In 2006 Jake and Connor began writing songs under the name A Nuclear Era. A Nuclear Era was an experimental/dream rock band incorporating spacy guitar effects and heavily effected vocals. A Nuclear Era lasted up until April 2008 were the band turned direction and when under the name Go! Go! Go!. This band was a very classic indie pop rock band. For the first time the band gained a 3rd lasting member in mid 2008. Originally he set to play drums, but decided he wish to play guitar and brought in his cousin Sergio. The band changed its name once again, to The Crimson Lincolns”. The name lasted until the 3rd member wished to leave due to creative differences.
On may 4th, 2009 the band became “The Young Minds”. They gained their drummer Sergio in November 2008. In June 2010, bassist, Charles. The Young Minds in the summer of 2010 worked on the 9 track home demo “Milo” which was never released. A year later the band went to a professional studio where they finished their debut EP titled “Sirens”, which was not released until Feb. of 2014. The group then relocated to Bloomington, IN. where they spent the year playing locally. Their second EP titled “Farewell for now” was released on December 3rd. 2014. The band currently on indefinite hiatus, due to relocation of band members.
Everyone claims to be a DIY artist these days. You won’t know the true meaning of the word until you hear, see, and experience Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor. “A sonic spiral that at times can make you feel like you are drowning in a spectrum of the most vibrant colors and at times can make you feel like you are at a funeral,” says front-man Sean Morrow of the look, sound and feel of his band. “The live visuals, artwork, and music all work in equilibrium to achieve this aesthetic”.
Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor not only write and perform moody electrifying psych rock that they record in their aptly named Space Camp Studios they also create trippy artwork, and put on a live light show that could make anyone flashback. Sean Morrow (guitar, vocals), Eric Oppitz (bass, organ) and Rick Sawoscinski (drums, percussion) are unified in their pursuit of SOYSV’s vision. Oppitz, an accomplished designer, makes the artwork for album covers, silk-screened posters and other merch; Morrow, whose voice has been compared to Jim Morrison’s, handles a majority of the booking and is always looking for new opportunities with his networking skills; while Sawoscinski handles promotion, marketing and technology. Wayne Woodward adds stunning visuals to the band’s live set, making him their secret weapon. Anyone who has experienced a Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor performance has felt the power of the swirling, ever-changing images he shapes.
Though from Detroit, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor’s reach is long. They’ve shared the stage with The Black Angels (with whom they are often favorably compared), Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dead Meadow, and Acid Mothers Temple; joined the elite ranks of psych bands at Austin’s Psych Fest for the second time in 2014; toured with Holydrug Couple, Loop, The Warlocks, and The Telescopes, and played SXSW and CBGB Music & Film Festival. Their previous album, Spectra Spirit has been repressed on vinyl three times since its release in 2011. In Summer 2015, the band will embark on their first European tour and tour the US.
Their upcoming release, Desert Brain, out June 2nd, not only brings Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor’s aesthetic to life, but it brings to fruition years of planning the ultimate immersive listening experience. “I think we were a bit scared to make it,” says Oppitz. “It took us much longer than a typical record of a collection of songs would have taken us. Not only did we have to write the songs, but we had to compose the transitions between them and then think about how each song fit into the overall concept of the entire record.”
Shimmering layers of sound slide and collide across the 47-minute album, which was crafted to be an end-to-end experience that’s more a shifting moodscape than collection of individual songs. The band’s commitment to experimentation is as solid as ever, and Desert Brain is a testament to that approach. Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor ventured away from Space Camp Studios in search of a distraction-free environment and found themselves in a cabin in Northern Michigan. Within the wooden walls, Morrow, Oppitz and Sawoscinski tested their ideas on vintage gear, including a newly acquired Mellotron, recording all the live tracking for the record on tape. “We do a lot of experimenting, kind of need to break an idea into a million pieces and then try and put it back together,” says Oppitz. “The cabin was perfect for environment for how we work. It was a very enjoyable way to make a record.”
There’s a lot of inspiration percolating through Desert Brain, everything from the surging tension and narrative flow of Rosemary’s Baby, The Shining and Apocalypse Now to the time element of of four years passing for the band. “Lyrically and musically, we really tried to tap into the chaos, celebration, and tragedy that has affected us over the last four years,” says Sawoscinski. “Since Spectra Spirit, people in the band have faced marriage, eviction, success, breakups, the death of a good friend to addiction, career changes and displacement. Desert Brain is just four years of life.”
