So, the day we have wanted life to slow down for has arrived, much to our dismay. Tomorrow, Gapers Block will be going on hiatus. Before this happens, we wanted to share some of our most cherished memories and moments from our time spent writing for Gapers Block's Transmission section. To all of our readers: thank you, thank you, thank you. We are so proud to have shared concert reviews, previews, interviews, festival coverage, and more with you over the years. Here are our thoughts during our final Transmission days.
]]> ~*~Well, today is the final day of Gapers Block existing as we all know it, and I couldn't bring myself to write this until today. Now it feels so final and so permanent. However, all good things must come to an end someday.
I first learned about Gapers Block when its founder and editor-in-chief, Andrew Huff, came to speak to one of my DePaul journalism classes. A fellow classmate of mine wrote for their Transmission section at the time, and I thought to myself, I'm going to do this, too. An avid music fan, I'd been going to endless amounts of concerts each year, and wishing I could write about them, but I didn't know where to start. With an email to Andrew and subsequently submitting pieces to the Transmission Editor Anne Holub, I began my Gapers Block journey, not knowing that 3.5 years later I would have learned more than I can ever pen in this farewell note.
I took the reins from Anne in July of this year to become the next Transmission Editor. She had immense faith in me to advise the team, which I can never thank her for enough. Since 2012, I've gotten the opportunity to meet some of the most incredible artists and work with talented, kind press contacts, venue representatives, and publicists. I've gotten to cover music festivals and sold out shows, interview my musical idols, and showcase a diverse array of up-and-coming local artists.
My favorite memories cannot be captured here and would need an extremely verbose platform, so I'll leave you with a few standout moments (which, while re-reading, I have noticed is extremely verbose anyway). I had the chance to do a phone interview with Sam Beam from Iron & Wine, one of my favorite bands, and enjoyed his wise words as he spoke to me from the porch of his Southern home, with the biggest grin on my face the entire time. I sat on the grass at Pitchfork Music Festival, circling up with Hundred Waters as we discussed their genius musical stylings. I chatted with Chicago's beloved local groups, from Celine Neon, to Dastardly, to Twin Peaks. I got the opportunity to attend three music festivals with press passes in 2014, including Pitchfork Music Festival, The Hideout Block Party & A.V. Fest, and Riot Fest, and saw Chicago's pure love of music in full force, which never ceased to make my heart grow full. I've experienced spiritual musical moments, from listening to Neko Case sing to a full and reverently silent crowd at The Hideout Block Party, to reviewing Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid and Wilco Winterlude shows, and attending my first Gapers Block assignment that I reviewed back in 2012, Punch Brothers, and taking notes while feeling such a surge of elation.
Beyond the assignments and pieces that have been created, I've gotten to work with the best staffers who challenged me daily and brought endlessly creative ideas to the table. Each with different personalities and musical niches, they've been able to showcase both their creativity and individuality within their writing for Gapers Block, and I'm so grateful they've had the forum to do so. I've enjoyed getting to know them all during my time here, with all of their brilliance, uniqueness, and true joy for music and Chicago. I'm glad we were able to produce something so special together.
I'll never be able to thank Gapers Block enough. My time writing for Gapers Block has not only made me a better writer, but it has also shown me the power of independent journalism to connect individuals and give them irreplaceable experiences. It has made me proud to be a part of something that was and will be so revered in the hearts of both Chicagoans and dedicated readers hailing from far and wide. Thank you to all the readers who instilled such pride in our work, and thank you to Andrew and Anne for getting me started at Gapers Block. I will be forever grateful.
-Sarah Brooks
My time with Gapers Block began because someone liked something I'd written about an ASL signer at a My Morning Jacket show in 2006. Over the last nine years I've written about music in Chicago completely straight and also sometimes with a goofy slant. I've covered events with crowds of over 50,000 and others where fewer than 10 people showed up. I've written about a band from halfway across the world that played two blocks from my apartment, and I've reviewed a Chicago band's set in Barcelona. I've written (glowingly) about my favorite band ever, and I've tackled some acts I disliked just to figure out why anyone would like them. I've incurred the wrath of fans of one of the biggest bands ever for pointing out a grammatical error in their visual performance. And a fan of another very popular band took so much offense at a throwaway line in a positive piece that they left a comment longer than the review. I've rallied against terrible parents who take young children to shows but don't give them ear protection. And I've excoriated chatterboxes who think five feet from a stage is the perfect place to talk about what a bitch Corinne is, among other topics. But, out of all that, I think my favorite thing about Transmission has been talking to people who'd ask me what I was writing when I'd make notes during a show (after the show, of course). A lot of fun conversations came out of that.
-James Ziegenfus
I've had the pleasure of writing for Gapers Block since 2008, which didn't seem like terribly long ago until I glanced through some of my older posts and saw that one of my firsts was a review of a MySpace secret show. In the past seven years I've covered Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, North Coast Music Festival, Riot Fest, and a handful of defunct festivals like Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements. I've interviewed Questlove, Q-Tip, Ludacris, and The Prodigy, among others. I've had the opportunity to see a handful of big artists in small venues - from Fun. at Schubas, to Andrew Bird at The Hideout, to The Dead Weather in a warehouse, to Broken Social Scene performing atop a billboard in Wrigleyville. But when I look back at my years at Gapers Block, one thing will always come to mind - that time I was inadvertently entered into a Ninja Warrior-style competition in front of a crowd of people and totally humiliated myself.
Back in 2011, Dave Matthews Band announced they'd be holding a three-day festival on Chicago's South Side. I'm no fan of Dave Matthews (or the massive dump he took on our city), but the rest of the line-up included Sharon Jones, Ben Folds, Kid Cudi, and The Flaming Lips, which was enticing enough for me to want to check it out. Then the perfect opportunity arose - a PR rep for Dos Equis, one of the major sponsors of the festival, asked if I wanted to attend the festival and compete in their Most Interesting Blogger In The World competition. They'd send a car service to drive me and my friends to the festival, they'd provide us with tickets and drinks, and if I won the competition I'd get a trip to New York. It was all too good to be true.
Naïvely I had assumed that a Most Interesting Blogger In The World competition was an actual blogging competition, so I brought my laptop along. When I arrived I discovered that, while it was a competition specifically for bloggers, we were actually going to be having a log rolling competition. Now, coordination and physical fitness are not my strong suits, besides the fact that I had shown up wearing a dress. On top of that, I didn't fully understand how the log rolling mechanism worked. I thought there was a motor inside that turned the log and we were just supposed to be balancing on it when in reality we were supposed to knock the other person off the log by turning the log ourselves. This gave my opponent, a food blogger from Time Out Chicago, a huge advantage... But let's be real, there was no way I was winning this thing anyway. The result was me falling on my ass six times in a row, as ungracefully as possible, in front of an entire festival of concertgoers.
Many thanks to Gapers Block founder and editor-in-chief Andrew Huff and Transmission editors Anne Holub and Sarah Brooks for granting me the good fortune to be able to write for a top notch Chicago site for so many years. I'm gonna miss this place.
-Stephanie Griffin
My most beloved Gapers Block moment was covering the very first Neon Marshmallow festival at the Viaduct Theatre (the space now known as Constellation) back in 2010. The event was a four-night pressure-cooker of experimental music/drone/noise/weirdo acts (over 75 of them, by my count) from all over the world. Nights often ran until 2 a.m. or later, and Saturday and Sunday both started around 10 a.m. the next morning. I remember spending 8+ hours each night (and even more on Saturday, which contained an afternoon and an evening lineup) absorbing one amazing set after another, coming home for a few hours' sleep, waking up as early as I could stand and writing full recaps of the previous evening for several hours before hobbling back for another long night. It was like running a sonic marathon (with sore feet to match my ringing ears!), and the type of immersive, lengthy, autonomous writing experience, covering an event with an admittedly limited mass appeal, that only a group like Gapers Block would have freely allowed one of its writers.
-Chris Sienko
Every moment I've spent connected to Transmission has been amazing. I got the opportunity to fall for musicians I never heard of and reinforce passions for those I already enjoyed. I've dealt with drunks at quiet shows, transcendent sounds that were physically grueling, and seen bands that I sincerely thought I would never see. Gapers Block and Transmission have provided me with so many treasured memories since 2013 that it's really difficult to pick just one. No one concert really encapsulates my time writing for Transmission. Instead it's a collection of one type of moment: conversations with my fellow staffers. Moments like having tea with Anne Holub to get a quick rundown on posting to Gapers Block, talking with Sarah Brooks and Mike Bellis about who we were seeing at 2014's Pitchfork Musical Festival, the countless times Andrew Huff enthusiastically said hello and promptly started a conversation when he saw me, etc. These are the moments I cherish the most because it reminded me that I was a part of a great community of writers trying to do the same thing: share our love of the best music Chicago had to offer. Best of all, I think we did it pretty well.
