Spring is here, April showers are beginning to replace the gloomy Chicago winter, and “t-shirt weather” is just around the corner. This time of year is particularly special for music lovers and vinyl junkies like myself. Plenty of great record shows come around each Spring but the real vinyl event of the season is Record Store Day. This annual record appreciation day will take place on Saturday April 20th and bring with it over 400 new releases and reissues from artists new and old. The release list is generally heavy on vinyl releases, but this [...]
Have you ever wanted to DO stuff? I mean start a record label. Start a band? Fu*k’n do something? Well, this guy does it. His name is Joe Losurdo. He owned a record store. He has been in a touring punk band during the mid-eighties (Life Sentence) and one in the 20002s (Regress). Joe and his wife Chris made the awesome Chicago punk scene documentary You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-84. You gotta see it especially if all you know is LA / NYC / DC [...]
With a new month comes a new record from the folks at Vinyl Me, Please . The subscription service that delivers a hand picked album of their choice to your door every month, has rolled out their March pick: Leagues' You Belong Here. This album is catchy. From the first drum hits on the opening track “Spotlight” you know you’re in for a dance party. The rest of the album does not disappoint either. The Nashville based three piece has made an album that can only be described as infectious. [...]
On a chilly Chicago Sunday, I had the chance to talk with Anthony Cozzi, front man of Radar Eyes —a band that has been a huge part of the Chicago garage rock scene for some 5 years now and who are just a few days short of the one-year anniversary of their vinyl debut on HoZac Records , Anthony offered some insight into his songwriting, the home recording process, and the direction the band is heading. We also reminisced about growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, our favorite record stores, [...]
Chicago soul, jazz and rock group, Bassel and the Supernaturals will be officially releasing their new 12” vinyl, Dreamer , at the Empty Bottle tomorrow to coincide with the band’s “Save Syria” Benefit. In Chicago by way of Northeast Ohio, front-man and Syrian-American, Bassel Almadani, has had family among the millions affected by the intense civil war in Syria. Half of the proceeds from tomorrow’s show will be directed to Avaaz and ICRC - organizations directly assisting families within Syria’s borders by providing food, blankets, water, [...]
Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below! GERONIMO! at Township , 2/23 Chicago rock trio, Geronimo! will be playing Township this weekend, and we recommend heading out to the show. Formed in 2007, the group released their second full-length LP, Exanimate last October. Available on 123 vinyl with a hand-screened jacket, you can pick up one of 200 copies from Geronimo!'s Bandcamp for just [...]
Following last summer's 73, " Serious Radical Girls ," yesterday marked the release of Panda Riot 's latest LP, Northern Automatic Music . Out on Saint Marie Records, the album, which includes the previously released song, is eleven tracks of non-stop pop rock that come together more like the soundtrack to a dream than a traditional rock record. From the album's lead track, "Amanda in the Clouds," you are introduced to the vibe of Northern Automatic Music . The airy and almost haunting layered vocals of keyboardist Rebecca Scott lead you through [...]
Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below! WHITEHORSE at Schuba's , 2/16 Married musically and in real life, Canadian rock duo Whitehorse will be playing Schuba's tomorrow night in support of their January release, The Fate of The World Depends on this Kiss . Out of Six Shooter Records, the LP showcases the pair's use of unorthodox sounds, and proficieny with just about any instrument [...]
Last week, we had the chance to talk with Donnie Biggins , the man behind Chicago booking and management company, Harmonica Dunn . Next Wednesday, 2/20, marks the kick off the companies’ inaugural Dunn Dunn Fest - a three night, three venue love note to “American music.” Having wrangled up some of the best indie, roots, and folk music that Chicago and our neighboring states have to offer, Dunn Dunn Fest teases a taste of the summer festival scene in the dead of winter. And since we at TVD would rather see you spend [...]
Sometimes it seems like in an effort to cash in on the growing popularity of indie-folk music, artists tend to forget one important thing—soul. Folk music without soul might as well just be pop music with a banjo. Newly formed Birds of Chicago do folk music right. And after looking at the duo’s track record, you wouldn’t expect anything less. Birds of Chicago is made up of Allison Russell from Vancouver based Po' Girl, and Jeremy "JT Nero" Lindsay of Chicago's JT & the Clouds. Having released their debut album last fall, the pair [...]
