EXHUMED: Mentally Ill 'Gacy's Place' 7"
Despite a fertile proto-punk underground of writers and artists and an early recognition of the styles and sounds of the incipient new wave, the Chicago punk scene of the late 1970s was likely the most disparate and disjointed of any city of its size in the entire U.S. Of its bands and performers who today are whispered about in hushed reverent-tones (The Exit, Sundog Summit, J.T. IV, The Crucified), nobody knew they put out records, nobody even saw them play – outside their local neighborhoods, nobody even knew they existed. So while cities half Chicago’s size could boast trademark sounds, ...
continue reading EXHUMED: Mentally Ill 'Gacy's Place' 7"...
BREAKING SOUNDS: Guilty Pleasures 'Summer Strange' LP LP
God, it's been so long, but I'll be damned if the Guilty Pleasures still don't sound incredible, blasting out of the speakers on this fine evening. What you have here is one of the long lost studio albums of the cream o' the crop of the turn of the century's finest rock'n roll bands, firing off at the top of their game, but slipping through the cracks of history, ...until now. It would be unfair to leave out their origins, as they were all Chicago transplants from the great 'burg of Bloomington/Normal IL., only three quick hours south ...
continue reading BREAKING SOUNDS: Guilty Pleasures 'Summer Strange' LP LP...
EXHUMED: Pumphouse Gang LP
I can’t remember if it was Stuart Home, Johan Kugelberg, John Savage or that guy from the Pooh Sticks who infamously touted the superior arithmetic of U.K. power pop (that is, ‘77’ year zero punk + Merseybeat = gold). Whoever it was though, suffice it to say, I find their reasoning flawed and their equations extremely unbalanced.* For me, much of what has been accorded classic killer status across the pond is missing most, if not all, of the elements that make power pop so much fun to listen to. There’s no schmaltz, there’s no shamelessness, there’s no drama. There’s ...
continue reading EXHUMED: Pumphouse Gang LP...
EXHUMED: Laurice Best of Laurice Vol.1 LP + GRUDGE/SPIV Singles
There are certain records when you first hear them that illicit an almost primal-like response from deep within the id which bellows out for their immediate and ruthless acquisition. Such were the feelings that accompanied the Fatima-like emergence upon my radar-screen of the two songs which comprised the entire official output of an aggregation known cryptically only as the Grudge. Truly the ‘Voices Green And Purple’ of glam, everything about the Grudge single was and is perfect: melodic, danceable, hummable, sadistic, great. Bubblegum misogyny at its best-and-blackly-humorous. I remember getting the record in the mail in one of the most ...
continue reading EXHUMED: Laurice Best of Laurice Vol.1 LP + GRUDGE/SPIV Singles...
5 Shots: 1-2-3-4 GO! RECORDS 10th Anniversary Show
Sneaky Pinks live at Oakland Metro, 1-2-3-4 Go Records 10th Anniversary Show 2011
Is it just me or has 2011 been the year of the Festival? It seems like every week there's some sorta fest thing of some sorts going on somewhere that I just know I'm supposed to be at. Yet I seem to have missed quite a few. I guess I've sorta gotten burnt out. Maybe being able to see that fourth decade approaching me makes me not care anymore. Or the fact that I've been listening to and enjoying way more Cubicle Rock than I ever thought I would or could? Lordy lordy almost forty and this is ...
continue reading 5 Shots: 1-2-3-4 GO! RECORDS 10th Anniversary Show...
5 Shots: Hozac Blackout 2011 Saturday
Tutu and the Pirates Hozac Blackout 2011
Well it's only been about 3 months since I was at the Blackout this year and to be quite honest I was hoping it would all sorta come back to me and I'd be able write up the most epic detailed evaluation of the glorious event that was the Saturday show. In actuality however I remember meeting my old buddy Erik and his wife for lunch and diving straight into the PBRs. Gettin' my head nice and lubed up for the all day adventure to come. By the time I got to the venue already had a nice little buzzer ...
continue reading 5 Shots: Hozac Blackout 2011 Saturday...
5 Shots: The Spits at Hozac Blackout 2011
The Spits live at the Chicago Blackout 2011
When the Spits played the 2002 Blackout it was all flying bottles, bodies, beer and even some blood. This year was no different. Like a fine bum wine they just get better with age. Of course I don't mean better like "smoother," "mellower," or anything like that. Just all the insanity that ever was, times 10. The stage was on fire and the crowd was going bonkers. I just about fell to the ground the next morning stepping out of bed from being so damned sore. Wonder if I will be doin' this shit ten years from now? Well I ...
continue reading 5 Shots: The Spits at Hozac Blackout 2011...
5 Shots: The Brides at Hozac Blackout 2011
The Brides at the 2011 Chicago Blackout
I moved to Chicago around 1995 from Normal, Illinois. This was, of course, right about the time that the scene in Normal was really getting moving and Chicago was trying it's best to kill rock and roll. It was all a crapload of generic pop punk and emo 90's puke that really didn't interest me at all. Nothing but pretension and self righteous ween bag b.s. The hardcore scene wasn't too terrible but I'd pretty much outgrown my hardcore days once I'd heard the New York Dolls and just yearned for some good rock and roll. Well like a knight ...
continue reading 5 Shots: The Brides at Hozac Blackout 2011...
