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If you were to step briefly inside the brain of CHAD VANGAALEN it would no doubt be filled to the brim with unimaginable creatures, piss drawings, incredible home-made instruments, and god knows what else. From animator to sci-fi folk musician to  instrument creator to movie maker to father of two, it's no secret that Chad Vangaalen is a man of many weird hats. I got to sit down with him and talk about discovering music, reed instruments, Moebius, and the super-power kids have.ASHLEIGH DYE: So you seem to be pretty animation based in most of what you do and I know that comics and drawing were a huge part of your life growing up. How did the music aspect get worked in?CHAD VANGAALEN: Well, I guess it was in High School. I was at a new High School and didn’t really know anybody and I started hanging out with all the metal heads, because they were also into drawing etc. From there I met a bunch of dudes who had a jam space. At the time I wasn’t really into music that much, but they started introducing me to bands like SHELLAC, SONIC YOUTH, NIRVANA, stuff that was from that scene happening in the early 90’s. I had never been exposed to music that sounded like people actually making music. It made me realize that anyone can do this, so I went and bought a guitar.AD: Were you always interested in making your own instruments or did that develop later in life?CV: That was later, after meeting all those kids in High School I kind of started getting into free music, like after I got out of High School I started listening to TORTOISE, Sonic Youth introduced me to GLENN BRANCA, and other experimental acts. From there it was sky’s the limit, as far as sound goes. I had access to a really nice wood shop at the time and I really like working with wood, so it came pretty organically.AD: My favorite instrument of yours I’ve seen is this crazy rotating drum that has Legos all over it. How did that come about?CV: That was the first version of that drum machine; there are about five versions of that now. I play a lot of one man band projects and I’m always missing the high hat, the metronome kind of thing. So I wanted to not have a drum machine playing that. I wanted something acoustic. So I was like “Oh, I could make an acoustic drum machine!” That one is really dead now from playing so many shows with it, as I’ve made the more updated versions it’s gotten smaller and smaller. Now it’s a flat top with removable discs so you can put different ‘beats’ on instead of having to change all the pieces.AD: Do you have a favorite instrument that you’ve made?CV: Yeah, I really got into making clarinets at one point; I really like the clarinet. The drummer that I’m playing with tonight was in my first band; I played alto-sax and he played drums. We played a lot of improvised music for years and years and I got really into reed instruments. Bass clarinet is probably my favorite instrument, but I can’t afford one so I got into making different sorts of reed instruments. I use this one instrument I made that I call a Barnswallow, to sort of accompany the sound. If I use a lot of clarinet I’ll throw that one in there, as a sort of phasing in-between notes.AD: You mentioned before that you like to leave traces of human elements in your recordings, hand sliding down the neck of your guitar, finger tapping etc. Do you have the same mentality with your animations? CV: Yeah, for sure. Depending on if I’m down-shooting and just doing straight up cell work I want it to be as bad ass as possible, I really like fluidity and morphological stuff, but I also like seeing the artist’s own mark in the work. I try and not think about it as much as I can and it tends to just expose itself.  It’s harder to leave that mark with stuff like PEACE ON THE RISE, and that METZ video, stuff that’s really colorful and 2D is tri-digital. I do the drawings in black and white and then scan them in and can click fill them, which is a quicker way of working color wise, it’s the same program they use for FUTURAMA and the SIMPSONS.  It’s still traditional animation, but its digital. Even though it’s on a 2D plane there are layers you can work on to create a 3D environment.AD: There’s a lot of morphing and fluidity in your work, as you just said. Is that something that parallels your own life or is it just your preferred form of animating?CV: I think it’s just a byproduct of my animating style. I’m working on my first full length feature right now. It’s the first thing I’ve written a script for and tried to nail down as a linear story line. It’s really hard to stay interested and focused because it’s so labor-intensive that I feel like if I know what’s coming next I get bored of it and am over it, so as far as the morphological stuff goes I’m just always interested to see what can happen. It’s not spiritual or anything, but I’m kind of blown away at what comes out of my subconscious. I try not to think of anything really when working. I’ve noticed that even a year after making something I’ll come back and I’ll watch it and think “Oh man, that’s crazy. That’s totally about this thing that was happening in my life that I was suppressing or not really aware of.”AD: You’ve talk about being very influenced by Moebius and The Incal, which I just finished reading and can totally see in your work. The plot is so fast, you flip ahead ten pages and you’re in a whole other world.CV: It’s totally circular, too! I like the fact that Jodorowsky lets the chaotic elements inform the story telling. The Incal is a weird one, it’s just pure nostalgia for me. As soon as I saw Jean Giraud’s work I was blown away. I realized that this guy was so far beyond anything I had already been exposed to. The American comics that were coming out in the 70’s and early 80’s were so dominated by super heroes. I feel like European comics really nailed that sort of subterranean, post-apocalyptic future-world. It’s like they were seeing what the future was going to be in this crazy sort of rock and roll way. It’s still so organic too, like people are still wearing shitty hats in the future. Those human elements are still there.AD: Exactly, like all the shifty elements of human existence are still present. John Difool, the guy hired to find the Incal is a greedy, gambling man addicted to prostitutes! [Shifting gears] How did your creative lifestyle alter once you became a father?CV: Time just gets more compartmentalized and compressed. I used to be, well I am still a stoner Dad, but I have to pick my times to do things, now. To tell you the truth, it came at a really good time when I needed that focus. It started getting old getting baked and seeing what happened, having kids forced me to take things and time a bit more seriously. I feel like I’m a lot more focused than I was.AD: That’s great. It could have very easily been the other way around and been the thing that really slowed your practice.CV: It was really overwhelming to begin with. The growing pains were crazy. It kind of takes me a long time to work on things. Like I’ll get a lot done, it’ll be nothings getting done, then all of a sudden a shit ton of things will get done because I’d be working on five different things at once.  That amount of time is totally unnecessary, though being able to trim the fat made me a better person.AD: Do your kids inspire a lot of your animations?CV: Yeah, absolutely. I’m a crazy hoarder of drawings. I feel a lot of guilt around that, actually. My daughter is like a super drawer. She’ll just sit down and draw for four or five hours and I just shove food in front of her. Her mind is totally unafraid of what it produces.  I show her videos and she’s just like “yeah I’ve seen you do that character like three times now, you need to make it so they’re outside more. Don’t they ever have any fun?” I feel like Jim Henson did that, once he had kids that’s when he got really focused.  That’s when Dark Crystal got made, that’s when his studio really started taking off.AD: Yeah, kids just tell you what’s up and keep you on your toes.CV: Exactly, she’s just telling me exactly how something makes her feel. I try not to suck too much of that out of them, I don’t want to be a Vampire. Whenever I watch her draw I just think that I would fucking kill to not have this little voice in my head contradicting what I’m doing or critiquing myself. I don’t do it to the point where I’m paralyzed, but kids just don’t care.AD: Do all of the creatures you make exist in the same realm?CV: No, some of them do, but not all. The PEACE ON THE RISE guys exist in the same universe that I’m making this film in.AD: Rad, that’s what most of SHRINK DUST was inspired from, right?CV: Yeah, they definitely inform each other. The last track is about one of the creatures in the film. They were going on at the same time so there are about three songs that relate directly to the movie plot wise, but they aren’t in the movie. It has its own score. I’m going to put that out as its own thing once the movie is done. I think a lot of people think that SHRINK DUST is the score to the movie.AD: This can be the disclaimer: SHRINK DUST is not the score to your movie. Did you record SHRINK DUST alone like your other albums?CV: I did, I’m a crazy control freak about that kind of stuff. I’ve been working on the same tape decks for 20 years now, so it’s so quick. I know exactly what it’s going to sound like. I don’t think I could ever get into a vocal booth and passion sing on command. My studio is right there too, so why wouldn’t I use it? Also I need a lot of time to warm up to things, I would be thinking too much about money and time. My time in my studio is free, in Canada I can apply for a grant to make a record and I’ll get however much money which just does to me subsisting.AD: I read a couple reviews that claim that this sounds like your most confident album so far. What are your thoughts on that? It’s kind of a weird thing for someone to say about someone else.CV: To tell you the truth, I’m amazed that this album even happened in the first place. I don’t know how I feel about the songs, I still think DIAPER ISLAND is my favorite one.  It was really quick. It came out much faster than this album. SHRINK DUST took a lot of time. I was sifting through so many songs that weren’t good, and by the end I couldn’t even really see what it was anymore. 