While the process of writing and recording a unified album like Desert Brain was challenging, the reward is a seamless, immersive journey for the listener. From the opening, flanged guitar strains of “Seventh Scene” to the juggernaut of chugging noise at the center of “What’s Your Cloud Nine 37” to the building waves of vocals, drums and tension that drive the title track, Desert Brain has texture, hypnotizing rhythm and a sonic landscape you won’t soon forget. The album, in keeping with Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor’s tradition of covering all aesthetic bases, will be released on clear and splattered blue vinyl.
When you think of Texas, what comes to mind? Big skies? Big trucks? Hot women with big… uh, well… big hair? Everything, as they say, is bigger in Texas… And that what ain’t bigger is more bizarre. After all, in a state that refers to itself as a republic… things can get pretty skewed.
Enter Honky. Honky proudly carries the torch held by the likes of Bloodrock, Pantera, ZZ Top and the red-headed stranger himself, Mr. Willie Nelson.
This Austin Superboogie trio was founded in 1996 by long time Butthole Surfer, part time MELVINS bassist JD Pinkus, Bobby Ed Landgraf (DOWN, Skrew, …) on guitar, and rounded out by Trinidad Leal (Dixie Witch) on them skins.
Honky dishes out an appetite pleasin’… Superboogie servin’ that’ll keep ya’ comin’ back for more. Austin’s favorite sons have released some of the best stripped down, butt shakin’, rock ever cut to Wax, Tape, or C.D., and have toured with the likes of Nashville Pussy, the Reverend Horton Heat, Fu Manchu, Melvins, Peter Pan Speedrock, Down, and David Allan Coe.
Honky’s newest release, Corduroy, is another feast of down and dirty rock, rollin’ across the finish line late this Spring on Philip Anselmo’s Housecore Records. Thick enough to eat with a fork but you’ll wanna keep a spoon handy so ya don’t miss out on that gravy… Drum duties are handled by a more then qualified group of drummers, Trinidad Leal (Dixie Witch), Michael ‘Night Train’ Brueggen (Blackula, Syrup, Supagroup), Dale Crover (Melvins), and even Original Honky drummer, Lance Farley, makin’ the grooves proper… Guest appearances by Mark ‘Speedy’ Gonzales and the Fantasma Horns, as well as, our favorite Honkette, Rae Comeau, add to the tastees thrown y’alls’ way.
The band is currently on tour worldwide and would like to invite y’all out for a butt shakin’ good time.
Big Syn makes Doom-pop® music with synthesizers, drums, guitars, sounds, and voices. It is sometimes loud and sometimes quiet.
New Chicago four-piece BIG SYN is formulated from members of Conductive Alliance and The New World Ancients. Like those now-defunct groups, BIG SYN aims to explore the outer reaches of our galaxy with exhilarating, anything-goes sonic experimentation.
Blips and bleeps intertwine with vocal loops and pretty synthesizer leads over deep and tight poly-rhythmic grooves. Ranging from contemplative to unruly, the kitchen sink is front and center in this all-encompassing barrage of sound.
EIGHT BELLS was formed in 2010 by Melynda Jackson and is a songwriting collaboration with bassist Haley Westeiner and drummer Chris VanHuffel. Based in Portland, Oregon, Eight Bells explores dark sonic realms with a blackened dissonance combining anguished screams with ethereal, haunting female vocals. Debut album, The Captain’s Daughter, was recorded by Billy Anderson and released in 2013 by Seventh Rule and on vinyl by The Flenser. In support of the album’s release, Eight Bells toured in support of Agalloch and SubRosa, appeared on the Fall Into Darkness festival and also performed at Project Pabst and Crucial Fest.
Press for The Captain’s Daughter:
Iron Hops “A+. … a complex and genre-bending masterpiece.”
Echoes and Dust “…head-bang inducing, ethereal and gloriously unpredictable.”
Steel for Brains “a damn near perfect concoction of black metal atmosphere with the spiraling aesthetic of progressive rock at its most unpredictable… an exercise in the experimental as each track moves forward with atomic precision.”
