Portland-based band Portugal. The Man came through Chicago this weekend, rendering me speechless Friday night at their sold out Lincoln Hall show. In a stunning and seemingly effortless performance, the foursome delivered a taste of their 70’s soul, funk, and blues-inspired sound.
Photo: © Lauren Cohen
Monochromatically lit in alternating colors, Portugal. The Man warmed up the crowd with a long instrumental as smoke machines pumped enough fog that the stage took on a mystical quality from my vantage point in the balcony. When bassist Zachary Scott Carothers was spontaneously lit with red, blue and green polka dots and singer John Baldwin Gourley began crooning in unison with the enthusiastic audience I knew I was in for a spectacular night. Read more…
A little bit indie rock, a touch of folk, and based heavily on electro-pop, Hexes & Ohs bring us a handful of songs that would be right at home playing over the sound system at a bar in Wicker Park as the fake ID-toting clientele puts away PBR after PBR.
The band represents what music is all about at its core: sharing; when you hear a great band you share it with a friend, when you go to a show you share a special experience with the artists as well as the strangers around you. To that end, they recently released an album of collaborations called Share (remixes). The seven track album features remixes of their songs by four fellow Canadian bands and remixes by H&O of songs by three others.
The duo, made up of Heidi Donnelly and Edmund Lam, is making their mark this Winter in several countries. They have announced a feature on Canadian clothing chain Le Garage’s Spring 2010 campaign; their sophomore album Bedroom Madness [produced by Bryon Wong (Crystal Method)] was released this month in U.S. stores and on iTunes (it was released in Canada in 2008); and they headed out for a Spanish tour this month, from which they will return at the end of March.
Bottom line: synth beats and pop melodies coupled with the duality of both male and female vocals make Hexes & Ohs casually enjoyable.
At one time or another you were horribly embarrassed. You were picked last for a team, taunted based on the contents of your lunchbox, or tripped on the stairs causing your pants to rip in the most horrifying of places. It’s time to reclaim that memory and wear it as a badge of honor. As the Webelos say, “for those ready to embrace who [you] are, we salute you.”
The quartet hails from Chicago and represent both Columbia College and Northwestern University. The band’s philosophy boils down to being true who you are, no excuses, no apologies. They believe in the power of a solid hook and they do it well, drawing influences from the forefathers of pop: the Beatles, the Hollies, the Beach Boys, et al. Don’t be fooled though; the Webelos’ sound is not a throwback, nor are they a band based on nostalgia for a time in which none of the members lived. Their sound is at once modern and classic. As singer Danny Leavitt puts it, “you have to respect your roots, and those are pop rock’s roots.” The Webelos appreciate their inner dweeb and their inner pop star and once you get to know them, those are things you will appreciate, too.
Read on for my interview with Webelos lead vocalist Danny Leavitt.
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The Skallywags are not casual hobbyists. They are group of hard-working, skilled, driven, passionate young musicians. As full-time musicians they have gained a loyal following and as full-time students they are perfecting their talents. Their brand of guitar-driven rock hints at classic rock, ska, country and 90’s pop-rock (à la Third Eye Blind). I had the opportunity to interview Skallywags vocalist and Columbia College student Kristine Spieldmann. Here’s what she had to tell us about her band.
Photo Credit Not Found.
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1998 was a pretty good year for me. I was 9 years old; I mastered long division; and I discovered rap. Jay-Z’s “Can I Get A” played in my boom box every day for months, and I rapped along with all I had in me. When Eminem blew up the charts with “My Name Is” three years later I battled it out with the boys on the playground and I out-rapped them every time. It is a secret dream of mine to be a professional rapper, but unless it’s karaoke night you won’t see me on stage any time soon. Instead I’m going to live vicariously through Amanda Blank.
You might not look at her and think now there’s a rapper but you’d be dead wrong. Not only does she flow expertly, Blank creates songs that make you move fast and hard, and she brings it live. I was fortunate to catch her in June performing to a full room of excited young hipsters eagerly tearing up the dance floor as she ambushed us with an onslaught of musical shock waves. Read more…
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The past decade has really changed the once-rugged road to celebrity. Thanks to reality television, American Idol, and the Internet, anyone can blow up overnight. YouTube has played a particularly significant role in creating overnight celebrities, lowering the bar for what qualifies as quality entertainment. Just search David After Dentist or Panda Sneeze and you’ll begin to wonder why your latest home video isn’t getting 3,000 hits a week. Once in a while, though, you get the talented hard-working musicians make good type of story, and that’s just what happened with Chicago locals The Fold.