Fatima Al Qadiri is a Brooklyn-by-way-of-Kuwait-and-Senegal producer who put out her most recent album, Asiatisch, on Hyperdub (home of Flying Lotus and the late, great DJ Rashad). The title of the album comes from the German word for "Asian," and, according to Al Qadiri, the album is meant to convey a sense of "imagined China," a country that she knows only through cultural representations.Al Qadiri has garnered the attention of the New Yorker, Pitchfork, and The Guardian, among other news outlets, and she's headed off on a European tour at the end of May. If that still doesn't sound like a busy enough schedule, she's also a member of an art collective that's currently got a two-room exhibition up at MOMA PS1. Phew.Check out "Shanghai Freeway" from Asiatisch:That’s Amore is a not-so-new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. That’s it. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands or artists you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!

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It makes sense to have Boston songstress Marissa Nadler partake in Road To The Bottle. The first song off her hauntingly beautiful new album, July, is titled "Drive" and it sets the tone for an album that moves through one year of her life, from breakup to reunion. Layers of darkness surround each song's multi-colored sonic palette and her evocative, mysterious vocals soar alongside the shadowy atmospheres she creates.Marissa recently returned from a tour in Europe, which is where these photos were taken. We could have called this post Sky to the Bottle, but that doesn't really make any sense. Besides, from what we can tell none of these were taken from a big ol' jetplane, so quit your fussing and just enjoy the photos.As you can see, Miss Nadler's got an eye for photography, as well, and she captures some of the same ghostly beauty that she explores in her music. There's a shot outside of a hotel window onto a parking lot with a hint of the photographer reflected in the glass - the ghost of a past self.  There are photos of her and her bandmates on the road, as well as various shots of what they experienced on their European excursion. As she told us via e-mail, "Europe was very beautiful in the spring, outside of the window of a moving van. Elevators, hotels, nightclubs, and highways."It's a treat for us to get to see into the lives of these artists as they travel around the world. We hope you'll join us on Sunday, May 11 for a spectacular show with Marissa Nadler (playing solo), Mind Over Mirros and Quarter Mile Thunder. Bring you mom and treat her to a great night of live music on Mother's Day.Here's a video of Marissa Nadler performing a full set live on KEXP:

