McHenry County Illinois Area Bands and Music

Just some comments ...

2012-01-29T08:55:00.003-06:00

Musically and performance-wise, things are getting a bit weird out there. It's my understanding that ASCAP and BMI are pressuring bars and restaurants to a point of making them make the choice between jukeboxes and live music. And some of the establishments are very small businesses that can only accommodate single and duo acts. Now, I'm a member of BMI but this really puts the squash on live music locally. I'd hate to think that these new generations of jukeboxes (that can pull any band's music up from any album they ever put out) could eventually, technologically, put a lot of musicians out of business. The DJs put a lot of bands out of business. I was in a small wedding band a long time ago that was essentially put out of business by the advent of DJ's, who without putting in the time and effort and training musicians have to put in to learn their crafts, just underbid the bands and pull up songs on their iPods and flip on their sound-sensitive lighting systems.

Have you ever been to the same Karaoke Night for more that three times in a row? From a musician's standpoint, it's mildly entertaining for about 20 minutes and then it just becomes a pure living hell. I know people are having fun thinking they can sing. It is entertainment, in a way. However, this is again taking away opportunities from musicians and those of us who have had to spend years and years to hone a skill.

And it can get worse. Last summer, I went to downtown Crystal Lake and they had a band playing in the gazebo at the train station for one of those lunch in the park deals. It was a good band. It had a female lead singer and the crowd liked it. The crowd was all out there in their lawn chairs enjoying some music and the warm weather. Then the band announced who they were and said they were from Chicago. Chicago? What the hell. Chicago. In McHenry County, where there are lots of very suitable acts to perform this kind of function, the Downtown Association picks a band from Chicago? I'm relatively sure the lawn chair crowd there did not train in from Chicago. I don't have to say anymore as I think you know where I'm coming from with this.

It's hard enough to put together three, four or five like-minded players and form a band. It's 10 times harder for that group to find a place to play. Certain booking agents control all the live music venues. They want to make their cuts off the band's pay. Restaurants and Bars use these agents to book in the entertainment so the restaurants and bars does not have to. Then you get the same group of bands simply circulating the area almost forever ... and many if not most of those bands are not from this area.

I'm not a booking agent. I never have been and I never will be. I don't know all there is to know about that occupation, although I've had to deal with them enough. However, I feel the restaurant/bar owners, booking agents, jukebox technology, karaoke, DJ's and the pressure put on small businesses by ASCAP and BMI all contribute in their own way to crippling the development of live music and musicians and on a local level it's musicians that all of them (except some of the restaurants and bars) depend on.

Just ranting.

Alex and the All Stars - Broken Oar, Cary 1.28.12

2012-01-29T08:22:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've been out and about. Last night though, I had to go out to see one of my favorite bands, Alex and the All Stars. I had not seen them with this most recent lineup and it was a really fun group of people.

Playing inside at the Oar can be a bit weird as when it's an inside gig, the band has just about as much room to perform in as the audience has to listen in. The band sounded great and the biggest thing for me was the greatly improved harmonies. Alex has always been a great singer but Lisa's addition of some very tight harmonies has really popped the vocals to a different level. She adds some keyboard as well. It's good to hear Buddy sing, too. There was some excellent bass playing. Dr. Woods' licks just get hotter and Alex has always laid down a great groove. There are also some new songs.

A lot of us who play should take an example from these guys. Bands are supposed to entertain, sell beer for the bar owner and, most of all, have fun. An audience can always tell when a group of performers is nervous, has an attitude, or is just plain having a great time. These players are picking songs they like to play and you can tell they love to play them. That's the key. You can set your sights on becoming a huge regional act and work your ass off playing songs that most all of the others are playing and take yourselves as serious "artistes" or .... you can have genuine fun doing what you're doing and make this your life's enjoyment; not you're life's "work".

Good job, y'all. And good on your fan base and followers for making your performances fun events! Also, as a plug, Dr Wood's has a music store in Fox River Grove. Go there. Buy stuff. Take lessons. Support your local economy.

I think it's time to wake up.

2011-09-16T06:02:00.002-05:00

I think it's time to wake up and start getting out again. Keep an eye open for some new posts! And by the way, don't try to add comments about my postings as I get nothing but spam in my comments folder and it's not worth sorting through all the e-mails to see which ones are legit.

Again, I'll see y'all shortly.

Just Riffin'

2011-01-23T19:39:00.003-06:00

Been a while. I've not been real active lately as during the summer and fall, I was playing pretty much non-stop. Also, there hasn't been a lot happening out there that gets me all worked up any more.

I understand we've lost some more live music venues. I understand Porter's Oyster Bar - Yellowtails Grill is closed now. Although I feel bad about that, the place was certainly not a great place to see a band in. Also, the owner had this attitude that was a touch "uppity" for Crystal Lake. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice place, but the food was too expensive for the quality you got and for ordinary average guys like most of us, this place was trying to be a little too "Chicago", if you know what I mean.

Although it's not in McHenry County, Idols Sports Bar is out of business. There goes another live music venue.

Talking about being a bit too "Chicago" for my liking, The Buzz, the new place out on Rt 14 in Crystal Lake, is another place I think may only make it to the end of the year, if that long. It's a square box room. Nice bar. It has a long line of benches all the way down one long wall. When I was there to see Phidget (yes guys, I was there), I was not impressed. It's too slick. The parking blows. The thing that really puts me off is that the management has obviously made a deal with Joey D to put some bands in there. I could of course be totally wrong but the band lineup as indicated on the web site screams of Mr. D.

So, if you missed Libido Funk Circus at the Fire Bar, don't worry, you can see them at The Buzz. If you missed them at The Buzz, don't worry, you can see them at Sideouts ... and on and on. That same circulation of the same old bands will continue. Therefore, the entertainment at The Buzz is nothing novel and exciting, except that you probably won't see many of the local bands there.

Bets anyone? I hope I'm wrong but I have The Buzz gone by December.

On the other weird side of things, The Cottage in downtown Crystal Lake has had some entertainment in there and get this, so does the Breakers. I haven't been to Breakers to see the entertainment but it sounds kind of scary to be thinking of single and duo acts in that place. However, KUDOS to both of you for having us play for your customers!

Thirsty Whale has bands. What an ant farm that place is. It's a place for the kids. It has bands but again, not a real fun place to see a band in, in my opinion.

Wool Street in Cary still seems to have bands although I'm getting tired of that place. As a side note, Double D, it might be nice to actually pay the bands a decent $. Just an observation on behalf of the musicians. The place seems to be taken over after 11 by the "Dance/Rap" contingent.