After posting a music video parody of Miley Cyrus’s “Party In the USA”, The Fold started getting a little more attention than usual. The parody, called “Every Band In the USA,” picks on today’s over-saturated pop-punk scene and its leading ladies and gents, including clothing company Glamour Kills and young rockers All Time Low. Read more…
Once there were four kids / they were walking in the park one day / when an old man came up to them and asked / I have three cats called Agatha, Agnus and Albert / I live all alone with my cats, and every day I wonder… / do any of you kids like to play around? / And the kids all said “FUCK YEAH!” / and went back to the old man’s house to party.
And that’s how Bang Bang Eche was started.
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Well, the big holiday is upon us; yes, Christmas Day has come and (almost) gone. I hope all you Christmas celebrators had yummy food, enjoyed your family’s company, and had a wonderful morning. I know at least one person who didn’t get what he wanted from Santa this year but I’m sure he’d wish you all a Merry Swiftmas regardless.
Evan Taubenfeld hit the music scene early this decade as the guitarist in Avril Lavigne’s multi-platinum selling band. He also co-wrote some of her hits and has produced for such artists as Tyga and The Pack. Recently, however, Taubenfeld has decided to break off and pursue a solo career. After a year of touring – most recently this Fall with Secondhand Serenade – Taubenfeld enjoyed a boost in exposure this holiday season when his lighthearted “Merry Swiftmas (Even Though I Celebrate Hanukkah)” made it to #59 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs (even though I’m pretty sure it falls neatly into the pop genre) and – more importantly – made the rounds on the Internet, being heavily re-tweeted and posted on walls throughout Facebookland.
His single, “Boy Meets Girl,” starts off with a magical, airy sound before delivering a powerful, guitar-driven chorus that claims meeting this girl is “like Motorhead and the Grateful Dead in a game of Twister“. Meanwhile, my personal favorite, “Cheater of the Year,” is a catchy exposè of an unfaithful girlfriend. Evan’s debut album, Welcome to the Blacklist Club, is on its way. Of the album, Taubenfeld says, “For the first time in my career, I’m not hiding behind anyone else, whether it be as a guitarist or drummer in someone else’s band, or being the writer and producer. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for this for so long. I’m like that kid on the basketball team who is pretty good but rides the bench the entire season for three years until finally, the coach is like, ‘You’re in. Don’t screw this up.’ So Welcome to the Blacklist Club is about me from the first bar to the final note. It’s Chapter One of the story of my life.”*
Check out the “Merry Swiftmas” video below, have a laugh, and enjoy the holiday weekend! Read more…
For those of you who, like me, shed a small but significant tear when you heard The Hush Sound was no longer making music, I have some good news. That angelic voice, those bouncy blond curls, the endearing stage presence… they’re back! Gretta Morgan is starting from scratch.
Photo: © Kevin Hayes
I could characterize Gold Motel’s sound myself but Lauren Henry really put it best: “Gold Motel represents the evolution of a musical identity that hearkens back to pop’s crowning achievements: the dreamy energy of The Kinks, the quickwitted lyrical dexterity of Elvis Costello, the unassuming sophistication of a Beach Boys melody, light as air and deep as the Pacific. The youthful energy and sheer joy of Greta’s work is captured on the Gold Motel EP…”
Some of the songs exhibit a hint of the Hush Sound’s sound (hah) but overall this really is a departure. Not the she-shaved-her-head-and-bought-a-Harley kind of departure, but significant enough to make this a project entirely separate from the Hush Sound. To those looking for a female singer-songwriter ala Cat Power and Mirah (but with a more uplifting tone), I turn your heads towards Gold Motel.
Greta will be playing her first show as Gold Motel this Sunday (12/20) at Beat Kitchen, followed by 4 sold out shows at Schuba’s opening for Butch Walker.
