“Thanks to a geographical kinship, [Daniel] Bachman – a Virginia native who wrote his debut record in Philadelphia – will likely soon tire of comparisons to Jack Rose,” wrote Pitchfork contributor Grayson Currin way back in 2012 when guitarist Bachman’s Seven Pines LP was released.Guitar-playing greats like Rose and John Fahey are frequently mentioned nearly every time someone discusses his Bachman's, but who knows if Bachman has tired of the comparisons? Bachman’s mastery of his steel-stringed guitar is definitely evocative of his American Primitive forebears, but that’s also definitely not a bad thing. Plus, Bachman was actually friends with Rose, who died of a heart attack in 2009, and has said that he grew up listening to Rose’s recordings. Rose even commissioned Bachman to do the album artwork for Rose’s last album, Luck in the Valley (released posthumously on Thrill Jockey in 2010).Bachman released his most recent album, Orange Co. Serenade, on Asheville's Bathetic Records, a follow-up to 2013’s Jesus I’m A Sinner (which has great album cover art), and has another LP slated to come out in September on Three Lobed Recordings. Busy guy!The 24-year-old Bachman is also quite the endearing performer, as evidenced by the Tiny Desk Concert he did for NPR in 2012: “After a rousing performance of ‘Honeysuckle Reel’…Bachman turned beet-red in the NPR Music office and said, ‘I’m not going to lie. I’m pretty nervous.’”Check out some of Bachman’s older music on this Soundcloud page, and watch a video of him performing “Coming Home,” from Orange Co. Serenade, below...
Marian McLaughlin uses a technique called "dérive", which is a French term/theory created in the 1940's to describe psychogeography (the effect of the geographical environment on individuals) and it was picked up in the 1950's by radical avant-garde artists. If you haven't Google translated already, the technique means "to drift" - and McLaughlin doesn't begin her set with any motives - she allows the landscape to dictate the direction of her song patterns and vocals. According to situationist theorist Guy Debord, "In performing a dérive, the individual in question must first set aside all work and leisure activities and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there." McLaughlin plays the Bottle this Wednesday, August 20th with American Wolf, Gabriel Reid, and Deadbeat. It's gonna be interesting to see how the dérive technique pans out alongside Ms. Pacman, free pizza, and our Radley mural (RIP). But we bet that it's going to be fucking beautiful. Out of Town Films recently filmed Marian McLaughlin at Little Berlin in Philadelphia. Watch the vid after the *jump*.
Brain Case Empty Bottle Podcast
Noah Leger Empty Bottle Podcast
For our 7th Episode, still with a Parental Advisoryon iTunes, we are honored to have Brian Case and Jered Gummere around the table to talk about the various ways they have been musically bowling us over for over a decade. From Brian's time with the 90 Day Men, joining the Ponys - including an amazingly hindsight-hilarious tour story involving Duran Duran's tour bus - Brian's work in Disappears, Jered's work in Bare Mutants and their respective bonkers solo projects, it was pretty great to spend time talking to these regular guys about their killer musical output. This month we also welcome the drummer that makes the girls weak, Noah Leger, to chat on being the guy to take Steve Shelley's place and the many ways working for Blue Man Group changes lives.A member of the Empty Bottle family, Connor Roche, was recommended to the Bottle staff through Noah because of his rad fucking attitude and ability to grow astounding mustaches. Connor is currently showing cancer who's boss and we are honored to be hosting a benefit for Sweet Relief, a charity that Connor supports, that offers assistance to musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while fighting illness. He's rad - we're lucky to know him and the Bottle and Blue Man staff, as well as the plethora of people who are in his corner, will be celebrating him at the Bottle on August 15.Under all the band talk and shit talk, you’ll hear songs from the following bands who will be playing Empty Bottle shows in the coming month. See you in September.Subscribe/Listen on iTunesStream it herePenicillin Baby - "Daddy Drove A Hearse" - August 23Reigning Sound - "North Cackalacky Girl" - September 1Jacco Gardner - "Chameleon" - August 18New God - "Firework" - August 13Marian McLaughlin - "Arcane Circadian" - August 20Gel Set - "Don't Need $ Cuz I Got A Gun" - August 22Wizard Castle - "10,000 Sword Salute" - Chicago Food Social on August 24
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Last week we hinted that party poet James Swanberg of Todayshits would be appearing with "members of a hot young Chicago band, hint hint" - can you guess who? They're on the hit below...Still not sure? Their record release is THIS WEEK...One more clue...read the title of this post.
GREAT JOB! IT'S MEMBERS OF TWIN PEAKS! THEY WILL PLAY AS THE BACKING BAND FOR TODAYSHITS AKA TWINHITS AKA TODAYSPEAKS ON WEDNESDAY!
FRANKIE COSMOS and PORCHES will both grace our stage onTuesday, August 5, along with the excellent HOSPITALITY, so we thought we’d give you a handy primer on the two acts (because it can be hard to tell who's who and what's what). Take a look.Porches is the project of Aaron Maine, who also provides drums for Frankie Cosmos. Porches also features backing vocals from Greta Kline, who is the driving force behind Frankie Cosmos and who also happens to be Maine’s girlfriend. Basically, the lines between Frankie Cosmos and Porches are kind of blurry. Do we need to diagram that for you? No? Okay, good.Porches’ album, Slow Dance in the Cosmos, was released last year and Maine/Kline collaborated under the name "Ronald Paris” most recently for a split tape with Mdou Moctar. Here’s “Leather” off that split, which sees Maine “maintaining his typically uneasy harmonies and organ drones while ripping out the low-end that keeps [his] stoned reveries grounded,” according to Pitchfork.Porches’ live performances are bare-bones and captivating. No frills here.Frankie Cosmos, headed by Kline, makes short and sweet songs that usually run no longer than two minutes. The July release, Quick Songs, featured seven tracks, one for each day of the week.Frankie Cosmos’ debut album, Zentropy (a word that Kline made up while recording, according to Noisey) came out in March on Double Double Whammy Records and scored on 8.0 on Pitchfork.Don't miss the show here on Tuesday, August 5th - tickets are still available online!