Well, I'm going to try to get out again to see some groups. Like I said earlier, there's not a lot out there that gets me excited any more. It's always the same songs. It's most often, always the same bands. I'll snap out of it eventually.

90s Nation - Duke's Alehouse Crystal Lake, 10.15.10

2010-10-16T14:10:00.003-05:00

It was an OK night at Duke's Alehouse. Not packed but not empty either. I've always kind of liked Duke's, as I remember it when it was Southside Johnny's and Cat Ballew's. 90's Nation was there and it's not a bad band. They played some fun songs and some material you don't hear all the time in bars.

90's Nation consists of a singing bass player, a female singing/keyboardist, 2 guitarists and a drummer. As the name implies, they specialize in 90s songs. They are all good players and are very tight together. They are entertaining to watch and obviously had some devoted fans in the audience. My only other comment would be that the vocals were not as strong as one might like. They were good but, I felt, not real strong and/or full of personality. But maybe that's just me. Their fans liked what they heard and that's what really matters.

Now, as a comment on the 90's, I was not blown away by the 9os. However, back in the actual 1980's, I remember a good friend and I agreeing that the 80s was a wasteland of musical crap that would go down in musical history as the "Dark Ages". Man, was I wrong.I also remember that in the 80's, 60's music was big and in the 70's, 50's was the nostalgic decade.

But then again, the big fad music every decade is the music of two decades prior. We just got through a few years of a huge resurgence in Bon Jovi, Poison and 80's hair band music and we are now moving in to the 2010 to 2020 era and it would only be natural that 90's music will be the next big fad music for the upcoming decade.

As I'm sure that 90's music will be the next big fad music, 90s Nation will be right there delivering what people will want to hear. Good job you guys. You will be on the cutting edge!

Check out 90s Nation at their Facebook page at http://pt-br.facebook.com/90snation

Scott Wesley Band - Duke's Alehouse 9.4.10

2010-09-05T20:22:00.002-05:00

I stopped in at Duke's Alehouse Saturday night and had the opportunity to see a great band, the Scott Wesley Band. I really liked these guys. They were a group of young guys but they sounded every bit as good as many of the bands I've seen consisting of old guys (you know what I mean). Good original music. Some excellent covers and a great, laid-back sound. The band consists of Scott on guitar and most of the lead vocals, a drummer with an excellent voice, another guitarist and a bassist. These guys were well-rehearsed, tight and had some great harmony work. They were all good players. They also ran their own sound themselves and the mix was great. It's too bad it was Labor Day week end and most all of downtown Crystal Lake was dead Saturday night. There was not a big crowd at Duke's but missing these guys performing was your loss if you by-passed Dukes.

Keep it up you guys. I really liked what I heard and the originals were very good songs. You really slayed me when I heard your very excellent version of Quinn the Eskimo. Check these guys out at their web site at http://scottwesleymusic.com/ or at http://www.myspace.com/scottwesleyband

Make a point to see them live the next chance you get. I will definitely be back to see them again.

High Life - Porters Yellowtails, Crystal Lake 4.3.10

2010-04-08T22:35:00.002-05:00

Here is one great band. I saw part of their show at Porters in Crystal Lake and this was a treat. This is a local band (I believe) consisting of bass, guitar, keyboard, drums and lead vocalist. Everyone in this band was more-than-competent. One thing that really separates the "men from the boys" is the use of harmony. Most bands I see usually end up with only one vocal and sometimes there's a couple of mics set up and nothing happening at them. This band has obviously practiced their vocals and worked their vocals and made the lead vocal and harmony vocals the forefront of their show. It is an absolute joy to hear the results of a lot of real hard work.

The instrumental parts were also obviously well-rehearsed and the band was tight. The flow of the show was good and they had good presence. The show was not real spectacular but with this band, I really didn't care. The only complaint I could search out was that the mix was a little lacking in the guitar and lead vocal volumes.

You really need to seek out this band and have some fun! You don't hear a lot of Styx songs in clubs these days and I thought seeing High Life was worth it just for those. Check out the band at http://www.highlife-theband.com/

3 If By Air - Wool Street, Cary 1.2.10

2010-01-03T16:01:00.002-06:00

Wow. It's 2010. Another year older. Not necessarily another year wiser.

Anyway.

I saw 3 If By Air at Wool Street in Cary last night. They seem like a nice enough group of guys. 3 If By Air is a four-piece endeavor with the standard guitar, drums, bass and vocalist lineup. To put it simply, these guys showed a lot of heart and drive but are also a group still in the middle of the "getting their act together" stage. They did have a a pretty good "flow of the show", as I like to call it. They moved fairly well from song to song. They had a few glitches in the beginning getting the sound dialed in but what band doesn't have that problem when they do their own sound. Once they got the guitar volume up in the mix by about the second or third song, they sounded much better but the bass was still too lost in the mix. That's not a good thing because what turns spectators into dancers is a loud bass drum sistered up to a thumping deep bass guitar. That's what gets people moving. I didn't hear a lot of that in the first set. Just an observation.

The drummer and bass player were good. The guitar player showed some good chops. The singer was adequate but violated one of my biggest pet peeves .... trying to reach for notes that he shouldn't be trying to get to. Again, this is the number one problem I see in most bands. If you as the singer can not do the song justice because the key is too high, don't do the song. It's as simple as that. You can have killer instrumentalists but if the the singer sounds like he or she is stretching to far to get those high passages, the song will sound bad.

I'm not saying the singer in this case was bad. He wasn't. He was a bit pitchy but many singers are at the beginning of the night. It's those high notes. What band doesn't want to perform "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by JET. I have not heard two bands in the last three years that can hit those notes believably. The same goes for just about any AC/DC song. Change the key or don't do the song. Or ... wait until the end of the night when the patrons are so loaded they wouldn't know a good singer from a dry-heaving cocker spaniel.

I'm sorry. The high-note thing is my peeve and I just got carried away and it wasn't entirely aimed at 3 If By Air.

Tim, you are good, you will be much better and keep it up! Same with all you guys. You had a packed house last night and I'm sure you'll be asked back. Like I said, it's the "getting it together" stage and it just takes doing gigs. You'll be great if you can all hang together. My only comment is, make every song sound great. There's TONS of material out there. Not every band has to do the same songs to be popular. Also, one last comment. I couldn't hear any "Ts" or "Ss" coming out of those speakers. It sounded like the speakers were stuffed with pillows. Could have just been the room ... but it wasn't.

Check out 3 If By Air at http://www.3ifbyair.net/index.html and tell the bartenders at the places you see them at how great they are. We all need to do that!