EIGHT BELLS’ sophomore album, Landless, is to be released in February 2016. This effort sees Eight Bells experience a change in personnel with drummer Rae Amitay, but once again join forces with legendary producer/engineer Billy Anderson. The material offers a definitive evolution of their sound, and will be released on vinyl/digital formats via Battleground Records and on tape via Tartarus Records. Eight Bells has also been chosen as direct support for Voivod and Vektor this February, where they will tour the Northeastern United States.
Currently independent, Matthew Santos is working on his 7th official release Into the Further in collaboration with Candy Rat Records, and with a new trio based in Chicago, and continues to tour the world over with his “One-Man-Band” show harnessing a multitude of effects pedals coupled with his unique style of beat-boxing and looping—achieving a massive sound to accompany his renowned voice and heart-felt, soulfully crafted songs. The Chicago Sun-Times recognized Santos as an artist who is “organic and soulful and moody, full of interesting musical ideas and dripping with serious vocal talent.”
New Zealand artist GIN WIGMORE is hitting the road with her band this Spring through USA and CANADA for her largest North American Tour ever. She will be joined by Chicago native Matthew Santos of Lupe Fiasco’s feature fame “SUPERSTAR” and most recent album “AS A CROW FLIES” on all dates.
Gin Wigmore is an artist who is difficult to define, her sound is an eclectic mix of styles and influences, the collective consensus being that Los Angeles based Gin is of a unique breed of soul infused rock ’n’ roll with a fierce attitude to match.
If we had to put a label in, it would read something like this: alternative rock and neo-soul, biting lyricism, with a gravelly vocal that takes you on a very personal ride.
Her most recent album, BLOOD TO BONE is Wigmore’s third studio album and has been described as “Heaven” – Stereogum; “Her best release to date” – The Music (AU); ”Rock ’n’ roll with a pop inflected driving rhythm beneath her soulful crooner vocals” – Paste.
Hot off the heels from a SOLD OUT TOUR in 2015 and BEST FEMALE ARTIST award in her native homeland, GIN WIGMORE will be covering a lot of ground for the March through May tour and playing songs from all three albums including brilliant tracks “NEW RUSH”, “WRITTEN IN THE WATER” and newest single, “WILLING TO DIE.”
The tour will kick off in DC and end in Los Angeles.
Joey Kneiser was a boy formed in the red-clay mountains of East Tennessee. Skinned-kneed and too blind to drive a car, he constantly searched for a place to locate his restlessness– playing in punk bands with instruments he taught himself to play, skateboarding with a pack of Oak Ridge ruffians, and writing his own songs amongst the humid Southern air.
The boy grew up and headed west to the small Tennessee town of Murfreesboro. There he met the group of people who would go on to form the band Glossary. As the singer/songwriter for the group, Kneiser led the band through seven albums of country/soul-infused rock-and-roll. He filled his downtime between Glossary tours with his own solo projects. In 2009, he released his first solo record, “The All-Night Bedroom Revival,” which he wrote and recorded in his Murfreesboro home. Two years later, he recorded and released the EP “Moonlight for the Graveyard Heart.” Meanwhile, Glossary’s drummer Eric Giles had begun what would become a long bout with shoulder and back problems, leaving the band unable to tour or make a record. “The five of us made a promise years ago that there was no substituting anyone in the band. If someone couldn’t play, we’d take a break.”
Moving to Nashville and building a small home studio, Kneiser began recording his third solo record “The Wildness” during Glossary’s hiatus. “I felt like I was starting over. I had no band and no money to pay one. I realized pretty quickly that if I was going to make a record I’d need to record it myself and play everything.” He called on Glossary member and ex-wife Kelly Smith to sing with him. “We’ve been singing our whole adult lives together. I don’t like to hear my voice without hers next to it.” What came out was a ramble of songs that echoes back to Kneiser’s youth by highlighting the illness that haunts musicians – an unrelenting restlessness. “I wanted to go back to the beginning and try to figure out what it was I truly loved about rock and roll.”
The songs that make up “The Wildness” hearken back to Kneiser’s musical first loves. Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, The Band, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison all make their influence known on the record. “I wanted to make something simple and classic sounding with the writing as the centerpiece.” The record goes from rock and roll driven barn burners like “Run Like Hell” and “The Heart Ever Breaking” to folk songs like “Heaven Only Wants Us Once We’re Dead” and “Every Port In The Storm.” As to the overall vision for the record, Kneiser says, “These songs are a love letter to rock and roll and to the person closest to you who lets you pursue it.”