The road to the Bottle for the band CROCODILES has seen them mostly sliding up and down the East coast this summer, but now they find themselves in the heart of the midwest. From what we can tell this has been the quintessential summer tour for CROCODILES. They have been taking in baseball games (at bars--of course), brushing up on their BEACH BOYS lyrics, snapping selfies in Detroit, and road-tripping sleepily across America. All the makings of a classic summer, but it would not be complete without a stop at ye olde Empty Bottle.
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That is not a CAN record you CAN find every day!
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"Robert loves baseball"It’s no secret to anyone who has listened to Crocodiles that these fellas are some serious record collectors. So we were not surprised to see that their travels included a stop in Ohio at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While there they took this pic for us of Brian Wilson’s hand written lyrics. Nice!They also scored a nice CAN 7” at Lager House in Detroit. Then they took this selfie out on the streets of Detroit. This band knows how to live it up on tour, and here at the Empty Bottle, we LOVE when bands send us selfies# !CROCODILES played here for the first time back in May of 2009. Since then we have had the pleasure of watching this band grow and refine their unique sound from record to record. Their debut, Summer of Hate was dark, echoing, and promising. A lo-fi and noisy affair that displayed a young band with a long deep love for music.The band’s follow up, Sleep Forever, was even better. While CROCODILES tour with up to five people for their live shows, the band was started by two friends that met at an anti-fascist rally in high school. The original core, BRANDON WELCHEZ and CHARLES ROWELL spent 10 days recording with producer JAMES FORD, (SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO) out in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Ford brought a bit of sun to the band’s shadowy and macabre sound, while keeping everything that was great and raw about their debut. The result is a record that grabs you a minute into opener “Mirrors” and doesn’t let go until the emotional ending to “All My Hate and My Hexes are for You” at the end of the record.
They were not done refining their sound, though. Their latest record Crimes of Passion, out on French Kiss late last year, is their most fully-realized album to date. More cohesive than any of their past works can can claim to be, and with a sunniness peaking out through the grey clouds that the band is known for. It shows the band’s songwriting has truly matured over these past four records. We can't wait to enjoy their energetic live show again!
Catch them here with one of our favorite bands from, “The Good Land” Jaill, and Heavy Times; some of the best local dudes you (or any of us for that matter) could ask for!
There are some tickets still available. Get some at the door TONIGHT!
Japanese chanteuse Ai Aso recently put out her album Lone on Sunn O))) co-founder Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ label, making her label-mates with heavy lifters like Sir Richard Bishop (who will be at the Bottle on September 2nd with Tashi Dorji; tickets here) from Sun City Girls and the monstrous Nazoranai (who played the Bottle earlier this year).Lone is a recorded live set that features seven gorgeous tracks from a 2012 performance, when Ai Aso opened for Boris, Sunn O))) and Chelsea Wolfe. Don't worry if doom metal and drone aren't your jam -- Ai Aso provides an ethereal, quiet counterpoint to many of O'Malley's other musical endeavors. She's a multi-talented wonder woman, deftly playing both keyboards and guitar while providing whispery, delicate vocals.
FACT magazine calls Ai Aso's music "
," which are pretty accurate words to ascribe to Ai Aso's sparse but beautiful arrangements.
, which distributes Ideologic Organ's catalog, says that her live performances evoke "l
ost memories, small flavors of COIL and serial playing on the verge of evaporation." Ai Aso has previously collaborated with Boris guitarist Wata on the 2007 split
She's So Heavy
, where she provided a cover of King Crimson's "Islands." She also
the track "
" on Boris' 2008 album
Smile
. Oh, AND she provided the vocals for "Sometimes," a track off the recent 2014 collaboration between O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, and Randall Dunn called Shade Themes from Kairos. Girl power!!!
In case y'all didn't know, we have a survey where we ask you questions like "How can we make the concert experience better for you?" (It pops up after you go to buy a ticket on TicketWeb.) A lot of companies don't listen to things like this BUT WE DO DAMMIT, and from now on we're going to fulfill your *~*~*dreams and wishes*~*~* every month. So far, a lot of you have requested free shit (understandable) - including food.We've got ya covered. Did you know that we host FREE PIZZA parties nearly every Wednesday night? Here's some proof from our show last week with The Fresh & Onlys, The Shilohs, and Gravity Waves! Annnd you're welcome.Maybe you should think twice about answering those questions because we could make whatever you want come true...within reason. There are also some secret prizes for the folks who participate...pizza was a good start, what else have ya got for us?Stay tuned for next month!