-Julian Ramirez
Transmission allowed me to see all my favorite bands, from Youth Lagoon to Yo La Tengo, so it's tempting to highlight the concerts I've been to. But I learned that my reporting could contribute to something larger than myself: I've been able to connect to the larger Chicago community. From interviewing the organizers behind Chicago's new O+ Festival about musicians who lack healthcare, to talking to the CEO of the Chicago Institute of Music about the underrepresentation of women in music, I've seen how music and the arts can build community.
-Colin Smith
About three months ago, Andrew Huff gave me, a recently unemployed 23-year-old, more excuses to hop in my car on a weeknight, travel to the city and check out the music in different hot spots. All I had to do was report about it.
Covering music, in and of itself, takes an extra ear for listening. Every music journalist knows there is no such thing as "bad music," but there is music that isn't played well.
While music journalists adhere to the basics of reporting rules, they come with an extra set of respect, awareness and understanding to the art form, and they pay very close attention to details.
Practice, production, promotion and perception are all part of the package, and music journalists have to keep an eye out for how those aspects sustain the musicians' messages and their end goals.
At that point, music becomes more than just a beat.
From a journalist's and fanatic's standpoints, it is more than being able to list musicians' albums in chronological order, making a case for which projects were best and what tracks showcased their talent. All of that is arguably subjective anyways.
There comes a point when music transcends into a movement, a timely anthem waiting for that moment, waiting for an appropriate audience. Music is a part of a culture that feeds off of political, racial and social change, and journalists are held responsible for recognizing that, so that "the message" doesn't fall on deaf ears.
In Kendrick Lamar's song "Mortal Man," he boldly and repeatedly asks, "When shit hits the fan, is you still a fan?"
My answer: Always, yes.
-Amanda Tugade
I'll always be thankful to Transmission for giving me my first opportunity to write for more than a little college radio station blog. For a kid fresh out of college, it was an amazing opportunity to cut my journalistic teeth and learn my way around the city's myriad venues.
One of my favorite pieces to write was my feature on The Empty Bottle's Free Mondays. I had mostly been covering national touring acts to that point, and hadn't yet indulged in the one place in the city that regularly puts on quality shows with no cover. Going there was not only my first exposure to the city's rabid punk scene--as typified by the evening's opener, Flesh Panthers--it was a beautiful return to the rebellious roots of rock music.
-Zach Blumenfeld
Chicago rapper Clinton Sandifer, who is known to most by his stage name "ShowYouSuck," traces the origins of his rap career ten years ago back to his time at the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg. The connections he made at school landed him a job at a skate shop where he met some kids from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb who started booking him for shows, and through those shows, he met his best friend, who later started Artpentry in Bridgeport with Sandifer's help.
"Most of the things I'm around now, I've been there since the beginning, and from all of that, I was able to launch my music," he said.
Lately Sandifer, who is now 30, has had the luxury of turning certain down opportunities that don't fit the vision he has for his career, like that time Domino's asked him to star in an ad campaign as a pizza delivery man -- but didn't want to use his name or music in the commercials. It's clear that the things Sandifer has been working on lately are things that he is genuinely excited to do: from playing local shows almost every other week, collaborating with Chicago's Celine Neon for a remix in October, to releasing two EPs in the next few months. The first of the EPs, titled Alf Fan 420 (which is also his current Twitter handle), will be released by Mishka Records on December 28th.
I spoke with Sandifer at Filter Cafe in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood about pizza and strange Lays chip flavors, writing songs inspired by both his imagination and his real life, sobriety, and that time Wicker Park Fest booked him for the kid's stage because they hadn't actually listened to his music.
]]> A while ago you said that the reason pizza is such a big theme in your music is because it's one of the best ways to bring people together.Yeah, who doesn't like it? To me, that's a no-brainer.
And it's such a communal thing--you SHARE pizza.
Exactly. A lot of rappers talk about weed a lot because weed is very communal, and pizza is kind of my thing.
In your song "Flip Phone," you mention a girl who has a "ratchet-ass flip phone." She's in two songs, right? Does she know about the songs?
Ooooohhhh-- you just unlocked the code! No one's ever picked up on that before! But she's not a real person. If you take any song where I rap about a relationship, I'm usually rapping about the same imaginary relationship. My songs aren't usually like diaries from my life; I just watched movies like "Something About Mary", and "The Notebook," so now I can write a few songs about relationships. I also like to write about one relationship, and then in the next song, write it from a slightly different perspective: rewind the tape and redo it in a different context.
A lot of the stuff I talk about in my songs and music videos are inside jokes, so that the people who follow me on everything get a little something extra. I like to treat it like the TV show "The Office." You can be someone who doesn't know anything about "The Office" and watch an episode and love it, but, if you saw the two episodes before, you're going to catch a few extra jokes and jabs that mean different things. That's why I love it, because it works on so many levels, and that's what I want my art to be like. I want my fans to get a payoff from paying close attention all the time.
Does that mean you don't write from a personal place very often? You obviously talk about your favorite TV shows and snacks and other obsessions...
Yeah, yeah, and that's easy, because that stuff is personal, but it's not who I am, it's what I like, so it's different. In the past, I've done it in a weird way: I've made personal sandwiches. I'll mention something that's kind of funny, put something personal in the middle, and then put something kind of fluffy right after that. I didn't realize I was doing it for a really long time. But for example, maybe I'll have a song with a line about "Beavis and Butthead," then a quick line about my dad not being around, and then another line about "Daria" right after. But lately, a lot of the music I have coming is a lot more personal and straight up. I think it was time for me to stop bullshitting. Also, I know the shit out of myself now.
Putting positive energy out into the world through your songs and attitude is also clearly very important to you too.
Fuck yeah. One hundred percent. We already have enough bullshit. There's a lot of entertaining bullshit too, but I'm very much a firm believer in the idea that you get back what you put out into the world, especially with rap. Rap has such a bad rap. (Laughs) But for good reason.
I'm really trying to wave the flag of the male feminist rapper, because I don't want to be oblivious to women's struggle in the world, in and outside of entertainment. Just watching my girlfriend [Chicago jazz musician Lili K] and seeing what she goes through as a musician makes it so much more closer to home than it's ever been. It's just silly what women go through; it's bullshit that someone shouldn't have to fucking deal with. So I feel like, if I can make a song about feeling better about yourself, it has to help someone.
At one of my shows recently, a girl came up to me and told me how much it affected her that I had a song about positive body image ["Fuck That Diet, Let's Eat Some Pizza."] That was crazy to me. Because when I'm making these songs, it's just me in a room laughing about how ridiculous it is to have a chorus that says, "Fuck that diet, let's eat some pizza!" but obviously I also know what I'm doing. I am hoping someone's going to be affected by this.
Your love of technology and the internet is clear in your music, but how do you balance that with your work and personal life?
When I go home, I'm off everything. Usually, once 7 o'clock hits, I'm dead on Twitter and Instagram, because I'm at home, so I'm done. I just stopped giving a shit about taking in everything out there after a certain point. I need to build my own memories and my own thoughts. I've written so many songs that are based off watching shit I like and discovering new things, but after a while I realized I wasn't watching or learning about new things anymore. I was just taking in everyone else's stuff and interests.
My thing now lately is scouring YouTube for awesome things. Everything is on YouTube if you look hard enough. You can watch sitcoms with no laugh tracks on YouTube. People who upload full TV show series on YouTube are doing such a public service.
What else have you been excited about lately?
Comedy writing is something I feel like my life is pushing me towards. It's kind of a weird thing because I have a set of music that really appeals to the comedy crowd, and then I have the loud, heavy shit that the kids in the hardcore scene like a lot. So usually, my shows either have the vibes of a hardcore show or a stand-up show. And I choose when I want to play to the crowd. Let's say I'm playing a show with Young Jeezy, so not my usual crowd. I know the audience probably just wants to see Young Jeezy, so I'm just going to have fun with it. There's never any pressure.
I read something about how you never get nervous.
I don't.
In general, you never get nervous, or has performing always just come easily to you?
In life, yeah. But with performing? When I started, my first performances were rap battles when I was sixteen; we'd go to different high schools to battle other kids. I would get into situations where I'd humiliate these kids at the other school, and we'd get into a fight. So after that, any crowd to me now feels chill by comparison because I've been in more tense situations in music. Any show ain't shit to me now.
What has changed since you've started managing yourself? Is it hard to balance the management piece with everything else?
