NETHERFRIENDS

Netherfriends:::::::Lincoln Hall:::::Empty Bottle:::::The Whistler::::::::2010

Netherfriends is:

Shawn Rosenblatt: absolutely everything under the sun good times.

There are other guys performing live who do things good too.

 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It all started right before I became an intern at Biz3.  I was going to Columbia College and had just started this band what(!) shall remain nameless for many reasons.  I met with Biz3 publicist, Dana, one brisk morning in 2009 to go over some ideas for publicizing the group and get some much needed career advice.  I was with my brother, Jeff, and my dear friend, Kyle. 

Hungover yet totally looking really good, we hobbled into the offices of the Portfolio Center and were greeted by some counselor guy named David.  Now, I had heard of Netherfriends before.  I mean, I was going to Columbia College, of course I knew who they were but this guy would not stop talking about them.  He showed me every page on their website, their press kit, their family photos, the .GIF animations they made of their puppies and put on Stumbleupon, well, no he didn’t but you get my point… So here we are in the Portfolio Center and I’m all like, “Netherfriends Shmetherfriends, my band is way cooler than those Animal Collective spawn.  You guys should be showing my awesome stuff in the Portfolio Center.”  That was about the time I realized I didn’t have anything to show and up to that point had never done anything remotely cool with life, the universe, or anything.  I kept my mouth shut until my time came.

Inside the office, Dana was sitting at a desk smiling politely.  She introduced herself.  Kyle and I froze like idiots and Jeff did all the talking.  Like I said, we looked particularly dapper that morning despite the icky hangover sweat and apparently vacant motels that were our brains.  Dana said she thought we were cute and then, since we had nothing interesting to show for ourselves… started talking about Netherfriends too.  Ha!  I was blown away.  How in the world has this Netherfriends guy made so many friends?  It wasn’t until about a year and a half later that I got to ask Shawn Rosenblatt, Netherman extraordinaire, that very question.

A bunch of time and many more Netherfriends encounters later as seemingly the entire city of Chicago was falling in love with them, including me…

It was fall, 2010, slightly raining.  I was walking into Reckless Records on Milwaukee with Kyle when, who do I run into but my old music school buddy, Shawn.  We locked eyes, smiled, shook hands, gave quick meaningless updates on life and our estranged music school brethren.  Then, Shawn said something that made me cough on my own spittle, “My band, Netherfriends.”

Me, utterly shocked, “Holy shit, I just saw you guys!  I didn’t even recognize you.  Ha!  You guys are blowing up.  Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you’re in Netherfriends.  That’s crazy!”  Turns out he is Netherfriends practically and was even doing it, touring and recording, while I was in sightsinging class with him and I never had a clue.  I remember him from those days (2006-07?) as being a sharply dressed yet impossibly shy hipster music nerd.  I always wanted to jam with him too but never asked.  How stupid am I?  Music school was complicated, so competitive.  We ended up exchanging numbers and I went to see his show the following Tuesday at the Empty Bottle because, hey, it’s free and Netherfriends, I had come to understand, were completely fucking awesome.  I have since come to understand that Shawn is completely fucking badass at pretty much everything and that, apparently, is the key to success.

The show at the Empty Bottle rocked.  The place was packed.  I was with Kyle, again (Kyle, get out of my stories!).  I ran into Thomas, Biz3 publicist and front man of Chicago’s Heartichoke.  He told me that Shawn and his friend were roommates and the world shrunk again yet was still infinitely gigantic.  Shawn had given me a download of his newest album, Barry and Sherry. My favorite track is “Bret Easton Ellis Novel.”  He closed with it.  Kyle even liked it which, trust me, never happens.  His words, “This band is truly exceptional.”

A week later I went to see Netherfriends again at the Whistler in Logan Square.  Same story only I went with my friend, Jolie, this time.  She used to hang out at a gallery that he used as a rehearsal space.  This show was phenomenal as well.  Shawn’s drummer is a prodigy.  His songwriting is world class.  His work ethic is intense.  His voice is found.  He needs more fans and a major record deal.