In addition to his own music, Kneiser has produced and recorded records for numerous artists, including Austin Lucas and Wooden Wand. He has also made music videos for artists like John Moreland and Jason Isbell.
The Wildness will be released in the fall of 2015.
First played acoustic guitar with ship’s bands in the Navy from 1979-1986 then dropped out of the scene. Started back up in March, 2007, and now working with Abby Ray and the Thc Afterburners around Bowling Green, Ohio. Check’em out!
The Moops are an up-and-coming folk/rock band from the Chicagoland area. The trio of Will Ejzak (vocals, violin, guitar), Tom Reynolds (vocals, bass, guitar), and Myles Edwards (guitar) have performed their unique blend of folk- and blues-rock at venues as diverse as the Double Door, the Woodstock Opera House, Martyrs’, Uncommon Ground, and the Gallery Cabaret. Their debut album, It Ain’t Easy Bein’ A Moop, is slated for release in March 2016.
COMMON ALLIES
Common Allies’ influences span the genres of psychedelic rock, folk, blues and country. We’re all of your favorite bands rolled into one.
Black Sabbath is the eponymous debut studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. Released on 13 February 1970 in the United Kingdom and on 1 June 1970 in the United States, the album reached number 8 on the UK Albums Charts and number 23 on the Billboard charts.
STATION is one of the hottest new bands to come out of New York City. A high voltage stage show with electrifying melodies make STATION an unforgettable experience. They have shared the stage with rock greats such as Pat Benatar, Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe), Bret Michaels (Poison), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Dio Disciples, Jake E Lee and .38 Special to name a few. Their first EP, “WIRED”, has gained international attention and rave reviews from notable publications such as Classic Rock AOR (also included on covermount CD), Sleaze Roxx and Rock Report.
-“Wired is like ear heroin…fills and thrills that makes your speakers flex and your windows rattle.” – Sleaze Roxx
-“…with melodies so infectious that they will stick with you for days on end once you’ve been exposed to them.” – Rock Report
STATION will be touring this summer and is excited to return to Rocklahoma in May for their third year in a row.
“NYC uber talented rockers Station are all about in their twenties only yet feature a sound and perform like groups they grew up listening to and admire – KISS, Aerosmith et al. Their latest album, self-titled, is a glorious rock journey into the ever creative, loud, melodic world of Station. If there is anything you get this year, make sure it is this album! These guys can hold their own with the best of them – and by that I mean all the nationals and a-list groups!” Matthew O’Shaughnessy, WVOX’s Metal Mayhem, Host/Producer
Mancho is the solo project of KAVA percussionist Marshall Greenhouse. Mancho fuses electronic and world music with psychedelic sounds, effects and drones. All music is performed live on the spot, looped and effected without the use of Ableton or other pre-set programs
ESSO (El Sonido Sonic Octopus) perform funky Afro-Latino and roots rock inspired dance music. The ethnically diverse crew of musicians establish rustic polyrhythmic grooves and combine biting twang guitars with the strength of brass horns, coro group singing, and urban poetry. Members: Armando Pérez, Kevin Miller, Dan Lieber, Ezra Lange, Julian Harris, Diana Mosquera, Puerko Pitzotl, Juan Lugo and Luis Tubens all bring a vital cultural contribution to the band’s unique “afrojam funkbeat” sound. Inspired by the Chicago streets that radiate: soul, jazz, house music, and global thinkers that praise unity through consciousness, the band unapologetically believes in the healing nature of music. The band just released their full length self-titled debut album on vinyl, CD, and digital formats in 2015.
Tim and Tim played together in a band a while ago. Tim and Tim played in a band together somewhat recently. Tim and Tim and Tim knew Tim from Tim’s old band. Tim and Tim liked being in a band together. Tim and Tim liked being in a band together. Tim and Tim and Tim like Tim. Then they practiced for six months and became a band.
“When I drove to LA when I was 18, from my parent’s home in Grosse Pointe, I never thought I would be standing on the stage with some of the world’s most renowned performers. I never dreamed I would be making records with bands I grew up listening to. I just wanted to play guitar. I just wanted to have a career as a session musician, make music and that would have been happiness enough. I can tell you honestly, I still grin from ear to ear completely humbled by what life, music has done for me. I feel like the happiest man alive sometimes – I kid you not!” – John 5, LA, February 2013.