Yeah, I don't get to focus on the fun stuff, and I constantly talk to people who don't know what they're doing most of the time. But it's fine. I'm not really at a point in my career right now where I really need one. I'm booking a tour right now and I got some help with that, but that's really it right now.
How do you fight through all the noise and bullshit especially as an independent artist?
I just make the music that I want to make, essentially. I'm in this thought process now where making music isn't about standing out. I just want to impress 12-year-old me. That's it. If any opportunity comes, the first question I ask is, "Would 12-year-old me be stoked on this?" and if the answer's yes, I do it. That's the only thing I worry about, because there's too many other things to worry about. If you worry about all the other things people want, you end up being bitter.
You also don't seem limited or defined by the rap genre.
Yeah. I used to get bothered by that. People used to write about me and not call what I do rap, and that used to very much offend me. It was a positive thing for me, but they were also throwing shade at the genre. It's like, yo, I make rap music. My shows can be very metal, but I'm a rapper. I don't play any instruments. I call myself a rapper with good taste. I don't have any musical training or anything like that, and that used to make me insecure, but now I go to sessions with Lili, and I learn stuff about production and other things. I'm not a producer in terms of like, playing keys or anything, but I can dictate. I can dictate all day now. I know chord progressions now. I've just become more in control now. Nowadays, I give myself more musical credit than I used to.
How has living & staying in Chicago influenced you? Have you ever considered leaving?
I'm not going to do that. I've got the internet, why am I moving there for? If I move anywhere, it's going to be to Portland, and it's going to be go off the grid. I'm not moving for music. If I move, it's going to be for my sanity. Portland is my favorite place in the world. I love Portland. Eons ago, I went on tour with Arcade Fire -- before they were ARCADE FIRE! -- and we made a stop in Portland, and I loved it so much that I stayed four extra days. I just kept staying. I'm just a vibe person. And Portland has the proper energy for me.
The one complaint I have heard about Portland is that it isn't really a diverse place.
Yeah, but the whole world is already pretty white, so I didn't really notice that. I've worked in a tattoo shop, I've worked in a skate shop, gone to a lot of hardcore shows. Culturally, my life is already pretty white.
I know that for a while you didn't drink. Is that still true?
I do smoke weed now, but I don't drink.
I read something recently in a book called "Blackout," by Sarah Hepola about how she used to drink to make herself "better," -- more confident or more relaxed in social situations, for example. It made me wonder if one of the reasons you don't drink is because you're happy with who you are. Because the happier I am with myself, the less I feel like I need to drink a lot.
Totally. Yeah. I've always hated things that made me feel different than the way I was already feeling. And my taste buds are like a kid's taste buds; to me, alcohol just tastes gross. People always say, "You develop a taste for it!" but why would I want to eat or drink something I have to develop a taste for? That's just silly to me. I'm not saying, "I'm never going to drink again," because I did used to drink socially at things until I realized, "I don't need to do this. Why am I doing this?"
It does like sometimes you're drinking just to hold something.
Yeah, yeah. I don't give a shit about that. And for a while, weed was never a thing that did anything for me, but I started smoking last summer and I like it a lot. I haven't had a bad experience with it yet. Honestly, after years of doing music, the political side of all of it has worn on my natural patience and chill. Going to events and shows gives me anxiety now. I can't just go be at things anymore. I can't just be at a rap show and just enjoy a rap show without people -- not my fans, but other people -- who come to talk to me because they want something from me. So weed helps with that anxiety a little bit.
You went to college at the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg -- what did you study there?
Fashion marketing management. I've always been a sneaker collector, I've always had an eye for aesthetics, and I was really into graphic tees. I wanted to be a brand rep for an action sports company. I learned nothing from that place. I learned absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. But going to that school put me in the position to meet the people that I met that got me here. I went there party to appease my mom, because she had no idea what the hell I was doing with my life, and no one ever showed me you can make a career out of having good taste. I just didn't know. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life for so long. So I just ended up at this school, this awful school. I had to go through so much shit to get that fucking degree, just to learn that you can pretty much apply for a job and say you went to Harvard. No one checks!
Something I think is really interesting these days is how our culture is so focused on being "chill." When we were younger, it was okay to openly gush about the things you love, but now it seems like a lot of our culture is so concerned with keeping an ironic distance between people and the things they care about.
Rap is so much of that right now. People get these opportunities, and you can't even tell that they're excited about it. It's like, you're doing something so insane! I want people to know that I'm excited about the things that I do. Even sometimes when I go to these thing that can be kind of bullshit, I'm still stoked. I just get to do so many things that rappers don't normally get to do. I get to rap at JBTV, and I've done interviews for them at festivals, which is something I never imagined I'd be doing that before. I'm very aware that I get to do things that other rappers don't get to do, so I want people to know I'm fucking excited about that shit.
Why do you think people try so hard to seem like they're not excited about what they're doing?
I don't know. (Sigh) I guess people feel like it's so much cooler to act like you don't care.
And it's a bit of a self-defense mechanism, probably, so if the thing you care about doesn't work out, you won't get hurt. But it seems to me like you never had to get over that. Have you always been so openly excited about what you're doing?
Yeah, I feel like I'm just hyper aware. I know how life plays. I know things don't always work out the way you think they're going to work out, but I'm thankful, because I just feel like I'm not supposed to be here. Not in terms of life generally, but every time I get to do something cool, the whole time I'm there thinking about how I'm still that kid from Bellwood, Illinois, and no one from Bellwood ever does anything. Everyone I went to school with is still in Bellwood, and it's less than 10 minutes from the city. When people from Bellwood go to the city, it's a big deal still. I'm always thinking, "Yo, life wasn't designed for me to be here."
What pushed you to get out of your hometown when everyone around you was sticking around and doing the same thing?
TV. TV raised me, so I didn't see color. The social and cultural restraints that other black kids got I didn't get, because although I have a half-brother and a half-sister in a different house, I technically grew up as an only child. I didn't have an older sibling to go, "This is white and this is black, this is what you're supposed to do." My mom worked tons of jobs, so I just sat in front of the TV at home. "Roseanne" raised me. So when I wanted to work at a skate shop, I just found a skate shop. I didn't think about why I couldn't do it. I was multicultural without knowing it, I guess. I was into all of these different things, and so I just went for them.
So you have this positive personality and attitude about things most of the time. But how do you deal with things when they don't work out?
Some times are easier than others. I get bummed out like other people. But I have the awareness to snap out of those things. And I've just been fortunate enough to not burn bridges, so people help me out.
I love that your identity isn't limited by your success as a rapper, that you still have your hands in so many other scenes, like the tattoo scene, and your involvement in the Artpentry gallery in Bridgeport. What's it like to be involved in so many different things at once?
The winter I released my Dude Bro EP was the most unhappy winter I've ever had in my life. One, it was winter, and everything slows down in winter, but also, all I was doing at that time was rap. And that was never my life. I was always the dude who would go to hardcore shows, work in a tattoo shop... but when I stopped doing those other things so I could focus just on rap, I became just a rapper, and every day I had nothing to do. If I didn't have a studio session, then I had nothing to do. I realized that I needed something else so I asked my friend if I could come back to the art gallery, so I had some structure to my life. I didn't realize that about myself until then, that one thing is not enough for me.
So how are you doing now?
I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I have regained an awareness of where I stand in certain things, and I'm lucky enough to have a level head on my shoulders, and less chaotic people in my life. I also did an interview at the end of last year that super woke me up. That year I had toured Europe, I had played Riotfest, and I had done all these short runs on other tours, but I hadn't released an album. So the interviewer asked me, "How does it feel to have what seems like the biggest year you've ever had without releasing anything?"
At the time, I was feeling like I was being compared to my peers in the scene who were exploding on the internet and everywhere, so it sometimes felt like I was doing nothing in comparison, but that interviewer made me realize that I did some of the biggest things I've ever done in my career last year without putting out an official release, which is insane. I accomplished more doing less, and it was the weirdest thing ever. I didn't release a formal project, I didn't write one press release last year, and it felt good. I had the least fan interaction I've ever had on the internet ever last year, so I was feeling like I had lost a shitload of fans, but in real life, I was winning hard as fuck. And I had forgotten that until the interviewer said that.
Your stage name evolved out of a chant you used to do at shows, where you'd shout, "Show so awesome!" and the crowd would respond, "Show you suck!" Do you still love the name as much as you did when it first started?