Happy New Year to all of you!

2009-12-30T23:53:00.002-06:00

I have a New Years gig and I hope all of you have one. In these economic times, things just aren't as good for us as they could be but we all need to hang in there and hold our bands together. Things will get better and things will pick up.

I have always appreciated all of your comments and I really hope that none of you took what I opined as mean-spirited or non-constructive. I absolutely appreciate what all of you are doing and we need to help each other out.

Keep it up and I promise I will see some of you again, as I said I would, and I will make a point of checking more of you out. Be professional. Be dependable. Give the bar owners a reason to have us back and give the audiences a reason to come back to see us. Some of us may be smaller bands and bands that have no desire to play anywhere outside of McHenry County, but we still need to deliver. We owe that to our audiences, employers and .... ourselves.

Mr Cab Driver - Williams Street Tap, Crystal Lake 12.18.09

2009-12-19T12:28:00.002-06:00

First of all, Williams Street Tap is not my favorite place in the area but damn it, they present local musicians and live music in there and this makes this yet another place you should patronize if even just for that. It's just a square paneled room with good-priced drinks and, did I mention, LIVE MUSIC.

Anyway, Mr Cab Driver was the name of the band. The band's My Space page is at http://www.myspace.com/mrcabdrivermusic

The band consisted of two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. They dressed just like they just got off work and when you add in the ambiance of Williams Street Tap, it was as if their garage where they practice was mystically transformed to downtown Crystal Lake.

I really kind of liked these guys. I have to assume what I heard in the hour I was there was all or partially original music of theirs as I didn't recognize any of the songs. They play well and the vocal was good. These guys can play their instruments and had a good sound overall. The only downside to me was that this, to me, was jam-band music. I'm not a huge fan of jam band music. In my other blog post regarding Matt Burke, I refer to the looping device. Mr. Cab Driver (to me) was a like a live looping device. I didn't actually count the number of different chords I heard in the hour I was there but I don't think it was more than maybe 6 . Most of each individual song only had two chords or maybe a 3rd one but this began getting pretty boring for me. It also didn't help that I was not able to discern one intelligible word while I was there. That maybe had more to do with the acoustics of the paneled box room but it was an issue either way.

But it was somewhat interesting what they did with those two chords and I was strangely attracted to the music. It was pretty good stuff. If it was all original, I also should applaud you for that because nobody out here in the burbs performs original music. That seems to be a city thing and more of that out here would be kind of cool.

Check out Mr Cab Driver next time to have the chance!

Matt Burke - Wool Street in Cary 12.18.09

2009-12-19T12:11:00.002-06:00

I stopped briefly last night (Friday) at Wool Street because I know they have singles frequently there on Fridays and I caught Matt Burke. I liked him. I didn't get to hear a lot but the man has a very good voice and good control over his equipment. He's a looper like many are out there now, so one has to know their equipment to work the devices and get a good sound. He also uses a harmonizer which I think added a good touch. The only thing with the loopers is that the looping pedals (based on my limited knowledge of them) seems to be used most often when looping 2 to 8 bars of music and repeating it all over and over again. This can get (to me) downright boring. I have to say it got pretty tedious hearing Fire On The Mountain repeated over and over again and it was a little tedious for me hearing you get the set-up right at the beginning with the bass line and all. However Matt, I looked around and NOBODY out there in the audience had any clue about what you were doing up there and didn't notice. So, who's to care? That's why, as a musician, you should never play for the 2 or 3 people out there in the audience who know what you're doing up there. You're the one who has the gig. They don't.

Matt is a very good singer and a good guitarist. He's a good single act and he should be playing more frequently than he does; based on my limited exposure last night. I'm going to check him out again for sure.

Check out Matt Burke Music at http://www.myspace.com/mattburkemusic

What's Going On Out There!

2009-11-08T16:23:00.006-06:00

What's going on out there? I think a lot of us know what's going on out there. It's the economy.

I just got through looking at the web sites for many of the area's larger drawing bands. I mean the ones who usually have a lot of gigs. I'm talking Chasing The Day, Sixteen Candles, ARRA, Mr. Myers, Wedding Banned and others. Nobody's playing the numbers of dates they used to. I mean nobody. It's just not happening out there.

And I'll wager that even with many of these bands, the pay at the end of the night is not at all like it used to be. You know, people just can't afford to go out any more. Things are getting tense. Bar owners want the bands that draw the most customers and want to see where you're playing. It sucks because you can't show them the lists of the future dates you used to to be able to show. Therefore, the bar owners aren't all that impressed any more. Nobody knows better than the restaurant and bar owners about how bad things are out there. They were hoping to crank things up a bit by bringing in some bigger draw performers. Bands that could ask for some very substantial money up front just can't any more. Even the singles and duos are hurting because the smaller places hurt more when things slow down and the first thing to go is the live entertainment.

Musicians, we're now competing against friggin TV sets! It used to be we competed against DJs and karaoke. Now, we're competing against 25 TV sets tuned to eight different stations with the sound turned down and the digital juke box blasting. Some of these places would just as well stop having live entertainment and let their diminishing numbers of customers watch TV than pay someone to entertain them. People, you can watch TV and drink a beer at home for far cheaper that going out. However, you can't watch a live band at home.

It's up to musicians to give everything we have on the gigs we play. Take short breaks. Start a little early if you're already set up and the place has a good turnout and you're all ready to go anyway.

Customers: Patronize the places that have live entertainment! We all need you. If you stopped seeing your friends play because you've seen them 150 times, get back out there and start supporting them again. The musicians need you. The bar and restaurant owners need you. Your home town needs you. Restaurants and bars are struggling. Many of them are trying to keep things going with price reductions and specials. Get out when you can afford to do so.

If you're going to go out, try to go to the places that support the live music scene: Porters Yellowtails in Crystal Lake, Wool Street in Cary, Oddfellows in Woodstock, DC Cobbs in Woodstock, Mulligan's Saloon in McHenry, Gambler in McHenry, Duke's Alehouse in Crystal Lake, All Sports in McCullom Lake, Broken Oar in Port Barrington, Snug Harbor in McHenry and all the others. Especially get out and check out the McHenry County musicians. There's some good ones out there. There's some not-so-good ones out there, too. But you need to support all of them, because that's how they get good.

These are real tough times for all of us. Entertainment and eating out are great distractions, if you can afford it. None of us can afford it like we used to. We will come out of this economic funk. I only hope that not too many places go belly up and I hope not too many bands break up because of the lack of gigs.

