Q&A: Blouse

By Sarah Rosenfeld

Blouse // via Captured Tracks

We caught up with Blouse's Charlie Hilton a few days before the madness of SXSW and chatted about the sophomore record Imperium, (out now on indie label Captured Tracks), touring life, SXSW and pizza. Blouse is a band that is not afraid to evolve and the progression from their self-titled first synth heavy album to a more organic sound on Imperium is authentic and fun to experience. Blouse will be playing the Empty Bottle on Monday, March 31st with Dum Dum Girls and Radar Eyes.  Hopefully you got a ticket already because the show is sold out.

WCR: You guys are playing in Albuquerque tonight, right?

CH: Yes.  We just played Phoenix last night and we’re on our way to Albuquerque tonight, then we’re heading over to Austin, TX.  Last night was the third show of the tour with Dum Dum Girls.

You just started the big North American tour with Dum Dum's.  How’s that been going so far?

It’s been really wonderful!  They’re such cool girls. We’ve been having a really good time.

How would you say it’s different than the other tours you’ve done?

The shows have been packed! I know Dum Dum Girls have a good draw.  I think a lot of the venues on this tour are going to be either sold out or really crowded because they are smaller venues.  I think Dum Dum’s could have played in bigger places but it’s nice to know you’re going to pack pretty much every room and have a really excited crowd.  It just feels better to play when it’s like that!  It just makes it exciting because you know what to expect and there’s not a mystery as to how many people are going to be there, which is always nice.  At the end of the day we just want to be playing for people.

You put out a new album Imperium back in September.  It’s definitely a more organic and less synthy sound than your first album.  What made you decide to move in that direction?

It started off because the producer Jake wanted to play more guitar on the record. He and I had done a lot of the synth parts on the first album and he kind of joked around that the synths were too heavy and annoying and he didn’t want to tour with one, so that’s how it started.  Then as we continued talking about it we decided that sonically, it would be really interesting to just try something without the synths and it seemed like a really good challenge.  Just sort of change the formula up a little bit on the second record.  It’s an interesting thing going into a sophomore record, because you have to compete with yourself. You don’t want to repeat what you’ve done but you also want to stay true to your sound.  It seems really good to carve a specific path for ourselves.  And I’m glad we did it, I’m really happy with the results.

So, it was a conscious decision, it didn’t just happen?

No, not at all.  I mean, I wasn’t sure if it would work and if we would get through it, but we pulled it off.  It was very self-aware.

Q&A: Lissie

By Frank Krolicki

Lissie is the kind of pop musician that doesn't exist anymore.

Her songs are filled with hooks and opportunities to sing along, but don't sound plastic or forced. There's guitars in her music, loud and clear and right up front. She has character in her voice; you won't mistake her for anyone else. Instead of just a sweet shell, her music has a solid core made up of heart and soul. Nothing comes across as fake.

To me, she sounds like a pop artist from the past, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It's not that her music doesn't sound fresh, because it does. It's just that music that sounds like it could be on modern pop radio and get buy-in from the mainstream isn't supposed to also sound as genuine and have as much personality as Lissie's does.

In other words, I'm a fan.

Earlier this Fall Lissie released her second LP, Back to Forever, and will be playing Chicago's Park West on Friday, November 29th, on her tour supporting the record (tickets here). In advance of the home-state show (she's from Rock Island), Lissie took some time to answer a few questions via e-mail for WCR. Read on for her thoughts on the new record, the Windy City, and future plans.


WCR: I’ve been taken with your songs and your voice since my first play of the Why You Runnin’ EP a few years ago. It was such an unexpected surprise. When you think about all that has gone down between the release of that EP and now, what words come to mind?

Thank you!

Variety.

Tell us about your new second album, Back to Forever. In what ways do you think it’s different--or similar--to your first LP Catching a Tiger?

In the time I was writing this album I think I was reflecting on past relationships and my patterns and thought in saying them out loud I could put some of my worst habits behind me. I was also listening to a lot of NPR and just reacting to the world around me. I was in a more frustrated head space writing this album. In writing Catching A Tiger I was mostly inspired by and very much inside of a fresh breakup and Back To Forever felt more like observing than freshly experiencing if that makes sense? Haha.