Honestly, the name for me was clickbait. The content is so more important to me. Like I said, if 12-year-old me would be stoked on it, then I'll go with it, but also, if it makes me laugh long enough, I'll do it. Things that make me laugh don't just make me laugh for a day; I'm stoked on them for the rest of my life. So I think that name is still funny. For someone to to come up to me in public and say, "Hey, you're ShowYouSuck, right?" is still really funny to me. When you have a mic in your hand, you can get the audience to say pretty much whatever you want them to say, and when do you ever get to go to rap shows and tell the rapper on stage that they suck? That's kind of cool, right?
Having "suck" in the name hasn't been as big of an issue as I thought it was gonna be. I thought it was gonna be more of a problem. Here's a funny thing. Five years ago I played Wicker Park Fest, but I played on the kid's stage. And they had to change my name on the fliers to "ShowIsSoAwesome." It's like, what world are we living in? There's way worse names out there. But here's another funny thing. Because of the reputation that I have for making positive music, some people that aren't really into hip-hop think I make corny music, like I'm like the Black Eyed Peas, or something. So I get both sides. Some people who never listen to my music just think I'm bubblegum pop or something.
No one actually listens to the music anymore. People just read reviews. People will watch a half an hour interview, before they listen to a 20-minute EP. It's insane. It's definitely stunted my career sometimes, having this name and a reputation that I make corny pop music, and the fact that I'm not a finesser. But the thing is that you can't be bitter about that. You just have to accept it, and find out where you fit in. That doesn't necessarily mean playing along, but the day you realize that being bitter doesn't help at all, and you let go, is so important. Being bitter about some of the things in this scene eats you alive.
It takes work to be positive, and sometimes you have to remind yourself that you have to keep music fun for you. Whenever I have sessions with younger artists, that's what I ask them, "Is it fun? Is it fun still?" You gotta keep it fun. And if that means doing five interviews in a row, and making up weird answers to keep it fun for me, that's what I'm gonna do. It has to be fun for me first. I've done a lot of shows where people have told me, "You shouldn't do that show!" But to me, I just think, "That's going to be fun. I'm doing that."
ShowYouSuck's new EP, Alf Fan 420, will be released on Mishka Records on December 28, and he'll be at The Empty Bottle on December 21st and The Reaction on New Year's Eve.
]]>Who: JEFF the Brotherhood, Diarrhea Planet, Tenement (December 30)/Juiceboxxx (December 31)
When: December 30, 9:00 PM; December 31, 10:00 PM
How much: $25 on the 30th, $35 on the 31st, $50 two night pass
What to expect: Shades of Jack White, a storm of guitars, ghosts with boners
What not to expect: Literal manifestations of band names (ideally)
Ideal cocktail pairing: Double Jack and Coke
Reasons to be excited: JEFF the Brotherhood and Diarrhea Planet are two of the better acts from Nashville's burgeoning garage rock scene, whose kingpin is Jack White and his Third Man Records. They do it in very different ways, though. JEFF is a two-piece comprised of actual brothers Jake (guitar/vocals) and Jamin (drums) Orrall, the latter of whom went to Columbia College before realizing no right-minded musician would leave Nashville for Chicago. Diarrhea Planet, meanwhile, has four guitarists and they somehow all manage to fit on stage--physically, musically, and ego-wise.
Reasons to be checking your watch: Some crowdsurfing dillweed accidentally kicked your buddy in the head, he's looking a little concussion-y, and now you're waiting for the Uber to fight traffic down Fullerton.
-Zach Blumenfeld
Who: Lettuce with Future Rock and Turbo Suit
When: December 31, 8:30 PM
How much: $50 GA, $151 VIP
What to expect: Feeling like Kevin Flynn in TRON and then getting funked up to forget the trauma of evil cyberminds
What not to expect: Avoiding a certain pungent haze, a coherent musical experience
Ideal cocktail pairing: Hand grenade with a silicon garnish
Reasons to be excited: Lettuce is near the top of the modern funk game. What better music is there to welcome in the 2016 than the music that was seemingly invented for the bombast and drunken dancing of New Year's Eve? You've got horns, grooves, and smooth voices galore. But before you get them, you'll receive a reminder that technology is inescapable in the 21st century, with Turbo Suit melding the synthesized stuff with the funk and Future Rock straight up channeling the inner machinations of Space Cadet 3-D Pinball.
Reasons to be checking your watch: Does this set make sense? No. If you care about that, though, you're not having enough fun. Go buy another drink.
-Zach Blumenfeld
Who: The Promise Ring with Into It. Over It.
When: December 31, doors 9:00 PM, show 10:00 PM
How much: $46 advance, $51 day of, $200 for a two-person table
What to expect: Tearful reunions, some endearing rust, flashbacks to that one older cousin's coolest rebellious bedroom ever (you know, the one with the Jordan poster and Pinkerton on full blast)
What not to expect: The insufferable whininess that has pervaded emo pop-punk since Patrick Stump
Ideal cocktail pairing: Screwdriver, straight to the heart
Reasons to be excited: The Promise Ring is like that one girl/guy you broke up with because it was time to move to a different city: you used to love them, you still like them, and whenever you're back in town you get together to fool around for old times' sake before tearing yourself away again. The band broke up in 2002 after putting together a stellar run of early emo rock in the late '90s and since then, they've reconvened for a few more go-arounds. This is their latest, and they'll be playing their seminal 1997 album, Nothing Feels Good, in its entirety. Into It. Over It. adds a lovely local flavor to the bill and showcases our city as a still-thriving hotbed of emo pop-punk.
Reasons to be checking your watch: If you're afraid of the past? Well guess what, it's New Year's Eve. No better time for looking back, reflecting, and then headbanging a little.
-Zach Blumenfeld
Who: The Gories + The Oblivians
When: December 31, 9:00 PM
How much: $35 advance, $40 at the door
What to expect: Some seriously ragged vocal cords, old '50s rock 'n rollers rolling over in their graves like Beethoven
What not to expect: To be able to hear at the end of the night
Ideal cocktail pairing: Old-fashioned, dumped on your head
Reasons to be excited: The Empty Bottle's layout makes it look like a big ol' garage, and to fit the bill, it's bringing in two classic garage rock bands to ring in the new year. The Gories harken back to the tradition of their Detroit brethren MC5 and play traditional blues riffs with a whole lot of distortion and reverb added. The Oblivians are much the same, but even more distorted and a little bit more Southern--they're from Memphis. If you want to hear where Jack White came up with his sound, you'll be here.
Reasons to be checking your watch: You see the ghosts of John Lee Hooker and The Sonics floating in the corner of the room and they're giving you the heebie-jeebies.
-Zach Blumenfeld
Who: Robert Randolph & The Family Band
When: Early show at 7:30pm, and late show at 11pm
How much: $75-115 (includes glass of sparkling wine)
What to expect: All out funk and soul, a lively band, a few covers, and wine. Lots and lots of wine.
What not to expect: a lot of dance room
Ideal cocktail pairing: Indulge in some of the amazing champagne available at the venue
Reason to be excited: Robert Randolph and the Family Band are easily one of the mostly enjoyable bands to see live. Randolph's prowess on the pedal steel guitar is virtually unmatched and his music is full of warmth and unrestrained joy. Every Song they perform just explodes from the band. It would be hard not to have a smile spread across your face as he throws down with his amazing band.
Reason to be checking your watch: If you're catching the early show, you may want to leave early and reach your other NYE show. Otherwise, you'll be partying here without a care in the world.
-Julian Ramirez
Who: Brandi Carlie
When: 9pm
How much: $77, $1 of which will be donated to the Looking Out Foundation
What to expect: Emotive lyrics, a little bit of country, a little bit of rock and roll
What not to expect: Mosh pits, crowd surfing, extravagant light show
Ideal cocktail pairing: Stop at Dusek's right below the venue and treat yourself to a Velveteen sour before you head to the show. (Hopefully some Space Juice finds its way up to Thalia Hall from Punch House)
Reason to be excited: Brandi Carlile music is a perfect melding of rock and Americana that just breathes life into any one listening to it. Her lyrics are intimate and caring, settling themselves in folk storytelling traditions while still sound modern and new. Carlile's voice has this overwhelming and immaculate quality to it that makes it easy to get lost in her performances. Her beginnings were a little more raucous then her current sound, but she can easily get a crowd moving along to some of her more rocking songs.
Reason to be checking your watch: Carlile can indeed rile up a crowd, but her strength lies in more contemplative and somber songs. So it won't be as rowdy as some other NYE shows.
-Julian Ramirez
Who: Windy City Soul Club
When: 9pm
How much: $20
What to expect: Classic and rare soul on vinyl, actual dancing
What not to expect: New soul on MP3 (or streaming for that matter)
Ideal cocktail pairing: Nice bourbon, neat
Reason to be excited: Windy City Soul Club knows how to throw an old school dance party. Their DJs know how to balance between songs you've never heard of (but will want to hear again) and sing along classics that will transport you back to when you first heard them. It's also a great opportunity to dress up a little snazzier than usual and dive into the NYE moment.