Someone had an idea that I should post where musicians are playing. Wassup doesn't post where everyone is playing as Wassup only posts for the clubs that advertise with Wassup. Let me know what you think about that. I could post these things on my MySpace version of this blog.

Built For Pleasure - Porters Yellowtails Sports Bar and Grill, Crystal Lake 11.6.09

2009-11-07T09:02:00.002-06:00

You know, I like the local talent in McHenry County. I also am beginning to like Yellowtails more and more. It's a fun crowd, a mixed crowd and most importantly, this bar is not afraid to have local McHenry County talent performing there. I don't know if JD is the booking contact there or not anymore but it doesn't seem like he is since there are local area bands performing there. It's important for local area bands to have a place to hone their skills in. I absolutely applaud you Gregg and Lisa Sherman and Rob for doing what you're doing there and everyone please support this place. It's really the only game in town now, and a very pleasant one at that.

Now, to Built For Pleasure. I was impressed. This is a good band! It really is. Built For Pleasure consists of two guitars, bass, lead vocalist and drummer. They're billed as "rock from the 70s to today" and that's what they do. The vocals were very good and in tune. The singer sang in his comfort zone and didn't sound strained. Anyone who reads this blog knows how I feel about that. The guitarists were good as were the bassist and drummer. They played within their capabilities and made the most of their abilities. Again, these are the signs of a good up-and-coming band as they lay it down solidly and simply and within their abilities. Very good! They also looked like they were having a good time up there and that is vital to an audience.

Down sides. Not much. Get a "flow to the show" happening. My biggest complaint is that they took about a minute or more between each song to take a drink or wipe down or whatever. You need to keep things moving up there. It's OK to talk with the audience but not specifically to the friends who came to see you. Talk to the whole bar and keep the show moving. The only other thing is that you should have a pretty good idea what your mixer settings are before you play. Dial them in or mark them at the end of the gig. I am not a huge fan of full blown sound checks in a crowded bar where people are itching to hear you. It's always a bit more impressive to an audience when the first thing they hear is the whole song, not a 5 minute song check. Pick a song where you can make your fine tunings on the fly. It's only Yellowtails. It's just not that huge a place to get fancy with mixes in.

There was a pretty brisk business happening there last night at Yellowtails and it was a little obvious that many of the patrons were band friends. However, I noted many people there who I know are not band friends singing along with the songs and liking what they were hearing. This is a real good thing. You're playing the right songs.

What did they play? They opened (on time) with Sweet Emotion, then some Pink Floyd, then some Steppenwolf, Roadhouse Blues, Sweet Home Chicago, The Boys Are Back In Town, Hard To Handle, some Lenny Kravitz, some Tom Petty and some AC/CD. Good stuff. Great ending on the Petty tune!

Again, good band. Go out to see them. Go to Yellowtails and support the place. See Built For Pleasure at: http://www.myspace.com/built4pleasure

A Visit to Rocks Bar and Grill - Crystal Lake 10.24.09

2009-10-25T00:04:00.003-05:00

This is not a band review but I was interested in seeing what happened to what used to be John Evans Restaurant on Rt 14 in Crystal Lake. It's now named Rocks Bar and Grill and I was hoping for a big change.

Maybe it's a little early to make the call. I think they haven't even had their grand opening yet but it really weirded me out a bit when I walked in.

The place was really re-arranged and was very sterile. That's because it's very new. The bar is pretty cool but there weren't many people in there. What was weird was that I expected to hear a band or some moderately loud rock music playing through some excellent sound system. I walked in and encountered a well dressed woman at the front behind a podium talking to a well dressed man who was the owner or manager, I think. There was a guy playing an electric keyboard. He was good but I didn't catch his name and he was just playing background music. The parking lot was not very full. The parking lot was not very big. The clientele appeared a bit more upscale although the place was certainly not packed.

I don't know what's going to happen here. Management There are many great single and duo acts that are McHenry County-based who could help you draw some customers in there. Jump on them NOW to get the word spread. There are also some great local-area bands who could do a great job for you there to bring in some locals as well. Bands. This place was pretty much all wood. Not very acoustical as far as I could determine. It might end up being very echo-y in there and tough to keep the feedback down. There is also not a lot of parking which is a "con". This appears to me the kind of a place more suited to singles and duos with an edge.

I have not been able to find a web presence as yet. I wish this place the best and I'll check them out again in a few months.

413 - All Sports Bar and Grill, McCullom Lake 10.24.09

2009-10-24T23:38:00.004-05:00

I stopped at All Sports Bar in McCullom Lake to see what was happening there. All Sports used to be The Cullom Knoll and in my opinion, has lost a lot of personality. They blew out a wall and moved the stage to a different corner. The main music area is a square, uninteresting, sterile box. It really is. I don't think it would take all that much to gussy it up a bit.

413 is a 5-piece hard rock outfit with two guitars, a bassist, a lead vocalist and a drummer. The lead vocalist was just OK. The guitar playing was adequate from both guitarists although I heard no solos of real complexity. The drummer was good as was the bassist. There were again, no harmonies I heard when I was there. When two people sang, they sang in unison. Again, the sign of a new band.

This was a garage band playing a gig in a bar. Some of the cardinal sins of beginning bands were evident which included one of my peeves, trying to sing too high for your vocal register. That's never a good idea because no matter how good the instrumental playing is, if the the vocals are strained and you're just not hitting the high notes in tune, the song WILL sound bad. Period. Now, I will give them credit for singing Back In Black an octave lower but when you do that, you have to sing in tune or it sounds like you're rapping it. It sounded like rap.

413 does show promise but needs to tighten up some more. Work on the "flow of the show", dress a little better so you don't appear as one from the crowd who just got up to play, and work on playing within your limitations. Just like Clint Eastwood said, "a man has to know his limitations." Play the songs within your abilities and don't get out over your skis in public. Practice pushing the envelope at home or in the basement and when you've nailed it, incorporate it into the act and into your playing. A song always sounds better, no matter how much you simplify it, if everyone is playing within their capabilities.

I counted 32 people in there and that included the band members and the bartender. It was very evident that many of the people there were friends of the band. There's nothing wrong with that! I couldn't find a web site for them besides http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78763880074

The Traveling Cowboys - Mulligan's Saloon, McHenry 10.24.09

2009-10-24T23:09:00.003-05:00

This was a weird and sometimes frightening night. I decided to hit it hard and check out McHenry County-based bands if I could find them and I did. I also wanted to check out some clubs I had not been to lately to see a band in. I started out tonight at Mulligan's Saloon in McHenry. It's a big square box room with a high ceiling and a good-sized bar. It didn't have a lot of personality but it looked like the kind of place one could hang out in. The downside is that the band sets up with their backs against glass windows and that's never good from an acoustic standpoint. However, the quality of the sound from the audience side was not the problem.