Also I didn't know my band when I made Catching A Tiger and having them play on Back To Forever hopefully infused the songs in some way with a bit more of the rockin' energy we bring live. I will say working with a producer always colors the record with a bit of their character as well.

Q&A: Dinosaur Bones

By Stuart Ross 

Toronto indie-rockers Dinosaur Bones are leading off the bill tonight at the Beat Kitchen, up in the Belmont Corridor. Making lyrically-driven dark pop music with big drums for over five years now, the quintent are currently on tour in support of this year’s Shaky Dream, out on Dine Alone Records.

We chatted with front man Ben Fox about the energy of their live shows, the making of the record and thoughts on Chicago and Toronto.

WCR: Welcome back to the city. Where else have you played here? When you think of Chicago, what comes to mind?

We've played a few venues. Twice at Schubas, once at Beauty Bar (that one was a bit weird), and once before at Beat Kitchen.

When I think of Chicago I think of Sammy Sosa, Family Matters, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Reckless Records....lots of good stuff.

One of your fans tweeted that you are “way too dirty live.”

When we write and record music, we do our best to exercise a certain amount of restraint, and I think that's what gives some of our recordings a mellow or subdued vibe. So I think people are sometimes a little surprised (hopefully for the best) when they hear us live, the songs reanimated with a little sweat on them.

Interview: TOPS

By Gene Wagendorf III   

TOPS

Windy City Rock caught up with Montreal's twinkling soft-rock outfit TOPS, who strolled into Chicago this week for two shows- last night at The Empty Bottle and tonight (Thursday) at The Burlington. Touring in support of their debut release Tender Opposites (Arbutus Records), the band excels at crafting tight, kinetic pop songs and spacious, fragile ballads. While it's easy to draw comparisons between TOPS and current/former label-mates Grimes and BRAIDS, the truth lies somewhere in between. Absent is the heavy gloss of the former, and the obtuse structures of the latter. The result is an easily digestible album riddled with catchy melodies and smart songwriting. The band's personality seems to share that dichotomy; a charming combination of whimsy and thoughtful perspective. You can catch TOPS at The Burlington on Thursday, September 27th ($7, 21+). In the meantime, enjoy our chat with Jane Perry [vocals/keyboards] and Riley Fleck [drums].

WCR: To start, where did you all meet? How long have you been playing together?

JANE: We all came to Montreal a few years ago, David [guitar] and I both came from Edmonton and knew each other from before, everyone else met hanging out and going to shows.  We had been playing music with Thom [bass] for a couple years, he used to play drums with us and he wanted to play bass instead, so we asked Riley to jam with us at La Brique to see if it would work out. We got together and played some songs that David and I had started. It was really easy right from the start to finish songs and play together, so we decided to make a band out of it. That was a year and a half ago.

WCR: What role has living in Montreal had in shaping your sound, if any?

JANE: We all came to Montreal to make music and meet other people that make music. Montreal is great because people don’t have a lot of money and don’t aspire to. There’s a lot of creative people, and a lot of opportunities to dance and get fucked up.

Interview: Janka Nabay

By Gene Wagendorf III 

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang

Even a city as worldly as Chicago doesn't host royalty every day, but the "Bubu King" himself, Janka Nabay, is bringing his band to the Windy City for a couple of shows that should prove to be unlike anything else you'll see this year. What the hell is bubu? Good question. The Sierra Leonean native made his name by adopting a traditional genre born in ancient witchcraft ceremonies and adding his own flair, as well as some electric instruments. Janka took what was once an airy, minimalist harmony of percussion and crude wind instruments and added synths, guitar, bass and a host of globe-spanning influences.  It's fast, it's catchy, and for something that's centuries old, it sounds pretty damn fresh.

After escaping  a war-torn Sierra Leone, Janka set up shop in the US, releasing a solo EP, Bubu King, before forming Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang with a collection of Brooklyn musicians. The group's first offering, An Letah, features tight, swirling arrangements and toe-tapping rhythms that defy you to sit still and listen. Not possible. Nabay and co. have just wrapped up their first full-length release, En Yay Sah, due out August 7th. "The King" will be performing at Celebrate Clark St. on Sunday, July 29th ($5 donation) and at The Empty Bottle on Monday, July 30th (FREE). Janka took some time from making people boogie to answer a few questions for WCR.

WCR: They say you're the "King of Bubu." What's bubu? How did people react to you adding electric instruments to it?