John 5 is undoubtably one of the hottest shredders on the planet right now. His impressive resume of working with frontmen such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Halford, Dave Lee Roth and his current gig as the right hand man for Rob Zombie, show he’s impressive skills have not gone unnoticed, but it doesn’t do him justice to label John 5 as a shredder – he’s a guitarist, a great guitarist – and there’s little he can’t put his hand to.
Pavlov(3) began as Touch Guitarist and Chapman Stick player Matt Tate’s mechanism of musical expression. Aggressive Progressive. Since 2014, Pavlov(3) has existed as a duo, trio, quintet, and sextet, and now, at least for the time being, morphed back into a duo.
“Curvature-Induced Symmetry… Breaking” is the debut album. Long overdue, and after a good old-fashioned re-degeneration and protracted coma, an expansive and semi-bigly batch of aggressive and excessive new sonorous ebullience is being frantically created and furtively cultivated into an impending hemorrhage and glorious whatnot of audiation.
Pavlov(3) has shared stages and bills with the likes of John Zorn’s Bladerunner (w/ Laswell + Lombardo) and Simulacrum (w/ Medeski, Grohowski, Hollenberg), John 5, Secret Chiefs 3, Cleric, Sonar, Kayo Dot, Renaissance, Progtoberfest 1+2…
Dawn Richard, known professionally as DAWN, is a multi-platinum American singer- songwriter. Richard started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004, During this time Richard became a member of American girl band Danity Kane from 2005 to 2008, and in 2009 joined with label head Sean “Diddy” Combs and Kalenna Harper to form the group Diddy-Dirty Money.
Being in two groups, Dawn already has 2 consecutive platinum #1 albums under her belt with Danity Kane, a platinum album “Last Train to Paris” with Diddy-Dirty Money, a gold single “Hello Good Morning”, and a 3x platinum single with Diddy-Dirty Money titled “Coming Home”.
In 2011 following her departure from Bad Boy Records, she launched her solo career. Richard has released four solo projects (ATellTaleHeart, Armor On EP, Whiteout EP, and Goldenheart). Goldenheart, was released on January 15, 2013 by Our Dawn Entertainment. The album received universal acclaim. Both Armor On and Goldenheart reached #1 on iTunes R&B/Soul in a matter of hours, reached iTunes Top 20 All Albums, and charted on 5 or more Billboard charts (all doneindependentlywithnopush).
Goldenheartreceived universal acclaim from contemporary music critics, who hailed Richard as one of the best new acts in pop and R&B. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on nine reviews. Alex Macpherson of The Guardian gave it five stars and called it “dazzling and imperious”, writing that, “remarkably, Richard’s array of sonic weapons matches her epic, elemental vision. Jason Gubbels of Spin praised her “aesthetic appreciation” and versatile singing, which he credited for “springing finely placed surprises on listeners lulled into reverie, navigating tricky spots just effortlessly enough to mask her mastery”. Giving it four-and-a-half stars, AllMusic’s Andy Kellman called Goldenheart “sumptuous and grand”, and felt that, although its intensity and indulgence can be staggering.
In 2014, Dawn released her newest album as a member of multi-platinum girl group, Danity Kane. The album DK3, immediately shot to the number one spot on the iTunes R&B/Soul chart as well as reaching the Top 10 overall albums on iTunes. Richard was also a writer on the DK3 album making this her fifth number one album that she has been a writer on. Dawn wrote both “Tell Me” and “Two Sides” on the album.
After releasing the final and farewell album DK3 with her group Danity Kane, Dawn Richard readies The Black Era. “This project isn’t just about the musical experience but also the visual as well. From an incredible collaboration with visual artist Caleb Hahne for the Blackheart album cover, to a high fashion and choreography-heavy based music video for “Blow”, to the launch of her shoe line with Lust for Life; Dawn has set an entire brand around The Black Era.
Sonically, with influences from trip hop to electro pop to soul, this album solidifies Dawn as more than just a progressive R&B diva. This album takes her to Future Electro Stardom. The second installment to her heart trilogy differs drastically from her previous masterpiece, Goldenheart, as this work of art has much sharper edges, more experimental electro sounds, and is just more aggressive overall. You can tell Dawn chose fearless as this album’s lead companion. With Dawn producing and writing alongside her partner in crime Noisecastle III, these two make genres a thing of the past and future a thing of the now.
