The Evil Queens are the Buckeye State’s best kept secret. Charging with a brand of sloppy stoner rock that’s tough as nails, you could easily find the Queens sitting at the end of a bar sharing a bottle of Old Granddad or challenging you to a tussle with a broken bottle. While the music has the most abrasive elements of grunge ala early Soundgarden and the tormenting stance of Mudhoney, it’s bar rock and “fuck you” attitude will leave the leave barkeep mopping up blood and sweeping teeth off the floor after one of their gigs. Guitarist Mike Eckhardt’s scraggy riffs are more chiseled than Clint Eastwood while the chili powder snarl from lead man Jacob Sundermeyer’s voice sears with the heat of a tattoo needle. Loud, fiery and pulverizing, The Evil Queens remind us that rock & roll and troublemaking have never been too far apart.
I haven’t really written much about Rachael Yamagata, and what I have written tends to stick strictly to reviews of her music and previews of her performances. I’ve had lots of people ask me to write more about her, but I think that when a friend becomes famous you tend to grow overprotective of them. Considering Rach was like the little sister I never had, I’d say that was certainly the case in this instance.
However her name has been popping up more and more lately, so I’ve been thinking about her more. My little brother pointed out that she did an interview with Mandy Moore recently — which really is a good read since it dispenses with the usual back-and-forth in favor of a more revealing look at how Moore actually operates — and I keep hearing murmurings that her new album is coming out in the near future, though I’ve been hearing that for over 6 months now, so who knows.
I don’t really get to talk to Rach that much anymore. Aside from a couple of “catch-up” emails a year we don’t really get to talk, which is too bad, but that sort of thing happens even with friends who still live in town, a couple blocks away from me. It’s just sort of the natural progression of things. There was a period of time where all we would do is have hours-long conversations late into the night, and now I think our last spoken conversation was at my birthday party last year. Or was that the year before? Time flies.
Anyway, I dug out some old demos of hers that never saw the light of day. One batch is a bunch of recordings she did with Chris Holmes, some of which showed up in her later released stuff in a slightly less gritty form. I can’t really post them or share them, since they were given me by the artists involved and I don’t think they were ever meant to see the light of day. What I can share, however, is a track off her first demo, since that got passed around, and at one point Rach was giving them away at her solo shows, so I think it’s safe to share it.
The track, “Super,” was in regular rotation in Rach’s early sets. I didn’t give Rach her first solo show, but i do think I gave her the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th solo shows! It was fun to watch her go from playing to an audience of 9, including me and two of her bandmates from Bumpus, to playing sold out shows. Due to timing constraints I haven’t seen her the last few times she came through town, and I admit it might be a little weird to see her playing the Metro to a sold-out crowd of Rachael Yamagata fans, but I’m sure she’s still terrific on-stage.
Anyway, “Super” is a little poppier than some of the stuff she’s now better known for, and I think it was maybe one of her attempts to write a “guitar rock” type of song. It’s a little simple, but in this case I think “simple” is perfect for the song.
Chicago cool kids OFFICE have made their first video in advance of the release of their newest disc, A Night At The Ritz, on September 25. They are getting massive accolades all over the internets, and I couldn’t be happier for them.
The only unsettling thing about the video is that I’m pretty sure the look Scott gives the woman coming down the stairs is the same one he gave me when I ran into him late last Friday. Kidding!
“This is gonna be hard for anything to top as show of the year. Hell, it might be show of the year for a couple of years ”
Set list:
grinderman
get it on
depth charge ethel
electric alice
set me free
honeybee
go tell the women
man in the moon
when my love comes down
no pussy blues
love bomb
red right hand (encore 1)
the weeping song (encore 1)
deanna (encore 1)
lyre of orpheus (encore 1)
the ship song (encore 2)
jack the ripper (encore 2)
I’m sure every city is littered with great bands that just, for whatever reason, never took off. Sometimes it’s just bad timing, or lack of exposure, or the simple fact that the gods seem fond of cruel jokes and often raise up the unworthy while holding down the excellent.
Chicago’s Hushdrops are certainly well connected, leader John San Juan’s “Summer People” was covered by The Webb Brothers and became a minor hit overseas. San Juan and fellow Hushdrop Joe Camarillo are both unbelievably talented musicians that can have performed in an astounding number of other bands over the years, but Hushdrops was always their baby.
The band’s love of both The Beatles and the Who is evident in their songs, with both influences making their presence known without ever overtaking San Juan’s own personal tone. His sweetly melancholic verses often go hand in hand with sunny pop choruses, while clean keyboard tones embed themselves amid the fuzzed out guitar lines. The end result is modern pop with a classic pulse, and songs that would have been breakout hits in a bygone era, and could still be hits once the future catches up to them.