What is bubu? Bubu music is a danceable rhythm. Bubu music is the sound of God. The reaction? Fantastic. The people like it because it's unique. And people love to dance.

Interview: Leaf Bird

By Rachel Angres

photo: Jacob Hand

Chicago's own Leaf Bird are set to release their new full-length album Diamonds From the Cherry Mine Vol. 1 on June 22nd via Chicago-based cassette label, Plus Tapes. The band will celebrate the release on the same day at Reversible Eye along with fellow Chicago acts  Heavy Times, Bone & Bell and My Dad. They will also be appearing in Brooklyn on June 17th at Zebulon, alongside up and coming Philadelphia-based Power Animal and New Jersey-based Slow Animal. We caught up with Larry and Tyler of the band to ask a few questions.

WCR: Names, instruments you play and an interesting fact about another member of the band?

Tyler Beach: Guitar, vocals and keys.

Larry Robertson: Guitar, vocals.

LR: Tyler has a very strange super power. He's immune to the chemical Capsaicin.

TB: It's really weird, but I don't feel any burning sensation when I eat spicy food. No matter how spicy it is. I just don't have any sensitivity. I even put Jalapeño juice on my eyeball one time and nothing happened. Pepper spray doesn't work on me either.

Strangest venue or gig you’ve ever played?

TB: We used to play a bunch of crazy house shows with our old band, Fingers & Toes. I remember playing as part of a burlesque--like, circus freak show--back, in like 2006. There was a lot of crazy nudity going on. We wound up playing at like 6 a.m., when the sun was coming up. I remember one time our old band, Fingers & Toes--who was a six piece at the time--took pot brownies just before going on. Back then we used to do completely improvised performances. We played for like 3 hours straight.

Interview: Jim Carroll of Unicycle Loves You

By Frank Krolicki

photo: Meagan Fredette

Earlier this year Chicago-based trio Unicycle Loves You released their latest LP Failure, a half-hour's worth of fuzzed-out, pop-tinged rock and roll that's completely unsuccessful at living up to its name. From the opening jolt of "Garbage Dump" and "Wow Wave Cinema" to the addictive noisepop rush of tracks like "Bitch Eye" and "Piranha," it's arguably the band's best work yet and has become one of my favorite releases of 2012 so far.

The new music brought a busy few months for ULY, including a trip to SXSW, the release of a couple videos ("Garbage Dump," "Piranha") and a multi-state tour in support of the record. Now that the tour is over and things have at least temporarily settled down a bit, frontman Jim Carroll (no, not that Jim Carroll) took some time to answer a few questions about Failure, the recent shows, future plans and more. Read on to see what he had to say.


WCR: How did the tour go? Any good tales to tell?

Jim Carroll: Amidst the ill-attended and sucky shows throughout the tour, we did find ourselves in some amazing situations. One of my favorite nights was at Kansas City’s Middle Of The Map Fest. We were at odds with each other, and that made for a much more aggressive performance overall. But on top of that, our good friend and frontman of Kansas City’s The Wheelers (whom with we’re putting out a 7” split later this year) Greg joined in on the insane performance and then took off his shirt revealing “Soy Bomb” on his chest and writhed around us while we played ”Garbage Dump.” The cameras started flashing and the show became a complete riot. It was probably the most authentic punk rock moment of the whole tour. We have it on video.

Interview: Rabble Rabble

By Rachel Angres

Rabble Rabble have been known to be minimalists in their formula as a four-piece Chicago band since 2009. They have recorded in true DIY style, from playing open-mic sessions at local dive bars and composing them into live albums, to setting up recording studios in a barn upstate with an 8 track tape machine and other vintage gear. The band released their latest tracks, "Why Not" and "Long Hook," as a 7" single last year and recently took a break for a few months, but are returning with new songs at a free show on Monday, April 30th at the Empty Bottle (with Heavy Times and Lion Limb--email rsvp@emptybottle.com for tickets in advance).

We caught up with two of the four members--Ralph Darski (interesting fact: also the co-owner of Cafe Mustache in Logan Square) and Matt Ciarleglio (interesting fact: also works at the Empty Bottle and Bourgeois Pig Cafe):

WCR: Names and instruments you play?

Ralph Darski: Guitar, bass and vocals.
Matt Ciarleglio: Bass, Guitar, backing vocals.

