Proudly wearing a fondness for 60s guitar pop a la The Zombies, The Byrds and early Beatles on their sleeves, The Black Tape are a recently-formed Chicago four-piece already working hard to put their stamp on the scene. In just a few months the band have played a handful of shows around the city (with three more already lined up) and have uploaded four demo tracks for preview on their MySpace s...
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Nobody can pin a lack of ambition on Chicago-formed alt-rock/pop trio Company of Thieves. In just a few short years as a unit, singer Genevieve Schatz, guitarist Marc Walloch and drummer Mike Ortiz have accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments and the sort of widespread attention that most bands would envy. Their debut record, Ordinary Riches (released in January on Wind-Up Records), led
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Want a free copy of Weezer's new CD Raditude? In honor of T-Mobile's "Motorola CLIQ Challenge" YouCast Corp has provided Windy City Rock a copy to give away to one lucky reader. For a chance to win, all you have to do is send an e-mail to us at windycityrock@gmail.com with your name, mailing address and "Weezer contest" as the subject line by 7 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 20....
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Chicago indie four piece The Streets on Fire formed in the not-too-distant past in a rundown currency exchange, setting the stage for what would become their debut release, Hot Weekend. The eight-song result is a lo-fi garage-dance-post punk hybrid that's down-and-dirty yet accessible in all the right places, brimming with energy and rock 'n' roll swagger. Standout tracks such as "1964," "Flann...
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Chicago-based acts Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and AM Taxi won't be facing a shortage of late night snacks anytime soon. The two are among 100 bands nationwide that were selected to receive $500 in "Taco Bell Bucks" as part of Taco Bell's "Feed the Beat" contest.The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir are still recovering from a serious van accident that took place in September and left multiple members ...
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Here's a cool music video that came to our attention today from Chicago's Welcome to Ashley. The clip was made for the band and their song "Wild Blue Yonder" by a UK-based video artist (sundaegirl2004 on YouTube). Good stuff!The band is set to play their next Chicago show at Schubas on December 9 with Adam Ashbach and Red Light Driver. Click here for more info.
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Back in February Chicago-based indie outfit Skybox unveiled a deliciously poppy new song, "In a Dream," slated for their sophomore LP Morning After Cuts. Now the band have revealed an official release date and track listing for the record. Due out on January 19, 2010, Morning After Cuts will include the following nine songs:1. Morning After Cuts2. Light3. Slipping4. In a Dream5. Buckets6. Fence...
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Photo by Richard CallI can clearly remember the first time I heard Michele Ari's music. We had connected on MySpace of all places, where it's incredibly easy to ignore musicians because there's so many and most of them aren't very good, but that just wasn't possible with Michele. There was something special about her that instantly drew me in and made me click to play her song "My Sleeping Beau...
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WCR regulars might know by now that indie-garage rock trio King Sparrow is one of our favorite Chicago-based bands. We did an introductory Q&A with singer and guitarist Eric Georgevich sortly after they came onto the scene and highlighted them as one of the best emerging bands of 2008, and are always excited to hear about what they've been up to. The trio is playing Schubas this Thursday, Novem...
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First the bad news: It appears that tickets are pretty much gone for this Thursday night's show at the Auditorium Theatre featuring Ray LaMontagne and Rock Island-raised singer-songwriter Lissie (at the time of writing there were still a few single seats left on Ticketmaster).Now the better news: Lissie releases her introductory EP, Why You Runnin', this Tuesday on Fat Possum Records, and it's ...
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Photo by Eddie O'KeefeIndie five piece The Yearbooks introduced themselves earlier this year with a single track, "Season of Love," a helping of summery pop strong enough to pinpoint them as an up-and-coming band to watch. Now, the Chicagoans have officially released the song alongside five others in the form of their debut EP, Have a Great Summer. "Season of Love" was solid on its own, but the...
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If you're a Chicago-based musician looking to score some exposure, here's an opportunity worth getting on your radar.Beck's Music Export is calling for submissions from bands in the Windy City, one of which will win the chance to open for DJ and producer Mark Ronson at the River East Art Center on New Year's Eve. The bill will also include The Virgins, The Drums and The Airborne Toxic Event.To ...
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From now until November 10, Lollapalooza is asking fans to "be the booking agent" and submit the top five artists they'd like to play the fest in 2010, slated for August 6-8. There's no limitations - they're asking for suggestions that span "monster headliners to bands we’ve never even heard of -- from rock to avant-garde, indie to hip-hop, and all the sounds in between." The form also asks par.
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Chicago-based rockers Verona Red will headline Beat Kitchen this Friday, November 6 (more info and tickets here), and to help get readers revved up for the show, lead singer and guitarist Chris Balzer answered a few questions for WCR about the band's sound and time on the scene so far. Check out the Q&A below, as well as two downloads courtesy of Verona Red from their debut full-length, Side Ef...
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Whenever "rock 'n' roll" and "Rockford, IL" are written in the same sentence, two wordsinevitably come to mind: Cheap Trick. Recently, though, Rockford-born singer-songwriter Miles Nielsen has been claiming a bit of the spotlight on the heels of his debut record, Miles. OK, so maybe Nielsen has a direct tie to the city's classic band (he's the son of guitarist Rick Nielsen), but that doesn't ta...
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Heads up! Citysearch Chicago will kick off a contest this Friday morning, October 30, giving readers the chance to win a pair of free tickets to see The Whigs, The Features and The Dead Trees at Bottom Lounge on November 6. The contest will go live on the Citysearch Chicago Facebook page, so head over there for details and a chance to score the tix. Citysearch plans to give away freebies throug...
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Chicago music fans have no excuse to stay at home this Halloween. Not only does the holiday fall on a weekend this year, but the Windy City is once again offering up plenty of excellent shows to check out. Below is a roundup of promising selections for both Friday and Saturday night to help make sure your Halloween rocks. If you're heading to a show not listed, be sure to leave a comment with t...
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After debuting last year with Ban the Kiss Hello (reviewed here), Chicago's The Insecurities have returned with a seven track album called Show Your Teeth. The band's debut EP notably marked a distinct change in direction for front man Stubhy Pandav - best known as vocalist for pop punk act Lucky Boys Confusion - with mellower, more thoughtful material rooted in a mix of Americana, power pop an...
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Here's a brief clip via SonicBids of Chicago-based four piece Otter Petter playing a set in New York City Thursday night at part of this year's CMJ Music Marathon. The video includes footage of the band's performance as well as a quick interview discussing their time in NYC and what they have to say to their fans back home in the Windy City.
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By Susan SchomburgChicago ballroom folk-rockers Elephant Gun are releasing their latest effort in the recording studio tomorrow night, Thursday, October 22nd, at Ronny's in Logan Square. Beartime Stories, the follow-up to 2007's KP (Cassete Deck), shows the band expanding their sound with a richer instrumental texture and more sophisticated songwriting. The album is currently streaming in full...
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