Check out their blog for fun stories and videos:

http://netherfriends.blogspot.com/     

I was given this interesting link for you all to lose yourselves in, a brand new, very atypical, album recorded over Christmas week 2010!:

http://netherfriends.bandcamp.com/album/alap

(The album is free.  Type “0” in the name your price section)

Psych Fest at the Hideout

Matt - Napoleonette

Matthew Friedberger begins his year long quest to prove to the world that he is the best it has to offer, something we(I?) here at Dedchicago already knew.  From Thrill Jockey Records, Jan. 2011, "Napoleonette."
*Link fixed 1/24/11- sorry!

Matt - Napoleonette

Times New Viking ::::::::::Metro 11/15/08 + Empty Bottle 10/15/09::::::::::

TIMES NEW VIKING is:



Adam Elliot – sings and drums really good

Beth Murphy – sings and keyboards better every day, so cool

Jared Phillips – guitars excellently like he’s really good or something

::::::::::Metro 11/15/08:::::::Empty Bottle 10/15/09::::::::::

First off, the Metro.  It was probably the worst hangover I’ve ever had.  I remember almost passing out from vertigo when I made the mistake of bobbing my head.  I knew I shouldn’t have done it but they were so good and I had never heard them before.  Self control… I have none.  I remember as they took the stage I couldn’t figure out if Jared was cool or not.  He’s so tall and had really nerdy hair but his guitar was badass so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Then they started.  The first song was a bit rocky but then, whoosh!  They exploded.  Adam’s hair was still long.  He had his microphone about an inch from his snare drum and his shoulder length mop draped so that he was actually drumming on his own hair.  Really, why am I so focused on their hair?  Beth’s hair was nice but her mic was too quiet.  The sound usually blows at the Metro.  Onwards.  Adam’s microphone (as per usual) was blown which gave his vocals this crazy distortion.  My friend, Caitlin, was with me that night; she didn’t like them much.  C’est la vie.  They’re a polarizing band and not for the normal or well adjusted.  Ha!  The funny thing is that I know that Caitlin’s going to be mad at me for saying she’s well adjusted; it’s a compliment.

Eleven months go by, my heart is swelling day to day as I fall deeply in love with this grungy psychedelic mess that is Times New Viking.  I download all their albums and buy Rip It Off on vinyl which I highly recommend everyone in the entire world does.  I’m sure Matador is aware of how extreme my influence on the outside is so, hear that guys?  Better start the presses.  Ok, sorry, keep going…  God, where was I?  Re-read…  Man, I haven’t even started.  So I had yet to this point convinced a single other soul of the awesomeness of Times New Viking and was forced to go to this show solo.  I got their waaaaay to early and sat at the bar alone for like two hours diddling stupid poems in my journal (that Caitlin bought for me in Italy, thanks!).  I was also extremely broke and spent pretty much all of my money on the five dollar admission.  No beer for me.  At one point Beth came and sat next to me at the bar.  We didn’t talk but she seemed really nice and smiled at me politely as she sat down to eat her hipster hash from next door (which I coveted biblically). 

I eventually got bored and walked down the street to my friend Molly’s place (aka the Hobbit Hole) and got really stoned.  Whoops, here we go.  I don’t usually smoke so I had a full on anxiety attack as I walked back into the Empty Bottle and started bumping into people everywhere being the total klutz that I am.  Luckily, as Times New Viking took the stage, Adam announced he had been smoking crystal meth just minutes before and named his source in front of all of us.  Ha ha!  I didn’t feel too bad after that.  If he can do drugs and not be ashamed so can I, right?  This show was amazing.  There weren’t a lot of people there but the set list was killer, a back and forth between their pop punk (and I use that term loosely) and their gutter sludge punk from their newest badass album, Born Again (revisited).  Buy that one too if you can.

