Hailing from Chicago's West Side the YellowHammers have being around since 1994 but have managed to fly under my radar until now, the band are set to release their self-titled fourth album later this month. The band are Terry White (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Rob Pierce (vocals, guitar), Kevin James (bass, vocals), Phil Levin (drums), Tom Kneesel (pedal steel, guitar), the eleven track album includes a faithful cover of R.E.M.'s ( Don't Go Back to) Rockville and ten originals. [...]
Sorry for the relative silence around these parts the last few days. I'm still settling into my new Chicago digs, though thankfully I'm just about done unpacking. That means you can expect all kinds of low-quality blogging coming your way later this week. Until then, here's what is going on around Chicago this week. My picks are in bold . If I've missed anything, feel free to add it in the comments! Oh, and I beg you... someone out there has to go see Cattle Decapitation at Bottom Lounge [...]
Photo Credit: westchestermagazine.com According to 93XRT.com , Chicago's own singer/songwriter extraordinaire Andrew Bird will perform at the Art Institute of Chicago's new modern wing on September 21. The event, appropriately titled "Night at the Modern Wing with Andrew Bird," is also hosted by Jon Langford . The only way for entry is to head on over to 9 3XRT.com and register in their VIP Lounge section for a chance to get on the guest list for this intimate performance. Cocktails will also be available. Nice. [...]
Jon Langford and the gang will be playing an all-day "beer-b-q" at the Hideout Saturday . It's a full day of Bloodshot artists, starting at noon and celebrating the Chicago record label's 15th anniversary. The event takes the place of the Hideout's annual block party. Langford's Waco Brothers headline. Waco Express - Waco Brothers The Heart Bionic - Bobby Bare Jr. Tennessee Sure Enough - [...]
The organizers of The Sandinista Project have decided to post a free download of the 36-song tribute to The Clash 's famous album, Sandinista! . First announced in 2007 , the album assembled covers of all 36 songs from The Smithereens, Camper Van Beethoven, Jon Langford & Sally Timms, Amy Rigby, Katrina Leskanich (Waves), Wreckless Eric, Willie Nile, Matthew Ryan, Stew, Sex Clark Five, Sid Griffin & Coal Porters and many more. The profits were split between two charities near and dear to the Clash: [...]
With a rabblerousing "supergroup" line-up, the Waco Brothers are all set to storm the High Noon with their hardcore play-like-your-life-depends-on -it live presence and blend of country/punk/rock. The line-up consists of Marc Durante (KMFDM), Tracy Dear (World's Greatest Living Englishman), Deano (Dollar Store), Alan Doughty (Jesus Jones),Steve Goulding (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Graham Park & the Rumour), and Jon Langford (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts). They have been praised for their exhilarating and rowdy stage presence, whether at home in Chicago, IL or at SXSW. Their latest release, "Live and Kickin' it at [...]
With a rabblerousing "supergroup" line-up, the Waco Brothers are all set to storm the High Noon with their hardcore play-like-your-life-depends-on -it live presence and blend of country/punk/rock. The line-up consists of Marc Durante (KMFDM), Tracy Dear (World's Greatest Living Englishman), Deano (Dollar Store), Alan Doughty (Jesus Jones),Steve Goulding (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Graham Park & the Rumour), and Jon Langford (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts). They have been praised for their exhilarating and rowdy stage presence, whether at home in Chicago, IL or at SXSW. Their latest release, "Live and Kickin' it at [...]
Mekons also played Bell House on Friday - click for full size [photo courtesy of Alexis Maindrault - more excellent shots here ] The Mekons returned to NYC this weekend after a nearly two year absence and proved that while the band and the fans are older and a little more grey, the sense of humor and musical spirit have not changed. At Mercury Lounge last night, for nearly two hours the between-song banter between Sally Timms and Jon Langford [...]
Con un cameo di Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Bros) e uno di Martin Atkins (PiL, Lilling Joke, Pigface) tornano The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir con un nuovo album inciso per Bloodshot Records che dovrebbe confermare i suoni del terzo album della band, And The Horse You Rode In On sembra sempre devoto ad un sound country-punk di orientamento british (Billy Bragg, Pogues e cosi via) ma con atmosfere un po' più oscure e vicine a certa Wave, sempre Britannica. Per rendersi conto di quanto la band based in Chicago e guidata da uno scozzese come Elia Einhorn sia [...]