Welcome back to the Empty Bottle podcast, Everything’s Great?  Every month your hosts Bob Johnson, Kevin Graves and Christen Thomas will be giving you the front door and back stage stories from the Empty Bottle, inviting members of the Bottle, friends, family and staff up to the back of the office to tell stories, talking to bands that will be playing the Bottle in the coming month and playing tracks from those bands.This month we are gearing up for the return of the HoZac Blackout by featuring interviews with people who’ve played before and one legend that will be playing this year. We’re pleased to welcome Jered Gummere - of Ponys, White Savage, Bare Mutants (who played the fest in 2012 opening for Roky Erickson) and Dick Vain fame upstairs to talk about music, tours and general shenanigans. Bob & Christen also grab some beers with Rebecca Valeriano-Flores – with Kevin on Skype - to talk songwriting and her two bands Tyler Jon Tyler and Negative Scanner (who played the fest in 2013). Our favorite roving reporter Ronnie also lands one helluva interview with Handsome Dick Manitoba from the legendary Dictators (who will be playing the Blackout on Saturday this year) to talk Beach Boys vs. Beatles and discuss the wonder of Thor’s hammer. It’s seriously some of the best investigative journalism we’ve heard all year. Under all the hilarity, you’ll hear songs from the following bands who will be playing Empty Bottle shows in the coming month.  See you in June.May 2014 PodcastThe Hussy: “Blame” – May 21A Giant Dog: “All I Wanted” – May 17Wooden Indian Burial Ground: “Helicopter” – May 28Gary Wilson: “Gary’s In the Park” – May 30Tyler Jon Tyler: “Separate Issue” – Negative Scanner – May 26The Dictators: “Baby, Let’s Twist” – May 17

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Some roads to the bottle take longer than others. In the case of San Francisco's A MINOR FOREST, it's taken damn-near 15 years to make it back to our little stage, but here they come once again. Since it’s taken the math/post-rock trio so long to get here, we’ll try to keep this short and sweet. It kind of makes sense to anyone familiar with their music, which excels at stopping, starting, and shifting directions at a moment’s notice. After releasing a couple awesome, cerebral records back in the 90s, the band disappeared for 15 years and, out of nowhere, has decided to come back for one final farewell.Well, welcome back, Eric, Andy and John. These guys were clearly missed by many, our fearless and handsome leader included. Did you guys see Bruce’s deep look back at them on this very blog? Check it out here.Basically, you’re not going to want to miss this show. While this isn’t the end of their current tour, who knows if you’ll get to see A MINOR FOREST ever play the Bottle again. The earliest we'd expect em to return is roughly 2029. We can’t really say, though. We’ve learned with these guys it’s about expecting the unexpected. Actually it’s about throwing your expectations out the window and going along for the weird-angular-mathy-sonic ride. Isn’t it always?

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Road to the Bottle Empty Bottle Presents BLACK LIPS at Logan Square Auditorium!This is a very special edition of Road to The Bottle because it features some old friends of ours, a band that's been playing our stage (and various EBP rooms) for close to a decade. It's also the first RTTB to feature a band not actually playing THE Empty Bottle. If you're a fan of contemporary rock & roll, chances are you're well aware of Atlanta's BLACK LIPS. They've been burning up the punk underground for damn-near 15 years and have slowly peaked their heads into mainstream consciousness these past few years with kick-ass records that stay true to their old-school punk roots. If you haven't heard their brand new record, Underneath The Rainbow (VICE), give it a spin and come on down for the show tomorrow night. Hopefully you've already got your ticket, though, cause that shit's been sold out for months!Yes Yes, y'all, your friends at Empty Bottle were nice enough to hook up a show with the Black Lips here in Chicago. The very same Black Lips who recently jammed with muthafuckin' BOY GEORGE in Philly. Who knows, maybe they’ll bring Boy George with to their show at Logan Square Auditorium?? Probably not. We can almost guarantee not, actually.Just how Rock & Roll are the Black Lips? Well, for one, they get vitamin B injections in their butts before shows. You know, for energy. Just like other famous stars, Katie Perry and Deerhunter. Chances are Bruce Springsteen does this - how else could he stay so buff? They did some sort of video interview with Pitchfork some years ago where they explained this. You can watch it and get excited for the show (and butts) here: http://pitchfork.com/tv/1-plus-one/4-black-lips/The road to the Bottle has been long for these dudes. They’ve been all over these united states already and they even went to Canada for a bit. But don’t worry about fatigue, when it comes to live shows these guys are the pro-est of pros. They’ve been doing this forever and have played all over the world, even the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Their shows are notoriously wild, as we’ve come to know and love, and we know Saturday’s event won’t disappoint. Be sure to show up early for kick-ass openers NATURAL CHILD and FOOTBALL!