Take a listen to two of my own favorites from Hushdrops’ first (and only currently available) album, Volume One. if they pique your interest, and I’m sure they will, feel free to pick up your own copy and help a criminally overlooked band gain the recognition they so richly deserve. MP3:Hushdrops “Emily” MP3:Hushdrops “Doctor V”
Given the stellar band Tweedy has assembled, it occasionally feels like he’s behind the wheel of a brand new Porsche but won’t take it above 25 miles per hour.
You can download a nifty Wilco family tree created by Time Out here.
Finally, a court ruling about digital music that seems grounded in some semblance of reality! ASCAP attempts to double dip into royalty streams by claiming digital download count as public performances has been slapped down by a federal court. This confused me, since ASCAP sells itself as being super artist-friendly, and this tactic was sure to hurt artist’s audiences by making it more difficult to distribute their music. I tried tried to get some insight into this from the local Chicago ASCAP office when the story broke a few weeks ago, but they didn’t return my emails.
As an aside, I’d like to point out that all my interaction with representatives from ASCAP has always been positive, and in Chicago they do their damndest to get exposure for artists they sign with. So I view this whole legal action as a gross misstep grounded in the greed of ASCAPpers in corporate positions … which would probably explain why our local reps had nothing to say. Would you want to go o0n record disagreeing with the actions of the boys upstairs? Probably not.
We’ve all gotten the emails / bulletins / memes asking to throw the iPod — or whatever music media player you prefer — on shuffle and post the first ten songs. Or put those songs into some sort of fake narrative for hilarious (not) results. As I was scrolling through the ol’ tankPOD today, looking to do some housecleaning, I noticed certain bands took up an awful lot of screen time as I scrolled through.
So that got me to thinking, wouldn’t those bands be the best litmus test when it came to really pinpointing one’s musical tastes? I mean, sure, I’ve got loads of super-obscure, truly indier-than-thou bands, unheard masterpieces by regional acts, IDM prone to inducing seizures, and white label singles in the tankPOD / diPOD team, but when pressed what really informs my tastes?
So I did an experiment and decided to list all the bands who have four or more albums on my MP3 / M4A / OGG / WAV player in hopes that such information would be rather revealing (full list after the jump). You see, in this age of instant gratification I think it really says something about a band if you feel the need to carry that much of their material around with you at all times. Such a list might prove unintentionally revealing and betray one’s actual musical tastes, even if they are usually hidden under a patina of hipster aloofness.
Of course such a list is automatically going to skew towards older acts, since it takes a few years to push out 4+ albums’ worth of music, but that would make such a list an even better reference for divining one’s musical tastes, since it would probably skew towards artists that helped formulate a particular individual’s musical background. Right?
In my case the result pretty obviously favored artists that came to the fore in the ’80s and ’90s, no surprise there. And it is pretty light on electronic artists, but that makes sense when you consider that most electronic music lives in the world of the single, not the multi-album arc.
The interesting about my own results, actually, is that I almost NEVER actually listen to any of the 4+ album bands on my iPod anymore. It’s almost like they’re there as more of a security blanket. Truth be told, I have so much new stuff coming in every day I need to listen to, for various reasons, I rarely get the chance to peruse deep cuts from my personal catalog … but it’s interesting to note because I think these are the sorts of discs I may not listen to every day (or even once a year), but that I might like to take to a desert island to keep me going in tough times.
Anyway, if you’re interested, my list is after the jump. Feel free to post your own lists in the comments and let me see where your musical soul actually dwells when no one else is around to judge. (more…)
I’ve got the wristband, but not the badge. I’ve got peeps to stay with in Austin, but it’s a couple miles from the action. Obviously, as our excellent SXSW blog indicates, there’s a lot going on down there, but it’s been a few years since last I went and I’m not totally sold on going.
Part of this is because it doesn’t seem like a lot of folks I know are going. Of course that may be a complete misconception. For instance I had no clue my friend Chris was going until he asked me if I was going last week. So maybe that’s how it is for most folks around me: we all just assume the other is going and haven’t thought to bring it up.
Also, it seems as if the shift has turned to day parties, which would actually be good since this would be the first time I’m working the fest with a press wristband instead of a laminate (the primary downside of this: no Pete Townsend keynote for me. Boo!). On the downside, I’m still scarred from my early years of attending and always having to wait until the last minute before scoring an invite to the Spin party which, back then, was the end-all be-all of fest parties. I’ve been told it’s different, and a bit more egalitarian now, but there is always that younger sting lying under my older, more weathered surface.
So what do y’all think, should Tankboy make up his mind and just buy the plane ticket? Do you know of anything that would shift me decisively one way or the other? Parties for me to DJ? Day parties I shouldn’t miss? Inside info you’ve been keeping to yopurself, waiting to spring with just this sort of prodding?
I reckon I’ve got to buy the ticket today or tomorrow if i’m going to do do it, so help me make up my mind!