Donnie Biggins is a linchpin of the Chicago live music scene. Beginning with his time with the Chicago Roots Collective and up to his current promotion/management company Harmonica Dunn , he has aspired to build a community that is centered around musicians. His latest project is a 3 Day Festival called Dunn Dunn Fest , which will be taking place the 20th-22nd of February at Tonic Room, Schubas, and Lincoln Hall. I got the chance to have a long talk with him about his projects and goals, his band (The Shams [...]
It’s hard to lump a band like honeyhoney into any specific genre or scene. Critics and fans alike throw around the terms “alt-folk” or “alt-country” the minute a banjo or mandolin is combined with electric guitar. honeyhoney write good pop songs, some of them rock and some of them just sway gently in the breeze. It’s not quite country, or folk, or rock but a combination of it all that is truly unique. honeyhoney took the stage in Chicago with a nervous excitement. Vocalist/Guitarist/Drummer Ben Jaffe joked with the audience and the whole band [...]
With snow storms looming ominously on the horizon, it would appear that the holidays are almost upon Chicago. With festivities taking over the start of the next two weeks, you can expect there to be a major lull in excitement towards the middle of next week. Luckily, Chicago band Suns chose next Friday, 12/28 to release their debut full-length record, When We Were Us . Presented by House Call Entertainment, Suns will be celebrating the release at the Subterranean with the help of local groups Sequoia, Snow Ghost, and, playing their [...]
If the Christmas season doesn’t bring out at least a little bit of generosity in you, then there might be some cause for concern. Tomorrow night, Chicago’s The Bright White will be giving you the opportunity to satisfy your charitable side and experience some amazing live music in return. Organized by the local power-pop group, the second annual Warm, Safe and Sound concert and clothing drive will feature Panda Riot , The Second , Panther Style , and Adam Ashbach , along with a set by none other [...]
Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below! OUTER MINDS Record Release Show at the Empty Bottle , 12/15 There are a whole slew of awesome shows in Chicago this weekend so you have no excuse not to catch some live local music. Along with I Fight Dragons, On And On, Grandkids, and Archie Powell & the Exports, Outer Minds will be playing this weekend, celebrating the [...]
This Saturday, Saki Records will be hosting their third annual holiday party with a little help from Chicago’s Summer Girlfriends and LA’s Kitchen Hips . Coined “A Very Girl Group Christmas,” the free, all ages party will take place after hours at Logan Square’s Saki Records (3716 W Fullerton). Inspired by the iconic A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector and hosted by “Phil” himself, drinks will be provided by Goose Island. Kicking off at 7:00 PM, Summer Girlfriends and Kitchen Hips will be playing special arrangements of [...]
Denver based quintet, Churchill , will be bringing their folk-rock to the Beat Kitchen this Friday to share the stage with Chicago locals The Damn Choir and The Dirty Pigeons . If you’re not familiar with this particular group of bands, you can sample some tracks for yourself below, or just take my assurance that this is going to be an amazing show. Since their formation in 2009 as a duo, Churchill has grown as a group and put a number of releases behind them along the way. After selling [...]
Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below! The TREASURE FLEET (Record Release Show) at the Subterranean , 11/30 Chicago's the Treasure Fleet will be at the subt tonight celebrating the release of their newest LP, Future Ways . The band, made up of members from The Arrivals, Lawrence Arms, Smoking Popes, and Sass Dragons, has been shaping their distinctive pysch-punk sound since the summer of [...]
In another show of support for our neighbors to the East, today’s recommendation is for Indiana blues and Americana trio, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band . Hailing from the southern foothills of the “Crossroads of America,” the group will be playing their first Chicago show of the year this Saturday at Bottom Lounge . Touring in support of their recently released fifth studio album, Between the Ditches , the Big Damn Band has been averaging an impressive 250 dates a year, bringing their captivating live show and unconventional instrumentation to audiences across [...]
Back in August 2011 I wrote a short piece about the debut album release shows of Bloomington, Indiana’s, Sleeping Bag . Now, nine months later, I have the pleasure to write about the indie-pop trio’s incredible follow-up and sophomore effort, Women of Your Life . Not a Chicago release, but seeing as how Indiana doesn’t have its own Vinyl District representative, we at TVD-CHI have are more than happy to step up and represent our neighbors to the East. While more complex tracks and deeper lyrics may show [...]
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