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The HoZac Blackout Fest Art Show kicks off the 2014 HoZac Blackout Fest on May 15th! The night will feature live music from the Counter Intuits, Nones, and Toupee, PLUS some great art for you to check out. Tickets are ONLY $10 - you won't find a better art opening in the city for the rest of the year, guaranteed.Peep this rundown on the artists we’re featuring, hand-picked by the dudes at HoZac Records.Andreas Schonfeldt is a South African illustrator who has designed album covers for bands like Sticky Antlers and the Make-Overs (who played last year’s Blackout Fest!). Schonfeldt paints, he draws, he makes dioramas, he silk-screens, and he hides his work in train stations for people to find and take.RUBIN is a Finland-based street artist who’s been tagging stuff since he was nine years old. His bold, geometric graffiti has been featured in VICE magazine and has worked with brands like Heineken and MTV. Now he lives in Brooklyn, but spends his summers in Scandinavia.Brian Shanley, another Chicago local, is one of the original photographers of the U.S. punk scene. He experienced the Ramones, Iggy Pop and the Dead Boys in their prime and lived to tell the tale. He was also the visual genius at the legendary Wax Trax! Records.Paul Zone is a California-based photographer who also captured key members of the punk movement on film in the 1970s. He’s photographed Suicide, the New York Dolls, Blondie and various members of bands like the Kinks and KISS.David Head, Jr., makes prints of Little Richard, horses, and shapes. He’s also made someposters for the Empty Bottle in the past! Now he works as an artist, art director, and designer in NYC.Ray Borchers makes one-of-a-kind t-shirts with Sharpie markers, and we’ll have some of her shirts on display at the Art Show. She drew Keith Richards, Alex Chilton and Sharon Tate, among others, on t-shirts for his “Cult Crush” series last year. And, hey, she’s a Chicagoan!

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San Francisco math rock legends A MINOR FOREST have reunited for their first tour in 15 years and we're lucky enough to be welcoming them back to the Empty Bottle stage on Friday, May 2nd. The show is part of CIMMfest and only costs $12. Tickets are available here. Our owner, Bruce Finkelman, was a big fan and has some words about the band.A Minor Forest was a favorite of mine.They played really intricate instrumentals that you could shake your head to.Erik had long fingernails.Andee played drums backwards.The cover of one of their albums had a drawing of people having sex.I think they used to travel in a van that used cooking oil as fuel.They are returning to the Empty Bottle on Friday, May 2ndI am really looking forward to seeing the again.You should come and see them.- Bruce Finkelman (April 2014)Last week, Imposepremiered a live video of AMF playing "So Jesus Was At The Last Supper" at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill this past November. The video/song is over 18 minutes long. There's an interview, too.Here are some old shots of A MINOR FOREST playing at Empty Bottle in 1998 - we found them in a box of old photos.This is the video from their show at Bottom of the Hill back in November 2013:

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Not all of us can journey down to the SXSW. We have day jobs, obligations up here in Chicago. Besides, why bother fighting the crowds and BBQ lines? If you’ve paid close attention, all the best acts from SXSW have been stopping by the Bottle in the last couple weeks or will come by in the next month. So, you know, you’re welcome.Secret Colours is one of those bands. They’re headlining the Mister Suit Record Release Show here, Wednesday night with Fred Thomas (of Saturday Looks Good to Me) and Yeesh. Yeesh, that’s a good show for a hump day… or any day, for that matter.Before Secret Colours left our beautiful city we charged the gents with a little mission. We asked them to report on their SXSW experience so that everyone up here in Chicago who didn’t get to attend could live vicariously through them. They, being some pretty nice dudes, were happy to oblige. Here it is, everything you need to know about SXSW!We left for the Capitol of Texas by way of the "night flight". The entirety of the band, cruising down the highway in our trusted Ford van. The preferred, or rather accustomed mode of travel is through the night. Rest is for the wary, the sand has been brushed from our eyes and we are eager. What makes a night flight is the sort of accompaniment which is brought along. Sonic stimulation enhanced by high spirits. Lift off, the pilot has turned off the signal to stay seated.The flight is at an end, eighteen hours in and we have landed in sunny Austin, TX. Our manner is disheveled, and the city is in chaos. A massive upheaval that picks the city's locals off of their vine and plants a seed for tourists and suits combined. Somewhere in the midst, there's a small town hero attempting to strike a chord to be heard. We gather ourselves, collect our festival wristbands, too tired to sleep we headed towards East Austin this evening. We indulged in a few gin & tonics at our favorite Austin hang out, “Yellow Jacket Social Club”. Located off of the beaten path on a side road following some train tracks, we felt strangely at home.Easily the best part of the festival is the opportunity to hit up the local food. You learn pretty quick that the trailers downtown offer something no more than street food but if you take the time to explore a bit outside of downtown you’ll find yourself at some incredible trailers and food joints. A standard that we have upheld recently is a visit to “Lucy’s Fried Chicken” in South Austin. Chicken gizzards with an assortment of various hot sauces, it’s difficult to go wrong. In East Austin a friend who happened to be a local suggested the Micklethwait Craft Meats trailer which proved to be a close contender.We had a total of four shows spread over the course of the five or six days we were in town. It wasn’t our first rodeo with SXSW. Our band has grown accustomed to the city over the years by playing various festivals and recently tracking our latest album “Positive Distractions” at “Dandy Sounds Studios” (Any Kind, Cross Record) in Dripping Springs, TX. We were able to catch some incredible performances. Some of which were St. Vincent, Damon Albarn, Sean Lennon, Cross Record, Any Kind, and our Chicago friends in Future Monarchs.Loaded up on barbeque, fried chicken and whatever else we decided to destroy our systems with, it was all at an end. The days tend to blend together, and by the end of the festival the cold embrace of Chicago seems oddly appealing. Maybe it’s the comfort of a bedroom, a familiar face, or just the emotions that the Chicago seasons seem to brand into those who wear it’s flag proudly.