The release of Blackheart fell on January 15th, 2015 – which happened to be the second year anniversary of Dawn’s last critically acclaimed album, Goldenheart. Since the release of Blackheart, Richard has been receiving critical acclaim from Fact Magazine, New York Times/LA Times, and Billboard. Many are saying that this is her best work yet. Andrew Ryce of Pitchfork gave the album an 8 out of 10 saying, “Blackheart is the singular, visionary work that she’s been hinting at since she struck out on her own post-Diddy in 2011.” Alex Macpherson of Fact Magazine called Blackheart astonishing and gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars. Blackheart peaked #1 on iTunes Electronic charts and Top 20 overall on the iTunes album charts. In addition to that, Blackheart charted as #1 on the U.S. Top Independent Albums chart on Billboard, #2 on the Billboard Electronic/Dance chart, and #3 on the U.S. Top Heatseekers chart – with no major label push (completely independent). To accompany the album, Richard released a black and white animation visual titled “Tide: The Paradox Effect”, which is also available on iTunes. Since the album’s release, Richard has also unveiled four additional visuals for songs from Blackheart via VEVO and iTunes. This is surely a great year for the “HEARTS” (Dawn’s fanbase), as they’ve gotten an album and multiple visuals to some of their favorite songs from this era.
Depending on how far he wants to take this, Buddy Peace has earned a lifelong position as SFR’s resident remix/scratch/mixtape DJ. His talents don’t end there, but that is how we were introduced to him. SFR now has the honor of releasing the first official Buddy Peace digital album, “Late Model Sedan.”
Time and time again Buddy volunteered his DJ services to our projects and every single time he threw the fuck down. Hard. Whether contributing to a remix contest, a mega-mix, or a self-produced CD with hand-written artwork (meticulously detailed), Buddy Peace always went above and beyond the call of duty. Case in point, feel free to download his “Holy Chrome” EP on SFR’s digital store. It’s new, it’s free, and it’s just a taste of what he’s bringing to the table in 2009. For further evidence, check out his handiwork on the new B. Dolan mixtape, “House of Bees Vol. 1.”
I first met Buddy Peace in London, England (his hometown) around 2004. His demeanor was ultra humble. I was like, “Wha? Come on, fool. This ain’t real. You’re motherfucking BUDDY PEACE! When you shake my hand I want it to hurt.” It’s almost as if he doesn’t really know that he’s as great as he is. And that’s probably true, which makes him even more awesomer. Bearded, lanky, smiley and nasty as hell on the decks.
Everything that Buddy Peace does displays a great knowledge and understanding of hip-hop in all its incarnations. Old school, new school, whatever…there’s great expansive knowledge there and he utilizes it well. His love for music doesn’t stop at hip-hop though. As with most crate diggers, and as anyone who has followed his career knows, his contributions to hip-hop are the result of understanding what’s great about all genres of music and MAKING them hip-hop.
Buddy Peace has put in some serious work over the years, doing DJ gigs around the world and playing some of Europe’s biggest festivals. Some of his most notable efforts as of recent include the beats he did on Buck 65’s “Dirtbike” trilogy, DJing for Prince Po on tour, and contributing remix work for labels like Warp Records, anticon and Needlework.
Rebel Soul Revival is a modern take on some age old ideas. Matt Keen is a rocker at heart and has finally formed a band that matches his nature in every way. From soulful, southern rock, with a grit and kick that would rival early Skynyrd and Allman Brothers Band to classic reggae and R&B. Keen brings an intensity that skews the lines between classic and current. This band truly can do it all and prides themselves on a progressive approach to music without forgetting their roots.
Arclight’s music can be described as a meld of genres resulting in an electronic, psychedelic, alternative rock sound that pushes the boundaries of modern music. This Chicago-based project is comprised of Amith Bokka (guitar/vox), Jim Tashjian (guitar), Charles Williams (bass), and Pete Tashjian (drums). The band started as Bokka’s solo project in 2014. In 2017 he met Williams, who brought the Tashjian brothers into the group the following year. Arclight’s sound can be compared to such artists as Radiohead, Tool, and Warpaint.
“The official description is “Alternative Rock.” But I think that’s a bit too boxy for what they really are. The sound is… dreamy. Relaxing, sometimes, and a bit unsettling at others.” – Sound Citizen
Formed in 2012 by seven friends hungry for a little something funky, The Civil Engineers is a Madison, WI based high-intensity groove machine of funk, rock and soul. The band prides itself on raucous live shows complete with audience sing-alongs, dance-alongs, and more funk than you could lift with a bulldozer.
