Will Benoit of the band Constants recently started fulfilling a lifelong dream of creating the first solar powered / eco friendly recording studio in New England. Benoit owns a 2000 sq ft barn which is already outfitted with the solar panels needed to generate the power. Now he’s looking to raise $12,500 via a Kickstarter fundraiser in order to insulate, build and equip using, renewable, recycled and used materials.
As with any Kickstarter program, backers get rewarded. For $100 pledges you (or your favorite band) will receive a day of recording time in the studio.
This is really awesome. I don’t know much about Constants or Benoit, so I can’t attest to his production/engineering skills, but $100 a day for recording is a pretty sweet deal. And that environment thing is pretty neat as well.
Visit Benoit’s Kickstarter page here. There’s already been over $500 pledged and the deadline for the fundraiser is June 7th. Remember – if the $12,500 goal isn’t met then no money will be collected. That’s the Kickstarter way. Who wants to pledge $1000 for 10 days of recording time when Benoit won’t have enough money to buy microphones?
We’ve lost another super talented artist in Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, who committed suicide this weekend. It’s a tragedy, but not an unforeseen tragedy, unfortunately. Linkous was quite a troubled soul who overdosed on pills and alcohol in 1996 while on tour with Radiohead. The situation left him wheelchair bound for six months.
Watch Sparklehorse – “Saturday”
It’s actually hauntingly poignant as Linkous took his life on a Saturday…
You are a car
You are a hospital
I’d walk to hell and back
To see you smile
On Saturday
You are a star
You are a sea of air
I play great keyboards
Of horses’ teeth
On Saturday
On Saturday
I’d like to tell you
How I feel
I’ll probably keep it
’til Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
I’ve been hearing good things about locals, Coltrane Motion & We Love You. They’re playing a FREE show at the Double Door on March 25 with Pop Empire (Cincinnati, OH).
Actually, I just watched Coltrane Motion do a session with this new live video sesh crew, Small Chicago. Check it out and submit your band.
Shape Note are an atmospheric indie-folkish foursome from Chicago (new drummer not pictured). They’re working on their debut EP at the moment and have a couple early mixes up on their Myspace page. If you like shuffling pop songs with lots of reverb and haunting vocals then turn your attention to this band post-haste.
They played the Elbo Room last night and I feel like a jerk for forgetting to post this before the show. Please befriend them and follow them on the ’space and I’ll let you know when they have new shows or songs to post. They’re definitely a band to keep an eye on in the coming months. I’ll be keeping two.
I just read this really funny item on Pitchfork. Apparently, Terry Gilliam (Monty Python, Brazil) introduced Johnny Depp (Sexiest Man Alive) to Sunset Rubdown (Canadians). In turn, Depp apparently used some of their songs as inspiration for his latest character, The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. Hilarious. It’s a better time than ever to be gay for Johnny Depp.
Maps & Atlases frontman, Dave Davison’s solo project, Cast Spells is seeing a limited edition vinyl release (on 100 gram clear wax!) of their album Bright Works and Batonon May 4 via Dovecoat Records (originally released on CD via Sargent House).
Cast Spells avoids much of the precision-yet-spastic guitar tomfoolery of M&A in exchange for more laid-back pop-folk fare. Think Beach House if they’d just take their Prozac. Davison’s signature nasal croon, akin to an indie rock Tom Petty or a less gloomy Neil Young, is also on display.You can catch Davison and Cast Spells playing all over Chicago, but not this month as they’re on tour in Europe.
Here’s the track list for Bright Works and Baton. If you’re unsure of what “Side A” and “Side B” means, please refer to Wikipedia.
Side A
1 Glamorous Glowing
2 War Story Hellos
3 All Brass
Side B
4 Potted Plant
5 Pioneer Scalps (download free MP3)
6 American Quilts
7 A Badge
Those of you not familiar with Maps & Atlases should check them out. The band formed while the four members were attending Columbia College Chicago in the mid-aughts. Davison, who sings and plays guitar is joined by Erin Elders on guitar, Shiraz Dada on bass and Chris Hainey on drums. Seriously, if you’ve never heard of this band, prepare to have your mind blown in a few seconds. They’re easily some of the finest musicians I’ve ever let crash on my couch.
