*i fight dragons is chicago's finest (and quite possibly only) nes(nintendo entertinment system)-rock band. they have very detailed delusions of grandeur, most of which include gross misuses of nintendo products in combination with music in the popular rock genre.
they sold out chicago's elbo room as they self-released their debut ep, "cool is just a number," which has since gone on to chart nationally at 169 on the cmj college radio charts, and been featured across commercial radio formats in chicago, on Q101, 101.9 The Mix and 93 XRT.
they use a talking computer a lot, or possibly a talking computer uses them a lot. they were selected as the best new chicago band for 2009 by metromix.com. there are several tvs at all of their shows, occasionally showing people playing videogame versions of their songs, while the band plays the songs live on videogame controllers, and everyone's heads explode.
they played a date on this year's warped tour. they tend to release free music to their email list every couple weeks (but you already know, since you're on it, right?). this fall, they'll be branching out from chicago to tour the nation for 2 months with mc chris. all in all, there are 6 of them, and at least one of them is really really cool, but they haven't figured out which one yet. it's hari.
"i fight dragons is a high-def concert experience influenced by an 8-bit video game dream world. they are both an audio and visual powerhouse to have at the club" -brian bender, elbo room chicago talent buyer/general manager
“i fight dragons’ ep, 'cool is just a number,' offers such catchy hooks that 'irresistible' feels like an understatement.” -metromix.com
its been some time since i gave you any new tunes. have a listen. let me know what you think.
Anthem of the Party People
Empty Ave.
Turn Up The Bass
*glam.i.rock is a little catchy, sounds pretty good. but this is coming from a guy who listens to acoustic music more often than not. glam stands for:
Good Lyrics And Music
"i'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. i make mistakes, i am out of control and at times hard to handle. but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. hip hop. rock. pop. electro. and go."
*The Felice Brothers are a folk rock/country rock band from upstate New York founded in 2006. It is comprised of the five main members Ian Felice (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Simone Felice (drums, vocals, guitar), James Felice (accordion, piano, organ) and their friend Christmas (bass), previously a traveling dice player. They have been joined by Farley, a washboard player and fiddler, and others who at times had a horn section to the band. The three brothers are from the Catskill Mountains of New York. They hail from Palenville, NY, twenty minutes from Woodstock.
The three brothers began playing together on Sunday afternoons at their father’s barbecues but the band started when they moved to a little apartment in Brooklyn and began to play at the Subway stations near 42nd. Street and Union Square in Greenwich Village.
They released their debut album Through These Reins and Gone in 2006 and in 2007 they got a deal with Loose Music in Europe. Through These Reins and Gone made it onto Radio Woodstock WDST’s top 25 albums of 2006. The Felice Brothers have played at Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, NY, toured with Bright Eyes played at the 2008 Clearwater Festival, and Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN.
A Personal View of The Felice Brothers
Scruffy wanderers who just happened to find some instruments.
Dirtbags capturing lightning and spinning it into harvest gold. That’s what you’re holding in your hands right here.
“Dirtbags” because the Felice Brothers (three of them – Ian, Simone and James – brothers of blood, with dice-throwing bassist Christmas adopted in as blood brother) are the type of guys who, no matter how much you wire-brush scrub them, will never clean up entirely. I’ve personally never seen them without a little bit of dust or grime somewhere upon all of their persons, and having gotten to know them, I know for a fact that it’s hard won. The Felice Brothers live and travel as a unit. Their main mode of transportation is what we call in America a “short bus,” a miniature school transport usually reserved for the kind of kids that sometimes need to wear helmets just because. The Felice Brothers’ short bus is battered and wheezing, but it runs. It’s cluttered with stained dress shirts, holey vests, suits shiny with age and wear, and punch-drunk hats, all of which finds their way on various Felice body parts at any given time. While in transit or simply sitting parked in a haze of smoke and talk, Faulkner and Dostoevsky paperbacks, passengers, guests and paramours sit on whisky boxes, or instrument cases containing accordions or dented drums. It’s a good feeling.