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File this post under 'people to remember.' I'm sitting in the dimly lit store front of Shake Shop, drummer Tom Cassling's guitar/amp repair shop and I don't know if it's the fact that it feels like October in July, or the giant, docile rottweiler named Gucci Mane we've just befriended outside, but being with the humans that comprise NEGATIVE SCANNER give me a pleasant sense of calm. The group emanates a refreshing sense of ease being together, and their talk of collaborative song writing tells me they work remarkably well together, a trait that's not always easy to come by in bands.The conversation flows seamlessly between us as we talk of the wonder of Athens, Ohio and local music communities, and how NEGATIVE SCANNER has been going so far. From the looks of it, things have been going pretty well. The quartet has been taking Chicago by storm. With it's compelling lyricism paired with dark, haunting vocals, and throbbing beats laced with fierce, fast guitar lines, it's no wonder people are paying attention. Read on to catch up on the deep origins of NEGATIVE SCANNER, what's important to them while on tour, and underage drinkers.ASHLEIGH DYE: How did NEGATIVE SCANNER come to be? Did that Craigslist ad work out? Are some of you Internet strangers?TOM CASSLING: Not really, we actually didn’t get that many responses; there was one guy who we considered for a minute.AD: So how did Matt & Nick come to join NS?TC: Nick filled in on drums for his other band UH BONES and we heard him play bass, he’s a good bass player. Then Matt had a party at his place and talked to him for about 30 seconds and decided he was decent enough and asked him to join the band.AD: How was the transition from TYLER JOHN TYLER to NEGATIVE SCANNER go?REBECCA VALERIANO-FLORES: It’s pretty different. TJT ended because our old bass player moved, me and Tom wanted to start a new thing. I had a bunch of new songs that were a little bit different; they were darker than the other band. Now with this band we share song writing more.AD: Is that level of darkness something you get from NEGATIVE SCANNER that you didn’t get from TYLER JOHN TYLER?RFV: Yeah, it’s much darker and fuller and being able to share a more collaborative type of song writing is nice.TC: TJT was also a three piece, so it’s nice having a second guitar.AD: You guys formed in 2012, right? TC: Ooof, yeah. Two and a half years and only one 7", dang.AD: That’s ok I just interviewed CIRCLES and asked what took so long for their album to come out and Sirini informed me that one of his bands took 11 years to put anything out, so you’re still ahead of the curve.Those same 7”’s are for Trouble in Mind and Tall Pat, right?. Who recorded those for you guys?TC: Yeah. That was kind of a mis-mash. We had a couple swings and misses with recording before that. So we took drums and guitars from a recording session we did with Kenny, who does sound over at the Bottle, then we did bass and vocals on a 4-track..AD: Why did you decide to do two separate 7”s as apposed to LP?TC: We had recorded enough for an LP, but just chose the best from it and decided to put those out there instead of fitting it all in. There just wasn’t enough that we felt solid about. AD: Do you guys have plans for an LP?TC: It’s in the works, we are doing the recording ourselves.AD: Rebecca, when I heard you on the Empty Bottle podcast a couple months ago you mentioned that you started playing music when you moved here 9 years ago, what inspired you to pick up a guitar?RFV: I never really played music when I lived in California, then I moved here and started going to really shitty garage shows, although I went to some shows in California, it wasn’t until I moved here that music finally seemed accessible. Once I realized that you only really need to know two cords and don’t even need nice stuff I felt good about trying. I met a bunch of really awesome people here that were willing to take a chance on a kid, or whatever.AD: What about you guys? Where’d you get your musical start?NICK BEAUDOIN: Uh, I’m kind of a prodigy. I was just born with an eight string bass in my hand. Nah, I started when I was 13, playing in shitty punk bands with my friends. Once I moved to Chicago I started playing more serious stuff.MATT REVERS: Well I was in my high school band. I played the baritone.AD: Oh yeah? There are not many baritone players, kind of like the French horn.MR: Yeah, that’s why I picked it. We got to use the school’s instruments and it was shitty look and there was only one, I thought it was very cool.RFV: Is it really big?MR: It’s a small tuba.AD: So, probably still pretty large. A small tuba is a bit of an oxymoron. Rebecca, your lyrics have an abstraction to them, but they also seem inspired by accessible human experiences. Do you tend to write songs based on things happening to you in your everyday life?RFV: At times I might write some things that are a little abstract sounding, but all of it is grounded in life experience. I don’t get too concept-y. Sometimes a phrase will come up, or just one word that sticks out to it me and it will turn into a song. I like trying to trick people, too. Not trick, but songs will sound like they are about something that they aren’t. I don’t know if you could call it a metaphor, or whatever, but sometimes I try and write a song about not what it sounds like its about...does that make sense?AD: Yes! Also on the podcast they were talking about this song that sounded like it was about a younger sister, but really it was just about a doll.RFV: People are always like “what’s that song about” and I could just tell them something it could be about, but I like having it more open, I can change what it’s about later by not saying something now.AD: Totally, it’s more fun when things are left up to the listener’s interpretations. Who did the video for FAN vs WILD? Did you guys work on it together?RFV: A friend of mine, well I guess I didn’t really know him before, but he was a fan of our old band and he came to us and said he wanted to make a music video. We said yeah, totally, just tell us what to do. So he shot it and edited it all and got my wonderful neighbor to be an extra. Really that had nothing to do with us, and it turned out pretty awesome.AD: Do you guys have plans for more music videos?RFV: Well, yes. We don’t have a concept, per say, yet. We’re going to use between 2 and 5 Go-Pros and will probably shoot some of it at the Empty Bottle on Sunday.AD: You guys have a tour coming up at the end of the summer, how was planning that?TC: We mostly set it up based on being in the car the least amount of hours, so our longest leg in the car is only two hours. Since we’re so new it seems like the places we play aren’t as important.AD: That is very strategic! Are you guys rolling through Ohio? You should totally play in Athens.RFV: Our old band TJT played The Union twice!AD: Oh man that’s great! I love Scott, he books some pretty killer shows there. The Union was my second home for so long.TC: Is WHEELS ON FIRE still around? Or WE MARCH?AD: Ah sadly WHEELS ON FIRE is no more. It breaks my heart, seriously. There was some weird shit that went down with them on tour in Europe a few years ago, their drummer left early and things kind of dissolved from there. They played a few shows after, but Handsome John, or Tall John based off what you’re into, moved to Columbus last year so things have kind of come to a halt. WE MARCH has played some shows recently, my friend Zach’s been playing with them.TC: I remember him, he was a character!RFV: Athens was a pretty good time, both times.AD: Yeah, Athens cultivates characters. It’s a party snow globe. Such a good scene there, too. Lots of good house venues and shit. It’s really fun when all your friends are playing shows down the street from where you live and you thoroughly enjoy their music. RFV: Totally, we try to say yes to house shows, always. AD: Yeah, house shows are great; they cultivate such a sense of community. And they’re great for al those underagers.MR: Yeah, teens need a place to get fucked up, too.AD: True, they need a safe place to booze!MR: Oh, I wouldn’t say it was safe.AD: I guess teens could drink in the street if they wanted.TC: Living in this neighborhood has been great for that sense of community. There are so many bands rooted here and most of the places we play aren’t too far away.
