This Week's Big Event - hmmm what could that be?

I first heard of Touch and Go Records when I went up to Sound Exchange, er, Record Exchange on Westheimer in the early 90's with a handful of de Schmog singles. I asked Dorothy what I could do about getting the disks out. de Schmog wasn't exactly looking for a label - for one thing we couldn't tour and for another we were gung ho about the whole DIY thing, but some distribution would be nice. Dorothy immediatly brought up Touch and Go. Then she wrote down Corey's contact info. I think I sent some disks (we quickly ran out anyway) but the conversation got me to look closer at what they were doing in Chicago (I know I was slow to come around). Wowee they were putting out some good stuff. I actually already owned a few Touch and Go releases, including "The Greatest Gift" a Scratch Acid anthology. Anyway the point is that for such a small scale homey operation, Corey's reach was far and wide and he earned a good deal of respect from countless numbers of scenester types from small label operators to musicians to fans. I hope this weekend's festival makes him proud. I'll be there for killer Saturday: holy shit Scratch Acid, Killdozer, Big Black and my favorite Welsh ex-pats Jon Langford and Sally Timms (not that you can go a weekend in this town without seeing one of those two somewhere).

In other going's on...

I'll be at JuniorTown's opening this Friday playing a little acoustic music with churchbus trumpeteer Chris Erin. Here's the info (should be good!)

JUNIORTOWN!
1255 W.18th
Pilsen

RE-OPENS THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH 6PM
WITH PART #1 of our '' BACK TO BASICS'' SERIES:

''DRAWING''

FEATURING THE WORK OF:

JOHN SALHUS
KATHLEEN JUDGE
PETER POWER
ANDREW PACZOS
KAYLEE WYANT
DUK JU L KIM
E WILLIAMS
GABRIEL VILLA
JOHN ESSEN
LISA YU

Thors Day

On the rabid advice of Ramon Medina (and in part thanks to his excellent photography). I shall be heading to the Note tomorrow to catch Zolar X and Thor. As if I needed any more convincing than Ramon's post-show-post, the most Skynrd-y Velcro Lewis and His 100 Proof band open.

I saw Velcro and Co. at Cal's Fest a few weeks back and was very happy to see them in top form, particularly since their original drummer Bill Roe quit playing with them just as he joined THE LATEST. As good as Bill is, Velcro replacement drummer Hawk Colman is a perfect fit.

Unfortunately I probably won't get to see Velcro play as I have rehearsal and it being a four band line-up I highly doubt I'll get there in time.

Also on the bill, from San Fransico's Tenderloin district, Triclops!.

Crikey

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed in what would normally be a freakish accident. Considering the personality involved, "death by stingray" isn't so surprising as sad as it is. He was only 44 years old. What makes it freakish to me is the popularity it has brought to this blog.

This Site has had 3,766 visits so far today and it is 9:40 AM. The site got twenty new visitors just between 9:37:21 am and 9:39:07 am. The surge in readership is due to a Google Image Search glitch. I link to a Steve Irwin image in a distant post. The image itself doesn't even appear on the blog and I was referring to a character at a bar who looked like Steve Irwin so the post isn't even about him. However a Google Image Search for Steve Irwin links directly to this site for image number 5, a rather appealing shot of the deceased.

This glitch has been going on for a while however not so many people have been looking for a Steve Irwin image up until now. It didn't take long to figure that he was up to some sort of mischief. So I went to the New York Times site and sure enough...

It's only September 4th and this month's bandwidth for disclexington.com is almost maxed out. That's because my blogger profile image is stored on disclexington.com and that image appears on every page of this site. Also another disclexington.com image appears on the page Google accidentally takes image searchers to (oddly enough that image is a show poster for an Australian Rockabilly band, the Red Hot Poker Dots*). I removed these images so as to reduce costs.

Maybe I can recoup the loss in Adsense revenue, hmmmm.

*It's occurred to me that some logic in the google search engine combines the text referring to the Australian band with the show poster image and the Steve Irwin reference causing this problem.