The Leeds Project is a Chicago-based rock band who focuses on the story of Tommy as performed on The Who’s Live at Leeds album. The Who’s performance at this historic concert happened at the height of their tour in 1970, and the recording captured lightning in a bottle. Our Project’s vision is to capture the spirit of their performance as a result of many months of closed-door rehearsals. The journey has produced a result that does not seek to replicate, but to present Tommy in what we hope will be a powerful, unique, and vital way. The signatures of the musicians may differ from The Who, but the reverence to the band and their music will shine through as Tommy is blasted at new and present heights.
2000: I pick up the guitar at age 15. My teachers: Nirvana, Metallica & Chevelle.
2008: Revelations is finally released after years of crashed hard-drives, no money and spending over a year of my life homeless. It does well enough to catch the attention of 40 Below Summer; we join forces with members of FLAW to create Black Market Hero.
2010: The Speed of Dark is released in January. I continue to perform tons of dates with both Black Market Hero and AV. After two years with BMH, I leave and begin to write my next solo record.
2011: Universal Language is released. This begins my working relationship with Will Putney/The Machine Shop who produced, mixed and mastered it. The album was very well received with much, to my surprise, critical acclaim.
My first video is shot for “A Mercurian Summer” at an outdoor art museum in front of a stunning sculpture by one of my favorite artists Bruce Beasley. #RunOnSentenceFTW Thanks T <3
Then I decide it was a good idea to shoot a music video in a 5 degree freezer for “A Martian Winter”. Fun Fact: We couldnt hear playback so Jason had to plug in and play the rhythm guitar live to a click. No equipment was harmed in its making… thank fucking god.
I begin writing for Away With Words Parts 1 and 2.
2012: I’m approached to join Vext, a supergroup consisting of Tommy Vext (Divine Heresy, SNOT) and members of Mutiny Within (including my drummer Bill Fore). We write and record our debut release titled Impermanence. We shoot a video at New York’s Beauty & Essex with a mighty fine braud. We started to play out often, many dates with AV on the same bill. We had an absolute blast however when it came time to sign deals your homeboy just wasnt ready.
2014: Away With Words Part 1 is crowd-funded, released and again produced by Will Putney and Randy Lebeouf at The Machine Shop. I document the experience in a 4 part video documentary. I come back with a humdigger of a video for the song “.. _ _ _” (Two). I embark on my first out of state tours. I shoot another video for “. _ _ _ _” (One).
I lose my best friend, Rich Forcellati to ALS in December of 2014. Losing him was such a wake up call; I realized that the only thing worst than living with regret was to die with it. So 5 months later….
2015: I quit my day job, put all of my trust in my fans and co-headline my first full US tour along with The Algorithm.
So far, I’ve independently recorded & released a trilogy of EPs, a split-EP with Scottish artist Sithu Aye, and numerous singles, all of which you can hear on Bandcamp, YouTube, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and even, if you like, using the ancient technology of a Compact Disc Player.
Though essentially a solo project, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a number of very talented people, including Marco Minnemann, Chris Letchford, Troy Wright, Rick Graham and many others. I have also appeared as a guest soloist on recordings by a number of amazing artists, including Skyharbor, Intervals, Modern Day Babylon, David Maxim Micic, Jakub Zytecki, Novelists, Sithu Aye, and The Helix Nebula.
–Major Threat consists of members and ex-members of such Chicago bands as: 88 Fingers Louie, The Static Age, the Hallow, FULL, Rise Against, Soft Lies, Young Distractions, IronFinger, Myopia, The Old Comiskey’s, Break The Silence, Kradakis, Set Fire To Reason, etc… You get the point.
Cult Leader is an American rock band that formed in 2013. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based band was founded by three members of the group Gaza following its break up. Cult Leader signed to Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish and by the end of 2015 will have released two EPs and a studio album.
