Elgin band movin' up? Signed on indie label

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of a band and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

Gruff and throaty, yet melodic punk rock band The Brokedowns made a name for themselves around Elgin and Chicago late last century and have maintained a loyal fan base throughout.

In 1998, the Elgin four-piece released a demo tape followed by a few demo CD-Rs before the band saw its debut full-length release, "Let the Disappointment Begin," on Big Action Records in 2002. Since then, the band's released two more full-lengths and a handful of split 7-inches with other punk rock bands, like The Copyrights, The Arrivals, Turkish Techno and Sass Dragons.

The Brokedowns haven't had a full-length release since 2007's "New Brain For Everyone," but in June, an indie label with a successful catalog based out of Chicago called Red Scare Records decided it would put out the new Brokedowns album and added them to its roster of Teenage Bottlerocket, The Menzingers, The Lillingtons and others.

"There's so much going on right now with the label, and as we all know, these are bleak times for small indies like Red Scare," said label owner Tobias Jeg in a punknews.org article.

"But when I heard these songs, I just knew I had to make this happen. It reminds me of
Dillinger Four meets Black Flag meets (Naked) Raygun meets F***ed Up. It's thunderous punk rock but with great, stinging melodies and a little bit of fruitiness to make things fun."

Jeg will release the band's fourth full-length, "Species Bender," on Sept. 14.

A sneak peek at the album, upcoming shows, after the jump

On Tuesday, The Brokedowns posted two new songs to its MySpace page from the upcoming album. The songs, "Celebrity Death Panel" and "I'm a Ritual" accumulated over 200 plays in 12 hours. The new Brokedowns tunes are some of the most melodically infectious ones the band's churned out to date.

I am personally very excited for them. Signing to Red Scare is sure to bring them more fans in more places and only open more doors for the group, and after 12 years, I think they're deserving of it.

The "Species Bender" release show is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Ronny's (2101 N. California Ave., Chicago) with fellow Elgin-ers, Bust! and The House That Gloria Vanderbilt and Minneapolis' Double Bird. The show is 21+.


-- Jason Duarte, Freelance Writer

Link to story: http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/cn_bylines/2010/08/elgin_band_movin_up_in_the_world.html

Local vinyl enthusiasts can enjoy "music on the go," too

Link to blog: http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/cn_bylines/2010/08/_note_when_emily_mcfarlan.html

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of Rex Catapult and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

Today, MP3 players and car CD players make it easy for us to listen to music on the go, as opposed to just a few decades ago, when we'd have to sit at home within earshot of analog audio. But did you know that although digital formats have replaced vinyl records, many record labels are still pressing albums to vinyl for those of us who do like to sit at home and listen to music?

And, being there is a small, but present demand for vinyl records, labels are making it easy for vinyl enthusiasts to take part in the luxury that is "music on the go" without having to buy the album on two different audio formats.

In the past couple of years, purchasing vinyl came with a nice added perk. Depending on if the label chooses to or not, many records now come with a slip of paper containing a URL and a one-time use download code.

The coolest part about this is, you have the music in its raw analog format on the record, which some would argue sounds better and more full because what you're hearing is the raw, recorded sound that needed no condensing or converting. (Digital audio is condensed from its original analog format.)

In other words, digital audio doesn't capture the complete analog sound wave, but takes "snapshots" of it (digital takes 44,100 "snapshots" per second). So, if there is a very quick transition in say, a trumpet, the digital version may sound distorted because the instrument's fast change doesn't carry over to digital as fluid as it would sound recorded as it was played. Converting it is approximating the original sound, at best. Get it?

More about getting records, free digital versions, after the jump.

Anyway, audiophiles get to have the analog recording to listen to at home, but can take the digital copy to their car, MP3 player, etc.

All the record label has to do, should they choose to include a download code with their album, is let the pressing company know. (It costs a little bit extra for the label, but it markets their LPs to more people.) The pressing company will then set up a digital copy of the album on its server, and all customers have to do to get it the digital version is redeem the code.

It downloads as a nice, neat ZIP file, with the album artwork usually included as a JPEG.

I personally enjoy having the best of both worlds with one purchase. And, if I burn the MP3s to a CD, I don't feel like a jerk having a burned CD of the album because, hey, it's totally legit.

Where to buy records in Elgin? Check out Rediscover Records, 207 E. Chicago St., previously written up in The Courier-News.