We've known KENNY from MAGIC MILK and TODAY'S HITS for a long time. Or at least it feels that way. We know him so well, in fact, that we've never bothered to find out what the hell his last name is. Some mysteries are best left unsolved... When Kenny asked us if we'd like to premiere his new video for his new solo recording project LUKE TOKYO DRIFTER FEAT. SEXUAL SEAN (which is, we think, his internet alter-ego or something), we gladly said, "Yeah, we can put it up on our blog, if you want." He responded with "that'd be cool" and now here we are. What a world."Virtual Pot" is the first song we've heard from Kenny as Luke Tokyo Drifter and the recording process just tickles us: "All of the recordings are made in my van while i drive around and feature my friends, bandmates and even people walking by while i'm stopped at a light or something." This song is simply a fuzzy guitar and a drum machine, but paired with the video, it acts as a disorienting, trippy exploration of the world that LUKE & SEXUAL SEAN (the same person? Kenny & his GF?) inhabit. Most of the video takes place under water, but brief shots of trips to the beach and a playground weave in and out. In Kenny's own words, "The video was filmed while swimming, using a camera as a frisbee." The whole thing is weird and kind of fucked up, but we dig this new, experimental direction that Kenny's going in...Watch it and catch LUKE TOKYO DRIFTER FEAT. SEXUAL SEAN with DUSTIN WONG & BIG DIPPER at a FREE WITH RSVP show on May 6th!

It’s been almost four years since the Canadian band Women (unofficially) broke up, although its various members have been involved in numerous musical projects since then. Guitarist Christopher Reimer played with the Dodos before his death in 2012, vocalist and guitarist Patrick Flegel unveiled a new project called Androgynous Mind, and bassist Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace joined forces with two other Calgary musicians (Scott Munro and Danny Christiansen) to form Viet Cong.Viet Cong released a self-titled cassette in late 2013 and are supposedly putting out their debut album on Flemish Eye, though a release date has not been set. The cassette sold out quickly, but it’s set to be re-released by Mexican Summer. The group recently posted some rough mixes to their Soundcloud and if you’ve been re-playing Women’s self-titled LP and their second album, Public Strain, as much as you should be, these tracks will more than satisfy your appetite for something new. Check out "Buster Bunker" to get a taste of what's coming from Viet Cong.That’s Amore is a not-so-new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. That’s it. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands or artists you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!

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Walking down the winding halls of an Avondale warehouse, I am being led by the sound of someone wailing on their drum set. Past the snack machines and the arcade and the questionable pyrotechnic equipment, the sound gets louder as I turn my final corner, open a door, and voilá: VELOCICOPTER. I had the privilege to crash their practice, which was, I must say, the most productive, teamwork-centered, smiley band practice I’ve had the opportunity to photograph.  Just a week away from releasing their latest album, VELOCICOPTER has hit their stride. With a sound that is becoming more electrifying and maturely structured with each day, it’s easy to see what all the smiling is about. Throughout the practice we talked all things hot dogs, taught Matt what Burger Time was, discovered some major realizations about their new found success in collaborative songwriting, and left sometime for some good, old fashioned arts and crafts.If a band that cranks out the good vibes while melting your face with their shredtastic set is what you’re looking for, than look no further. I can honestly say that missing VELOCICOPTER next week at the Notes & Bolts 2nd Anniversary Party will be the dumbest thing you do all year. We’re only four months in people - don’t blow it already.ASHLEIGH DYE: Can you tell me how Velocicopter got started?MEG: Well I was in a band with this girl, Crystal, called the ALRIGHT ALREADYS. We broke up a while ago, and then she started jamming with David. Then, the three of us wanted to start a project so we were trying to get together and start that. She kept flaking out, so David and I just cut out the middleman and got together and said, "Hey, lets see if we can write anything." My old band used to play with his old band back in the day, so once I looked him it up it was like, oh yeah that’s that dude from SWEET POLLY. So I kind of knew him, in passing. Once we got together and started jamming it worked out. I’ve known these guys for while, Brett and I had played in another band together before.MATT: Brett and me had jammed a lot together in the past.AD: Seems like it made sense for you all to start playing together. How long have you been in this practice space?DAVID: Two years.MATT: It’s a great area, bunch of kids playing baseball across the street at Bash, batting cages. I always want to go over there and hit some balls.AD: You haven’t yet? It’s been staring at you for two years now.MEG: Once the album is mastered and done we can have a party at Bash. It can be a pizza party.MATT: Yea, they know me there. I used to go there to use the vending machines before we got ours.AD: That’s one of the best parts about shared warehouse spaces, the snacks and games. It’s like you're in some really dismal school hall or something.MEG: Yeah they kind of suck here; I love the Empty Bottle's Mrs. PacMan because it actually moves fast - this one sucks.AD: Yeah, we’ve got some good game action - we just got Frogger, it replaced Burger Time, sadly. Matt: What's Burger Time?AD: What’s Burger Time? It’s a burger building game, you have to walk over top all the ingredients to get them to fall onto the patties, but it’s also kind of like PacMan.MEG: Yea, there are all sorts of villains walking around. Pickles, saltshakers…DAVID: I’ll tell you who the real villain is, ketchup.AD: You guys are about to send your latest album to be mastered, is that going to be a full length LP?BRETT: Well, it’s a ¾-length LP. We did nix one of the songs, which, it just happens I guess. It wasn’t really gellin.’ But we’re gonna do something with it eventually.AD: It’s just not that song's time yet.BRETT: Definitely.MEG: It was a song we kind of wrote instrumentally and once we added vocals into the mix it became too difficult to coordinate.  One day it’ll see the light of day.AD: Do you guys have a specific writing process that you all collaborate on?DAVID: It depends on the song. Sometimes it’ll be one person saying "I’ve got this idea," and then we just build on it. Sometimes we’ll just be working on something in our practice space, here, and it turns into a song.MEG: I think the EP was a lot different because with that David and I would work together and finish full songs, and then bring it to the table and then we’d add the bass and drums that way. But with this album we wrote everything together, even the lyrics.BRETT: More often times than not, David and Meghan bring the initial ideas, then Matt and I just poked at it.MATT: We like to tear the songs apart.BRETT: It was a cool process, it was kind of the first time we discovered a process, I guess.AD: Seems like sort of a milestone event for you guys.BRETT: Yeah, I don’t know if everyone agrees but…MEG: I would agree. Between the song writing between the last album and this one I think it’s increased a lot with creativity and vocal harmonies.BRETT: Yeah, the first album we did because we felt like we had to, you know what I mean.  Just to have something recorded.AD: You guys claim that you’re taking it up another notch with this new album. Would you say this new found writing process played into that?BRETT: We’ve been playing for like three years almost. I think its just been building up more as we know each other's styles and what they’re capable of doing. Just getting to know each other more.MEG: Like if I bring a riff to the table, that’s too simple, but maybe has a good vocal harmony, Brett isn’t afraid to say "I think you can do better," because we know each other's abilities. That’s helped a lot; we have the balls to tell each other "You can do better than that."DAVID: Honeymoon's over.MEG: Way over.AD: You guys have a pretty high energy set. Any special tricks to get in the zone or whatever?DAVID: Ha, no.BRETT: Just get really focused. Oh and the chemicals….MEG: Matt warms up for a little bit! You’ve got a practice pad now.BRETT: I think we mostly let the music energize us now. If we don’t start off with the right sequence of songs, it takes a bit to get to that certain place. That’s why I love it; it comes pretty naturally, usually.MEG: It also has a lot to do with the venue and what it sounds like on stage. If you can’t feel it, in practice our amps are in a circle and we can really feel the music, so here we get really, really into because you’re inside the song almost. Certain venues you can’t hear what’s going on and I start to freak out sort of.DAVID: Yeah, not being able to hear key parts can really have an effect.AD: Last but not least, could you guys draw what a Velocicopter looks like?