Please guys, take this constructively. You're a band who's been around a while. I know that. And maybe I hit a "down" night. I'll continue and remember, this is just my opinion and nobody else's as far as I know.

The Traveling Cowboys is a four-piece band of two guitars, a bass and drums. They all wear cowboy hats except for the drummer. They two guitarists had music stands up there. They ran their own sound and they did a great job of that considering the glass and all that. The guitar playing was adequate as was the drumming. The bass player sounded technically very proficient but there were a lot of missed cues and wrong notes and this is somewhat typical of a sub. The vocals were OK. Both guitarists were vocalists. One was better than the other. I do have to add that one of the guitarists had an antigua strat and that is COOL. However, there were no harmonies. When two people sang, they were singing in unison. This is usually a sign of a band that just got out of the garage and I know these guys have been around a while.

They played Superstar (Bad Company) and it was OK. They played a few country songs and they were OK. They then played Take It Easy (Eagles) and this was very rough. Again, this song is known for harmonies and I certainly don't expect most bands to copy those kind of harmonies but, there were no harmonies at all; just unison singing.

Oh. One other thing. There was no "flow to the show". There were long breaks between songs. When there's long breaks between songs, there's no show. It's always good to have some show.

All in all, I was not overly impressed and maybe I did just hit an off night (we all have them) and I'll make a point to check them out again. Check out their web presence at http://www.myspace.com/the_traveling_cowboys

Supernaut - Broken Oar, Port Barrington 10.17.09

2009-10-20T05:21:00.004-05:00

I barely made it to the Broken Oar to catch the tail end of the Supernaut gig Saturday night on my way to my own gig. There was a pretty good crowd there for what they call Oartoberfest. The event was held mainly outside in a big tent they pitched over the area where the bands play outside. It's pretty much fun.

I've seen the name of the band around but knew nothing about them. The verdict: Great Band. This is obviously a group of "hardened professionals" that knows how to string a show together of great tunes performed with a very heavy edge. This is pretty intense rock and roll and not for the faint-of-heart. I only wish I could have seen more of the show and I'll be making a point to see them again.

Supernaut is a 4-piece assault of drums, bass, guitar and guitar/lead vocal. All the players were very good and very tight and rehearsed. Like I say, this is intense rock and roll and not for everyone. However, if you're looking for a fun night out and don't mind not being able to talk to your date all night because you're under musical attack all night (in a good way), check these guys out. I can only imagine what 3 hours of Supernaut could be like. http://www.myspace.com/supernautband

Repost of Rant from Sept 2008

2009-10-04T16:47:00.003-05:00

This is a re-posting of my Rant from September of 2008 that seems even more relevant now. Guys and Dolls, things aren't good out there right now and we need to get our acts together!
Those of you who have commented, you're right on point! I appreciate your input.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

It's a Rant! (For Musicians only)
Ok. I feel like a rant. Maybe it's more like commenting on an observation but maybe I'll just call it a rant.

Have any of you bands out there noticed that business is down for a lot of restaurants and bars that we play at now days? I think it's very safe to say that the crappy economic times we're in is really putting a damper on most businesses involved in serving food and providing libations and live entertainment or even karaoke. Many bar owners I've talked to are somewhat concerned about the turnouts for bands and entertainers in their bars as well.Let's face facts. $4.50 for a Bass Ale is a lot of money. $8-$10 for a glass of wine is akin to armed robbery. I will even go so far as to say that $3 for a Miller Light is next to gouging. It really is. I bought a 12-pack of Corona the other day for $13.00 and that's a little over $1 a beer. Restaurants and bars charge maybe $4. Gas is obviously very expensive. Eating out is expensive. Lately, I've had my friends all come over to my bar at home to drink, eat appetizers and have a great time to save money. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.People out there simply don't have the disposable income to pay cover charges and drink $8 glasses of wine, $4 pints of beer and $5 Jack and Cokes.

Restaurant and bar owners are constantly evaluating the need for entertainment; be it live or karaoke. It's their bar or restaurant. Not ours. They can have entertainment or none at all. I know you've all seen the trend of virtually every bar now installing as many TV sets as the building framing can hold to provide distractions for their clientele.

Over the course of my babbling over the last year and a half, I have developed two pet peeves. I think both of these peeves affect how the establishment owners view us and the job we're doing for them.

Peeve One: Start on time. If you're supposed to start at 9pm, start at 9 pm. I can't even conceive of starting late unless it's the club owner who's causing the late start. Be punctual. It's good business. Even though most of us are just a bunch of schlubs, at least pretend that you have business acumen and start on time.

Peeve Two: Watch the length of your breaks. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a venue to see a band and I arrive during the break and the break is so long that I give up and leave. Breaks give customers a reason to leave ... an opportunity to transition to leaving and going home. Long breaks give people even that much more reason to leave. Bar owners pay for you by how much alcohol they sell. Keep the customers there, for crying out loud. I'm not saying take no breaks. Let face it, y'all. Although it takes a lot of skill that's developed over many years of performing to play for other people, it's not like we're hauling cinder blocks up there. 10-15 minutes is adequate. 20-30 minutes is simply giving your audience every excuse to leave. The audience leaves, the bar sells less alcohol. It becomes your fault. The bar owner starts re-evaluating his need for live entertainment. We all suffer.

Remember: these venue owners don't HAVE to support live entertainment!

There you go. I said it. You may utterly disagree. You may believe starting late or taking long breaks is simply payback for those dates the bar owner cancelled you at the last minute for some odd reason and doesn't compensate you for a night you could have booked elsewhere. You may feel this is pay-back for the owners questioning you about why your fan base won't travel 30 miles to see you, get shit-faced drunk and drive 30 miles back home and risk DUIs. This isn't the 70s, although many bar owners never left the 70s.

Be professional. Dress professional. Act professional. Your band is a business. Run it like you care. Run it like you'd like to have repeat business. Give those bar owners every reason to have you back. It's their establishments. They don't have to let us play there. Especially during these troubling economic times.

Posting a Comment - All Bands AND bar owners should read this

2009-10-03T09:19:00.004-05:00

I really like this comment I recently received and I feel it warrants posting on it's own. Let me know your thoughts on what he has to say. I absolutely agree with him. Both bands and club/restaurant owners should pay special attention to what he has to say!