5 Shots: K-Holes at Hozac Blackout 2011
K-Holes at the 2011 Chicago Blackout
The K-Holes are savages. I don't know how else to describe them. I've scene them twice now and both times they've sorta scared and hypnotized me. Those shaking maracas and that Bo Diddley and Jerome-esque beat. Along with the killer bass player and the drummer their songs just drive at you and shake you to your bones. The guitar is psyched out and the sax wails like a banshee, or rather a sirens song? I don't know exactly, but they're amazing and you should see them now, as they clearly define themselves live and reinforce their demonic pounding even more ...
continue reading 5 Shots: K-Holes at Hozac Blackout 2011...
5 Shots: T.V. Ghost at Hozac Blackout 2011
T.V. Ghost at the 2011 Hozac Chicago Blackout
T.V. Ghost hit the stage like a furious Hoosier-ific Tyrades meets The Cramps? I don't really remember. I guess I was too taken aback that the singer-guitar player reminded me a lot of younger Jimmy Hollywood. Now actually re-listening to it sounds different than I remember, of course I was probably going on several PBR's by about then so things could have been a bit foggy. Noisy damaged art punk punky-ness of art art. Yeah great description there bud. Sometimes I'm just terrible at describing or even remembering bands sounds. That's why I shoot photos. Hell, if didn't I'd probably ...
continue reading 5 Shots: T.V. Ghost at Hozac Blackout 2011...
5 Shots: Happy Thoughts at Hozac Blackout 2011
The Happy Thoughts live at the Hozac Blackout 2011
Now I must admit that after Mickey ripped through the Velvet Perineum I sorta thought it would be impossible for anyone else to follow. Until of course the first sweet note of the Happy Thoughts hit and that dirty love infection I love so dear swept through my body like Midwestern fever, whatever that is. Yep, the band with the other best record out this summer is without a doubt The Happy Thoughts. The crowd seemed to agree as most of them were bopping along to the bonerrific Buddy Holly poppy top tunes. I ...
continue reading 5 Shots: Happy Thoughts at Hozac Blackout 2011...
HoZac BLACKOUT Fest Returns to Chicago May 26-28th
That's right fine people of the Internet, HoZac Records was requested to curate the BLACKOUT Fest once again and since it had been five long years since the last one, we figured it was worth a shot. No more of the four-six day marathon standing/leaning/drinking/puking all in the same room monotony (where even your favorite bands on earth can sound bland), it's now cooked down to just TWO DAYS of bands, which makes the whole "fest" experience so much more tolerable, and we know you'll agree. May 27-28th 2011 at Chicago's most sophisticated ballroom, THE VELVET PERINEUM in Logan Square ...
continue reading HoZac BLACKOUT Fest Returns to Chicago May 26-28th...
5 Shots: Mickey at Hozac Blackout 2011
Mickey crawling through the gutters of love at the Hozac Blackout 2011
Dear Mickey, I know it's been a few years since we've talked but I'm just starting to get over you. I'm feeling so much better now or so I thought, I mean, I have a new boyfriend and well…… My therapist told me not to contact you, but I heard the new record and it just reminds me of the old days. Do you remember the parties where we kissed in front of everyone and didn't care what they thought? Running into the night with a soundtrack of Mott the Hoople and the Dolls nipping at ...
continue reading 5 Shots: Mickey at Hozac Blackout 2011 ...
5 Shots: Squish at Hozac Blackout 2011
Squish Live at Hozac Blackout Fest 2011
The savage ladies of Squish are tearing up the current Chicago punk landscape, squealing and careening like an out of control tornado of estrogen, headed straight for the danger zone. With spazztastic sounds leaking from the VOM/Teddy & the Frat Girls/ASF-school of sloptometrics, Squish are a combustible gang of rabid rock’n roll gals that might just squash your feelings along with your face. They kicked off the resurrected 2011 Hozac Blackout Fest this year and set the stage for the weekend off on the right foot, blasting out their increasingly tight set along with a special appearance by ...
continue reading 5 Shots: Squish at Hozac Blackout 2011...
5 Shots: Hozac Blackout 2011 Opening Night
E.T. Habit at the Hozac Blackout 2011
I really seem to have writer's block for this whole 2011 Blackout thing. Probably because I'm not a writer--just a dude with a camera. Maybe I should start up a Kickstarter account thingy to raise money to buy myself some writing skills, help me pay for some classes at the local cum-unity college here in Berkeley. I'm sure they'd love me there. Let's write about peace, love and colonics. Not that I don't like the idea of peace and love and scrubbing of the rectum, but I don't reckon that's the kinda stuff I wanna write about. I just wanna ...
continue reading 5 Shots: Hozac Blackout 2011 Opening Night...
EXHUMED: The Clap Have You Reached Yet? LP
I’ve never wondered what the New York Dolls would have sounded like if they were sun-stroked So-Cal surfers, but if I ever had, The Clap would have been the answer to that query. Sing Sing Records (once again, putting on the sizzle with a flashy re-ish) has dug up the legendary “lost” Clap record, originally released to immediate obscurity in 1973. I had only heard second hand mumblings on coolness of this LP over the years, and now having heard it, I can say that it’s pretty fucking radical, dude. Although there’s a certain lo-fi malaise that permeates ...
continue reading EXHUMED: The Clap Have You Reached Yet? LP...