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 Photos, words & interview by Ashleigh Dye.LISTEN TO VELOCICOPTER

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This progressive Shoegaze duo from Toronto has had two awesome releases so far, Obession 1 & Obsession 2. With notes of all of your favorite shoegaze bands from the 90's, MOON KING manages to take their sound into the future instead of being another broke-ass revival band. Having been in groups together since their project SPIRAL BEACH, which also had Airick Woodhead (known by his moniker Doldrums), the duo's chemistry has grown exponentially with this newer project. Mixing in parts of noise and dream pop, member Daniel Benjamin and Maddy Wilde will keep you entertained with each new listen.Give a listen to their stellar song, "Almost Blue" - it's not just for cleanin' pools...That’s Amore is a not-so-new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. That’s it. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands or artists you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!

Welcome back to the Empty Bottle podcast, Everything’s Great?  Every month your hosts Bob Johnson, Kevin Graves and Christen Thomas will be giving you the front door and back stage stories from the Empty Bottle, inviting members of the Bottle, friends, family and staff up to the back of the office to tell stories, talking to bands that will be playing the Bottle in the coming month and playing tracks from those bands.This month we’re pleased to welcome Luca Cimarusti - to talk sex and his band Basic Cable - and Bruce Lamont and Eric Chaleff - to talk sex and the scene at the Empty Bottle a decade ago - into the back room for some drinks and jokes and sex talk. Our favorite roving reporter Ronnie also talks with Cole from the Black Lips about rainbows and denim.  Under all the hilarity, you’ll hear songs from the following bands who will be playing Empty Bottle and Empty Bottle Presents shows in the coming month.  See you in May.April 2014 PodcastBasic Cable – “Blonde Ambition” – April 12Child Bite – “Puke For the Youth” – April 20Greg Ashley – “Awkward Affections” – April 9Clear Plastic Masks – “So Real” – April 13Black Lips – “Funny” – April 26Jenny Hval – “I Called” – April 18

Shearwater’s road to the Bottle has seen them passing through a multitude of environments and working on their sharing skills. Their road to the Bottle has featured long drives from Austin to Atlanta, and Seattle to Salt Lake City. But their next drive may be the longest of all. See their show at the Bottle Saturday night also serves as a bon voyage party before the band heads to Vienna, Austria. That’s right Shearwater’s last view of America for two months will be all you beautiful people that hang out at here at this place we call the Empty Bottle.

Shearwater is the music of Jonathan Meiburg, who also provided his multi-instrumental talents to a band called Okkervil River (Check out his gorgeous backstage selfie above). Shearwater’s music is like no one else’s while also feeling immediately familiar. Their sound manages to contain a folkiness that feels comfortable, while being much more sonically inventive than any folk artist we can think of. See their cover of the excellent Mountain Goats song, “This Year”. Meiburg remains true to the feeling of the original while effectively adding electronic beeps and a sweet synth line to the melody!