"A lot of good advice and truthiness here, but I've noticed something else that should be said. You obviously keep tabs on who's playing where and an ear to the ground on how various clubs are doing. It seems to me that some of the clubs that have gone under or are doing badly or have abandoned live music have a lot of the same bands playing there before the inevitable end. Some bands have a knack for getting booked, whether it's because the members have been around the area forever and have connections, they're able to hand out slick and great sounding demos, etc, but can't fill a bar to save their lives. And many of these bands feel like they deserve X-amount of money because they've been at it for so long, or that's what clubs should be paying, etc. Face it, bands: if the owner isn't making money, neither should you. That said, I don't like playing for the door. There's too many variables involved: dingbat doormen, a club that has zero regulars and wants the band to fill it but won't put any effort themselves to promote their own shows, and even the weather. But in these tougher economic times, I can certainly see why more clubowners are turning to the door, and if your band is worth it's salt, you should try taking the show. If it works out well and they want you back, then maybe you can work out a guarantee since you've proven yourself.

Sorry about the rant. I just get tired of seeing the some of the same usual suspects dooming clubs and live music due to pigheadedness and greed. You don't deserve to be paid for your show; like any other job you should earn it. That's why it's called the music business. And if you're only doing it because you love music so much, then don't demand or expect to be paid a certain amount.

That said, yeah, there's plenty of promoters and clubowners that want the best bands for the cheapest price (music 'business', remember?), and if you're a decent act that's making money for the places you play, you deserve a percentage of that.

All I'm asking is that everybody- bands and owners- be honest about themselves and play fair, alright?

Now be cool. "

The Retrorockets - Porters Yellowtail Lounge (Sports Bar) 10.2.09

2009-10-03T07:51:00.002-05:00

Last night at Porters Oyster Bar - Yellowtails Sports Bar was yet another weird experience for me. I now prefer to call it Yellowtails Lounge as last night, I felt I had walked in to a Holiday Inn lounge in the late 70's. I've noted this before but this place really is an older bar. The local townies seem to congregate there and at the Cottage but maybe more here at Yellowtails now. Let's face facts. This is the only place in town with a live band on a Friday. Actually, it's one of the few places in the area with live music on a Friday night. That may also be why it was pretty crowded last night. Not packed. But a brisk business, and that is a GOOD thing in these economic times. Many bars and restaurants would have liked to have been this busy last night, I'm sure.

Now to the band.

Here's the hints: 1) SEVEN people in the band; 2) a woman lead vocalist who doesn't appear to play anything else; and 3) the band is named The Retrorockets

Yep. It's a lounge band. It's a wedding band. Join that up with the ambiance of Porters and you have a late 1970's Holiday Inn! It would have been almost cool except that I wasn't all that impressed. Also, I've never heard of them before.

The Retrorockets sounded relatively well-rehearsed. There were some glitches here and there and probably a few more that I've heard with other bands. I'm sure the audience didn't know. They were too busy comiserating and sizing each other up for future consideration.

Here's another hint to be added to those three I listed above. Here's what was included in the first set: Brown Eyed Girl, Hard To Handle, Margaritaville, I Feel Good (James Brown), Smooth, Unchain My Heart, China Grove, Soul Man, What I Like About You, Brickhouse, Play That Funky Music

Brown Eyed Girl was OK. Hard To Handle was hard to handle for me. Margaritaville was uninspired. I Feel Good was OK. Smooth got a great reaction from the crowd and sounded the best out of this group of songs. Unchain My Heart was barely OK. China Grove almost tipped me over. The vocal (I'm sorry) was really weak. I have not heard Soul Man played by a band in a bar in many many many years ... and there's a reason for that. The guitar intro to What I Like About You was simply weak and not good at all and the singing was certainly "loungy". Brickhouse had me reaching for my coat and Play That Funky Music tipped it.

Most of you know that I typically don't get too hard on bands in my blog as I am a HUGE supporter of live music and we need more venues presenting more live music in the area. So, Retrorockets, the only reason I've said what I've said in this post is that you've obviously been around for while and you know what I'm saying here really is only my opinion. You had a good crowd and when I left, you had the 12'x4' "dance floor" congested. I've played in bands exactly like yours before so I know what you're doing and how enjoyable it is to have all that musical exchange stuff happening between members. .

My big question is, why 7 people? With seven band members, you couldn't have been paid much more each than what a good dinner there costs. Also, I'm sure there's lots of places that can't squeeze you into their establishments. Just an observation.

Well anyway, the older audiences would probably like The Retrorockets and they certainly played songs that everyone knows and at one time loved. Check out their web site at :
http://www.retrorockets.net/index.htm

Well, Let's get this thing going again.

2009-09-20T19:01:00.002-05:00

I received a comment on a one of my past posts that pointed out I hadn't posted in quite a while. To tell you truth, I kind of felt that probably people really weren't paying all that much attention anyway and maybe my little rants and critiques weren't very constructive. I really hope I haven't outright offended anyone with all my writings as I've always meant what I said as only constructive observations (for the most part). They're only my opinions.

Also, I got kind of bored doing it and I was also very busy playing out all summer and wasn't getting a chance to see many bands. That doesn't mean I have not seen any bands. I've seen a few. I've seen Pirates Over 40, Stone Quarry Road, Axe Grinder, 16 Candles, Mike and Joe, Dickey Pimpkins, Six Pack, Booze Brothers ... and a few others. You guys really don't know how great it is to get feedback from you all on these things. I realize that you probably don't realize there's been anything written about you until you decide to Google your band and you say, I'll be damned! There's an article on us!

Thanks, Dave for kicking me in the ass a little bit. It's time to pick up steam again. It's Fall. The bar scene for showcasing local bands seems to be drying up a little bit and it's time to get going again. It's time to go out and check out our local musicians and show the bars and restaurants that we appreciate them having live music there! Be sure to tell the bar owners or send them a letter to be sure they know it.

Also, it's time to change the music on my site. If you have a song you'd like me to upload and put on the site, let me know how I can get it. Let's get busy.

Phidget - Dukes Alehouse, Crystal Lake 5.8.09

2009-05-09T14:02:00.004-05:00

After being freaked out at Porters, I was ready to call it a night and go home but I thought maybe I'd cruise past Dukes Alehouse to see what was happening there. I saw they had a band so I decided to stop in. I'm very glad I did.

Phidget was playing. This is yet another band I'd never heard of and that's a good thing as this makes three I had a chance to see in one night. Phidget is that next level that The Boxx Elders need to get to before rising to the next level ... which is darned near pro level.