Catch NEGATIVE SCANNER this Sunday at the Panache Pitchfork After Party ft the Johnathan Toubin Soul Clap Dance Off! Get your dance moves ready.
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WORDS & PHOTOS BY ASHLEIGH DYE
On Friday, July 25th we're celebrating all things Dark Entries. The San Francisco-based record label was born in the spring of 2009 to release out of print and unreleased underground 80s music as well as contemporary bands referencing that sound. A project of Josh Cheon, a vinyl-focused DJ and collector, Dark Entries takes great care in preserving sound quality and respecting the aesthetics of its artists. All of their releases reflect the DIY days of the 1980s independent record labels. The label entrusts all of their projects with the best engineer in California, George Horn at Fantasy Studios, who has remasters each release using his 50+ years of knowledge in the industry. This showcase is part of a larger tour that features rising stars within the Dark Entries roster.The tour, kicking off tomorrow (July 17th), features REDREDRED, Bézier, Max+Mara and label founder Josh Cheon, who also made a mix celebrating the tour and Dark Entries' 5th Year Anniversary:The Bottle show is on Friday, July 25th, at 9 PM. Advanced tickets are $10 and can be purchased here. It's gonna be siiiiiiiick. And rare, very rare.***Here's a special treat for all yas: Buy an advance ticket to the show and you'll be entered to win a special prize pack from Dark Entries, including a rare DE test pressing, a DE poster, and swag from the fine folks at the SF record label.
It's no secret that the members of CIRCLES have been around the Chicago music block a few times. Featuring members of THE PONYS, FOOTBALL, RADAR EYES, THE HOLY GHOSTS, and and even one of our own talent buyers, the band just released their first LP,
Shadowgraph
, out on the band's own label, Diminished Arc. The group has all but perfected that careless, jangly power-pop sound. With upbeat anthems about dead friends, sweet lullabies to newborns, and a report on Marcus Gravey, Shadowgraph takes the listener on a roller coaster ride through self-aware ironies and tender moments, threading them with foot tappin', hip shakin' guitar and organ-driven pop, complete with vocal harmonies. Tomorrow CIRCLES will be celebrating their release that was three years in the making, alongside BARE MUTANTS and OUTER MINDS.
Earlier this week, as I sat and listened to
Shadowgraph
in it's entirety for the third and fourth times, I talked with Sirini and Melissa about their start at Playboy, how having a baby changes your game, and the harsh reality of long distance relationships.All I have to say about it is this: Sirini, I haven't met you but your sass and aura are radiating from the west coast, through my computer screen, blasting me right in the face. If your charisma and wit are even half as pungent IRL as they are via e-mail, then we are all in for a treat when CIRCLES grace our stage Friday night.
ASHLEIGH DYE: CIRCLES has been around for the better part of 3 years, but this is your first full length LP. What was the hold up? How does it feel to have Shadowgraph out now?
SIRINI: RADHAKRISHNA: Hold up??!? It took 11 years for one of my old bands, THE GUILTY PLEASURES, to have our record released, so 3 years doesn't really seem that long. Maybe it's a generational thing? I'm going to assume you're much younger and accustomed to instant gratification? But yes, it does feel good to have something tangible to show for the minutes that went into making it.
AD: What's the recipe for pop music for educated, upper-middle class, pretentious white people?
SR: It's simple. Put in very little effort, haphazardly place shit together, and call it "art."
AD: What was the best part about recording with Mike Lust? What was the worst part about recording with Mike Lust? Did "The Glove" make an appearance?
SR: Wait, is "the glove" a thing or did you read about that incident in another interview? If it's the latter, you already know the answer. Mike Lust? Never heard of him. Is he a porn star? Am I supposed to know that because I worked at Playboy 14 years ago? Oh wait, I do remember him. Good actor.
AD: What did you all do at Playboy? How is it essential to the CIRCLES history?
SR: I worked in Rights & Permissions, which was as boring as it sounds. Ken was a web designer, and Melissa worked in magazine's photo department. We knew each other beforehand, but that's where we really bonded over our appreciation for the 20 year old, redneck, NASCAR fan's vision of beauty.
AD: In the words of Tyra Banks, how do you all "make it work" living across the country?
SR: It won't. Long distance relationships seldom work, so I replaced them with BAY ARYANS. It will probably be a bit more pysch-pop sounding now. Jon Dwyer is already on board to produce the next record.
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AD: Melissa, how has having a baby altered your role in the band? Has it changed the way you create music?
MELISSA ELLIAS: It was originally Srini, Ken and I as a 3-piece. I was playing bass, keyboards and vocals. I knew I wouldn't want to play as much after being a mom, so they replaced me with AJ on bass and Christen on keyboards. Srini asked me to be a part of the new recordings and saved a song for me to take lead vocals on. This record release show is the only time I will have played live with the new line up. It should be fun. The only thing that has changed is subject matter. I write about whatever is consuming me at the time. It used to be darker and now my head is in a different place.
AD: Can your baby play any instruments yet?
ME: My baby plays the drums, guitar and tambourine. All better than me.