Listening to Primitive Man is a devastating experience of Doom as performed by just three members. Their discography of agonizing personal and universal hell is spread across three albums, two EPs and a raft of splits released over more than 10 years. 2020 saw the release of the groups most recent full length album ‘Immersion’ (Relapse Records), a terrifying and confrontational record that expressed resentment and the unbearable during uncertain times. The tension through out the record is palpable. McCarthy’s foul roar feels wrenched from a cavern so deep that it defied language itself. The riffs are vast slabs – edifices dragged and erected to stand tall against the outrages of ‘humanity rotten on the vine’ (‘Consumption’). With 2013’s Scorn and 2017’s Caustic, Primitive Man raged against religious dogma, elitism, capitalism and the creature within, desperate to burst out. They keep the animal inside at bay with a rancorous and cerebral blend of the heaviest sounds. Splits with Hell and Unearthly Trance, and a host of others, have seen the band branch out into experimental noise. Other projects from members of the band – Black Curse, Vermin Womb and Many Blessings – show how they are bursting at the seams to express their outrage at the state of things, in different mutations.
2022 brings the release of the groups latest album, Insurmountable. Four new suffocating tracks totaling over 38 minutes of Primitive Man in their strongest and most crushing artistic display to date. Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk and featuring the artwork of Ethan McCarthy (Hell Simulation).
Dan Whitaker & The Shinebenders are a modern day honky-tonk band from Chicago, IL. They have been entertaining audiences since 2003 with countless performances in Chicago and the Mid West and two full length albums to date.
The Shinebenders, the band that makes the magic flow, includes Earl Powers on bass and occasional vocals, Belden “Trip” Kimball on acoustic guitar and vocals, Chase Jackson on drums and Gabriel Stutz on pedal steel.
Dan Whitaker is a long time Chicago based singer, song writer,and guitarist. Whitaker’s past associations go back to the late 1980’s with DeKalb IL. punk-funk-rockers June Bug Massacre, 1990’s with the Americana/blues/rock band Great Plains Gypsies, and most recently Chicago jam-rockers The Gyps. He currently also plays in Western Grand, a Chicago Americana/rock band featuring Jay Harris.
“Filled with abrasive guitar, riot grrl-like vocals and hard-rock-meets-punk rhythms, So Pretty (consisting of Holman, Rachel Manter, Stefan Lindgren and James Seminara) has found footing in Chicago by pushing against the most popular local music trends (jangly guitar rock, pretty synth pop) to create a sound that is at once familiar and unique.” -Chicago Tribune
Swerving through the fine lines of melody and cacophony, Monzie Leo & The Big Sky throw down acoustic-electric folk tunes as big as the Kansas Sky. A cappella numbers punctuate a set that fuses traditional folk and Americana arrangements with the stones
Hailing from the deep South in Gainesville, FL, Big Shoals has staked their claim as a serious band with a range that goes from a loud roar to a beautiful whisper. With thought provoking lyrics and songs that stick in your mind and hold on for days, the crowd always walks away wanting more.
One More Moon is a four-piece from Chicago that got it’s start in early 2015 when singer/songwriter Eric Quigley decided to take his solo work to the next level. Guitarist Roger Smit, bassist Chris Rawlins, and drummer Aaron Schapiro fill out One More Moon’s line up. Their mix of folk, blues, and rock – along with the many differing influences each member brings to the table – transform Quigley’s foundations into songs wholly unique to the band. Since their debut, One More Moon has played various venues in and around Chicago, including the Cubby Bear and the Metro, and a debut EP is in the works.
Denver Funk Band is both an amazing Denver based funk rock explosion and an attitude. Their music taps into an innate wildness where some primal part of the body wants to simply feel good, be free and share that sensation with others.
THE SENTINELS
The Sentinels combine the best elements of their post-punk influences – great songwriting and quirky lyrics, tossed with bombastic rhythms, and an ear for the melodic. They love this band. They think you will too.
From the city by the lake comes Chicago’s own Mystery Actions. An all-female lineup delivering punk rock ‘n’ roll music with everything they’ve got and more. Capturing the feel of 70’s punk rock and modernizing the Runaways, these ladies are bound to grab your attention with the first note. Inspired through a broad range of influences covering the Avengers to the Damned these gals are ready to rock.
They have shared the stage with Cock Sparrer, the Buzzcocks, Lower Class Brats, the Queers, Protex, Go betty Go, Murphy’s Law, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Shonen Knife and the Freeze! This is only the beginning…
The Bad Engrish. Punk Fucking Rock by Punx for Punx. if you like it Cheers, and if you dont like it Piss off! were hear to play some shows, drink some beer Have a laugh, and have some fun.