Phidget has a slick web site http://www.phidgetband.com/ From what their web site says, they're another band of former players that took some time off to do the family stuff and just couldn't stay away from the scene. Good for them. The old codgers usually have made all the mistakes in the past and have a totally different attitude now .. the attitude you need to have fun in addition to putting on a good show.

Phidget is good. Very good. It's a guitar/bass/keyboard drum lineup. Having a female in the band opens things us a bit and she was a good musician in addition to being a good singer. The rhythm section was very tight and very proficient as was the guitar player who was an excellent player who had a great sound. These are some of the elements that come together to make things happen. I really liked them and I'd go to see them again. Jumping Jack Flash was a little anemic-sounding. Their Led Zep was great as was their U2 choice, their version of Tie Your Mother Down, and one of my favorites, Favorite Mistake was great.

It's too bad Dukes was kind of empty ... yet again. There were few people in the main room and most people seemed to be hanging out in the bar area. Yet another excellent band goes relatively unnoticed in the bowels of Duke's.

The Boxx Elders - Porters Yellowtail Sports Bar, Crystal Lake 5.8.09

2009-05-09T13:33:00.004-05:00

After checking out Kevin Spica at Wool Street, I headed over to Porters Oyster Bar on Rt 14 in Crystal Lake to see what was happening. There was a good band there but I'm telling you, this place kind of freaks me out a little. First, the band.

The Boxx Elders (http://www.myspace.com/theboxxelders) is apparently a St Charles area band out there making the rounds. I had never heard of them before. It's the normal bass/guitar/guitar/drums lineup with some good (not great ... just good) vocals some almost-audible backing vocals. The guitar solos were OK and the band sounded well-rehearsed and fairly tight for the most part. They do a mix of material and while I was there, I heard some Foo Fighters, Matchbox 20, Gin Blossoms and Green Day.

I also heard Tainted Love which was not bad. I also heard their version of Time After Time .. which was not all that good. The "not all that good" part was that they did one of those things that bands should never do. If the vocalist can't hit all the notes in the key you are playing the song in .... drop the key or just don't do the song. Now, being a musician myself, I know I listen to all music very differently from non-musicians. We musicians are mentally tearing the song apart, listening to the individual parts and listening for how they inter-relate and listening to how proficient each player is. We all know we do this . However, it took me a long to to realize that non-musicians can actually hear a lot we don't give them them credit for. One of the big ones is singing in tune. If you have the song in too high a key for the lead vocalist to sound comfortable in, either change the key downward or just don't do the song. By the way, the same kind of thing goes for Keep Your Hands To Yourself. Just an observation. That's all.

Over all, I liked the Boxx Elders. They were good enough to be playing in clubs but they're not yet at the next plateau they need to break through to. Keep it up!

Now ..... Porters, and the reason I was a little freaked out. Here we had a good band playing modern music (for the most part) and most of the male patrons were either outright bald or had heavily receding hair lines. I'm telling you, this was an older crowd. Most people there appeared to be 40s to 60s in age. Yes. There were a few 20-somethings in the crowd and possibly a few 30-somethings but man oh man, it was a little odd to see that many older people there. And many of them were townies who maybe felt that John Evans was not happening so they walked down to Porters. My deduction .... the clientele has not changed all that much since Peter's time. Don't get me wrong ... this is not a bad thing. Old people buy more expensive drinks for the most part which is good for the bar. This is just an observation on my part.

Kevin Spica - Wool Street, Cary 5.8.09

2009-05-09T10:13:00.005-05:00

I checked out single act, Kevin Spica last night at Wool Street in Cary. There was a decent crowd there. Not huge. Mr. Spica did a good job. He played electric guitar and sang and played lots of songs everyone knows ... Free Fallin', The Joker, Jealousy, Stepping Stone, Mrs. Robinson .... etc. He made effective use of a harmonizer that was blended very well with the mix. I liked it. He has a good voice and plays well. People liked what he did.

But my point with single act singing guitar players is that they just become background music. There's nothing wrong with that because that's what they're hired to be in a place like this. But it's a shame that when everyone is sitting around talking and watching any one of the 6 or 7 sporting events on the TV sets, the musician becomes one more distraction in the room. And in a bad sort of way, it almost doesn't matter how good you are .... nobody cares ... except for those immediate family members and friends that come. The good point is that it's a place to play that pays. That's a good thing.

Kevin Spica was good. He did the job. He did what he was paid to do very well. It's just that a place like Wool Street would do probably about the same business whether Kevin was there or not. It's just the nature of this particular place.

Rick Lindy and The Wild Ones - Duke's Alehouse 3.28.09

2009-03-29T09:18:00.003-05:00

This has been a good week end! I saw a great blues/rock band at Porters last night and an absolutely SUPERB 50s/60s retro-rock rockabilly band at Duke's : Rick Lindy and The Wild Ones . This is one of the best bands I have ever seen at Duke's and I certainly hope they come back!

This is one hell of a great band. The vocals are GREAT and .... I have to say it ... almost beautiful! Lindy sings in tune even in some difficult passages and registers. I was impressed to say the least. But it doesn't stop there. The Telecaster player was very good and the drums/bass guitar team was tight and seamless.

I had to leave Dukes for a short time but had to come back to catch some more. It was a terrible night out weather-wise and I know how it is to play to a very small audience on nights like this. But even so, they presented themselves like the professionals they are.

Check out the band's web site and look at the experience this band has and keep the name of this band in mind. Your assignment is to see Rick Lindy and The Wild Ones the very next time you have the chance!

http://www.thewildonesband.net/

Don't Tell Mama - Porters Yellowtail, Crystal Lake 3.27.09

2009-03-29T09:02:00.003-05:00

I stopped at Porters Oyster bar (Yellowtail) and checked out Don't Tell Mama and was very pleasantly surprised. They are a four-piece band and apparently from Crystal Lake! It's GREAT to see some area bands that play some great music!

Don't Tell Mama was technically proficient and played some good, driving blues-rock and rockin' blues. I did not know some of the songs but they certainly kept me interested. There were also some good interpretations of some classic rock standards. There was some good soloing and some good solid vocals. The rhythm section was tight and paid attention to each other and although I suspect a lot of friends and neighbors were there to help fill in the place, the crowd reaction was great! I suspect the powers that be over at Porters should have been happy with the alcohol sales.

Get out and see these guys! We all need to support McHenry County's own. If you like some good, well-performed blues, check them out the next time they are in the area. http://www.myspace.com/donttellmamaband

Hans and the Hormones - Wool Street, Cary 2.21.09

2009-02-22T14:19:00.003-06:00

Wool Street's turning into quite the place. I really like it because you have a nice mix of ages there and nobody seems to feel like they're out of place, unlike the way you can feel at Duke's Alehouse on a Saturday night. Wool Street is not the best-arranged room for live entertainment but I still like seeing bands there.