Strangest venue or gig you’ve ever played?

MC: We’ve been pretty notoriously throwing Halloween shows the past few years that have been getting more and more out of hand. Three years ago some guy dressed up like Gallagher essentially threw an entire watermelon at us. And then some dude tried getting naked on stage and I punched him in the face.

RD: That Halloween show Matt is talking about ended up pretty much being a riot. With bottles getting thrown and fists all around. We managed to finish our set however. Another strange gig was one of the first shows we played on our first tour. It was in Kent, Ohio at a pizza/gyros joint. We were expecting to play the hip college bar in the town but the promoter double booked that night so we got moved to the pizza joint. Basically the night consisted of us gettin’ hammered, my amp setting on fire, our van getting stuck in the mud and then we had to argue with the kitchen manager to get some free pizzas as compensation.

Interview: The Bears of Blue River

By Rachel Angres

The Bears of Blue River are a Chicago-based outfit that has played over 300 shows since January 2010. The project began as a cleansing for frontman Gavin Wilkinson as he fleshed out a new approach to raw, simple pop songs in 2008 and plotted his escape from Indiana. For almost two years the songs would exist only as home recordings that were crafted by Wilkinson and a cast of revolving friends who just happened to be over on any particular day. However, the end of 2009 and a relocation to Chicago began to expose the Yellow Brick Road of song the band would follow.

The band's on again/off again nationwide touring schedule has included shows with Jookabox (Asthmatic Kitty), Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, Blitzen Trapper, Avi Buffalo, Daniel Johnston, and many more, with stops including a Daytrotter session, two SXSW appearances, The Foburg Festival, and Chicago MOBFest.

Their EP, The Killer Bee Scare, spent over eight weeks in CMJ's Top 200 as well as debuting in the Top 100 despite being an independent release. After re-releasing the EP with Fall Records, the band headed back into the studio in the fall of 2010 with engineer Tyler Watkins to record their first LP Dames. It was not until fall 2011, though, that the record surfaced online as a pay what you wish download on Bandcamp.

2012 has found Wilkinson and the band with a surplus of new material, a thirst for the road and plans to record a series of 7 inches. Check out TBOBR tonight, March 5th at Schubas with The Kickback, Mutts and Psychic Twin, and read on for an interview with the band. Share the Bear!

Interview: Alex Toth of Rubblebucket

By Andrew Hertzberg

photo: peter dean rickards

Musicians are just so lazy. I had to push back a scheduled interview half an hour because singer and trumpeter Alex Toth of Rubblebucket was sleeping? At 6:30 p.m.? Jesus. Ok, so apparently he and his bandmates were up all night shooting a music video in a graveyard. I guess I can let that slide. Besides, Omega La La is one of my favorite albums released this year. I still feel like I can’t describe it accurately. It’s like the Talking Heads added an afro-soul brass section and started experimenting with in depth layers. And even that, I feel, doesn't get the point across. After seeing their music videos for "Came Out of a Lady" and "L’Homme" as well as probably my favorite set at North Coast Fest last month, they’ve solidified an official seal of approval from yours truly. Wanna see them in action? They’re playing this Friday, October 14^th at Double Door (9 PM, 21+, $15). For now, read on to find out what a n’goni is, David Lynch’s influence on the band, ghosts, and probably the only band that will directly reference stone masonry in an interview.

(Thank you, Alex, for risking all of the effects of sleep deprivation for waking up and answering my questions.)

WCR: What is a Rubblebucket?

Alex: Rubble (space) bucket is an industrial grade construction tool that is also used in disaster cleanups, you know, for earthquakes and whathaveyous. In Vermont, in stone mason culture, apparently a Rubblebucket is also a tool used, a smaller tool used for building walls and stuff like that. And then there’s a band. And that’s us [laughs]. 

Is there any reason you chose it as your name?

It wasn’t some deep selection process. Initially there was a session of musicians that came together at this art party at a milk bottling plant in Burlington, Vermont. It was a pretty wild party. And we were just making up all of these very fiery arrangements on the spot, making up melodies, and there was a rhythm section and a bunch of percussionists. It was a pretty weird instrumentation. That night, the place was called ‘Rubblebucket’ something or other. And when you go to make a band name, it can be such a grueling process, like how do you choose this or that? So we had a couple of ideas and at the end of the day that one had the most meaning. One of the percussionists, who’s now our percussionist, he’s a stone mason and he named it that.