The Dopamines, The House That Gloria Vanderbilt, Bi-Furious, Das Kapital at Mad Maggie's:

So here is the first installment of my weekly music blog for the Elgin Courier. It was Monday night's Dopamines show at Mad Maggie's in Elgin, IL. Rock!

http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/cn_bylines/2010/08/the_dopamines_the_house_that_gloria_vanderbilt_bi-furious_das_kapital_at_mad_maggies.html

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, sings backup in Rex Catapult and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.


After devouring a delicious sub sandwich for dinner, I headed over to Mad Maggie's (51 S. Grove Ave., Elgin) Monday night to catch a good ol' weeknight punk show. Headlining were The Dopamines, touring from Ohio in support of their new album, "Expect the Worst," out on Paper and Plastick Records. And supporting were some great Elgin/Chicago bands that have a tightly-knit following, but always have flown under the radar.

Elgin's The House That Gloria Vanderbilt and Bi-Furious and Chicago's Das Kapital opened the show. The House That Gloria Vanderbilt features Todd Pot, better-known as the vocalist from his former band, Apocalypse Hoboken. Bi-Furious features members of Elgin's Vacation Bible School and Sass Dragons, and Das Kapital features Marc Ruvalo, owner of Johann's Face Records. Vacation Bible School and Rex Catapult were supposed to play but couldn't.


More on the Elgin bands, links, after the jump.

Bi-Furious are a skate/thrash/hardcore band. The four-piece's songs were short, fast and aggressive, like a 21st Century Minor Threat or JFA.

The House That Gloria Vanderbilt strays from the standard punk rock formula, as they were more experimental punk/rock and sounded heavily influenced by the Butthole Surfers.

Das Kapital was a little more melodic, drawing influence from earlier punk bands like Naked Raygun and The Replacements.

The Dopamines are notorious for their rowdy (in a camaraderie sort of way) shows, where it's not uncommon to see beer cans flying at them or being dumped on any of the four members at any given time, or people crowd surfing and most definitely singing along.

They share a similar sound to The Copyrights and aren't out of arm's reach of The Ramones, at least as far as influence goes. They know their power chords and use them tactfully. The dudes played songs mostly off "Expect the Worst," but threw a few old ones in there, like "Molly," another song with a memorable and viral chorus. Most of the new stuff follows suit in that infectious vein. Songs like "You'd Make a Good Horse Cop" and "Cincinnati Harmony" echoed around in my head long after hearing them for the first time, and hearing them live (and with another guitar to fill out the sound) was great. I left Mad Maggie's with a copy of "Expect the Worst" on both CD and LP Monday night.

I almost forgot: Not playing on the recordings, but touring with The Dopamines on second guitar is Mike Yannich, best known as the singer/drummer for The Ergs! (NOTE: The exclamation point is an essential part of their name). After a few more Midwest shows, The Dopamines will play Canada and then continue touring the U.S. until the end of August.

Check out my weekly music blog for the Elgin Courier!

Here's my fancy "about me."

http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/cn_bylines/2010/07/introducing_our_new_music_guest_blogger_jason_duarte.html

NOTE: When I (Emily McFarlan) took over as your Readers' Reporter, lo those many years ago, and asked you, readers, what you were interested in reading, one of the very first responses I got was, "Did you know Elgin has an AWESOME music scene?" That launched a short-lived, semi-weekly Readers' Reporter column about local artists in The Courier-News' "Our" pages I had to drop after we made some changes to those pages. But this blog is supposed to be a place for those things we can't fit into the newspaper. And a place for conversation between readers and reporters.

Staff writer Katie Anderson has found a reader excited to write about the local music scene: Jason Duarte will be blogging Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines. Here's a little bit more about Jason...

Courier-News reporter (and close friend, former co-worker and classmate) Katie Anderson asked me to write a music blog for the Courier the other day. Immediately, I said OK. Actually, I think it was more along the lines of, "Yes! I've been longing for a writing outlet! Rad! Thank you!"

I had a weekly music blog at Eastern Illinois University's Daily Eastern News when I was the associate editor for The Verge, the DEN's weekly entertainment paper, from 2007 to 2008. I'd write about USB-equipped turntables, review albums and shows, interview musicians and write about not just music, but all things entertainment. After class and newspaper obligations, starting at 10 p.m., I worked with Katie at EIU's printing press throughout the week, developing the next day's newspaper. Around 2 a.m., I'd walk home with "news from the future," as I liked to convince my drunken college neighbors.

During my last semester at EIU, my Verge editor (now current Daily Herald reporter), Marco Santana and I, won third place in Illinois at the Illinois College Press Association for "Best Entertainment Supplement." We dug it, to say the least.


More on Jason's music cred, after the jump.