Reason to be checking your watch: There may be a few stretches of songs that test your patience before hearing some familiar Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.
-Julian Ramirez
Who: Neon Indian
When: 8pm
How much: $50 (includes champagne toast and two specialty cocktails)
What to expect: DJ set of moody electronic dance jams, 80s synth-pop, likely some funky disco
What not to expect: An actual set of live Neon Indian tunes
Ideal cocktail pairing: I'd say stick to a nice basic Gin and Tonic.
Reason to be excited: Alan Palomo, Neon Indian has been away for over four years with nary a song from his particular brand of psychedelic electronica, so the release of his fantastic VEGA INTL. Night School is something to be celebrated. The album is perfect dance music for the modern age, filled with the glitch notes and soothing synths you come to expect from Neon Indian. However Palomo's DJ sets tend to push aside his own chillwave aesthetics, opting more for sounds that inspire his music. It'll be a nonstop dance party and a peak into Palomo's musical obsessions.
Reason to be checking your watch: You can only take so many shots while nostalgic 80s synths careen over your head amongst a crowded venue.
-Julian Ramirez
Who: Har Mar Superstar and many, many opening acts
When: 8pm
How much: $22 in advance, $25 at the door, $100-$150 for VIP ticketing
What to expect: A range of musical stylings, and a long night with a new act appearing before you had the opportunity to wish for the next act.
What not to expect:
Ideal cocktail pairing: A vodka soda. Classic and designed for longevity, which is perfect if you'll be catching every single act.
Reason to be excited: The caliber of acts is not to be missed here, and the party stretches over multiple levels of Double Door's venue.
Reason to be checking your watch: With so much variety, there is always a group that is just not your cup of tea. This will likely happen here.
-Sarah Brooks
Who: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
When: Doors at 8:30pm, with the music beginning at 10pm
How much: Tickets are available for $68.50
What to expect: A soul music dance party, and a performance so mesmerizing, you won't be able to stop smiling or moving for the duration of the set.
What not to expect: A dud of a New Year's Eve experience. It's not possible when you're in the presence of the great Sharon Jones.
Ideal cocktail pairing: Champagne. Arrive early to enjoy the drinks, and get ready to dance the night away.
Reason to be excited: I can tell you from personal experience that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are soul legends that are not to be missed. You are guaranteed to have the best New Year's Eve in recent memory - one that is way more fun than paying an overpriced bar cover.
Reason to be checking your watch: I literally can't think of any reasons. Maybe to see when midnight is approaching? This night is going to be just too good.
-Sarah Brooks
Who: A host of artists over a two-day festival span, including deadmau5, Skrillex, Chance the Rapper, CHURCHES, Purity Ring, and much more.
When: December 30 and 31, 5:30pm-1:30am
How much: Tickets available in varying tiers: $130 or $154.50 for a two day pass, or $89 on December 30 and $99 on December 31, plus ticketing fees.
What to expect: Large crowds, massive dance parties, insane light shows and loud beats.
What not to expect: A chill, relaxed New Year's Eve celebration.
Ideal cocktail pairing: Vodka and Red Bull. You'll need the energy if you're going to be dancing the night away for eight hours straight.
Reason to be excited: The mix of both hometown favorites and revered international acts is one not to miss. A variety of genres await, including hip-hop, electronic music, and indie.
Reason to be checking your watch: As with all festivals, things will get a little raucous around you. Be aware of those people who will annoy the heck out of you as you try to enjoy the music.
-Sarah Brooks
Who: Nick Waterhouse & Numero Group DJs
When: 10:00pm
How much: $35
What to expect: A most-excellent atmosphere featuring Waterhouse's signature vintage musical stylings. With catchy soul and R&B influenced by the '50s and '60s, a funky dance party will absolutely ensue.
What not to expect: Electrifying light shows and special effects.
Ideal cocktail pairing: Tip your hat to the era of the 1950s and pair this classy music with a classy drink. Try a Manhattan or Gimlet, because they're delicious with a punch, and it is New Year's Eve, after all.
Reason to be excited: Great soul music in an intimate concert venue, without all the large crowds and expensive cover fees.
Reason to be checking your watch: Throughout Waterhouse's set, as you won't want it to end.
-Sarah Brooks
It's hard to pin down Deerhunter. But with plenty of post-punk bass riffs, shoegaze guitar effects, and garage rock strums that landed critical acclaim for Atlanta, Georgia natives, the band's real signature has been carving out a sound out of noise.
]]> Deerhunter released their seventh album Fading Frontier this October, which looks at life through kaleidoscopic lenses. They turned down the gain on their amps after the garage-rock-inspired Monomania in 2013 and instead the band returned with shimmery and sleek meditations. (The band also released their "concept map" that they brewed up while seeking out what sounds, influences, and concepts they would channel during the recordings).But, like any Deerhunter record, the lyrics are morose and morbid. Lead singer Bradford Cox's serious car accident spurred much of the songwriting for the record -- especially on the duet "Breaker" between Cox and lead guitarist Lockett Pundt.
They may be trekking a fading frontier, but they have always been able to chart new territory. Because the highly demanded band sold out the night, they will also perform an earlier show at 5:30 with no opener. Cox's side-project Atlas Sound will open the later show at 9:00 pm. Tickets for either show cost $22 in advance, and the link for the early show can be found here.
]]>If not, the Rebuild Foundation, the Graham Foundation, and Lampo invite you to check out a FREE concert in the space this Saturday (December 12).
James Hoff, a New York-based performer originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, will debut a new four-channel stereo work for Chicago in the Stony Island Arts Bank at 8 p.m. To date, his work has only been released via two records on the Berlin-based label Pan, and it's very in keeping with that label's stylishly packaged but recklessly experimental aesthetic. Hoff works with malware and computer viruses, injecting them into conventional dance music structures to create disruptions, distortions, and jittering fragmentation to conventional beats, editing and pasting them into song-like sequences to beautifully woozy effect. Sometimes, the kick-snare is sharp enough to keep you moving, but suddenly the viruses start to work their magic, causing the 4/4 beats to melt and drip and puddle at your feet, thrashing around and trying to hoist themselves back up into an upright position. Fans of Autechre, Pan Sonic, and other such rhythmically adventurous electronic music will find a new thrill in Hoff's virus-damaged beatworld.
Tickets are free with RSVP. If you want to get there earlier or make a day of it, Hoff will also be hosting a talk at 2:30, also at Stony Island Arts Bank, discussing the history of artists' books and his own artist book collective, Primary Information.
]]>Looking for a new spot to enjoy happy hour at tonight along with a stellar soundtrack? Look no further than Chicago's ephemerally-beloved spot, Ada Street, promoter of the brand-new Total Run Time series. Each week, a seminal album will be chosen by a local individual within the music industry and paired with a craft cocktail, along with a stellar dinner deal. In this week's case, the Gapers Block Transmission team has chosen!
Together, we selected Liz Phair's iconic album, Exile in Guyville. Representative of a quintessential Chicago record, as well as showcasing the niche genre of necessary '90s grunge, Phair's Exile in Guyville inspired the next generation of female singer-songwriters.
Arrive at 5:30pm from December 8 - 10 as well as on December 13 to enjoy this album played out in full, complemented by Ada Street's consistently delectable cuisine. The music is paired with a craft cocktail, the Dance Of The Seven Veils, concocted with Lairds Apple Brandy, Rittenhouse Rye, Sweet Vermouth, and Benedictine. Keep in mind, all food ordered at the bar, as well as the featured cocktail are 1/2 price as long as the featured album plays. Ada Street is located at 1664 N. Ada Street. Call (773) 697-7069 for reservations.
]]>Using proper hashtags generate more feedback, and by sun-up, you'll wake up to an overwhelming amount of IG love and stacks-on-stacks of comments from close friends, frenemies and exes.
Now, getting there is only half the battle; the other requires patience.
If you're a pro, you know that timing is everything, and Jeremih put his most devoted fans to the test last night with a pop-up show at Double Door to promote Late Nights: The Album, a collection of songs that tell the classic tale of an R&B singer: a hopeless romantic who advantageously flirts with lust in search of finding love.
Two hours passed, and couples and small clusters of tight-knit friends designated one person to save their spots, as others trailed back and forth from the bar to the stage with a bathroom break in between. Their excitement was greeted by restlessness, as soon as they reached the bottom of their plastic cups.
"This is starting to feel like 'Erykah Badu' status," whispered one girl to her friend. The two later headed to the bathroom to redo their make up for a picture-perfect selfie.