Interview: Chris Connelly

By Christian Chiakulas

Chris Connelly--known for his work with Ministry and the Revolting Cocks--is set to release a new album titled Artificial Madness on November 8th, with a show following on Friday, November 18th at The Hideout. I got a chance to ask Chris some questions about the new album, his thoughts on the Chicago music scene and more.

WCR: I heard the first song from the album, "Waiting for Amateur." It's a great preview track and definitely makes me want more. Why did you pick this song to release first?

Chris: Well, there is going to be a video for it, plus it's short (2 minutes) and I think it sums up all the elements of the album-and of my past, in one easy to swallow pill!

Are you planning on releasing any singles from the album?

Theoretically, "Wait For Amateur" is the single; it just will not physically exist as a single, but it'll be the calling card, if you will.

You've described the album as “acknowledging Ministry in certain ways.” Which other of your previous bands/projects do you feel most suggest the sound of Artificial Madness?

Definitely Murder Inc. and Damage Manual--for all of Martin Atkins's exasperating tendencies, he is very good at bringing people together: with these bands, I had the elements of Killing Joke and Public Image that I loved, but being pushed in a new direction. Actually it was not until recently that I truly appreciated these bands I was involved with; at the time it was hard work and often contentious, which made it difficult to enjoy.

I read a blurb explaining the album's title, how it references people's reliance on needless technologies. Is this a theme running through a lot of the album, or just the title track?

I have always considered that the artist is at the mercy of the environment they are creating in--their daily lives, etc.--and technology is something that is undeniably and very forcefully shoved down our throats--it has changed what we do, obviously, and we spend too much time using it for useless ends. I was thinking about someone who is alien to this looking at us and seeing this "artificial madness." Now, I use technology, I have to--I am not someone who lives off the grid and is self sufficient--but I don't use it for the creation of my music. I still write my books longhand and I don't use a smart phone. I'm just really afraid that our collective consciousness and subconsciousness, or parts of it, will either shut down or morph into something useless over time. The album is not all thematic like this, really just the title track, but I found that it would unavoidably rear it's head in other aspects of the songs.

Interview: Isaac Hanson

By Andrew Hertzberg

By now you’ve probably looked at the header of this article, focused your eyes on the picture above, recognized the last name, thought it sounded vaguely familiar, perhaps from a mid-late '90s pop trio, and thought no way in hell would a music blog that covers local independent rock music be interviewing one of the Hanson brothers. Well, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes we like to throw a little curveball here at WCR. Yes, I did indeed have the opportunity to talk with Isaac Hanson, the drummer/percussionist and singer for the much adored and much derided pop group Hanson. No, I was never a fan myself, but I couldn’t possibly pass up this opportunity after it was presented in an email. Besides, weren’t you curious/ecstatic to find out that Hanson is not only still performing, but releasing new material as well? In fact, they are in town for two nights, tonight and tomorrow, at the House of Blues. The shows are a part of their Musical Ride Tour which allows fans to pick an album for them to play live. Time constraints and a rambly Isaac didn’t allow me to ask all of my questions, but we did have a chance to talk about the music industry, the band's recent charity work and the legacy of none other than the infamous "MMMBop." 

WCR: You’re probably sick about talking about this song, but I promised I would ask it for a friend. He wants to know if you came up with the concept for "MMMBop" when you were eating peanut butter while you were trying to sing. 

Isaac: Definitely not. That was definitely not how we came up with "MMMBop" [laughs]. Actually--how we came up with "MMMbop"--we grew up listening to a lot of '50s and '60s music. We were young kids memorizing late '50s rock’n’roll stuff, everything from Chuck Berry to Eddie Cochran to Little Richard. Taylor and I knew how to play piano, but for the most part the easiest thing for us to do as performers was to get up and sing. All three of us could do it and we had the ear for harmonies, we’d just stand there and do it and sing songs we’d memorized. That’s where it kind of all began 20 years ago. And you know, definitely not sick and tired of talking about that song--that’s the thing about a song like "MMMBop" or anything like that when you first burst out onto the scene--it's just the kind of thing that every band and every artist hopes for; they hope they will have a song that will be significant and synonymous with what they do, so that people will care what they do at all.