One surprising aspect of life in Chicago is the easy juxtaposition of suburban picket fence-hood with lively night life. A stroll down a typical city street reveals picturesque houses and brownstones peacefully - at least to my eyes - co-existing with pubs, restaurants and dynamic live music spaces. Schubas Tavern , which sits on the corner of North Southport and West Belmont Avenues in East Lakeview, is one such establishment. It began life in the early 1900s as a tap house for the Schlitz Brewery, and still proudly serves the [...]
The Mekons lived Leeds but dreamed Texas and Tennessee and after finding their feet in first-wave punk songs like "Where Were You," they left the world of Rough Trade for the open range. They are working on a new album tentatively called 100 Years and singer-guitarist-activist Jon Langford speaks as he takes his dog to the vet. This interview by Chris Ziegler.
In addition to Outside Lands and Treasure Island Music Festival, San Francisco has a chance to cash in on the 'grass' part of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival October 2-4. The free event, which celebrates its ninth birthday this year, boasts some impressive heavyweights and newcomers on multiple stages, ranging from Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett to Neko Case, Okkervil River, Old 97's, Dr. Dog, and Tom Morello. It's also worth noting that MC Hammer is also slated to perform, as is actor Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers. STEVE MARTIN, YOU GUYS. HE WAS IN "FATHER OF [...]
i'm not going to bother writing much about Michael Jackson since everything there is to say in the entire world has already been said, except: there goes a man so huge that when he died, he broke the internet (for a bit). Needless to say hip-hop, for one, would be massively different without him, both in terms of the amount of people he literally introduced to music and the amount that borrowed a bit of his, as this dizzying – and still incomplete ("where's The Tamperer feat. Maya ?" frets Action Andy ) – [...]
The Free Music Archive, a new collaborative project from WFMU, has almost doubled in size since launching in beta this April. With nearly 10,000 curated mp3s, there's a lot to scope out, which is one reason I've been relatively absent from Beware of the Blog recently... well, I'm back with this weekly feature that aims to highlight some "hot new added". Of course I'd rather just highlight everything, but you can keep tabs on that yourself by subscribing to the FMA's Recently Added RSS feed . Or follow us on twitter . Anyway, let's see [...]
The Mekons Pere Ubu: "The Modern Dance" That'll be after the initial wave and excitement of punk rock. I really liked Pere Ubu at that time. I was listening to the John Peel show a lot when Mekons were on there. The Mekons were actually on the John Peel show all the time, so I used to tape it. They'd say, "Oh they're playing the song tonight on John Peel," so I'd put a cassette machine in front of my radio and press the button [...]
We asked Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller to guest edit magnetmagazine.com this week, and he pawned it off on a bunch of his famous friends: other musicians, actors, writers and comedians. Well played, Rhett. But you can't hide behind a self-titled solo album. Rhett Miller (Shout! Factory), a Beatlesque beauty featuring Jon Brion, is out [...]
The Sadies are Canada's magnificent responding echo to California country and just finished a set of shows with Black Mountain . Their new album (featuring John Doe, one in a long line of Sadies collaborators also including Andre Williams , Robyn Hitchcock and Jon Langford) is out now on Yep Roc. This interview by Chris Ziegler.
Amanda Schenk The Sadies have no shortage of experience in the role of backing band, having worked with the likes of Neko Case , Robyn Hitchcock and Jon Langford in addition to carving out their niche with their unique blend of country, rock, punk and psychedelic influences. John Doe has no shortage of experience fronting bands, most famously with Los Angeles punk legends X but also with country outfit The Knitters , to say nothing of his impressive solo career. So that the two parties [...]
Amanda Schenk The Sadies have no shortage of experience in the role of backing band, having worked with the likes of Neko Case , Robyn Hitchcock and Jon Langford in addition to carving out their niche with their unique blend of country, rock, punk and psychedelic influences. John Doe has no shortage of experience fronting bands, most famously with Los Angeles punk legends X but also with country outfit The Knitters , to say nothing of his impressive solo career. So that the two parties [...]
New, noteworthy, forthcoming, etc. There's been an astonishing amount of new music released in the past few weeks, so I've written my longest blog post ever in an attempt to make sense of (some of) it all. "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes (a.k.a. Natasha Khan) is my favorite song of the moment. Kate Bush comparisons are apt (and based on the merits of this song Khan is perhaps the first proper heir to the Kate Bush throne since Tori Amos), but there's a certain romanticism here that's been absent [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Friday Five: Surf Songs
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
