Blog: Can You See the Sunset

Last year my friends in Gunner's Daughter released the hard-charging Trust Us When We Tell You EP and I totally didn't write about it. I don't feel bad about it (okay, maybe I do) but I didn't write about a lot of music in 2011. Trust me when I tell you (see what I did there) I'm going to get to more of the really good stuff (like this) shortly. So the EP is available for FREE via Death To False Hope Records so go download it now, then read... [...]

• Gunner's Daughter - A High Fidelity Moment

A few nights ago I was driving around downtown Chicago with Ryan (he was actually driving though) and he said something like, "Have you heard the Gooningtons?" I hadn't, so he proceed to play Welcome To Goonington Beach! and blow my mind. He also explained verbally what's documented on this pop punk message board thread . To sum it all up, Ryan recorded 8 Ramones-core songs (written over the span of a few days) in a single afternoon and it's incredible. I have no idea how I missed this (or why no one told me) last year, [...]

With all the high-profile punk reunions of the past few months and years combined with the band's relative obscurity, it would be easy for most to overlook the reunion of Chicago's own August Premier . And that, my friends, would be a bad thing. I'm not really sure of the whole story about the reunion, but August Premier is back and the band has a new record called Happy Miserable due out March 27th on Pacific Ridge Records . More on that in a few... Back in their heyday, August Premier put out an [...]

Bro. Stephen is the name that (Stephen) Scott Kirkpatrick records under and (lucky for all of us) he's just released a new album called Baptist Girls which is fucking brilliant, if you like that sort of thing. It was recorded primarily in a converted chicken coop in rural Indiana but you'll find no clucking or crowing here. Really, it's a testament to the strength of Baptist Girls that it is just as good a record for late nights and headphones as it is for a sunny morning buoyed by cups of coffee. [...]

• Bro. Stephen - Domino
• Bro. Stephen - Tears On Tape

Howdy folks! This is just a test post so I can properly tweak the new layout. More posts coming very very soon. I promise! If you don't believe me, that's OK, but you should. OK great. Let's get one thing straight (div test) Some text is better than no text at all, right? Yeah, I think that some soft and mellow music would be great. Maybe something from Electric Light Orchestra or Simon & Garfunkel. Just typing nonsense about a prairie dog runing wild across the southern plains of Australia or something like that. [...]

This is the first year that I've named a band of the year. If you've paid any attention at all to what I've posted on Twitter , Instagram, or even here, it should be a no brainer. So officially, Can You See the Sunset from the Southside's band of the year for 2011 is none other than Mixtapes . Yeah, that's Ryan, Maura, Mike, and Boone. I can't think of a more deserving band in 2011 (but I also didn't think it would really be fair to include Mixtapes' debut Maps on my year-end [...]

Here it is, my favorite albums of 2011. If you missed Part One , you'd better go back and check that out as well. With the holiday right around the corner and some household emergencies, I didn't quite feel like writing much about these albums even though they are all great. Ok. Check the list and pardon the typos. Thanks. 25. Elway - Delusions (Red Scare) I saw Elway earlier this year in Chicago before the album was released I was blown away. This album combines punk tempos and tones with some [...]

Let me just preface all of this by saying how much I hate making these lists. There's no good way to do it. Everything on this list is great and the placements are general at best. Although I've numbered the list, there is zero science behind it. Next year I might just make it alphabetical. Now that's done... Wow! I think that's a great way to sum up 2011 in music. During a year in which I was noticeably absent from this blog there sure was a shit-ton of great music released. Still, despite not writing [...]

All these albums would have been on my best of 2010 list (or at least damn close) had I heard them all earlier. Robyn - Body Talk I think it was late December of 2010 when I became infatuated with Robyn's infectious dance-pop. I haven't been able to shake it since. The Arrivals - Volatile Molotov Wow. How good have The Arrivals become? I remember what the band was like damn near 10 years ago, and this is definitely not the same band. Volatile Molotov [...]

I'm back at it again and for the fourth year in a row I'm revisiting my favorite albums of ten years ago. So far I've done 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and now I'm happy to present 2001. Looking back (and knowing what I do now) here are the 20 albums from 2001 that have really lasted for me. Alkaline Trio - From Here To Infirmary When it comes to these guys, I'm sort of a purist and an asshole when I talk about liking the early stuff better, [...]