What do you think about the Rolling Stone top 10 worst songs of the '90s, a reader’s poll. That one actually made the list.

 Oh it did?

Did you heard about that one yet?

No, I didn’t hear about that.

Interview: Shaun Hague

Posted by Frank Krolicki

The title of Shaun Hague's debut EP The Time Is Now is telling. After spending years playing guitar for various artists such as Amos Lee and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Redondo Beach, CA-based musician is just now about to release material under his own name. "The time is now...to step out from sideman to frontman," reads the site of the Kickstarter campaign that helped fund the EP, out June 7th via iTunes. Though it's a brief three tracks, The Time Is Now is a solid release that shows great promise for Shaun's future as a solo artist; this is confident, soulful, well-written stuff that goes down easy and shouldn't have an issue finding an audience.

Shaun is coming to Chicago soon for a headlining gig at Martyrs on Thursday, June 23 (click here for more info and tickets). In anticipation of the show I asked him a few questions to find out more about the new EP, past projects and future plans--read on to see what he had to say.

WCR: You'll soon headline Martyrs here in Chicago. What can we expect from your live show?

GUITAR SOLOS! No, I’m not that selfish, but there are a lot of solos. That is what I think separates me from the common acoustic singer-songwriter, doing lots of lead guitar work myself. I also have some broken down moments where it’s just me and a piano or an acoustic. My goal is to always give the audience their money’s worth and put on a great show for them.

Speaking of Chicago, one of the tracks on your new EP is titled “Windy City Girl.” What's the story behind that as well as some of the other stuff on the EP?

“Windy City Girl” is inspired by my wife who grew up in the Palos Heights, IL area. The song just tells the story of my everyday life. I’m a lucky guy to be with such an amazing person, she inspires me both in music and outside too. “Rainy Day in L.A.” is written about my amusement of Los Angeles and that it just completely shuts down when it rains. People act as if a hurricane is blowing in. I would hate to see what would happen if it ever snowed on an L.A. freeway. “Make it a Great Day” is a phrase my keyboard player used to say a lot. I always found it to be extremely positive and one day decided to write a song around that phrase. It’s just a tune about making the most out of life and not letting time slip away from you.

Interview: Dexter Tortoriello

Posted by Andrew Hertzberg

Dexter Tortoriello seems to make music for whatever weather related aural accompaniment I desire. He is half of the (for lack of better term) chillwave duo Houses: perfect summer sunset patio tunes to transport you to the rural Hawaii that helped inspire it. But for the all too common rainy days of 2011 so far? That’s where Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross comes into play. Entirely Dexter’s project, his EP Blow was re-released last month on Diplo's Mad Decent outfit. The six song collection is ominous and brooding, yet oddly comforting. It’s when the sky turns orange from the clouds and you begin to notice the flashes of light through blinded windows. The thunder’s not far off and you catch just a sprinkle of the impending downpour before you find shelter.

After reading a couple pieces on Dexter, I decided he was a pretty interesting cat and wanted to pick his brain deeper. Read on for his poignant thoughts on the necessity of occasional isolation, unique recording environments and appreciating what you don’t understand.

Introducing the Bingers

Posted by Bobby Minelli

If there's any chance that magic in the air could warm up Chicago tonight, it will probably be happening at Fireside Bowl. A new Windy City band called the Bingers have lit up my heart's metaphorical afternoon joint with their fuzzy summer sidewalk tunes, and you can hear for yourself starting at 8:30 at the Fireside (also with The Pear Traps, Videotape and We are the Willows). I asked the Bingers a few questions in anticipation of the show.

WCR: How did the Bingers come to be?

Teddy Binger moved back to Chicago from Marquette, Michigan, and after short debates about starting a rock 'n’ roll band, the three of us decided to rent a house in Logan Square, get into debt and buy some amps.

What are some of your favorite summertime sounds?

Liking the new Sonny and the Sunsets, T-Rex, Lawrence Welk’s Blue Hawaii, Chuck Berry, The Living Sisters, Dick Dale, Monster Rally.