Two months after graduating in December 2008, I began freelancing for the Sun-Times News Group and began getting regularly published in the Naperville Sun. This was mostly hard news, something that was new for me, but I loved it. I jumped on every story I could but couldn't land a solid staff position, so I decided to follow another passion of mine in my free time and joined a pop/punk band in Bartlett, playing bass.

With them, I shared the stage with a lot of my favorite bands and played a lot of my favorite venues. I recorded with them, playing bass and doing few backup vocals on their second full-length album. We were signed to two record labels from Japan (both out of Hiroshima, which co-released both albums). In September, the labels booked us a six-show tour in Japan, so we flew out and played three districts in Tokyo (Shinjuku, Musashisakai and Akihabura), Hiroshima, Nagoya and Okayama with a lot of great Japanese bands. I learned a lot about Japan and the pop/punk subculture out there, which had a lot of differences and similarities to ours. I learned a lot about what they learned from the U.S., musically and how they are influenced by our culture and society. During that time, I also played bass in an instrumental surf/punk/rock band. I quit both bands in November.

By November, I decided I should get more serious about looking for a career.

In December, I decided to join another band called Rex Catapult. After a couple months of submitting applications and being fueled by resentment for my minimum-wage job, Country Sampler Group in St. Charles appointed me its catalog copy editor in February 2010 for both Country Sampler and Country Business Magazines. So I may be a working stiff most of the time, but in my free time, I book shows in Elgin and Chicago and play bass and sing backups Rex in Catapult.

So without meaning to sound real pretentious and long-winded, I accept the Courier's offer to blog weekly because music is what I am most passionate about and would love to incorporate it in my number two passion: writing.

I want to introduce you to new music, different music or even just peak your interest toward something new or foreign or something you may already even know, and ideally, I hope you teach me a thing or two. I want to incite discussion and conversation. Each week, I'll write about something different: shows in the Elgin area, reviews from shows that happened, shows that haven't happened yet, bands coming through, venues around town, album reviews, and I'll write about music-related topics, like how independent record labels are staying afloat, vinyl in the 21st century and topics of that nature.


-- Jason Duarte, Reader Reporter

Twilight is a load of horse shit

Before about 2 a.m. this morning, I had never seen a Twilight movie for a bunch of reasons:

1. I'm not a 13-year-old girl.
2. The "vampires" allegedly "sparkle" in direct sunlight.
3. Anything that Hot Topic pushes in their stores is a dead giveaway that it chugs a whole bunch of cock.
4. I don't particularly care about movies.
5. I don't particularly care about really popular fad movies like this whole resurgence of the fascination with vampires thing.
6. I can smell bullshit from a mile away.

Anyways, I'm not going to say why I went to the midnight showing of Twilight (my girlfriend SORT OF made me go), but I need to release pressure from my chest by listing off all the things that are fucked up about that horrible flick.

Fucked up thing number 1: Everyone is emo. Everyone. And it's really fucking lame. They're all infatuated with themselves, are socially awkward, cannot seem to convey their thoughts and emotions whatsoever and come across as fucking MORONS. Kind of like real emo people. Kind of like not only my generation (the kids who grew up REAL heavy on TV and fucking video games), but the younger generations now who have absolutely NO handle on things and may not know were to draw the line on say, death or sex, etc. in their heads.

Fucked up thing number 2: The so-called "werewolves" just walk around shirtless throughout the whole movie.
"Oh, it's so they don't rip their shirts when they transform into werewolves, silly!"
I am one step ahead of you polesmokers: Why do they still have shorts and socks and shoes on when they go back to human from werewolf? Furthermore, the females had shirts on to begin with and they came back with shirts on. So I would assume if those 'roided up high school fucks put a goddamn shirt on, they'd come back with theirs too. Oh wait, I forgot, it's Hollywood and they have to sell sex to a bunch of pre-pubescent girls who get all moist at the sight of a shirtless slightly older adolescent male.

Fucked up thing number 3: Off that, what the hell? There's already multiple generations of females walking the planet who feel inadequate, insecure, lost, depressed, confused and isolated because of social "norms" implemented by TV, advertisements and bullshit movies like this one. You have a kid? Your daughter gets on this Twilight wagon, she's probably going to be giving it up at the first immature understanding of "love" that this stupid movie (backed by millions of real people) drilled (and thus, validated) into her brain because like Kristen Stewart, she won't feel complete without a man in her life. Well fuck that codependency bullshit, at least when you're young and innocent and stupid and don't know any better. Be a goddamn kid and don't worry about the things that you might be doing when you're older.