AD: What grade would you give your report/song on Marcus Gravey? What other influential character would you write a song abou
t?SR: Marcus Garvey would probably get a B+ as a 5th grade book report. I've been tempted to write a song about Casey Kasem, but I may have to hold off for a bit because it's "too soon."Get your tickets to the show
.[Words & Interview by Ashleigh Dye; Cover photo by:
]
Road to the Bottle, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Tour, Empty Bottle
Road to the Bottle, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Tour, Empty Bottle, Van herbs,
Road to the Bottle, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Tour, Empty Bottle, Great Scott, Boston, Chicago, Shoegaze, Sunny Pop
Road to the Bottle, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Tour, Empty Bottle, Chicago, Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Best New Music, Ice Cream,
The Road to the Bottle for A Sunny Day in Glasgow doesn’t start in one place, but many. Originally hailing from Philly, but the band’s founder Ben Daniels (guitar) has also been working as a biostatistician in Australia. Vocalist Jen Goma has been living in Brooklyn where she’s been working on a number of other projects, and amongst those projects she lends her vocal talents to the latest Pains of Being Pure at Heart record. Many of the other members of ASDiG are still hanging around in Philadelphia, but there hasn’t been a time when all six members of the current lineup were together for the recording of the latest album, Sea When Absent.This is the first time we’re lucky enough to be hosting A Sunny Day in Glasgow on our stage. Surprising, considering they have been putting out some truly great records since way back in ’06 --yet understandable, considering the band has been spread across multiple continents for the past few years. Just another reason we are extra-stoked to be seeing this show. And, who knows the next time this band will all meet up in one part of the world to play shows?#RoadtotheBottleA Sunny Day in Glasgow are a hard band to pin down, but one of the genre tags most often hung on them is shoegaze-- a genre full of dark brooding music perfect for Fall, Winter, and rainy days. The songs on Sea When Absent, are full of sunny melodies and beautiful harmonies. The vocals are down in the mix slightly at times and have lots of reverb, echo, and effects on them , so it’s why it’s easy to see why people would tag them as shoegaze.Van herbs, of course!A lot of reviews for Sea When Absent have talked about how this is pop music with a lot of “noise” and “cacophony." It’s not a dissonant or harsh type of noise, though, even when the tracks are layered with fuzzy walls of guitar. It’s more like beautiful, joyous noise. ASDiG’s maximalist tunes envelop you. They seem to come at you from all directions with a variety of textures - to keep with the summer theme, it’s like laying on the beach. The sun is beating down. The harsh grainy sand below is creeping in everywhere. The waves crash rhythmically. Relaxing joyous chaos. This is the pretty kind of noise.(Outside the club in Boston)A Sunny Day in Glasgow play Empty Bottle on Tuesday July 8th. Get your tickets here.They've been going fast since Pitchfork gave her the 'ol Best New Music tag.The show starts at 9PM and they are joined by Lightfoils, one of our favorite local Shoegaze groups who are celebrating the release of their debut LP, Hierarchy. Up and coming Chicago quartet Startropics open this dreamy Tuesday night and the Shimmer DJs will be spinning records throughout.This one's going to be a real treat!
Everything's Great?
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.For our 6th Episode, now on iTunes, we are pleased to welcome velvet-voiced old friends Chris Hansen and Mike Lust from Pinebender and Tight Phantomz, talking about how they met, touring together and their shared love for Petty of the Tom variety. Give a listen to discover Bob & Chris’ meaning of “Jagg Off” and why Lust is singing into a Coors bottle in the photo. We also welcome four, count em four, fellas up to the office, sirs Kevin Kujawa, Seth Bohn, Ethan D’Ercole and Jesse Woghin of Mannequin Men to talk about Calibrated Crematorium, friendship, drinkin and WTF. This month we’re sadly missing a dispatch from our favorite roving reporter Ronnie as she is being a five year old at summer camp. It’s a real friendship/funship episode and we hope you enjoy it - 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 August.Download/Listen on iTunesStream It HereDeath - "Freakin Out" - July 12 and at the Empty Bottle stage at West Fest on July 13Fresh & Onlys - "Who Let The Devil" - July 16J Fernandez - "Real Flowers" - July 14MSA YSA - "Why" - July 18Crocodiles - "I Wanna Kill" - July 29Heaven - "Colors In the Whites of Your Eyes" - July 23Pinebender and Tight Phantomz - July 15Mannequin Men - West Fest on July 13 and the Empty Bottle on August 9Heavy Times - July 29Photo credit: Robert B. Johnson
Who's gonna be at the Empty Bottle in July? These guys. And more! Give a listen to these bands coming (y)our way and check out our full calendar for more information. And to buy tickets (up and to your left where it says "Shows" - click there). Enjoy!
Japanese track maker/DJ/painter (his self-ascribed titles) FOODMAN(aka Shokuhin Maturi) is one of the big players in Japan's footwork scene. He put out his 24-track tape「IROIRO」on Oklahoma's Digitalis label last year and a 19-song release on Birmingham, Alabama's Noumenal Loom in May. "We all want to ride this ride forever, throwing hands toward the sky hoping for lift-off that never comes," Digitalis says of the producer's music.
FOODMAN has even been covered by the Chicago Reader (back in 2013). The local rag's Leor Galil wrote about the rise of juke and footwork in Japan for that year's Best of Chicago issue and featured FOODMAN in a blog post some months later. Says Galil of 「IROIRO」, "The jarring, stuttering vocal sample that's usually part of the musical tapestry of a footwork song takes precedence on 'Otoufu Yasan,' while its rapid-fire beat is chopped up and muted till it sounds like a series of light taps resembling Morse code." Chicago has obviously been on the cutting edge of Footwork since its inception. The genre continues to rise in popularity around the world, especially with the sad and untimely death of local hero, DJ Rashad, and the ever-expanding reach of labels like Hyperdub.