Another girl, who secured her front row spot, came equipped with three cans of PBRs and placed them at the foot of the stage. Moments later, she pulled out a book from her backpack and devoured a couple chapters. She mechanically moved her shoulders to a generic playlist that hummed overhead.
Three girls worked out the kinks to their twerks, while professing their undying love for Jeremih. One stood closely by the security guard and tried to squeeze as much information out of him as she could.
The stage was already pre-lit with pink and purple lights that provided a creamy, dazed landscape that undoubtedly matched Jeremih's album cover. Dark shadows from the venue's crew created spikes of elation that were quickly defused as the stage lights revealed their true identities.
Perhaps, this was just the perfect set up for Jeremih's "late night." This show, after all, was a secret.
The stage lights blinked white. Conversations were quickly muted and overcasted by loud shrills as members of his live band took their places.
Jeremih climbed onto the stage dripping in dark attire. His eyes were shielded by black shades, and his fuzzy bear hood marked his entrance. He opened with "Late Night," as if he had already known how this night was going to end: "Late night, just another show / Bad bitches showin' me the under clothes / They be on Twitter like 'Yo, you tore it up.'"
It was no secret that Jeremih was home: "People always askin' me why I stay / I tell them Chi-town, my town."
He decorated the stage with two back-up dancers that catered to his every lyric, as he transcended into a short list of heavy-bass, sweaty, sexy club bangers.
Although Late Nights is only Jeremih's third studio album, his features with hard-hitting rappers in songs like "Down On Me," "That Way" and "The Body" have become an instructional guide for backseat (and bedroom) romance.
His rendition of "Birthday Sex," an obligatory strip-tease song, was accompanied by off-key, high-pitched voices who wished Jeremih would bless them with that same "passion" and "action," and he did: "If you're sexy and you know it, clap your hands."
As Jeremih prepped for "Planes," which is featured on his new album with J. Cole, Chicago's very own Chance the Rapper stepped on stage to take his place. The duo descended on a seductive trip and cooed, "Have you ever read 'The World Is Yours' on a blimp?"
His charm cast a spell on the crowd, and they fell for him harder and faster. Jeremih serenaded the crowd with "Oui," and he extended his arm out, making eye contact with every fangirl within his reach.
"There's no we without you and I," he sang. Jeremih ended his performance with "Pass Dat," a song dedicated to his Day-1 team, who scattered the stage with their cell phones in hand to capture every last bit of the moment.
He began to glide from one end of the stage to the next, high-fiving, hugging and briefly holding the hands of his ride-or-die fans. One girl, who tucked her right beneath her bra strap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two made a swift exchange.
"What just happened?" her friends asked, as they hovered over her shoulders. "I don't know," she replied with laughter. Her eyes were wide and struck with awe.
For a moment, she just saw a glimpse of "Paradise": "Oh I knew life would be alright / But who could've known it'd be this good?"
]]>A hallmark of the most successful bands is a willingness and ability to change over time. Art always has a basis in context--whether it be societal mores or the artist's personal life--so for it to remain static suggests an ignorance of the terrifying drip of sand from the hourglass that unites all humanity. That's why artists who change tastefully, like Kanye West and The Beatles, transcend the moment, and that's why Nickelback has fallen so far from grace.
Watching The Lonely Biscuits perform at Beat Kitchen last night was an experience in seeing and hearing the process of change. The band is quite young--like me, they graduated from college in May--but they've already gone through a metamorphosis that they put on display for the fifty or so brave souls who conquered the Lazy Sunday vibes and the December chill to come out. Since the departure of vocalist/guitarist John Paterini earlier this year, they've shifted their style radically from the rap-rock hybrid of their early halcyon days to a more straightforward garage-y vibe that stays hard-edged enough not to drown itself in reverb. And in front of a very friendly crowd that was clearly expecting more of the former, the new material worked surprisingly well.
The Lonely Biscuits then took the stage and immediately put on a display in frenetic kinetic energy. Robbie Jackson, the band's "live Biscuit" who has been filling in for Paterini on guitar, carved out a massive presence on stage with his electric jerking and jittering, repeatedly shaking the hat off his head in musical ecstasy. On the other side of the stage, bassist Nick Byrd held down a tight groove, shooting frequent smiles at Jackson and drummer Sam Gidley that expressed the purest of bliss. The Biscuits were having as least as much fun as their audience, if not more, and it showed in their impeccable stage chemistry--the simple elation of nailing a chord in unison or hitting their vocal harmonies on "Caught Up In My Head," a song they're considering for inclusion on their upcoming debut studio album, was enough to make their day, and by extension make the crowd realize something special was happening.
With Paterini gone, Grady Wenrich handled all the frontman duties and he did a masterful job. His New Jersey accent comes on strong in his rapping, giving him a very '90s east coast feel with a playfulness that harkens back to Biz Markie, particularly on "Casual Vibes." But now that he and not Paterini is doing the singing for the band, the comparisons they've gotten to the chilled-out side of Sublime seem less apt, since Wenrich's vocals sound far more like some amalgam of Smashmouth's Steve Harwell, Dave Grohl, and Randy Newman--there's a rasp that adds attitude and a relatable, everyman quality. (To be fair, that may have stemmed partially from the fact that this was the end of their tour and Wenrich's voice was run ragged.) Combined with the band's wholesale movement away from rapping, which Wenrich told me has merely stemmed from a lack of inspiration to rap following Paterini's departure, the Biscuits' sound has shifted toward the garage-pop aura that defines much of Nashville's non-country scene. They channel Foo Fighters on their recent single "Come Around," and on their latest, "Pacifica" (inspired by Wenrich's sister's choice of boyfriends), they produce exemplary surf rock with shades of Vampire Weekend melodicism in the verses.
Naturally, some of the fans in attendance clamored for the old stuff, but the band managed to appease them while trying out a lot of new material, including a standout called "Talkabout." Key to that was Wenrich's ability to hold conversation between songs, particularly with a small cadre of very vocal Alabamians at the front of the room. And in an indication of how much the band cares about its audience, they held off on playing their early work "Butter" until the Alabamians returned from getting more beer, since they had been shouting for that song since the beginning of the show. In that song's usual place in the setlist, they allowed for requests. That certainly won't happen when The Lonely Biscuits are playing at Firefly next summer.
It's going to be interesting to see how this young, promising band develops as they move away from the rap-infused, college-focused days of their past and try to break into the mainstream with their new sound. But if their show at Beat Kitchen was any indication, The Lonely Biscuits are good enough at playing straightforward alt-rock, Grady Wenrich's voice is special enough, and their fan base is passionate enough to make it happen.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...and that mean's it's time for obligatory radio-sponsored holiday concerts to take over the city! Last night at the Aragon, WKQX hosted the first of its four "Nights We Stole Christmas," featuring Twenty One Pilots. The place was packed to bursting to see one of the hottest alternative acts in the country, a duo whose next tour has already sold out a June date at Allstate Arena.
The mood of the room shifted significantly when K. Flay, a Wilmette native who's been singing and rapping out of the Bay Area since graduating from Stanford in 2007, relieved Grizfolk. Stylistically, K. Flay comfortably fits the alternative hip-hop, genre-bending niche that the evening's headliners have come to dominate--perhaps with "schizoid pop" on the rise, RCA will regret releasing her from her contract in 2013. Tongue-twisting raps with highly personal, introspective lyrics dominate her music, and she delivers them with considerable vocal dexterity in a brooding rasp that sounds vaguely reminiscent of Lil' Wayne, as if she's been chain smoking and downing a fifth of whiskey daily for the past five years (as far as I know, she hasn't). The music backing her was equal parts industrial rock and trip-hop, and for the most part it drove so hard that I thought K. Flay had repeatedly stabbed the genre of nu metal, buried it, and then resurrected its zombified, rightfully paranoid carcass with electronic body parts. Highlights of K. Flay's set included her straight up hip-hop collaboration with Louis the Child, "It's Strange," and the strutting "Thicker Than Dust."
I went into last evening's show knowing that Twenty One Pilots has a reputation for breathtaking live performances--MisterWives' bassist Will Hehir told me how awed he was by the band when I interviewed him in October--but the band surpassed even my lofty expectations. The most striking aspect of their show was the sheer athleticism of frontman Tyler Joseph, which brought to mind a young David Lee Roth with nimbler jumps and fewer karate kicks. The hops he developed playing high school basketball clearly haven't waned. At one point he vaulted clear over the front of his piano, landed directly on the stool, and launched into the chorus of "Holding on to You" without a break--it was the most incredible physical display I've witnessed in person at a concert. Not to be outdone, drummer Josh Dun stuck the landing on a backflip off the piano, and both Joseph and Dun ventured out atop the crowd at various points, Dun absolutely mashing a minimal drum kit and Joseph sprouting like a God from the arms of Twenty One Pilots' adoring legion of fans.