So how the heck have you been? Thanks for sticking around. I'll have a the usual "listy" year end sorta posts up over the next few days, so there's that. That's about it. Here's to 2012! I can't fucking wait for a new year to begin after the way this one has ended. If you've been living under a rock lately, the reason that I didn't post nearly enough on Can You See the Sunset in 2011 was that I began playing my own music again. It's been a ton of fun too. If you [...]

I know that a good majority of the "local" people that read this blog will be going to Riot Fest this Friday, but if (by chance) you aren't going, you should come out to Batavia, IL since I'm playing a free show and sharing the bill with Dustin Darnold . That's right, I said FREE show. Anyhow, all the details are here if you want to check it out.

Hi there. It's been awhile. Yeah, I've been slacking on keeping this blog current and I'm pretty OK with that. Still, moving forward, updates should be considerably more frequent. You might (hopefully) notice the new layout but if you don't you've either never been here before or you might need to get your eyes checked. With any luck (and motivation) I'll actually make this blog worth reading again. This summer has been quite a blur. Last week I got together with the guys from Rock and Roll Brunch to record an episode of the podcast and it was [...]

Hey, sorry for the long absence here. I'll be back with something new momentarily. Until then, you might notice some changes (strange things) around here. Bear with me. We'll be back to the regularly scheduled content here very soon. Cheers.

Hey dudes! What's happening? I've just been enjoying the crazily fluctuating weather here in Chicago and generally enjoying things. So I've got this rough 12 song demo that I recorded with one microphone in my basement and I sent out to a few friends that I'll name here: Dane from The Switchboard Sessions (I know, his site is amazing, right?) John (my former band mate from Allister and all-around great guy) Chris & Josh from Rock And Roll Brunch / The American Autumn (great dudes and Chris is hella good [...]

Our house guests last night were none other than our friends in the band Mixtapes . We woke 'em up early, made 'em shower, and then forced 'em to play some songs in our living room. Actually, my lovely wife can't go to their show in Chicago tonight so she got the next best (maybe better) thing. We love that band. Edit : Hi, this is the wifey . He's right, I couldn't go to the show tonight. ( However, I'm wearing my Mixtapes shirt tonight to represent. ) While Eric's downtown [...]

So Record Store Day was a few weeks ago and I played my first show in something like 9 years (I counted) the eve before and opened for Kid, You'll Move Mountains . In addition to having my wife in my corner, fellow bloggers Reba (from Love Shack Baby ) and Steve (from Baby Stew ) were there supporting me as was Josh from Rock And Roll Brunch and The American Autumn . Heck, I even saw Mark and Joe from Division . Those people are all great and awesome for [...]

Sorry for the lack of posting around here recently. I've been busy writing and rehearsing for my first show in many years opening for my friends Kid, You'll Move Mountains tomorrow night to kick off Record Store Day. Like I said, it's been a long time since I was in a band and a long time since I've even performed a solo show. After all, I've been busy blogging about music instead of playing it for the last 6 years or so. Instead of writing full-fledged reviews I'll just tell you that, lately, I've been [...]

On their website, The Boogers claim to be "the world's most dangerous kids band." They don't play death metal so that might not be 100% accurate, but The Boogers do play some of the finest punk rock for kids I've ever heard. The band's 2nd album Let's Go! is filled with 13 songs of fast and hard-driving Ramones-core that will appeal as much to punk rock parents as it will to the youngsters. In addition to their originals, the band tackles classics like "Pop Goes The Weasel," "Big Rock Candy Mountain," and "London Bridge" and [...]

A week from this coming Saturday is Record Store Day 2011. That's April 16th folks. Go out, buy some vinyl and support your local independent record stores. I'll be checking out the Midnight Sale at Kiss The Sky in Geneva, IL and doing my part. Before that sale starts, I'll be hanging out with my friends from Kid, You'll Move Mountains who are playing a FREE all ages show on Friday night before the RSD sale right next door. The coolest part of this is that I'm opening for KYMM with [...]