New Track du Jour

track du jour

Artist: THE LATEST
Track: the Whistler
Location: El Goodo Audio (Chicago,IL)
Date: 09-17-2006
Comment: Allow me some self-indulgence. Hell what am I saying, you're gonna have to allow me a lot of self-indulgence if you're looking at this site. Anyway here's one more from THE LATEST's new self-titled release on Bob Taylor's Recent Records. This track features Mike Fitzpatrick on vox. Mike's having his own musical glory dance these days as a main contributer to two hot garage bands here in Chicago, Headache City and Cococoma. But for a little while anyway THE LATEST got him too. Unfortunately we are seeing the last of THE LATEST in this form anyway. Frontman Bob Taylor is leaving for the past and future pastures of Austin Texas this Fall.

THE LATEST plays its last show at Cal's on Sunday September 17th with the most excellent Submarine Races. Come out, it'll be a blast.

Email me if you want a CD - it's really good and I can hook you up.
click below to listen (requires FLASH)...
track du jour

Hey Chicago! Tonight...

A message from Kris Poulin:

Hello friends,

This time there's a theme: Red.

Camaro Rouge
Love Story in Blood Red
Red Chamber

play this Thursday, August 31st, at Darkroom (2210 W. Chicago) at 9pm.

$7 get you in.

We asking everyone to wear red. Unite in color! Red shirts, red dresses, red pants, red socks, red hats, red shoes, red sunglasses, red gloves, red undies, red eyes. We want to see an entire Darkroom full of red!

We're also hoping that there will be drink specials on red drinks (vodka cranberry, Red Stripe, Bloody Mary, etc.). This is not confirmed, but we're working on it.

Red. Red. Red.

Where are all my black friends?

Fact is I don't have any, not any close black friends. Why? Well it's actually easy to explain I guess. I don't hang out in black neighborhoods or establishments and for that matter not many black people hang out in the places you can normally find me. Civil Rights may have come (and gone) but that didn't really bring us people together. Still I have been influenced strongly by several black individuals and of course Black American Culture has had a big influence on me musically.

Why am I bringing this up? Because we're six months away from Black History Month and if I'm gonna have anything to say about Black Culture, I'm doing it now away from all the hullabaloo. And why might I have anything to say about black culture? Because I keep this stupid site going and it's supposed to be about cultural affairs that inspire me, particularly in the city where I live.

This city happens to be a pivot point of Black American Culture. It's where Blacks came to better themselves from the rural South. It's where Blues was electrified and thrust upon the world. Chicago was Martin Luther King Jr's last home, Malcom X and Fred Hampton's as well. It is home to Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition, Barrack Obama, Buddy Guy, R Kelly, Ebony and Jet magazines, the Nation of Islam and Oprah - to name a few.

So I'm going to spend a few posts talking about Black Culture from the perspective of a white boy who got his musical start funking up some f*cked up family memories in a band influenced by the urban black-meets-whitey college boy Texas Funk scene. If that doesn't tempt you to stay tuned, how's this? -> My great grandfather designed the first church built specifically for a black congregation in Houston; as a young boy my big black nanny drove a huge 70's Ford LTD's and used snuff; I worked summers under the wing of my own Injun Joe; I once kept Albert Collins' guitar chord from coming unplugged as he waltzed through the crowd in a Texas night club; and a couple of years ago I went on the road as the photographer for the Sears Associate Gospel Choir to the NAACP convention in Milwaukee.

Cheer up Little Indie Rocker. The Bottle tells you it is time for a good chuckle...

This might come as a surprise but Chicago indie rockers have funny bones. At least that's what the Empty Bottle, the brick and mortar determiner of indie hipness in this town, is impressing upon their drones. The butthole is promoting comedy night at Weed's, a Goose Island bar not normally known for laughs.

While Chicago is known for many fine comedy establishments that continue to deliver the goods, none are quite hip enough for the Bottle which is now a "brand" to be exploited establishing hipness far beyond the confines of the well worn Western Avenue night club.