Times New Viking’s recordings are extremely lo-fi.  This may put some people off as you find yourself straining to cut through the abrasive textures.  There is nary a low end in sight for the majority of their catalogue.  Regardless of this, Times New Viking is responsible for some the most well written and catchiest, not to mention gut wrenchingly exciting music of the last decade.  They sound like a band of anarchists who are living inside of a disarmed nuclear weapon only they feel the need to arm it themselves, with love.  They are hippies but smart.  They are excellent musicians.  They have one of the most ridiculous and unique melodic styles I have ever heard.  They are evolving.  They’re a work of art.

Here’s a live concert which, oddly enough, is of a higher fidelity than any of their albums.  Please download this and buy their records.

Times New Viking - live WFMU

Discography:

Dig Yourself Silt Breeze 2005

Present the Paisley Reich Silt Breeze 2006

Rip It Off Matador 2008

Born Again (revisited) Matador 2009

Neil Young - Journey Through the Past

My Brother was entrusted with keeping my Dad’s records, his legacy, intact.  He thought that inviting homeless people in off the streets in Detroit to get drunk with him was somehow conducive to this.  Let me assure you, it wasn’t…

He describes the culprit of the great semi-failed record-destroying catastrophic flood tragedy of 2007 as a ghost-like apparition of an attractive girl in her early twenties, pale-skinned, complete with a thousand yard stare that would set Rambo on edge.  My brother, bless his heart, forgave her her obvious shortcomings and invited this girl into his life.  Not long after, as he arrived home from god knows what awful reality, she was seen stumbling out of the house murmuring the words, “There was a great flood” in a voice so high and innocent, so deadpan in its refusal of knowledge or responsibility- what could he do but stand there and watch as she, like a zombie after Thanksgiving brains, drifted off, out of his house and down the street never to be seen again?  How's that for a complex sentence!

Can you believe it?  “There was a great flood.” And then, poof!  She’s gone!  I’m laughing now but Jesus, I think she ruined about 90% of my Dad’s record collection.  Limited edition promo only 7”s from his old buddy at the radio station, original pressings, all the cool album art!  Oh, the humanity!  Ah what the hell, classic rock sucks anyway right?  Here’s one that made it…

Journey Through the Past is definitely different.  It was never released on CD and never produced again after its original pressing on vinyl and cassette in 1972.  Most Neil Young fans don’t know of its existence.  Wikipedia has a great page on it so I won’t waste too much time explaining.  Here’s a little teaser to peak your interest.  There’s a track called ‘Soldier’ that was recorded live in a sawmill in which you can hear the roar of the sawdust burner blaring in the background.  Scintillating, isn’t it?  Download it nyaaaah…ahhhh..haha.  Take the ticket….

http://www.mediafire.com/?et8odsxaaa4mesf

-Jimmy Mac, from inside Casa de Murk: pre-flood circa 2006.

WHISKER MUSIC

Whisker Music is:

Anthony Ferretti - guitars and sings good

Lena Rush – bass and sings good

Colin Campbell – drums and does everything good

Save More Lounge 7/31/10:::::: Cole’s 10/23/10:::::: The Whistler 11/2/10::::::

        
Three times.  That’s how many times I’ve seen a guy bend a string like that.  Granted I love guitar music and yes, I know them, but sheesh, that guy can really bend a string.  They were definitely better than the other bands at Save More.  At Cole’s, there was a Tom Waits-y gypsy-type group that played before them.  I swear I recognized the lead, a white-haired forty something.  Lena said he was a family friend.  The Whistler.  It was Colin’s birthday.  Who knew?

Before I go any further, let me explain…  Anthony and Lena are the luckiest couple in the world.  Not only do they get to date the other nicest person ever but they get to play music with them too.  Could you imagine?  They know each other, like really know each other and you can hear it.  Lena’s bass playing and vocals are a perfect compliment to Anthony’s effortless Jeff Tweedy-but-better vocals and guitar work.  Actually, Tweedy should be paying Whisker Music to write their new material.  Colin's drumming, while not featured on this EP is spectacular, tight and efficient – almost orchestral.  Whisker Music is truly a paradigm of the traditional Chicago rock sound and few bands have reached the level they seem to so naturally coalesce and stretch out on.