The audience was a huge part of the show's success. Twenty One Pilots has built a totally obsessed fan base that calls itself the Skeleton Clique, and they turned out in force at the Aragon. A sea of hands followed Joseph's every movement; an ocean of voices sang out every word to every song, not missing a beat even in the complex raps of "Heavydirtysoul" or "Migraine;" spontaneous chants of "TY-LER!" bloomed at various silent points in the set. At the end of the show, when Joseph climbed a tower in the middle of the floor and stood atop it with his hand over his masked face, well over three thousand phones pointed up at him. I almost thought Joseph was going to leap and trust that a few members of the congregation he's built would sacrifice their lives to keep him from hitting the floor and dying on impact.
The music itself was quintessential Twenty One Pilots--the voice of neurotic, white teens and twenty-somethings looking to emotionally charged melodies, acerbically introspective lyricism, and the pounding beats of Dun as methods of expressing the existential angst that has clutched people their age for decades. Joseph has found a masterful way to connect with them and become their inner demons, expressing blithe despair through his ukulele in "We Don't Believe What's On TV" and "The Judge" and creating opportunities for temporary self-annihilation in "Migraine" and "Car Radio," the latter of which had breakdowns that approximated an EDM festival. Joseph named the band after a line in Arthur Miller's play All My Sons, and it's rather amazing to see that the anguish Miller expressed in his plays could be made into such a universally uplifting art form. Twenty One Pilots' music serves as a battle against that anguish, and in a live setting, the Skeleton Clique came out decisively victorious, at least for the moment. Smoke cannons and a rain of confetti confirmed the triumph.
All was as it should be at a concert--the good guys win, everyone leaves happy, distracted from the troubles of life by the thrill of music. Now everyone's on their own to sustain that mood until it's actually time for Christmas.
Our concert series Stars Align brings together local artists for a unique night of collaboration, and our next session is uniting indie rockers Yoo Soo Kim (Hemmingbirds) and Jesse W. Johnson for one night only. If you like great drinks and great music, you don't want to miss this.
]]> Kim, both as a solo artist and as part of Hemmingbirds, seamlessly blends energetic indie rock with get-up-and-dance pop hooks. Hemmingbirds' latest single "Mess of Things" is a great summer jam released just in time for winter, and the video starring a skeleton of questionable morals is DIY filmmaking at its best. Check it out below.Johnson knows how to throw a hook as well, especially in combination with fist-clenching rock. On his newly-released Primal Scream he delivers late-night dark thoughts with a matter-of-fact storyteller's drawl, atop a bedrock of driving guitars.
The stripped-down, intimate setting of Stars Align is always a unique experience, and thanks to our sponsors at Begyle Brewing, the show is still free. As an added incentive for you to join us on Facebook, Yoo Soo Kim has pledged to cover PSY's "Daddy" if over 50 people RSVP. You know you want to see that.
Join us the next time the Stars Align, Wednesday, December 9 at 9pm at The Whistler, 2421 N Milwaukee Ave. Let us know you're coming (and tell your friends!)
]]>• DJ Clent
• Ezra Furman and The Boy-Friends
• G Herbo
• Into It. Over It.
• Joan of Arc
• The Kickback
• Louis the Child
• The Main Squeeze
• Cullen Omori
• Owen
• RP Boo
• Waco Brothers
On the other hand, it's been less successful for neighboring states. Usually by the second round at least a handful of acts from Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan have been announced, but so far for 2016, just four artists from Michigan are on the bill:
• The Accidentals (Traverse City)
• Ritual Howls (Detroit)
• Sinistarr (Detroit)
• Alex Winston (Detroit)
We'll keep you abreast of more local bands as they get added to the schedule down in Austin. Meanwhile, read all our past SXSW coverage here, including tour diaries from artists attending the fest in both official and unofficial capacity.
]]>The Riviera's stage looked eerily empty with just a keyboard and a microphone set up front and center. A massive, Simba-like illustration of James Bay's face draped the back wall of the stage, indicating the young British singer/songwriter who most of the crowd had come to see. But it was the other young British songwriter opening for him, Frances, who spoke with me yesterday. The 21-year-old is on her first American tour (it's her first time in America, period) and already seems to be on the fast track to success--her most recent single, "Borrowed Time," was co-written with Disclosure's Howard Lawrence, and her standout tracks "Grow" and "Let it Out" have garnered her a wealth of critical praise and the opportunity to work with writers like Jimmy Napes and Iain Archer on her forthcoming debut album. I was interested to see how she'd hold the crowd's attention alone on stage.
As "When It Comes To Us" came to an end, the tone became conversational as Frances started to connect with the audience, which was now paying much more attention. She told them she had enjoyed some deep dish pizza before the show and didn't expect it to be so filling, drawing some laughs. A girl in the front row suggested that she try out the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Frances reacted in disbelief upon learning it was a free attraction. She would go on to banter with the crowd after every subsequent song, relishing their willingness to turn the Riv into an overgrown coffeehouse. "[American crowds] are very interactive, very loud, very receptive with talking to them and being friendly on stage," she told me. "You don't get that much in the UK, things tend to be a little quieter."
The second song she played was a cover of Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean," which she imbued with jaw-dropping soul and stripped-down beauty, and she followed it with "Grow," the track that opened the media's ear to her. It's an uplifting manifesto that Frances wrote for her boyfriend of seven years, letting him know that they should both take the opportunity to go on solo adventures because their solid love can endure that separation. Crossing the Atlantic has probably given the song a fresh meaning for Frances, but "Grow" has also proven to touch others' lives in myriad ways. "There was this guy saying that he'd just dropped his son off at school for the first ever time, and that song came on and it perfectly fit what he was feeling," she said. "And there was a girl who was about to start university, and all sorts of different people, and the song meaning a lot of different things to people was amazing, because as a songwriter you want people to be able to relate the song to their life." There was even a YouTube commenter who told her that "Grow" had saved their friend from suicide. "I was sort of speechless," Frances admitted.
She finished her set with the trio of "The Last Word," "Let It Out," and "Don't Worry 'Bout Me," each of which showcased her unique voice, which Noisey described as "Florence meets Ellie if they were feeling extremely chill." Despite her wicked powerful pipes, there's a tenderness to Frances' singing that belies her vision of herself as a channel for emotions. "When I'm singing, I'm rarely thinking about the singing and I'm more thinking about the words I'm saying," she told me. "Sometimes it's the imperfections in voices that really get the emotions across. So I guess I just try to think about the song and what it's getting across."
Frances left the stage to a storm of applause, having certainly gained some new supporters, and then I would imagine that she watched James Bay's breathtaking performance. Touring with Bay, who has blown up since his "Hold Back the River" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart earlier this year, has afforded her a tremendous learning opportunity. "He's the most incredible performer," she said. "He's so amazing to watch on stage. And he's got so much energy--even in the quiet songs, the whole audience is with him the whole time. So definitely from the performance aspect, I'm learning a lot from watching him every night, and picking up on little things he does just to keep the crowd with you the whole show."
Bay's show was absolutely stunning, as his vicious guitar playing captivated the audience just as much as his soulful, tastefully raspy voice. One of the more remarkable aspects of his performance was the sheer variety of styles he evoked. "If You Ever Wanna Be In Love" could have passed for a track off Rumours written by a male Stevie Nicks; Bay' bluesy soloing on "Scars" and his cover of "Proud Mary" evoked Buddy Guy, who is one of his guitar heroes and whose hype man introduced him to the crowd; and "Get Out While You Can" had all the grandiosity of a classic Springsteen hit, minus a Clarence Clemons equivalent. Even more impressive, though, was his ability to direct the audience without actually directing it. On the anthemic "Let It Go," he had enough faith in them that he simply stepped away from the microphone on the last chorus and knew they would fill in the words without being told, and they began clapping to the beat of their own accord on "Best Fake Smile." The whole affair was a wonderful reminder that a great concert is a two-way street--a group of ladies in one of the opera boxes was dancing so joyfully that they actually took the crowd's attention off Bay a few times. He acknowledged them with a winning smile upon finishing the evening's music.
Given the immense passion the assembled patrons showed for James Bay, it's inevitable that Frances picked up a host of new fans, especially after showing that she could captivate an audience with just a piano and her voice. When she releases her debut album around the middle of 2016 and returns to Chicago with a full band in tow, look out.