I supposedly drum for America’s #1 Sweetheart, even though we have yet to actually practice together, and I have yet to reclaim my snare from the dude who’s had it for the last four years, and I haven’t been behind a kit since that party at Rudy’s a year and a half ago. The main reason this hasn’t occured is because Kip got drawn into ex-Rockit Girl Gina Crosely’s new band, The Viv Savages, with her husband John and drummer Chad Romanaski (ex-Sarge, current-Dials). Am I uspet? Hellz no! Not after hearing what they’re been putting together.
Synthesis is a good word for what’s going on in this band. I can hear smidges and tidbits from every band each player has been in, and when it all comes together the sum is truly more powerful than its parts. You can hear a bunch of rough mixes of tumes they’re working on at their MySpace page, but i’m going to post their track “Friday Nigts” here. Why? Because I show up in the lyrics and I’m all flattered and such.
Also, keep a look-out for The Viv Savage’s contribution to the Triple Fast Action tribute album donewaiting’s own Chip Midnight is putting together!
If you’re in Chicago, The Prairie Cartel is DJing upstairs at Schuba’s tonight, and one of their crew (Scott Lucas, who is also in a little band named Local H) is pulling double-duty as a guest bartender for the evening. For a bunch of rockers, they actually turn out some pretty fun electro-lite. It should be a hell of a blast — I actually pulled the flyer from Cynthia Plaster Caster’s archives so who knows just what the hell is going on — so I urge you to attend. Deets are below.
Promoting and Marketing Music: Part I DIY Marketing to the Public
Monday October 30, 2006 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Cultural Center Yates Gallery 4th Floor 77 E. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL
Build relationships with your audience to create fans, and do the marketing yourself. Panelists will advise on the growing array of direct marketing tools artists may find effective to gain fans and attract new audiences. Panelists will discuss their experiences making the best use of internet sites like MySpace, Email newsletters, Music Downloads/Podcasting, self-distribution and sales of music as well as managing your website as the hub for all of these activities. In addition, the panel will discuss how to integrate the new methods with traditional marketing such merchandise, street teams, flyers, posters, cds, performing live, attracting media coverage and commercial music distribution.
Moderated by: Mark Roth, Chicago Music Commission and Centerstage Chicago
Panelists: Jim Kopeny, donewaiting / Chicagoist / Tankboy Productions Jay Prasad, Pure Entertainment Micah Taylor, Direction Marketing Doug LeFrak, Feisty Management
All forums include post-forum networking.
It should be interesting to see how my views stack up against those of a few of my peers on these subjects. I think this particular topic is ripe for some great discussion given the speed with which the underlying structure of said topic keeps changing.
Plus, what better do you have to do on a Monday evening just after work?
You probably have never heard of Flosstradamus. Hell, most folks outside of Chicago most likely were first exposed to them during their super-packed, bursting-at-the-seams (crowd-wise and music-wise) set in the Biz3 tent at this year’s Pitchfork Festival. Pretty much all that’s been available to the listening public have been a few remixes/mash-ups via MySpace, some of Kid Sister’s stuff, and their recent set on the Market Frenzy podcast.
Well, take a gander at what they’ve done to Bloc Party’s “Helicopter.” It’s not so much a remix as it is a total re-imagining of the tune … but it is a good approximation of what they can do live.
I’ve been an unabashed fan of OKGo (and apparently was the only Chicagoan to even pay any attention to their sophomore effort pre-”A Million Ways” choregraphy) for quite a few years now. With that in mind, I thought, yeah, that first dancing video was cute, but it got annoyng awfully quickly. It didn’t help that it was paired with what I thought was a) the weakest song on the album and b) an obvious Cardigans rip-off.
They totally redeem themselves with this one though. I am awestruck.
July 31, 2006 – 11:54 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
We took a pretty relaxed approach to the festival. Spent most of the time at my friend Clint’s booth in the Flatstock area where it was shady and you could still hear the music. Bands were good, the vibe was great. Food was reasonably priced, bottled water was only a buck and there was a big fountain to refill water for free.
The only thing I didn’t realize was that I was supposed to wear my gym outfit from 1987. Other than that, I got nothing bad to say at all. Good job, Pitchfork.
However her name has been popping up more and more lately, so I’ve been thinking about her more. My little brother pointed out that she did an interview with 
I’m sure every city is littered with great bands that just, for whatever reason, never took off. Sometimes it’s just bad timing, or lack of exposure, or the simple fact that the gods seem fond of cruel jokes and often raise up the unworthy while holding down the excellent.
We’ve all gotten the emails / bulletins / memes asking to throw the iPod — or whatever music media player you prefer — on shuffle and post the first ten songs. Or put those songs into some sort of fake narrative for hilarious (not) results. As I was scrolling through the ol’ tankPOD today, looking to do some housecleaning, I noticed certain bands took up an awful lot of screen time as I scrolled through.
I just can’t make up my mind.