Give a listen to FOODMAN's 「IROIRO」below and hop on that roller coaster ride for yourself. We dig the hell out of it and think you can, too.
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!
It’s hard to believe the members of the Allah-Las had time to snap a picture of them standing on a sand dune considering how busy their road to the Bottle has been. Starting in San Diego they have been playing back to back shows every night as they traveled down to Mexico and back up into Texas. In fact this picture was taken on the Mexico border en route to Austin. Could it be that there is a story that involves Tequila, Mescal, Rock and Roll, and lost passports which forced these lads to sneak back into the states to keep their tour going? Probably not, but this blog tends to think some mysteries are better left unsolved.
Allah-Las dune road to the bottle
Allah-las teepee road to the bottle
One thing we do know for certain is that the Allah-Las are well versed in the subject of Rock and Roll. They met in L.A.’s biggest record store and their tasty debut LP shows their time at work wasn’t wasted just doing work stuff. With a first record full of songs that feel exceptionally confident, these four dudes weave things like melody and countermelodies together with rhythm more seamlessly than your grandma could weave an afghan (The jury's still out on who has a better chocolate chip cookie recipe, though). Don’t take our word for it though, head over to their Soundcloud and check out their latest single right HERE!
And check out this photograph bass player Spencer Dunham sent us of himself saying GOODBYE to the Pacific Ocean. Don’t know about you, but we feel pretty special knowing these guys left all that to come hang out with us for a night.
Allah-Las sunset road to the bottle
Get here early and you might see the guys taking down the teepee they sleep in on tour. Just kidding. That will be down way before you get here, but you can check out, SLEEPY KITTY, a local duo Brooklyn Vegan called a “grungier and more layered BEST COAST” - perfect! Also, HORSE THIEF is making the trip up from Oklahoma City to get the night started right with their vibrant, contemplative widescreen sound. What could be better? Nothing, that's what!
Outrageously-named Toronto "noise gang" TEEN TITS WILD WIVES is a band we've recently become pretty fond of. The band’s latest release, the Street Hawkz EP, is a great example of what they call themselves: a noise gang. The five track EP runs just a bit under 15 minutes and each track has its own distinctive feel. However, the noise never stops coming on this surprisingly-cohesive effort. The opening track, “KD,” is a mostly instrumental track that could draw comparisons to Dinosaur Jr. and Cloud Nothings. The in-unison chants at the end will remind you of the children from "The Wall" all grown up and still pissed of. The final song of the EP, “Avec Cheeze,” has the feel of a noise punk band doing its interpretation of a western song that could be found on the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie. Within this mix of ever-mutating noise, TEEN TITS WILD WIVES still manage to bring in some poppy lyrics and catchy melodies.The EP is a great listen, especially if you're looking to get some anger out. Give it a spin: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 are officially on iTunes– find us, subscribe and have us plop into your iTunes every single month. We are pleased to welcome the wonderfully coiffed Zach Medearis and Aaron Orlowski from Outer Minds upstairs this month to talk about their storied musical history together – there was a lot of solid content about drugs, tattoos and Frito pie that we’ll have to save for a “very special episode” of the podcast (coming soon). We also grab some beers with Matthew Hannigan and Jason Balla for a soundman edition of Staff Infection where we learn about how the dashing men got into the biz, hear stories from as near as the stage downstairs and as far away as Russia. Our favorite roving reporter Ronnie also plays dress up and discusses flying and meditation with the one and only King Khan, all the way from Berlin. It’s seriously some of the best international reporting 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 July.Download/Listen on iTunesStream it hereRadioactivity - "Sickness" – June 20Ne-Hi - "Since I've Been Thinking"- July 14 (and Earring on June 9)Morgan Delt - "Obstacle Eyes" – June 9Allah-Las - "Had It All" – June 14Crystal Stilts - "Star Crawl" – June 18Chain Gang of 1974 - "Death Metal Punk" – June 11Saintseneca – “Happy Alone” – June 15King Khan & the Shrines – “Born to Die” – June 16Outer Minds – “We Are All Stone” – July 11Photo credit: Robert B. Johnson
In a land deep below the Earth's core, where homes are built from the bones of your enemies and acid drips from cave ceilings, where the Bog of Eternal Stench is a reality and The Humungus reigns, there exists RABBLE RABBLE. The quartet emerged from the slime of the underworld to join me in an exchange of words over the obnoxious hum of a home tattoo gun and a lot of laughter. Read on and find out whose farts belong to who, why you should definitely get in a van with a stranger who's just shit on the street, and what the more mature Rabble Rabble has to say about life in the internet age. Do your research now and prepare yourselves, for RABBLE RABBLE will be summoning a vortex of demons, farts, and out of this world sonic creations that will tear through the Empty Bottle and all of our souls on the eve of Friday the 13th. It's all in celebration of the release of their new album, BRAIN HOLE, and to start their tour of the underworld off right. RSVP here for free entrance to that live music engagement.