Fucked up thing number 4: The vampires sparkle? Are you fucking kidding me? What could have been a redeeming quality of this horrible piece of shit was another thing that made it to this retarded list. They could at least do something cool in the sunlight like oh, I dunno: catch on fire!? Melt!? But they sparkle. And what's with the beginning of the movie when the vampire dude and Kristen Stewart are sitting in the field staring at each other and going back and forth about their bullshit insecurities? That shit was straight outta Star Wars: Episode III. That mime-looking son of a bitch (and the whole scene in general) set off my "I FUCKING HATE ANAKIN SKYWALKER" alarm. The only thing is, this Edward asshole had absolutely no chance of ever being a bad ass like Anakin did, so it wasn't as tragic. It was just sad. It was one self-pitying situation after another. Boo fuckin' hoo. I wish you weren't a vampire so you'd die.

Fucked up thing number 5: Kristen Stewart should not be innocent or exempt or made to look faultless by the author. If that was real life, and she allegedly loved that one dude, she wouldn't go making out with the other dude in front of him. There's a term for chicks like that. What is it? A slut, defined by my friend Merriam-Webster as "a promiscuous woman." Kristen Stewart, you're a liar and a slut. And you're pretty fuckin' dumb and boring to boot. Why you have two guys all bat shit about you is beyond me. But when you look at how retarded and afraid of confrontation and communication they are as well, I guess it makes sense. Fuck you, Kristen Stewart.

Fucked up thing number 6: These two dudes who allegedly have gigantic boners (though I saw no evidence of masculinity throughout the entire movie) for Kristen Stewart end up BUDDYING IT OUT in a fucking tent on the top of Mt. Everest or some shit. WHAT THE FUCK?! They are trying to bag the same chick!! She is right there!!! In fact, she is cuddling with one of the guys and the other guy is just sitting in the tent WATCHING THEM all SAD. It would have been the PERFECT opportunity for either one of those cocks to transform into whatever creature they could be and tear the other one apart. Vulnerability. Knowing your enemy. It's fucking key!!! Had that shirtless whiny asshole transformed into a werewolf in that tent, he could have killed the vampire dude when he was professing his thinly-disguised homoerotic love for him, thus causing there to be ONE guy for Kristen Stewart to make out with instead of two. Simple solution. There's a cancer - you get rid of it. Fucking weak. Another potentially redeeming scene shot to shit. You're both a disgrace. I was waiting for them to start cuddling. Maybe the shirtless werewolf guy could have made the cold vampire guy "feel" something warm. I bet. Then Kristen Stewart can go and be a housewife like she wants to be, deep down inside with someone who will at least HONESTLY treat her like the doormat she's played out to be.

Fucked up thing number 7: Now that I think of it, I didn't see one eclipse throughout the entire movie. What the fuck!

Fucked up thing number 8: I got three hours of sleep last night, woke up late for work, got really really upset with myself, which made me get abnormally emotional about one of my favorite bands breaking up and I'm fucking exhausted. I hate you, Twilight.

Fucked up thing number 9: I actually wasted time out of my life to compile a list of how much I hated that goddamn movie. I need a real thing, like lunch.

The Old Wives - "See You In Hell" review:

Rating: 4/5

25 minutes is about the length of your standard TV show. It's not a lot of time, but it's just enough to tell a good story. If a record could be the analogy to that, this one is. 25 minutes is just enough time for a great pop punk album. Alberta, Canada's Old Wives utilized that amount of time for its debut album, "See You In Hell" earlier this year. The band previously self-released a 7'' featuring "Shut Up" (which appears on the album) and b-side, "Losing All Control."

At the album's start, you're immersed up to your eyeballs in a very Queers-style fast, oddly-timed intro where everything sounds like it's already been going for about 10 seconds. After 10 seconds of rocking, lead singer/guitarist Liam Copeland starts "I Don't Wanna Be Lazy," a very Ramones-influenced tune with a little more pop thrown in there and a catchy little solo. The fourth track, "Teen Commandments," was featured on a soundtrack to a movie. I should know what movie. But I don't. And I can't find it online. Liam will tell me later.
"Old & Moldy" rests in the middle of the album and features a sweet guitar solo by Phillip Hill of the Teen Idols, who also recorded this album at Sonic Iguana Studios in Lafayette, IN. Copeland's vocals emulate Ben Weasel's in the sense that they're gritty, snotty and a little bit preachy at times but the album is a straight-up good time. The songs are pure rock n' roll, with none exceeding 3 minutes and they're all upbeat and fast, with no breaks in the album.

Check out the Old Wives at this year's Insubordination Fest in Baltimore, MD on June 2. They'll be playing the second "Canada" stage from 6 to 6:20 p.m.

TOP TRACK: "Bullshit"

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