new breed of blues guitar heroes. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Artur is releasing new music in 2023 with Black Hill Records.
Earth Radio finds itself in a profound nexus of contrasting styles, clashing aesthetics, and true diversity that coalesces into a new brand of driving, psychedelic, open-ended, and heavily improvised Rock n’ Roll
Earth Radio Is:
Mungion is Justin Reckamp (Guitar/Vocals), Joe Re (Keys/Vocals), Grant Martin (Bass/Vocals) and Jonny Gifford (Drums). Drawing inspiration from a wide array of musical styles, they create a raucous, yet jubilant sound all of their own. Since their inception in Spring of 2015, Mungion is quickly becoming known for their undeniably explosive and charismatic live shows. The Chicago-based four-piece is rooted in their ambitious compositions and improvisational ability.
Known for their whimsical songs and goofy stage antics, Mungion’s joyous presence is a natural extension of its members, making for live performances that are infectiously lighthearted and deeply sincere. Mungion is guaranteed to have you smiling ear to ear and leaving wanting more.
Pulverizing death metal from Melbourne, Australia. Riffs so heavy it’s like bricks hitting your ears. Members of Derailment, Headless Death, Incinerated, Internal Rot, Incinerated, etc.
6kitty is a Chicago 3-piece, female-fronted indie rock band formed in 2018. Their sound has been compared to Vanishing Kids, UV-TV, and the Pixies. They fuse blended vocal harmonies, melodic forward bass lines, and hard-hitting drums. They released their first album, Tux, on 11/11/22 which was included in Fast ‘n’ Bulbous’ Top 100 Albums of 2022.
Lithia is a Chicago based project harboring sounds from indie/alternative/experimental rock. They are currently working on their debut full length album, Pink House.
CARDIEL is a two-piece rock band originally formed in Mexico City in 2010 by drummer Samantha Ambrosio and guitarist/vocalist Miguel Fraino, both from Valencia, Venezuela. Their style contains elements of skate rock, fuzz punk and psychedelic dub.
Shubzilla and Bill Beats are a rapper/DJ duo based in the Pacific Northwest. They began working together in 2011. After releasing the single “Wonderful World” for “Bill Beats For President Vol.1,” the pair have gone on to release EPs “Late Checkout,” “BOOMERS,” “BOOMERS Vol. 2,” “The Belmont Tapes,” and more. Shubzilla and Bill Beats have performed at Super BitFest, SXSW, San Japan’s Jamspace, MAGfest, Nerdcore Dayz, The Never Give Up Never Surrender Tour, and many others. They have toured with acts such as mc chris, Kadesh Flow, Mark Cooper, and Prowess The Testament.
They are also the hosts of Seattle’s Friday Night Get Down, a monthly community hip-hop show. Occasionally, Shubzilla and Bill Beats stream gaming and music making on Twitch. They have livestreamed sets for shows such as Bonus Stage Vancouver, Virtua Ongaku, and The Four-Eyed Horsemen.
With Shubzilla’s frank and aggressive lyrics and Bill Beats’ penchant for samples and
bass-heavy compositions, they do not disappoint.
MC Snax has made it his mission to spread some much needed joy and freshness in an often negative and stale world. In his ever-building career, he has self-released several albums and EPs, all the while building a dedicated support base. Whether he’s writing about saving the world from an alien invasion with former WWE Champion and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, or rapping at length about his favorite discontinued snacks, the MC Snax discography is a vast resource of absurdly positive and oftentimes positively absurd music. Snax also co-hosts a Juggalo-themed podcast named Hatchet Chat with MC Lars. With his strong D.I.Y. ethic, MC Snax produces, records, mixes and masters all of his own music. Formulating a combination of synth-pop, chip-tune and hip hop, MC Snax plans on taking his unique style of music as far as it can go!
For over twenty years, MC Lars has built a fanbase across the US, the UK and the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In addition to touring, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, South by Southwest, San Diego Comic-Con, Slam Dunk, Truck Festival and as part of the ANS Warped Tour. He has performed on stage with numerous artists, including Bowling for Soup, MC Frontalot, Wheatus, Say Anything, Gym Class Heroes, Simple Plan, T-Pain, SnoopDogg, Nas, and Koo Koo Kanga Roo. His work includes collabs with a wide range of musicians – among them, “Weird Al” Yankovic, KRS-One, Sage Francis, Watsky, Mega Ran, Jaret Reddickof Bowling for Soup, Wheatus, the Matches, Kool Keith, Spose, MC Frontalot, YT Cracker, Schäffer the Dark Lord, Beefy and K.Flay. He has been featured on CNN, NPR, and MTV and
has been profiled in Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Alternative Press.
Lars has presented on the similarities between Shakespeare and hip-hop at two TEDx conferences and at numerous colleges and high schools. He has worked on a public-service basis with the American Heart Association, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Nantucket Historical Association, the New York City public school system, and the Los Angeles public school system (through the USC Annenberg School for Communication). His work has been featured in the Cambridge University Press Companion to Hip
Mak and Jamie have been making music since the summer of 2023. Jamie responded to a flier that Mak put up in a Northwestern building which said something like “Looking for Bandmates that like Big Thief,” and Jamie likes Big Thief. The rest, needless to say, is history. They started writing together and performing around Chicago; their voices and brains seem to just fit. Lily (drums) joined in December—she responded to the same flier that netted Jamie. Levi (bass) responded to a different flier, but a flier nonetheless. They are having a lot of fun, playing their songs for people, and are excited to keep doing it.
Chicago’s Gorgasm arose from the remnants of another local band, Crematorium when guitarists Tom Leski and Tom Tangalos joined forces with bassist Russ Powell and drummer Derek Hoffman in 1994. A six-song demo showcasing their single-minded brutality and amazing speed emerged two years later, and a full album, sensitively named Stabwound Intercourse, followed in 1998. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi
MASTER BOOT RECORD (aka MBR) is a project founded in 2016 by producer Victor Love (AKA Vittorio D’amore) mixing together heavy metal and synthesized electronic music. The project as a live band started their live activity in 2018 including renowned live performing artists such as the guitar virtuoso and Ibanez endorser Edoardo Taddei at lead guitars and technical death metal drummer Giulio Galati.
MBR released 14 albums so far with multiple record labels and has been one of the most successful musicians on US digital distribution platform Bandcamp charting #1 in general charts several times. Because of that Bandcamp often featured the albums and made interviews directly with the artist.
Starting in 2016 releasing albums under the indie label Data Airlines has moved in 2018 to synthwave iconic label Blood Music to expand its audience to the electronic community. In 2019 MASTER BOOT RECORD settled with Metal Blade Records, the historic metal label based in Los Angeles to release the latest two albums “Floppy Disk Overdrive (2020)” and “Personal Computer(2022)” helping the project to gain increased popularity worldwide.
MBR has also produced the video game “VirtuaVerse” as well as its original soundtrack. VirtuaVerse was released in 2020 on all gaming platforms as well as Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Playstation.
The rapid growth of the project sparked an intense live activity that culminated in 2023 with over 42 shows including 2 full tours in Europe and UK as well as participation in renowned European festivals such as Resurrection Fest (Spain), Euroblast (Germany), Complexity fest (Netherlands), Resistanz Festival (UK), SWR Fest (Portugal), Frantic Fest (Italy)
The band is currently scheduled to perform at major european festival Brutal Assault (Czech Rep.) in summer 2024 and has recently joined major booking agencies Doomstar booking in Europe and Heavy Talent in North America to increase their live activity in the future.