I'd warn you that mixing the weed and the bottle is not a good idea but would you kids listen?

I'm in the corner that says Comedy (with a capital C) certainly needs a good kick in the pants. Just turn to Comedy Central for an hour or watch the disappointing "the Aristocrats" (or anything by the always disappointing Will Ferrell, etc) to find out just how insular, self-congratulatory, immature, and uninspiring Comedy has become. BUT two wrongs don't make a right and mixing this insular self-congratulatory immature and uninspiring indie scene with comedy sounds about as funny as sending Albert Brooks to the Middle East.

The Reader calls it "stand-up for the stand-and-nod" and that about sums it up.

The Return of Brando

Brandon Holbrook - loving husband, father, web guru, and lead guitarist of de Schmog - now has a MySpace page. Holler at him will you? Let him know his presence is felt.

He is doing a noble thing these days, giving de Schmog a MySpace home. Check it out. If you can, please comply with his request for photos and other de Schmog memorabilia.

You see, de Schmog being one of those pre-internet bands, the digital material is just now slowly emerging. With that in mind, we also have an outstanding request for an mp3 version of the Fairy Tale for the free online deSchmogabase. If you can provide that, your deed will be appreciated by tens if not twenties of deLighted fans.

Tonight Marcos Raya Opening Cafe Duvall

Looking for something interesting to do this evening? An Art Opening just around the corner from me looks good. Everybody knows that openings aren't the best time to view art because of the distractions. The distractions on the other hand can be worth the fuss. In this case, the art is housed in a small Tango cafe owned by William Duvall.

Aside from the potential to meet long legged women, there's the chance to rub elbows with Robert Duvall who just happens to be the proprietor's uncle. Incidentally this makes the second establishment in a two block radius of my house to be managed -to some extent- by the relative of a Hollywood star (George Wendt's sister bartends at a nearby Italian restaurant).

You might even get something out of the art since the body of work is small and the space intimate.

More on the artist Marcos Raya (pictured here as Frida Kahlo).

Cafe Duvall
2257 W23rd Place
Chicago, IL 60608

*picture courtesy of artnet.com

Headache City on This American Life: Tomorrow

Note from Norah -

Hey everyone! Headache Citywill have a song on NPR's This American Life this Friday! Its our one minute interpretation of the folk song, The Cat Came Back. Please listen! Check out www.thislife.org for programming info. Its on at 7 pm here!

The Chicago Loop Alliance Loopy Loop the Loop Tours

The Chicago Loop Alliance, basically the Chamber of Commerce for the downtown area, put together a trio of audio tours along with corresponding loop maps that highlight the cultural attractions in Arts, Theater and Landmarks. Friday, Tricia and I did all three tours at once.

It was a beautiful summer day, sunny but not too hot so a perfect day to wander. The tours proved geographically easy to combine but posed a tricky mp3 queuing problem especially since Tricia and I were sharing one player. No matter, there was time between stops (even combining all three tours) for both of us to get the info. Running Time for each spot rarely went over two minutes.

The Chicago Loop Alliance is a business group so unsurprisingly the audio is bland, the information scandal-less and the tempo cheerful. Many of the spots give nothing that PBS-watching Chicagoans don't already know along with vapid quotes like "You know it's Christmas in Chicago when you see the big wreathes around the Lions (in front of the Art Institute) like collars." The Theater Tour is particularly frustrating because in every instance* the listener is acutely aware that being outside is no fun. It's like saying you've been to a city because you had a stop over at the airport.

Still occasionally we were informed and it got us out on a great day and put us into interesting spots where the highlights from the tour were generously accentuated by their locality.

Top Ten List

1. The Public Gardens at the Art Institute - these gardens have been overshadowed by millennium Park since we've been in Chicago.

2. Four Seasons by Marc Chagall. Nice mosaic, don't think I've taken a close look at it before. It attracts French speaking tourists too.