Interview: The Island of Misfit Toys

Posted by Conor O' Hagan

Dads were at the top of the conversation topics when I talked with Anthony, Evan, Jonathan and Julia from The Island of Misfit Toys in the lead up to their Beat Kitchen show this Sunday, April 10th (all ages, $10, 6:30 p.m. Also with Yukon Blonde and Waterhouse). They met with me to put their feet up, play with the cats and talk not only about their dads, but also about their debut album Bear Hair and their place in Chicago’s music scene.

WCR: I’m excited for Sunday. Tell me about the show.

Anthony: Yeah, it’s coming up soon. It’s freaking me out. It’s going to be amazing 'cause the first band, Waterhouse…we’ve played with three times. They’re a seven piece -

Jonathan: Monster.

Anthony: Musical monster. Everything they do is so captivating. 

Julia: They’re so tight.

Anthony: It’s like math, jazz, soul, pop. They’re one of the best bands we’ve ever played with. They’re our buddies. And Yukon Blonde, from Canada, they’re actually popular. And it’s the Beat Kitchen and an all ages show. There’s probably going to be a lot of people there. We’re excited. You know when you’re dancing around and you can’t help but bump into somebody? That’s the best. It’s going to be outrageous.

Interview: Drawn From Bees

Posted by Frank Krolicki

I've got a bit of a weakness for Australian bands. I don't know exactly why, but something about most music that comes from the smallest of the continents just clicks. Case in point: Drawn From Bees. The Brisbane-based quartet's sharp songwriting and moody alt-rock sound were a very welcome discovery, and it's easy to hear why they have been receiving buzz both in and out of their native land. For their currently underway U.S. tour - which includes two Chicago shows - the band have put together a five-track introductory EP called Cautionary Tales for the Lionhearted to offer up a sampling of all of their releases to date.

Catch Drawn From Bees when they pass through the Windy City with gigs on Monday, March 21st at Reggies and Tuesday, March 22nd at Elbo Room. In the meantime, check out our interview with frontman Dan James below to find out more about the band and how their time in the States has been going so far.

Interview: DAAN

Posted by Bobby

photo: Jonny Heffernan

One of the most unique and entertaining acts to emerge from Chicago recently is DAAN, a three-man theatrical electro-pop group that has brought a massively energetic gay apocalypse to unsuspecting venues such as Town Hall, Mini Bar and Berlin. The show brings together elements of a sci-fi stage with synth-driven dance pop that makes the room seem like a lost musical sequence from "Blade Runner."

I recently interviewed founding members Dan Foley and Patrick Andrews about the project's inception, theatrical nature and where they're headed.

WCR: Of all the various acts I check out, DAAN is an act that really knocked my socks off. What was the inception of the project and how did the collaborators meet?

Interview: Emblems

Posted by Frank

Chicago's Emblems play a moody, swirling, heavily orchestrated style of indie-folk that captivates upon first listen. It's a sound that so far you can only hear via a handful of tracks, but expect much more soon; the quintet are currently in the studio preparing a new record planned for release this spring. They also have two shows coming up: April 17th at the House Cafe in Dekalb with The Spring Standards and April 22nd at the Viaduct Theater with Young Jesus and Verona Red.

Emblems' Matthew Stevens, Steph Popoca and Luke Mowcomber recently took some time out from recording to answer a few questions for WCR. Read on to find out what they had to say and keep an eye out for more details on their upcoming release.

WCR: First off, give us a bit of background on Emblems.

Matthew: Emblems came together when I decided that I wanted to start something refreshing. I wanted to create a band with multiple influences instead of pertaining to a particular style. Our wide variety of influences between members definitely makes this band unique. Emblems has good amount of instrumentation, as well. 

Interview: Jay Ranz of Tiger Bones

Posted by Andrew

It takes a certain kind of band to mashup Joy Division with Harry Nilsson. So when you see that the last track of Tiger Bones’ debut EP Go Over Here is called "Transmission (Nilsson edit)" you know you’re dealing with some guys that cleverly employ their sense of humor with a unique perspective on music. Aside from that, the four piece blends elements of post-punk and surf rock into ominous and brooding garage sounds. So far compared to the Cure, Suicide and Broadcast, among others, this is a band difficult to pin down by association alone.

On the heels of their EP release (out March 8th on Dedd Foxx) I had a chance to talk with guitarist Jay Ranz about the band's origins, their history with the Ponys and the ubiquity of ‘tiger’ bands. The official release party is going down at the Whistler next Thursday March 3rd, with Village opening up. Read the interview below.