[Oh, yeah! Shearwater did a whole album of wonderful covers of songs by their former tourmates. You should buy it at their show!]

Shearwater’s newer stuff has been far more informed by that genre endearingly called “rock”. Meiburg’s voice wander’s in operatic fashion. This is a man who really knows how to sing. And sing he does, he sings about the likes of snow leopards, golden archipelagos, black rivers and birds. But the driving propulsion of the drums always keep the songs moving forward. The arrangements are lush and full they expand creating beautiful sonic landscapes but never feel like their sole goal is to explore texture (see:put you to sleep). These are well crafted songs, and it’s going to be a delight to see Shearwater pull them off live here!

Just cause Shearwater won’t put you to sleep doesn’t mean they don’t need to catch up on some Zs with all the traveling they do!

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THE JESUS LIZARD return to the Empty Bottle to celebrate the release of their book, aptly titled BOOK, on Thursday, March 27th at 7pm. Three members from the influential Chicago band (vocalist David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and bassist David Wm. Sims) will be participating in a panel hosted by Rian Murphy of Drag City Records. We're going back in time and it's going to be great. As a plus, local authors Joe Meno and Megan Stielstra will be reading brand new works about the band.You can even get your copy of the beautiful, coffee table-friendly BOOK (published by Akashic Books) signed at the event! The book features tons of photos, artwork and notes from the band members themselves, plus contributions from Mike Watt (of the Minutemen), Alex Hacke (from Einsturzende Neubauten), Sasha Frere-Jones (The New Yorker’s music critic), and everyone’s favorite curmudgeon Steve Albini.Pitchfork calls the Jesus Lizard Book a “valuable document” that “brings us back to the era when artists were conditioned to practice the art of self-defense.”The Chicago Tribune says the book “illuminates the Jesus Lizard” with its “humorous, jolting, sometimes surprisingly moving” looks at the band’s career, and the Sun-Times writes, “The Chicago-grown noise rockers will be remembered as one of the greatest live bands to ever grace -- or very well desecrate -- the stage.”Get even more pumped about the event by checking out this Noisey interview with David Yow here. “I don’t remember what specifically what swayed me to the book,” he says, “but it ended up being really good.”The event’s $8 if you want to be guaranteed entrance, or you can RSVP for the event for FREE up until 5 p.m. tomorrow and take your chances getting in. Tickets here.