3. The commentary for the Crown Fountain had a nice reference to "a modern day gargoyle."

4. Carbide and Carbon building - always a fun building to gawk at and wander through the black on black lobby (now the Hard Rock Hotel).

5. Baja Fresh - I know it's a chain but it's pretty damn good and where else can you eat cheap and good downtown? Their fresh fish tacos are goooood. (p.s. not on the official tour)

6. Walking through the DuBuffet

7. Finally trying Garrett's cheese popcorn on a tourist tip and being impressed.

8. Being outside and walking around on a really nice day

9. Finally deciding to stop messing around with the stupid mp3 player and just be happy to be alive.

10. Being Alive.

*except perhaps the Chicago Theater just because of the sign. I'd say the Ford Theater too but it's best exteriors features are obscured by obnoxious Wicked signage.

Kashmere High School Band

Thanks to Erin for turning me on to this All Things Considered story written by Austin writer David Brown. I have to admit I was not aware of this Houston phenomenon. If anybody has more info, bring it on.

Hey Chicago, Tres Chicas at Schubas Tonight.

North Carolina's Tres Chicas plays Schubas tonight. These gals sound good. I know Caitlyn Cary from her days scooping ice cream at Dolce Fredo in Houston but you'd likely know her from her hard fiddlin' with Whiskeytown.

If you go bring Caitlyn a bottle of Dewar's for me and a big hug. I'll pay you back.

where are dem sweeneys?

portland

Hey Chicago! Brazilian Political Physical Therapy Film and Workshop

I don't know exactly what that means either but a good friend is touring the country promoting his film. I've seen the trailer and it looks interesting. If you go, say hello to Nick for me and give him a big squeeze

7/18 Acme Art Works, 1741 N Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647,
773.278.7677, 7pm film, 8pm workshop

http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/index.php

documentary: Soma: An Anarchist Therapy (DVD shot in Brazil subtitles
in English)
With difficulty walking and half-blinded from torture by the Brazilian
military dictatorship, 79 year old Roberto Freire continues to develop
somatherapy, completing his life's work. Incorporating the ideas of
Wilhelm Reich, the politics of anarchism, and the culture of the
martial art / dance capoeira angola, Soma is used by therapists
organized in anarchist collectives to fight the psychological effects
of authoritarianism.
more info: somadocumentary.com

workshop:
Nazis Vs. Zapatistas: The Struggle Against Co-optation
Informed by Zapatista principles, the workshop develops a skill set
for identifying, challenging and defeating the authoritarian tool of
co-optation. Wanting to study fascist and pre-fascist organizing
directly, Nick has been attending conferences, meetings, presentations
and fund-raisers of the far right, including: The Ku Klux Klan, Focus
on the Family / Lovewonout, Republican Party of Texas, Lyndon
LaRouche, The Minutemen, and Tom DeLay. The workshop examines
philosophies, structures and psychology, comparing authoritarian
models to those that are consensual, communitarian or autonomous.
more info: http://nickcooper.com/antipowerworkshop.htm


--
peace,
Nick
freerads.com
nickcooper.com
houston.indymedia.org
somadocumentary.com
nickcooper.com/antipowerworkshop.htm

Sweeney Tracker

The Sweeneys are now in Central Oregon at Rosie's Mountain Coffee House featuring a deli & pastries and FREE INTERNET ACCESS powered by WVI.

New Track du Jour

track du jour

Artist: Debbie
Track: Crazy
Location: Log Cabin (Joseph, Or)
Date: 07-04-2006
Comment: Tricia and I are on a trip across the Pacific Northwest. We stopped at Wallowa Lake outside Joseph, OR so we could see fireworks that night. Instead we visited with new friends Debbie, Arnitra and Debbie's dog honey. We sang some songs, drank some wine, and talked about all kinds of stuff.

track du jour

North by Northwest

Keep up with the Sweeneys this summer on a photo excursion from the middle to the Northwest and back again.

More Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes

Here are notes I jotted down over the four years and four months I worked at Sears. I left them in B6-256B in case they're helpful to followers.