They’re a bunch of slouching Hudson River pirates, the Felice Brothers are. They’re natives of the same wooded portion of Upstate New York that was the sometimes physical and always mythical home of The Band. They charm like a snake oil salesmen in a 19th-century medicine show; they stomp the boards like spirit-filled preachers; they close their eyes when they croon their imperfect (and therefore paradoxically perfect) Catskill Mountain harmonies; they smile wickedly when they drop into a groove; they bring a little bit of that front porch feeling with them wherever they go, even when they’re not playing; they watch the Nashville skyline with bemusement.
They’re a harvest festival, a late-night meal of greasy roast chicken and a stolen bottle of red wine shared with friends, and a woozy summer night filled with the promise of love, danger, barbecue and fireworks, all rolled into one.
All of that is in the vinyl of this record you’re holding right here. As is the lightning. How do I figure? I figure literally. On track three, what you may be thinking is a glitch in the recording of “Hey Hey Revolver” is nothing of the sort. Your record is fine. What you’re hearing is literally lightning hitting the ad hoc studio the band was recording in at the time (a leaky, abandoned Shakespeare theatre). No fooling. And that’s the Felice Brothers all over – imperfect and rough in an age of false perfection and polish. Their edges aren’t smooth; their clothes (and their voices, and their instruments) are tattered, threadbare and frayed. And they’re all the more golden and beautiful for it.
*when i saw the name bling crosby, i chuckled and was interested. glad i listened. might just be the greatest, longest mash/mesh/mess/colaboration of songs ever. just listen.
*shout 0ut louds are an alternative indie rock band from stockholm, sweden. the band consists of ‘four boys and one girl’: adam olenius (vocals, guitar), ted malmros (bass), carl von arbin (guitar), eric edman (drums) and bebban stenborg (keyboards, vocals).
Shipwreck
*most nights, when life allows, i music journal. i just hit record and pour out the day in the most honest way i know. these entries go onto a hard drive, and stay there: a chronological, date stamped account of where i have been and what it was like to be there. the voices you hear in the background might be your own. maybe you laid in your bed that night and listened to the rain while i held a mic out my bedroom window. maybe you were the stranger who played a bent-bugle solo into my laptop on the side of the road, or the bearded heathens who whistled in three-part harmony for me in an alley. maybe you left me the voicemail that i turned into a violin or you knocked on my door just to see if things were going alright. maybe you nudged me every day for two months to put this album out. if you don't hear yourself in these stories, listen again. it is all in here, with my gratitude.
Doug Burr
*a singer and songwriter of uncommon resonance, doug burr was born in 1972 in dallas, tx, growing up in a southern baptist family, the spiritual residue of which has been a lifelong influence on his musical endeavors. burr took up the guitar at age 16, and by 18 he was writing songs. after a dozen or so years of home recording, open mikes, church performances, and coffeehouse gigs in the dallas-fort worth region, he began fronting the roots rock band the lonelies. in 2003 he independently released “the sickle & the sheaves,” an ambitious and atmospheric gospel concept album produced by deadman’s steven collins that worked around the themes of birth, death, and renewal and brought him a good deal of critical attention. the equally impressive “on promenade” appeared in 2007 from spune/velvet blue music.
*william fitzsimmons was raised in the outskirts pittsburgh as the the youngest child of blind parents. due to the family's inability to communicate through normal visual means, william's childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. the house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands. when his father's orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of james taylor, joni mitchell, bob dylan and simon & garfunkel. by the completion of his youth and schooling, fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.
fitzsimmons' path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. it was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled monies from past birthday's, holidays and snow shoveling outings and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album). after finally achieving his goal of becoming a practicing therapist, william left, and returned again to his love of crafting and playing songs. he felt that is where he most belonged. somewhere between a singing therapist, and a counselor who writes songs, is where fitzsimmons endeavors to be. using songs to address matters that he believes need to be addressed.
william draws from those early folks stylings of his mother's music, and the embellished instrumentation of his father's. he is often compared to contemporaries sufjan stevens, iron & wine, and the late elliott smith, not only for his unique style and skill in writing and proclivity to deal with substantive and evocative subject matter, but also for his use of organic and colorful melodies and arrangements. his first two records were completely self-produced and his new album, "the sparrow and the crow," produced by marshall altman at galt line studios in los angeles, is his first studio recorded work. while his lyricism deals often with darker undertones (his most recent album is said to have been written following his own divorce), a measure of hopefulness is always carefully blended in. even with his short tenure as a songwriter, william has already received mention in noted publications such as billboard, paste magazine, and performing songwriter magazine, and his music has been featured on several television programs such as "grey's anatomy" and "army wives."