You may not know Anthony Pavel's name just yet, but soon it will be everywhere. An accomplished producer and musician, Pavel is about to release his original EP, Windows, and just dropped a unique take on Justin Bieber's coveted new R&B pop hit, "Sorry." I chatted with Pavel regarding his artistry, his upcoming release, and what called him to cover a song by the Biebs.
What pulled you to cover this top pop and R&B ballad, "Sorry," just following its release? Does this song reflect future qualities of your upcoming album, or did it strike a chord as personally meaningful to you?
Bieber has been on a tear lately, making some really great music. It usually takes a bit for a song to really latch on to me and get stuck in my head but this particular song hit me right at first listen. I couldn't stop listening to it and singing along. The song is actually right in my vocal range and it feels really natural to sing the song. I'm a huge fan of taking any good song and flipping it into a cover of my own, and I feel that this cover really does a good job of showcasing my vocal abilities and style!
I was actually introduced to theater and Broadway first, as my parents enrolled me into a theater summer camp for a few years. I also took piano lessons for quite some time, during my childhood and all the way up till college as well. To be honest, I had no idea I could actually sing until my freshman year of high school. I was auditioning for a musical and a cute girl said, "OH MY GOD I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SING!" I then joined the vocal jazz group of my high school and after being exposed to what it felt like to sing on a stage in front of an audience, I was hooked and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.
Towards the end of high school, I happened to meet Robbie Mueller, who is now my manager, at one of my high school talent shows. He quickly became a friend and mentor to me, as he introduced me to a whole bunch of different artists and producers in the city who I would soon work and create music with. Ever since I decided to stay in Chicago and go to college here, I've really delved into the booming music scene here. I've gotten the opportunity to work with some crazy talented people and it's taken me to some pretty cool places so far!
You performed your live music for the first time for a competition, and won. What was that like and what opportunities did that bring about for you?
It was an experience that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It felt so amazing to finally get up on a stage by myself with a band and perform my music live! It was something that I wanted to do for such a long time and it was funny because I wasn't nervous or anxious at all. I envisioned that moment and that feeling of being on stage in front of a huge audience so many times that it felt natural when I got up there. I consider that performance to be my first real solo artist performance and after experiencing what that felt like, I was very confident in what the future could hold.
It was so cool to be a part of that competition because it exposed my music and myself to a large part of the student body of my school. I gained some fans that night and that felt really cool. Winning the competition also got me a spot on the main stage of Columbia's College's end of the year festival, where I got the opportunity to headline with Saba and Twin Peaks.
You've written and collaborated on an A$AP Rocky ft. Most Def single as of late, and have worked on production with Saba and other talented groups. What have these experiences been like, and who are you yearning to collaborate with next?
They have all been huge learning experiences. I took the time in all those collaborations to be very observant and patient. It's crazy how much you can take away from other talented artists, producers, and writers by just watching them work. One of the things I love most about being an artist and a creator is that no studio session is identical and nobody works the same exact way. It never gets old and you learn something new every time! Apart from Saba, whom I love working with, I'd love to collaborate with Monte Booker, Peter Cottontale, or the whole Social Experiment gang in general, and Cam O'bi. I want to continue working with my guys, CHAD...they are the best -- they helped produce my entire project along with Ken Ross. My ultimate dream is to make music with Pharrell [Williams] one day.
What can we expect from your upcoming EP, Windows? Your new single is about to be released as well, "HerStory," and we're really excited for that.
This EP is huge for me because it is the first time in my career that I'm releasing an original body of work. It's titled Windows because this is the first time I'm letting people delve into my personal thoughts and feelings through a form of art. I'm about to open the blinds and let people take a look through my window. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I'm definitely more excited than anything! It's an awesome blend of numerous different genres and influences.
From pop and R&B to jazz and soul, I'm confident that there's a little bit of something for everybody in this project.
I'd love to keep our readers up to date on your future live performances. Is there anything in the works you'd like to share?
Absolutely! I am performing a set on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Reggie's Rock Club (2109 S. State St) at 8pm for a Toy & Food Drive Charity Concert. I am really excited about that one, and then we plan on having a big release show around February-March of next year when Windows comes out!
]]>One of the most interesting facets of Crown Larks' show the last two times I saw them, when they were opening for touring acts at Schubas, was that the band matched the milieu of the evening. Playing before Buke + Gase and Landlady, they allowed complex rhythms to dictate an uneven but sensical flow; playing before Yonatan Gat, they morphed into some raw, primal, shouting beast. So when they headlined The Empty Bottle's Free Monday last night, I knew I'd be hearing a different Crown Larks depending on the tone that had been set by the three preceding bands. But by the time they took the stage, there was no overarching tone, because each band that played dragged the evening in a totally new direction. The only common thread was some measure of devotion to progressive rock.
]]> Wishgift took the stage first and began another trend that would define the evening's music--they were players, not performers. Bassist John Paul Glover never even faced the audience as he fused with his instrument to create a bombastic foundation for the music. Singer/guitarist Davey Hart looked out upon the crowd with a sort of dazed gaze, listing off the long, unintelligible title of each song before letting the throttle loose and shouting out unintelligible lyrics (partially due to the bass-heavy mix, but the mania with which he shouted didn't help). But an appreciation of Wishgift's music, thankfully, wasn't reliant on understanding what Hart was saying. The band's musical prowess was evident from their near-constant rhythmic shifts, moving easily from speed punk-type sections to doom metal breakdowns and occasionally throwing in some whimsical, atonal themes that sounded like Schonberg on PCP. If I closed my eyes, I felt like I was an observer in a steampunk torture chamber.Wei Zhongle took things in an entirely different direction, maintaining the night's experimental feel but channeling it through different instruments--namely John McCowen's clarinet, which thanks to a variety of effects sounded not much like a clarinet. McCowen and guitarist/singer Rob Jacobs excelled at creating myriad textures and tones, ranging from an oscillating tremolo to a synth-like drone. And when Jacobs would sing, his voice functioned as a third atmospheric instrument, his wicked falsetto mimicking keyboard leads when he wasn't producing actual words. The only reason they could conduct so much sonic exploration, though, was the outstanding bass work of Pat Kuehn, who made his fretless instrument blossom and interfaced seamlessly with drummer Phillip Sudderberg to bring a powerful funk groove to each song.
Tweak Bird, originally from Carbondale but now living in LA, shifted the evening's tone back toward the distorted chaos that had been established by Wishgift, but exhibited something much closer to a pop sensibility--at least, as much pop sensibility as was held by the founders of grunge (drummer Ashton Bird wore a Pearl Jam tank). The defining trait of their music was the dual vocals of Ashton and his brother Caleb, who played a baritone guitar that kept the music solidly in the chuggy lower registers. Singing in unison nearly the entire time, they created a manic chorus effect fraught equally with punk angst and trippy escapism. When they did split into harmonies, the music tended to uncoil from its typical tightly wound, distorted fracas, sprawling out into garage-Floydian soundscapes.
After such diverse sonic statements, I was interested in seeing how Crown Larks would play to the new context. As it turned out, the "new" was the context--they played almost exclusively unreleased material, songs they've recorded for their upcoming second album. When I spoke with the band a few weeks ago for a Transmission feature, frontman Jack Bouboushian told me to expect more structure from the new stuff, and he was absolutely right. For as much as Lorraine Bailey utilized her saxophone to craft flowing, improvisational melodies, the music was certainly not jazz. If anything, the increased chemistry between bassist Matt Puhr and drummer Bill Miller kept the songs more tightly locked into grooves, with less of the King Crimson-esque spinouts that populate their debut LP Blood Dancer. That said, Crown Larks' trademark visceral, jarring sounds remained intact, with Bouboushian droning and shouting as he colored the songs with unorthodox chords and Bailey going nuts on the keyboards and saxophone. The emotional peak of the performance came at the end, as it should, with an intense, jammed buildup to the panicky ecstasy of "Satrap," off Crown Larks' EP Catalytic Conversion.
The Empty Bottle puts on its Free Mondays as a paragon of everything people love about rock music: its rebelliousness, its willingness to get crazy, its ability to reach some animalistic part of the soul. In that regard, the four bands who performed last night fulfilled that mission, and showcased the plethora of ways to make it happen.
]]>Laura Marling has opted to play more intimate venues for her short Tour De Ville, which will be capped off this weekend at Martyrs', 3855 N. Lincoln Ave. She will be joined by some special unannounced guest as well as performing new songs that have not been heard to the public outside of this tour. Due to the nature of the tour including unreleased material, mobile phones and recording devices will be prohibited inside the venue. The first evening with Laura Marling and her band at Martyrs' has sold out, but there is still a chance to see her on the final night of the tour. Tickets are $25 and are considerably worth it.