Winter, eat your heart out. Austin's annual South by Southwest music festival has been slowly releasing its list of bands traveling to the Lone Star state this Spring and, yes, Chicago is represented. On tap to play the 2012 edition are sunny pop rockers Gold Motel , dancehall DJ Chrissy Murderbot , acoustic folker Musikanto , lo-fi ambient poppers U.S. Girls , and Chicago - by way of Philadelphia - [...]
One of my inspirations for starting Visible Voice was HearYa - a fantastic Chicago-based music blog that offers album reviews and some truly killer live studio sessions. One of the many discoveries I credit to HearYa is Musikanto - a Chicago-based songwriter whose breezy, folk sound rollicks and rolls like a lazy autumn drive. If you follow this site, I guarantee you will dig Musikanto. Musikanto - Every Which Way We're GIVING AWAY two pairs of tickets to see Musikanto at Brighton Music Hall [...]
yukon blonde Three oh-no-a-bad-joke-is-imminent reasons to make like a crinkle cut french fry and get crunk at Beat Kitchen tonight... 1. Usually when a band selects "easy listening" as its genre on MySpace, there's a good chance it is kidding. However, Vancouver trio Yukon Blonde is easy listening. No, not in that "Relax to the mellow sounds of The Rain" kind of way. Once you hit play on any track from its recent self-titled album, the group's jangly Candian pop rock bounces into [...]
Click here to download ZIP file with all tracks, cover art, and track listing. 1. Izabo – 01 Life Is On My Side (from EP ) 2. 1, 2, 3 – 02 Going Away Party (from The Chess Club EP ) 3. Le Butcherettes – 03 Henry Don't Got Love (from SIN SIN SIN ) 4. Tiger Waves – 04 Funeral March (from Only Good Bands Have Animal Names ) 5. Jim Ward – [...]
If there are any Chicagoans out there who need one more festival before summer comes to an end, say hello to The Square Affair . Held on August 2nd at the epic Logan Square Auditorium , The Affair (put together by local scene-makers Harmonica Dunn and Grape Juice!, the hip beer heavy-hitters Pabst Blue Ribbon, super-venue The Empty Bottle, and us here at CoS ) aims to showcase some of the best talent from the incredibly musically active neighborhood. While other neighborhood festivals will pull in whoever will fill out the [...]
September is shaping up to be a fine month in terms of local music, and now there's another great event to add to the list. The Square Affair is back on Friday, September 2, at the Logan Square Auditorium. Presented by Grape Juice Records , The Empty Bottle Presents! among others, the concert is, as the tag line reads, "A concert and celebration of Logan Square's residents, businesses, and artists focusing on it's surging and eclectic music scene." The celebrating the surging and eclectic music scene is does with a pretty red line-up, which [...]
Chicago-based indie-folk rocker Musikanto is back with another album following on from the debut Ghost Pain featured on Beat Surrender back in 2009, Sky of Dresses is set release at the beginning of August on Grape Juice Records. The album was recorded in a friends studio in Milwaukee and involved late night commutes to and from Chicago over a period of several months to produce the finished article, a collection of eleven self penned tunes that crystallise into a fine album of urbane Americana - a sage Canadian living legend once said [...]
Musikanto - Take What You Need Check out this cat Musikanto, indie-folk rocker from Chicago. New record Sky of Dresses out Aug. 2nd on Grape Juice Records. He walks the line of indie-blues and urban americana, borrowing elements of experimental folk and broken-down orchestral music, garnering comparisons somewhere between Ryan Adams and Van Morrison.
New trakcs this week from Two Suns , We Were Promised Jetpacks , The Features , Lightouts , and more: Two Suns – Five Months Gone By [mp3] (from Self Addressed EP ) We Were Promised Jetpacks – Act On Impulse [mp3] (from In the Pit of the Stomach , out Oct. 4) The Features – [...]
This week's new songs includes Eleanor Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces ), Musikanto , WU LYF , Steven Malkmus & the Jicks , and others: Eleanor Friedberger My Mistakes – [mp3] (from Last Summer ) Musikanto – Every Which Way [mp3] (from Sky of Dresses , out August 2) WU LYF – Dirt [...]