This is a Belmont Sessions recording of “Ted Zancha.”
Chicago math rock compilationaries, Cap’n Jazz have announced their reunion with an expanded vinyl reissue of their Jade Tree anthology and their first show is scheduled for July 17 at Bottom Lounge.
The Midwest indie supergroup consisting of the Kinsella brothers, Tim (Joan of Arc) and Mike (Owen), along with The Promise Ring’s Davey von Bohlen, and Victor Villareal (Owls) and Sam Zurick (Make Believe) were instrumental in the foundation of my early indie rock literacy and established the basis for what I feel was the true Chicago underground sound of the mid-’90s.
Some may be familiar with one of the 549 (estimated) compilations to which they have contributed, including Achtung Chicago! Zwei! (1993), How the Midwest Was Won (1993), Picking More Daisies (1993), and Ooh Do I Love You (1995) in addition to a few others. Aside from a 7” and a couple LPs, they only released one full album, whose title clocks in at 28 words, so most call it Schmap’n Schmazz. In 1998 Jade Tree Records released a Cap’n Jazz double-CD retrospective called Analphabetapolothology.
Many would classify Cap’n Jazz as math rock band and some, who perhaps don’t know better, would call them emo. Back before all those guyliner bands like Fall Out Boy and 30 Seconds to Mars, emo was a term used to classify hardcore punk bands that used personal lyrics and less-abrasive music. Cap’n Jazz lyrics may have been deeply personal to Tim Kinsella, but for the most part they were personified by enigmatic verse like “We’re busy touching till we’re dizzy stupid” (”Puddle Splashers”) or “We’re using judo like Bruce Lee in a haste to bruise me” (”Little League”). Jade Tree will be reissuing Analphabetapolothology on vinyl on June 15 along with a digital download code for nine additional tracks.
Even though I’m a relative newcomer to Chicago, the work of Iain Burgess is well-known to me. He passed away last week from natural causes. Jim DeRogatis at the Sun-Times referred to him as “the architect of the Chicago punk sound” and with credits including Big Black, Naked Raygun and Pegboy, it’s more than a fair assessment. His work inspires many of the bands I love to write about today.
A number of Burgess’ friends and associates have posted comments and anecdotes over at the Sun-Times
It was nice of Sub Pop to offer up the ability to stream the new album from Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, Dear Companion. I don’t want to convolute your opinion with my discourse too early, so take some time and check it out. I will say it was produced by (and features) Yim Yames.
A portion of the proceeds from Dear Companion will benefit Appalachian Voices, an organization devoted to ending mountaintop removal and finding a better way forward. Learn more at: www.ilovemountains.org.
According to Peter Margasak’s Post No Bills blog over at the Reader, there’s a new music festival being launched in Chicago with a focus on experimental music. The Neon Marshmellow Fest will take place August 20-22 at Viaduct Theatre.
Red Electric Rainbow
We should give them credit for their guts and gumption. It’s not easy starting a music festival and I can see a number of problems arising from an experimental festival. Funding, promotion, advertising and ticket sales are all areas where any kind of show is bound to have problems. Targeting a genre like experimental music could open up an even bigger can of worms in that it has a very specific target crowd. The average music fan probably won’t be interested in paying $30 to listen to a 17-minute Aeolian wind harp drone while being visually assaulted by a purple strobe light. On the other hand, experimental music is notoriously under-represented at local venues, so hopefully there will be a market for the three day fest.
While founders, Daniel Smith (Red Electric Rainbow) and Matt Kimmel (Acid Marshmellow blog) are waiting on a number of acts to confirm, they have a partial list posted. The confirmed acts include: Astral Social Club (UK), Emeralds, Telecult Powers, Skin Graft, Caboladies, Fragments, Tiger Hatchery, Dog Lady, Sunglasses, Red Electric Rainbow and PissPissPiss MoanMoanMoan