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ASHLEIGH DYE: So Andrew this question is for you specifically: You joined RABBLE RABBLE after it had already been a band for a while - what were your thoughts upon joining?ANDREW KETTERING: Ralph actually used to be in a band that I was the front man of called THE GREAT SOCIETY MIND DESTROYERS, we actually went on tour together, RABBLE RABBLE and the Mind Destroyers, so we were kind of like brother-sister bands. It already felt like they were my family, it wasn’t a stretch. Musically it’s very different from what I was doing with the Mind Destroyers, but just playing together felt pretty natural. We kind of just popped right into it.KAYLEE PRESTON: We changed a lot as a band, too.AK: Yeah, yeah. It took a while for everyone to adjust to me.AD: Yeah, this is a two part question - how did you guys adjust to Andrew joining the band?KP: Oh, just hated him. No, it was great. Everything kind of changed, our whole sound got heavier.AK: You guys always say that, but I will say that there are two songs that you guys wrote before I joined the band that are still our heaviest songs.KP: Well sure, we were going that way.MATT CIARLEGLIO: I think you mean heavy, with the amount of riffage, but I think the main thing when Drew joined the band was that we actually started thinking about our songs structurally and musically a lot more. Instead of it being just an onslaught of fucked-upness. Like, instead of seeing who can riff the most in the smallest amount of time, lets spread it out over the course of the song and think about the dynamic.AK: Add some space and groove…RALPH DARSKI: If anything, you’ve brought a lot of groove.AK: Groove is important to me, personally.MC: Also, lots of gas.AD: That is a great segue for another question I have! Ralph, I hear you claim to know each band member by their farts.RD: It’s true!AD: Want to give us a quick description of everyone’s?KP: When do you ever smell my farts? That’s bullshit!RD: Well, that’s the thing, I know if it’s Matt’s because it’ll be a sharp, stingy one. And Drew’s just lingers, it’s just there like a funky fog. And Kaylee’s it happens and it’s gone.MC: A flash in the pan!KP: A funky fog, a flash in the pan! God, this is hilarious.AD: What are Ralph’s like?KP: SauerkrautMC: Ralph’s are like The Mist, where it’s just moist and you can feel it seeping in and then it just dries. Leaving you like, “aw man."KP: Multiply this by like 1,000 when we are on tour.AD: What’s the grossest thing that has happened on tour?MC: Things grosser than one should ever know...RD: I will say, one time we were on tour and the first night we pull up to Bloomington or something and this guys says “I’m going to take a shit right here!” And he drops his pants and just starts shitting right on the street, right on the street, first night on tour!KP: He was also wearing an America’s Funniest Home Videos shirt.MC: On our first tour we went to Indianapolis and we didn’t really know who we were staying with so we call this guy and we’re like “Hey, we’re at your house…” and he says “OK I’ll be right out.” And this guy pulls up, that we think it's the dude we’re staying with, but it’s a random stranger. And so we are all like “Let's go get some beer” and the guys yells “Yeah, lets get some beer! I’m going to take a shit right here!” And our old bandmate Todd was like “Yeah, I’ll get beer with this guy.” So after he shits on the ground they jump in his van and drive off and five minutes later the dude we were actually staying with shows up. We freaked out and told him that our bandmate Todd is in a van with a stranger who just shit on the ground.AD: And that’s why Todd’s not in your band anymore…just kidding.RD: Yeah, and I’m calling him and he’s not answering...MC: It worked out, he eventual made it back with beer and a really cool video.AD: The "Cole’s Bathroom" video you did, was that based on actual bathroom graffiti?MC: A few years ago before we wrote the song "Cole’s Bathroom," I kept getting text messages that were pretty vile like “Who’s this blah blah, I hear you want to suck my dick” and it went on for over a month. Finally someone told me that my name and phone number were all over the bathroom walls at Cole’s. So finally a bunch of my friends and myself finally scratched them all off, I can’t say for sure who it was, but I have some ideas. So, after that we wrote the song "Cole’s Bathroom."AD: So you guys have done two videos now, "Cole’s Bathroom" and the one Mark just did for "BROKE." How did you guys all work cohesively put them together?RD: The Cole’s one was pretty off the cuff, we just decided we wanted to do it and went to Cole’s after close one night. This one we did for BROKE, we worked on that for a couple weeks figuring out the story and locations before we even started shooting. We learned a lot from "Cole’s Bathroom" on what not to do to make a music video. Even with this one, we learned some more things not to do.KP: It was pretty well organized, but at the end of the night at 3 or 4 in the morning when everyone’s wasted things get a little hairy.AD: How many hours do you think you spent on it collectively, between planning, filming, and editing?KP: I wasn’t there for a lot of it because I got a concussion like the first day.AD: How’d that happen?KP: I got kneed in the face by Hannah Hazard, of Lil Tits fame. It happens.MC: It probably took over 100 hours, at least. Mark did a ton of work with all the major editing and all.AD: If you had an endless budget what kind of story line would you do?RD: Well, one that Mark brought up was sweet. Drew goes to a thrift store and finds an inter-dimensional device. But he only has enough to get the knock off brand, so he gets the generic one and we’re trying to figure it out, but it’s all in a different language. We decide “Maybe if we play music it will turn on!” So we start playing and it turns on and zaps us to different places.AD: Kaylee, I was reading an interview you did with Tom Tom Magazine where you said you like to take traditional styles and throw your own spit in. How do you keep your spit fresh?KP: The easy answer is that my boyfriend is a fanatic, a drum enthusiast to the max. I can’t get up in the morning and have a coffee without three drums videos waiting for me. I like to practice by myself a lot, too. Not with either of the bands I’m in, just to fine tune and throw some different styles into my playing.AD: So you played a lot of basement shows for a while and I hear you all had an affinity for getting people in their underwear pretty quickly. What’s your secret?MC: We played a couple shows with the SCREAMING FEMALES at the Hideout where some bras and panties got thrown on stage.RD: I think it’s easy when people are drunk and sweaty in a basement, if you start taking off your clothes, they’ll start taking off their clothes, especially if you’re playing raging music.MC: Ralph has definitely gotten naked a couple of times.KP: You have to understand from my perspective on stage that was terrifying. I just look