Chicago-based Musikanto shows off the video for "Every Which Way". The new album Sky of Dresses comes out August 2nd on Grape Juice Records. http://musikantomusic.com
One man's love for fast rock n' roll can only take him so far, so I've always got to have some folk or melodramatic jams to help me unwind. Recently I've been introduced to Musikanto , a Chicago songwriter who will likely be making a name for himself all over the country soon. Press releases hint at Van Morrison and Ryan Adams connections, and I definitely see that there, but I also see little pieces of early Mason Jennings . It's heartfelt and honest, and there's a willingness to provide [...]
Musikanto - Every Which Way Buy US: Buy UK:
Musikanto dropped into the Inbox this morning, and I'm damn glad he did. Stylistically, the Chicago neo-folkie straddles the fence between Ryan Adams and Mr. Dylan (perhaps John Wesley Harding -era). His newest release, Sky Of Dresses , is set to drop on August 2nd via Grape Juice Records, and based on stellar lead single, Every Which Way , it's going to make some folk/americana fans somewhere, very happy. MP3 : Musikanto - Every Which Way
And now three re...holy hell it's hot outside. Anyway, save yourself and get inside The Whistler tonight because... 1. At times, Jon Drake & The Shakes feel heavy-hearted while emitting sounds that are light and breezy. As if the tight, swinging rhythms weren't enough, there's the elegant string arrangements and woozy horns (" Margie "). Jon Drake & The Shakes' less-is-more approach to melodic folk-pop is exceptionally endearing, and we can't help but smile in approval. 2. A little bit Midwestern soul, a little [...]
Friends & Family II Chicago imprint Grape Juice Records just released its second annual compilation album free to the public on the label's bandcamp page on December 20. The album, Friends & Family II , includes such local folk and indie rock acts as Jon Drake & The Shakes, Julie Meckler, Will Phalen, Musikanto and Rambos, just to name a few. Grape Juice's yearly compilation tradition began last year when the label celebrated its fifth anniversary in high-style, including a custom cake from Charm City Cakes (AKA [...]
[caption id="attachment_15180" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Jon Drake and The Shakes | Photo by Nick Shamblett"] [/caption]And now three reasons to slap those snow tires on your car and drive slowly over to Pancho's this evening... 1. Chicago's Jon Drake & The Shakes bring their pop-filled indie folk to the little Logan Square Cuban food locale this evening. The band bring just about everything to the table - upright bass, trumpet, violin, trombone and the like - in order to flesh out a big ol' sound. Take the track "Elizabeth Johnston" [...]
Mike Musikanto is a Chicago born and bred singer / songwriter who with band mates Russ Mallord, JJ Evans, Scott Schaafsma and Eugene Choi record and perform as Musikanto, their debut record Ghost Pain was self-released earlier this year and is available from iTunes or CD Baby. It's a strong set of ten all original genre hopping tracks packaged together to produce a great album - one I enjoyed start to finish, intelligent writing with a made-to-order production job that showcases the bands undoubted talents. [...]
![HearYa Live Session 39: Musikanto [introducing HD video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1489196_lg.jpg)
We've got some Chicago love for you this week. We had upstart Mike Musikanto and his badass band in the studio a couple weeks ago on a freezing cold night. It was the kind of night that made you want to punch Mother Nature right in the base of the neck with the side of your fist like Steven Segal used to do. Fortunately my rage was immediately calmed upon entering Shirk's studio and hearing the smooth sounds of Musikanto. I'd only had a chance to peruse their MySpace page for a few minutes before the session, so [...]
![Musikanto gives us a healthy dose of Chicago Americana. Chicagocana. Chicana. [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1472901_lg.jpg)
Musikanto is the latest alt-country, folk, Americana singer-songwriter to emerge from Chicago in recent years, joining the likes of Joe Pug , Tom Schraeder and His Ego and the now defunct Cracklin Moth . I had to name drop since they've all been through the studio to record live sessions. Musikanto was in the studio last week and his session is being mixed by Shirk as we speak. The debut album Ghost Pain is an addictive twangy rock affair in the same vein as bands like The Old 97's and Ryan Adams. [...]
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