I love this band and I’m going to see them again tonight at the Hideout.  Here is their EP.  I hope you like it.

Whisker Music EP

http://www.mediafire.com/?d7idkrfn53kktrl

 

            

GSMD: dedc memory scrolls unfurled

Great Society Mind Destroyers are:

 

ANJRU KIETERANG / VOCALS & GUITARS

BRETT BORDEN / GUITARS

WILL SAUCEDA / BASS

JIM LECHOCKI / DRUMS

SEA GREEN / TAMBOURINE

:::::::::::::::::::::::CHICAGO:EMPTY BOTTLE::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 8/31/10 + 10/11/10::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Empty bottle free shows, you can't beat 'em, and while I'm waiting for this blog to take off and the free tickets to start rolling in ya'll are gonna' to be seeing many more free show reviews. This is not a bad thing. Most of the acts who play at Empty Bottle are fucking awesome, Great Society Mind Destroyers included. 

Let's see- I somehow found GSMD's myspace page and heard the first track which obviously kicked ass, otherwise my friends never would have gone to the show with me. I drove. I brought my two best buddies...
Jolie got really drunk and had to lean on the wall while we smoked cigarettes.  Kyle got some kind of dementia and forgot about the whole thing while it was still happening.

Who knows what I did? Actually, I know what I did. I parked the car on Western. We got to the door. The super nice door guy let us in for free (because apparently sometimes you have to RSVP for these shows in order to get in for free and there is no way of ever possibly knowing that beforehand). Then we had whiskey shots and a beer. Missed the first two bands but let me tell you, the third was horrendously bad. The mood began to deteriorate quickly as I frantically tried to assure my friends that GSDM was going to be worth the wait. Who were those guys? It's better that I don't remember probably. Keepin' it drama free, we all know each other in chicago. But it's really nothing that a little detective work couldn't solve... And... it was Geffika!!! Ooooh sorry guys. Really, I am. However, this blog is not about trashing shitty bands. This is about spreading the word about good local bands that do exist and not only that but recording the memories of a lifelong music fanatic before he gets too old and forgets which brings me to my next point. Great Society Mind Destroyers ruled! Ya, I'm serious. They were amazing. They are the kind of good that makes you stand up, lose your inhibition completely and just freak the fuck out because you know, in a few years, they'll be famous and you won't even like them anymore because your fourteen year old neighbor has their shitty lame-ass comic book. That's how good they are.

It's now October 14 and I've seen this band twice. To describe, they look like a bunch of hippies a la Brian Jonestown which is to say, hippies without patchwork baggy pants. God do those pants get under my skin, I'll tell you! Their guitar player, Drew, is fantastic. He honestly stands out far and above pretty much any indie guitar players I've seen in Chicago (which is a lot). The rest of the band: almost as good. Drew has long blonde hair and shreds exactly as a kid who's fallen in love with drugs and Jimi should. He told me that he's in three other bands and while I love GSMD, to be honest, it shows. Most notably the second time around. They actually played better at the most recent show which was, um, tubular(?) but after a while you get to feel like there is something glaringly missing from their sets. You know how most bands kind of rise and fall in energy during a set and only once or twice a show give you that gleam, that original spark of brilliance that sets them apart from all other bands? Well, this band pretty much does that from the intro to the coda. They never freaking stop. If you like singer/songwriters, do not go see this band. If you like interesting music, beauty, life, creativity, texture in sound, emotion, drugs and/or love... Go see this band. Now. Tonight. What are you waiting for?

This track is called TEMPLE LURKER.
http://www.mediafire.com/?wwvqy67ci9eqqfi

It was recorded at the last Empty Bottle show on 10/11/10