"Thanks for the interest in my tunes! I make music because it's fun. I play by ear (since I was very young), never stuck with lessons, and mainly try to write my own stuff. I prefer not to sample when making my music, but that's not to take away from the talented folks who produce cool stuff by sampling. My first album is up on my website, ronaldjenkees.com (download or physical copy) and on iTunes." -Ronald Jenkees
*not my usuall cup of tea, but this boy can make some beautiful sounding noise! i might have just found some new tunes to listen to while writing the next great ameriacan novel.
Four disparate parts crashed together to make one majestic sound in 2008. What started as a lark at a party in the Hollywood Hills has quickly turned into the most powerful force in the LA music scene. Kyler England, Gabriel Mann, Adrianne Gonzalez and Rob Giles, all successful singer songwriters in their own right, have created a new, compelling sound that started as a multi-instrumental, four-part harmony "indie supergroup" and grew into a "Fleetwood Mac meets Radiohead" thing of its own.
Their chemistry is evident at their explosive, emotional live shows, which are always packed with everyone from jaded hipsters waiting for a cure to avid and devoted music fans as they line up around the block to catch a glimpse and feel the energy. In their performances and their songwriting, the Rescues strive to find new ways to express beauty and the music industry has taken note: LA Weekly says “Their voices take flight. Soaring and gorgeous," while four Rescues songs have been featured in "Grey's Anatomy" this season alone. A collection of upcoming tracks and live cuts from a sold-out run at LA's famed Hotel Cafe will be available on an EP for their first ever East Coast Tour this August with Filter recording artist AM.
Fleetwood Mac singing Radiohead. U2 in four part harmony. Singer-songwriter heaven.
“you know that mysterious black object that the creepy family is staring at on the cover of led zeppelin’s “presence” album? Fol Chen sound like that… but we don’t sound like led zeppelin. (we actually do a little.) instead, we sound a bit like prince with amon duul II and a children’s religious revival, not to mention hot chip, pink floyd, gwen stefani, pere ubu, danielson famile, scritti politti, boards of canada, the blow, and pulp. (mostly.) we are using secret powers and the guidance of legendary dj donna donna to combat our nemesis, john shade. we are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance.”
From ArtistDirect.comTraffic was thick, thick, thick and Samuel Bing was unwell, strung out on the latest psychotropic fads: sleeplessness and feeling crummy. The Northern State was crawling, the usual twice-a-day funeral procession for Robert Moses. Above the overpasses, the clouds were lined with gristle. Even the horizon seemed to be sinking. So, it came just in time when Donna Donna transmitted her message over the open radio waves – a phantom broadcast from a station whose signal had long since dissolved into static. She spoke backwards for security and you could barely hear her voice between the Crazy Eddie ads, but Samuel Bing had his radio loud. He understood each word. “Initiates in the society of Fol Chen,” Donna Donna whispered, "Let’s get to it. While you sit in traffic, John Shade is busy spreading his black mischief. Here's the Screamer of the Week: 'Birds Fly' by Icicle Works.” Samuel Bing turned off his car and opened his trunk. No one was moving, so no one bothered honking. The trunk was filled with what looked like garbage, but this wasn’t just any piled crap — every object was a module in a greater, yet-to-be-created whole. Samuel Bing fished out a cassette tape and a broken ice-scraper. He inspected the sides of each, found the hidden grooves, snapped them together. He grabbed a faded Polaroid, an old paperback romance, a polyester potholder, and a pair of drugstore sunglasses. He snapped each edge to edge. He chose twelve items, then another six, and arranged all eighteen in interlocking circles that together formed a wider circle. Just to be safe, he welded the grooves with a cigarette lighter, slapped the whole thing on his back. From beneath a crusty blanket where the spare tire should have been, he pulled a wide, machete-like sword, and shoved it in his belt. Then he leapt into the air and let the currents carry him.