Good Vybes Fest is in full force at the Bottle this weekend. On Friday, March 21st, we started the night off right with the dreamtastic pop rock stylings of Today’s Hits, then continued to have our faces melted with sets by Rabble Rabble, Outer Minds and Useless Eaters. Before the madness I met the mastermind behind Eye Vybe Records and Good Vybes Fest, Karissa Talanian, at Margie’s Candies for a banana split. We spent some time talking about the frustrating limitations of life in the lower tax bracket, the gift of hindsight, and what Eye Vybe means to her. Check it out below.ASHLEIGH DYE: So you started Eye Vybe back in 2010 to release Strychnine material, but you didn’t get a tape duplicator for almost a year after. What were Eye Vybe releases like pre-tape duplicator?KARRISA TALANIAN: Well, the first few things that I did I just did at my friends Drew’s house. And at one point I bought a tape deck, because I had started buying so many tapes. I had a little Walkman that I would plug into my radio to record, but the batteries would die so quickly. So at some point when I released I was getting more serious about that I invested $60 into a tape duplicator on Ebay.AD: What was the process of moving from only to doing self-releases to releasing other bands music like? KT: When I started with Dark Fog it was like, I really want to try and do this. They were friends of mine who’ve self-released all of their music - it seemed to make sense. They seemed like they’d be the easiest to deal with, there wouldn’t be any problems with money or anything, and they were very willing to accommodate what I wanted to do. I started with them and I realized pretty quickly how easy it was so I just spread out from there.AD: Now that you’ve moved on to releasing material from out of town bands, how does that differ from releasing local bands? What are some of the pros and cons?KT: Well, if they’re from out of town they’re a little less accessible, because its harder to do it at all. It’s more rewarding. It’s just nice to go further than Chicago, to branch out some.AD: So you’re putting out 45’s as well right. What’s the process like that for you? Do you want to do more vinyl releases?KT: To be completely honest it was Dark Fog and Velcro Lewis Group, both bands had the money to pay for it and asked me to put my name on it. I did a flexi disk with Basic Cable and Endless Bummer. It was a split with Eye Vybe and Notes and Bolts, another great Chicago label, which was pretty cool. I sold maybe 5 of them, and that was one I actually paid for so it was a little disappointing. I’d love to get into releasing vinyl as soon as I can afford it. Right now the cassettes are just paying for themselves. I’d really like to get to a point where I could tell a band, here’s a thousand records - I’ll pay for it no problem. Right now I have to work out how things are paid for. It’s not ideal. I want to be so financially independent that it’s not always on my mind.AD: How do you fund things for Eye Vybe currently?KT: Most of my - I don’t make whole lot of money - but after basic things I'll pay for whatever with what’s left over. You know, I’ll save a bulk amount then dump it all into something for Eye Vybe. I have a button maker that I make buttons for bands and organizations on the side.AD: You’re doing some releases by Joe and Otis and Fuzzy Bunnies of Death that will have comic books to go along with them. Can you tell me more about that? What are the comics like?KT:  I don’t know exactly because I haven’t seen them yet! But Joe, [of Joe and Otis] is a really great comic artist. He did the poster for the festival, a lot of little projects for the Empty Bottle and other bands. He just did Massive Ego’s new tape cover. He does a lot of this stuff just for his own fun, so it made sense.AD: What were you’re major inspirations when you started Eye Vybe?KT: Burger Records. Definitely. Running a label has been a dream job of mine, not quite how I’m doing it now. Since I was a kid I’d always thought that’d be so cool. After I moved to Chicago, I moved here in September of 2009, there was a Burger Records showcase at this place that was always having shows and parties that I had been going to. I didn’t really know anything about the scene around here or anything. I wound up meeting the guy who runs Burger Records - we hung out all night and it totally didn’t occur to me what was happening at the time, but I was thinking "This guys cool and he’s doing really cool things" and I just started looking more into the label and figuring out what they were about, and it really inspired me.AD: Its funny how things work out like that, like you meet someone or have this experience that you look back on later and realize, wow that was actually a pretty monumental thing for me that was happening then.KT: Oh my god, absolutely.AD: What’s your involvement with Burger Records like now? They just had a Burger Revolution day here, right?KT: Yeah, I hosted that at Wally World. They just try and have shows and things in as many cities as possible. They don’t seem to have as many connections out here so they asked me. Last year I did it with Jaill, Fletcher C. Johnson and Fletcher C. Coleman, and Strychnine, at the Empty Bottle. All of which, except for Strychnine were on Burger. This year was a little bit different. I collaborated with the Bric A Brac Records dudes, they had a day show; Bihari Beach, Cave People, and Today’s Hits all played. Then we had a night show at Wally World. That was fun; the only bands that played that were actually on Burger were Today’s Hits. AD: This is your first multi-day event, so what were some of the biggest trials for that?KT: A lot of it was making sure everyone involved was on the same page. I’ve done Chicago Psych Fest before with 2 to 3 other people. It was hard working with so many other people, which is sort of why I started Good Vybes. I was just thinking I wanted to see what I could do on my own.AD: Do you have any plans to make this an annual event?KT: Definitely. I’d like to try to make it more than that, semi-annually, every six months or something. Like maybe do another at the end of the summer.AD: What are you most excited for during the festival?KT: I was really excited for my band's Twinkwind set. There’s been a lot of confusion about it and it’s getting left out a lot but, it's still just my band playing his songs. Also Plastic Crime Wave Syndicate did a Hawkwind cover show a year and a half ago, and with the Hawkwind show getting canceled we thought fuck it, lets work in some of that.AD: Whats the most important aspect of Eye Vybe to you?KT: Mostly spreading the appreciate for all the hard work people do music-wise here.Take a look at some photos from Night One of GOOD VYBES FEST and come by TONIGHT for NIGHT TWO @ THE EMPTY BOTTLE.

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PULSE EMITTER is the solo project of the Portland-based Daryl Groetsch, who recently put out a sort of “best of” double album called Planetary Scale Synth Hypnosis. That title pretty accurately describes Groetsch’s sound -- his music will definitely take you on an interstellar voyage filled with lots of synth. He’s even built his own synthesizer, assembled from various pieces and parts, which he uses frequently in his music.Take a trip throughout the solar system with “Light From Distant Stars” from Groetsch’s 2013 release Equinox.That’s Amore is a not-so-new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. That's it. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands or artists you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!

Crooks on Tape is comprised of John Schmersal, Rick Lee, and Joey Galvan. Schmersal and Lee have been playing music together for sometime now, both being members of the now-defunct Enon. Their first album under the new moniker,  Fingerprint, came out in late October 2013 on Misra Records. The record is a great mix of instrumental noise- and post-rock with straightforward indie-rock songwriting and pop sensibility. There is fluidity and balance to the album that typically only comes from seasoned veterans like these dudes. Fans of Enon, Ariel Pink, or even the ultra-bizarre Gary Wilson will definitely love Crooks On Tape's warped-pop songs.Give a listen to "If Feelings Mean A Thing" and stream their whole album over at SoundCloud.That’s Amore is a new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!

French visual artist and musician Felicia Atkinson put out her LP Visions / Voices on Mexican label Umor Rex last year, culling together more than three years of work into one cohesive album. Atkinson has said that she makes her recorded music by rearranging improvised pieces, a technique that’s definitely evident on the intricate, layered tracks of Visions / Voices.Atkinson’s a busy lady: She paints, sculpts and co-runs the independent publishing company Shelter Press, which releases books, artwork and records from artists like Pete Swanson, Ben Vida and Keith Fullerton Whitman. With all those projects, avid Atkinson listeners can probably wait another three years for her next full release – but here’s hoping we don’t have to.Put some headphones on and let your brain sink into this nearly 18-minute gem, "The Owls," from Visions / Voices:That’s Amore is a new segment on this here blog where we post about music stuff we like. We love hearing from our friends, so tell us what new bands you’re digging on in the comments section. If a song you recommend to us ends up on the blog, you’ll get one FREE ticket to the show of your choice at the Empty Bottle. Cool!