up and see naked Ralph bending over - it was the worst.RD: Still she is in the band though, so...KP: I’m a tough bitch.MC: There was a show a while ago that we played on Cinco de Mayo with Killer Moon at the Mutiny. When you play there you get three drinks of your choice. One of those options is a pitcher of Long Island Ice Tea, so we were all pretty much blacked out when we played.KP: I don’t even remember where this story is going…MC: I remember that in the middle in one of the songs I turned around and looked at Kaylee and Ralph had his pants off and Todd had his pants around his ankles and everyone in the crowd was screaming “Take your pants off!” So we played the rest of our set with our pants off and Todd mooned everyone, I rolled around in some broken glass and ran outside with no pants on.AD: What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen happening from the stage?KP: Matt strangling someone for touching him with their bare butt!AD: From all the crazy basement underwear shows, and brawls, and just the insane amount of people in show photos I've seen it seems like you guys were pretty notoriously wild. How has that energy grown and changed for you guys over the years?RD: In a way we still have that energy, we're still passionate and excited about what we're playing, but I think we've started to move past that whole party band sort of thing. We all grew up a bit and have more things to say and express through music than just having a good time. The feeling is all still there, but we're a little more put together now.AD: Let’s say we’ve hypothetically kept all the blood and sweat that’s been spilled at your shows over the years in giant tubs and you get to use it all at once - what would you do with it? MC: Make it into soap and sell it. Rabble soap, “Made with your own sweat and blood.”KP: We could put it in the Rabble sauce! It could be the special ingredient.AD: Oooh, what’s Rabble sauce? Tell me about that.RD: Yeah, we’re going to sell it on tour. It’s a secret sauce that you put on pizza that we developed.MC: We made this up when we recorded our record with our friend Phil and we bought like 20 pizzas from Aldi and we had all these sauces and condiments and all these special ingredients, maybe they’re illegal, maybe they’re not, but we made them into Rabble Sauce.AD: You guys want to tell me about the recording process for your upcoming album, BRAIN HOLE? I know you recorded one album out in a barn somewhere, right?RD: That was just two songs, out in the barn.MC: Our last 7” was recorded in barn above an antique store.AD: Yeah, you guys put all kinds of prizes in those, right? What kind of prizes were they?RD: We had like radom family photos…KP: And someone’s professional head shots.RD: While we were on tour, this photo studio closed down next to the venue we were playing at and we put in all the photos from the shop.AD: What’s the deal with BRAIN HOLE, where did you record that?RD: We did half at our old studio practice space - it’s called Soapbox. We did the bass and drums there, the other half we did at our friend Phil Karnat's house in Kildeer, IL. AD: How are you guys feeling about BRAIN HOLE?KP: It’s the best yet.RD: I think no ones going to expect it, in a way.KP: You can actually hear your voice, that’s a big thing.AD: Is that just from you feeling more comfortable showcasing the vocals…RD: It’s mainly the quality of the recording.MC: Also, the idea we had behind it. A lot of our previous records were just off the cuff and not really produced. With this record we decided instead of just rushing through it, let's put layers on it and produce it and add sounds that we can’t really recreate live, but still have that same energy that we have live. We have cello, Emily Cross does background vocals for us...RD: We have synths, which we never play on stage. I think in terms of vocals we actually had a clear concept of what it was about, instead of it just being “Oh, this is a song about how I got drunk that one night.” We actually had an idea and wanted to use feelings about living today and being online and who are we and all that shit.AD: Yes! I always get so overly passionate when I think about how important our generation is as far as witnessing these insane technological advancements. We’re the bridge generation! We grow up when VHS’s were the top of the line and now I know 7 year olds who have iPads, babies grow up with iPhones in their faces!RD: Right, it's just insane. If you're in to all that, you will definitely get Brain Hole.AD: Do you guys write your songs collaboratively? AK: Unfortunately yes, which is what takes so long.RD: It makes it longer of a process but...AK: It does, but it also allows each of us to have our individual voice in each song.RD: It’s important. It’s always been that way. I started the band, but it’s not MY band, it’s ours.AK: Part of why everything takes longer for us, we’re some of the busiest mother fuckers in the city.AD: Yeah, you guys have other bands, multiple jobs, kids, run businesses. It's very impressive. RSVP for FREE ENTRY to Rabble Rabble's record release hereand head over to Logan Hardware Records to pre-order your very own copy of Brain Hole today!
For our first Free Monday of June, we're celebrating eight years of the Chicago band Magical Beautiful, the supremely dubbed-out, psychedelic synth pop band led by Tyson Torstensen. We'll let Tyson tell the band's story in his own words..."For several years, the band was just Tyson, plus whomever was available within the group of his talented new Chicago friends, (who were often conscripted into playing an instrument they hadn't played much before). In the summer of 2009, Magical Beautiful stumbled into a stable lineup with Nick Broste, Charlie Vinz and Alance Ward becoming consistently more involved in the creation of the music. Over these years, the sound has restlessly shifted from whimsical psych pop to more beat-oriented, heavily dubbed-out and brooding synth pop. Curiously, even though the members of MB are all in their mid-60's, 2014 finds them playing considerably more aggressive guitar-driven rock, and still just as obsessed with sound manipulation and mind-fuckery. The band is currently in the middle of making their third album, tentatively titled Discover Death."Listen to a new Magical Beautiful song, "Burst Black," which is indicative of what they'll be playing at this show:In celebration of the 8th anniversary, Tyson also posted, for the first time on the internet, the first album he made as Magical Beautiful back in 2006. Listen to it here:Last things last: The band will be selling their LPs and shirts (and whatever else they can scrounge up) for VERY cheap at the show. Magical Beautiful is going to be sandwiched between two great Chicago bands. Opening is the minimalist haunting pop trio Columba Fasciata (featuring members of Toupee) and POPULATION headlines with a set of their gothic, industrial punk annihilation. See you here!RSVP on Facebook*Editor's note: The members of Magical Beautiful are not in their 60's.