Melissa Thorne and Phat Jeph were waiting in room 12A when Samuel Bing landed in the parking lot of the Desert Hot Springs Hotel Spa. They met there in times of elevated risk, when the Highland Park compound was out of the question. Phat Jeph was ripped on peppermint schnapps again, but he was a gentle, melancholy kind of drunk, and hard to deal with sober, so Melissa Thorne made sure his glass stayed full. Samuel Bing didn’t bother knocking. He already had a key. He searched the bathroom, looked under the bed. “Where are the others?” he asked. “G-Bone and Wass are on the way,” said Melissa Thorne. “What about Baby Alex?” asked Samuel Bing. They fell silent, just stared at the rug. Samuel Bing knew what had happened, but he poured himself a schnapps and asked anyway. “Shade got him,” Phat Jeph slurred. Samuel Bing gripped the pommel of his sword. “We don’t have time for this,” said Melissa Thorne, and elbowed Phat Jeph in the ribs. “Okay, here’s the idea,” he said. “We have to take this battle to Shade. We have to build a serious pyramid. That way we can take the measure of the stars, the distances between them. Like the Aztecs and the Incas and King Tutankhamen.” “I’ve drawn up some plans,” said Melissa Thorne. She pushed the blueprints across the filthy bedspread. “You in?” Samuel Bing smiled for the first time all week. He pulled his sword from his belt, tested the blade with his thumb, nodded. “I’m in.”
*a child of the new music paradigm, Jack Conte has been jabbing at the acoustic world with electronic punches for years. with the release of the videosongs and the sleep in color EP, the buzz is starting to build for the third west coast tour this march.
the bay area native has influences that range from danny elfman to bjork to chopin, and as a child, whether he was listening to his father playing bill evans tunes on the piano or his mother singing old cole porter standards, cack found himself immersed in sound. his live show springs from this diverse spectrum of styles, and it involves multiple keyboards, guitars, jerry-rigged drum pads, and an occasional accordion, all glued together with thumping beats and in-your-face electronics.
as a member of one of the first generations to grow up with computers on demand, jack comments, “this is a music revolution, and it’s everyone that’s making it happen. it’s the fans, it’s the musicians, it’s the blogging sites, it’s the programmers who make the blogging sites, it’s everyone.”
When you're born into a musical family, you can expect to learn how to play one, two or twelve instruments. Ryan Shields was taught by his father at the age of 10 to bang the drums. His mother taught him how to pick the guitar at 13. And his Puerto Rican guitar playing/singing/songwriting grandfather influenced him the rest of the way. He and brother Danny toured the Eastern part of the country as the band Never the Less. At 19 he became the frontman of Swirl. And now he's going it alone. Enjoy.
A.) The bruised flesh under, above or around the eye after a fist, knee of elbow is introduced to the face during a sandlot baseball brawl, a pick-up basketball game at the park or a guy says something he shouldn't have said to the pretty girl at the corner pub.
B.) A small, abundant fish found throughout the vast number of streams and lakes in the Midwest and Northeastern United States.
C.) These guys from the Grand Rapids area of Michigan who write and play clever songs with lyrics that actually mean something to the wide variety of people who listen to their music.
All of the above, I guess, is the correct answer, but for today's lesson, the answer is C. And these guys, this Common Shiner, are singing about the love, the hope, the melancholy and the anger in all our lives. But most importantly, the humor in it all.
Morgan Foster: Acoustic Guitar/Lead Vocals Andrew Huisjen: Electric Guitar/Background Vocals Vijay Bangalore: Drums Michael James Brooks: Keyboards/Background Vocals
Finding the one that you can spend the rest of your life with in that "I can't go on without you" kind of way, has got to be one of the greatest feelings one can feel. But to find the one you can share the before mentioned emotion with, and have them be the one to complete, and complement, you as a musician, well, that's taking it to an all new level.
But the married duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the tandem who deliver the beautiful pop songs that are a "..deeply moving, maddening and redemptive work of art..."(All Music Guide) have done just that. And they will be sharing their stories at the Old Town School of Folk Music on December 12 at 7 and 10 p.m.
They are not the cover band at the local pub. Nor are they the winners of the talent show at your high school or town fair. With a perfectly harmonized sound, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs are Sid & Susie, covering it all from Neil Young to Carly Simon. They'll be playing two shows Saturday, September 12 (7 and 10 p.m.) at the Gary & Laura Maurer Concert Hall, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Illinois for the Old Town School of Folk Music.
So, day 1 and 2 are both complete and once again, it appears that the mad mass of music lovers respected themselves, each other and the music againyesterday, with zero reports of violence coming from the fest. And now Day 3 shows up with the remainder of yesterdays scorching heat warnings of the heavy 90's to the low 100's. AGAIN, I BEG OF YOU ALL, DRINK YOUR WATER BOYS AND GIRLS!
With a little more than 11 hours left on the clock until the thiord and final day of the giant party hosted by Perry Farrell gets started in the garden of Chicago (Grant Park), I have posted more videos or songs for every band/group/artist who I know is supposed to play this beautiful outdoor event today.
That's a lie. I'm not going to do it for the acts playing on the Kidzapalooza stage or at Perry's. Just don't want to. But the rest, at least all the acts who I know are supposed to be in town this weekend for this shin-dig, will, with any luck, be posted up during this last minute attempt by me. Enjoy.
So, Day 1 is over with and it seems that the masses of music lovers respected themselves, each other and the music yesterday, with zero reports of violence at the fest. And now Day 2 shows up with scorching heat warnings in the heavy 90's to the low 100's. DRINK WATER BOYS AND GIRLS!
With just about 5 hours to go until Day 2 of the giant party hosted by Perry Farrell gets started in the garden of Chicago (Grant Park), I have posted again a video or song for every band/group/artist who I know is supposed to play this beautiful outdoor event today.
That's a lie. I'm not going to do it for the acts playing on the Kidzapalooza stage or at Perry's. Just don't want to. But the rest, at least all the acts who I know are supposed to be in town this weekend for this shin-dig, will, with any luck, be posted up during this last minute attempt by me. Enjoy.
*the band consists of bob morris on vocals and guitar, mike leblanc on bass and vocals, darren wilson on drums and vocals and greta salpeter on vocals and piano. the hush sound was started when greta (while in seventh grade) met bob (a sophomore in high school). the pair were deemed an "odd" match due to the fact that bob liked playing rock musi on his guitar while greta was a classical pianist. whatever the case, chicago's own is making it work.
*the pigeon detectives are made from lead singer matt bowman, guitarist oliver main, guitarist ryan wilson, bassist david best and drummer jimmi naylor. last.fm and thesixtyone
we don't play pop music. we don't write music for art's sake. we don't represent any movements. we're not hip. we're not cutting edge. we don't dress to be cool. we do manage ourselves. we write our own songs. we do our own recordings. we shoot our own videos. we design our own covers. we made our own website. we're not generally negative people, oh yes, and we're not lefthanded.
we like our name because it doesn't say anything about who we are or what we do, we like to give our music a chance to do that. that said, we would liken ourselves (if we have to) to a darker rilokiley, a rockier death cab for cutie, a girlierwe are scientists, a wordier jimmy eat world. other people have likened us to mazzystarr, the cardigans, the postal service, 10,000 maniacs, jj72 - so if you shake all that up you might get some kind of idea.
if you're enjoying our songs, have a look at our website - www.iamnotlefthanded.com -where you can watch the videos we made, download some tracks for free, buy our music and sign-up to our quirky mailing list among other things.
Thirty-two years in, and I'm still waiting for my own personal copy of The Life Handbook.
So far it's been quite the ride. Up and down. In and out. And I'm pretty sure there was a certain point I even went side-to-side.
I've loved. I've lost. I've grown. I've broken. And I've healed. But sometimes, the pain has been too much to go it alone. And when I'd realize I needed something to help me get through those times, I'd always fall to the one constant of my life.
The constant, no matter the deal, has always been the music. It's always been there, like it always will be, to help me through the tough times.