It's no secret I like Hans and the Hormones. For a local area band that's doing a wide range of danceable music, I really think these guys are one of the best around. They have about the best song selection anyone could ask for. They started out with a lot of new music and pulled in a lot of great not-always-heard-in-bars classic rock as the night progressed. Hans is a very good singer and so is Vic. I like Vic's guitar playing and everyone in the band is a strong player. Hans and the Hormones consist of lead vocalist/guitar, lead vocalist/electric lead guitar, bass and drums. They have very good harmonies and they flow seamlessly from song to song thereby not giving the audience a chance to sit down once they have the audience up and dancing. Many of you other bands out there should go out to see the Hormones and some of the other excellent area bands to learn from these guys. One of my pet peeves is watching bands that take a minute or two between each song to get a drink or engage in some unintelligible banter. When you do that, you lose the dancers you fought so hard to gain.

Again, see these guys. Support these guys. They are another one of our local stable of talent that is about as good as a band gets. http://www.hansandthehormones.com/

Goin' South - Duke's Alehouse, Crystal Lake, 2.21.09

2009-02-22T14:03:00.003-06:00

What a night! After getting me a fresh hit of Hans and the Hormones at Wool Street in Cary, I stopped at Duke's Alehouse and there was Goin' South, another very good local area band. I really didn't know who was going to be there but I was very happy to see that Goin' South was.

As just a brief departure, Duke's Alehouse is still Duke O'Brien's .. especially last night. It closed very shortly there a while back to re-groove and re-define itself but it looks to me like "it didn't take". I'm sure it will get beat up by inconsiderate people. It won't smell exactly the same but you can always get a lung full or two of carcinogens as you're entering the place.

Anyway. I really like Goin' South ... always have. It's a southern rock band with very good playing and very good singing. They play all the old southern rock stuff you'd probably ever want to hear and they are professional in their stage act and song selection. I really don't know what else to say except, if you have not had a chance to see these guys, please do yourself a favor and make the effort. http://www.goinsouth.com/index.html

Pianoman - Porters Oyster Bar/Yellowtails Sports Bar, Crystal Lake 1.3.09

2009-01-04T16:55:00.003-06:00

I dropped in at Porter's Oyster Bar/Yellowtails Sports Bar to check out a band I've heard of but never heard anything about; Pianoman.

Pianoman consists of a pianist/lead vocalist, a guitarist, a basist, a saxophonist, and a drummer. I'll just make a quick comment that the drums were way too low in the mix. It would have been better to have a solid bass drum there to drive the dancers.

Good band! Pianoman does basically Billy Joel and Elton John music so I don't see this as a band that would be huge with the 20-something crowd but you never know. I would have to say that Billy Joel and Elton had a lot of great songs but they also had some dogs (in my opinion only). I heard these guys do some great songs by both Joel and John and they did them very well. I was almost privately aroused to hear Grey Seal by Elton. I love that song! However, a tribute of three hours of Billy Joel and Elton John can go a long way ... but so can a lot of tribute acts.

Everyone were good players and the vocals were good. It's great to hear a sax in a band these days. The crowd seemed to like what they were offered although it wasn't a packed house. Good crowd. Just not packed.

If you're looking for something different, check these guys out. I'm glad I had a chance to hear them. Also, if you have not had a chance to check out Yellowtails yet, do so. They're local and they are providing live music! They deserve your patronage!

Check out Pianoman at http://pianomanusa.20megsfree.com/

Hooked On Sonics - Wool Street, Cary 12.20.08

2008-12-21T12:50:00.002-06:00

I went out on this snowy night to check out a couple of bands and one I've been wanting to see for a while now, Hooked On Sonics. I have to tell you, Hooked On Sonics has really done a job of confusing me when it comes to what modern bands are doing out there now and what is "ethical" from a musician's standpoint and from an audience standpoint. Let me explain.

There are different types of musical endeavors out there :

A) singles or duos who play acoustically with nothing but a
bare voice and guitar (or keyboard)
There are many very good ones out there! See Mr Blotto unplugged

B) singles or duos who play and sing with looping devices and or harmonizers
I have no basic issues with this as it adds a lot to the experience and
one needs the technical prowess to operate these while they're performing.
See Frank and Dave, Murph

C) singles or duos who play with backing tracks
This can be good or bad. Some small acts have some somewhat cheezy
backing tracks. Some have full karaoke tracks.
One I know has full backing tracks he recorded himself. See Gregory B.
I don't have issues with this as it took some musical ability to record those.

D) There are bands that perform with playing the instruments they have on
stage and singing with their own voices. To me, the purest band experience.
See Three Finger Fencel, Alex and the All Stars, Aunt Janet

E) Bands that perform with a limited amount of backing tracks that adds to
the performance. See Libido Funk Circus, the old Only Sons
(now Blonde On Board), and others.

F) Hooked On Sonics (I wrestle with whether it should be Hooked On Someone Else's Sonics)

This band has me wrestling in my mind as to whether massive use of backing tracks is OK or not. Thanks guys for getting me all confused.

Hooked On Sonics is a three-piece band consisting of guitar, bass and drums. They sound like a 15 - piece band at times because of the backing tracks they use on just about every some I heard in the first set. A three-piece should not be able to pull of an album version of Earth, Wind and Fire's September but all the brass parts were there as were the amazing EW&F vocals. It sounded GREAT.

The mix was great. The bassist is very good. His vocals were good but not great. The guitarist was good. The drummer was good. They are all good players and great showmen and they put on a great high-energy show. The song selection was great for striving to be a great dance and rock band as advertised. It's just that most of the music coming at the audience is not coming from the three guys up there performing. Now if they actually recorded the backing tracks themselves, I could give them even more credit. I don't know if they did.

From a musician's standpoint, I have to say that what they are doing is great because the audience, for the most part, has no idea what's going on up there and really doesn't give a crap as long as they're dancing and drinking and hearing their favorite songs. On the other hand, it's just not right in some ways in my own mind to be a "band" yet not perform all your music yourselves. This is where I'm getting increasingly confused with all this.

They performed Sweet Caroline, some disco stuff, some Jet and American Band (Grand Funk) among many other great songs. They were high-energy and had a good show and the audience liked them. However, as much as I liked hearing She Blinded Me With Science, I had to draw a musical line in the sand when the line from the recording kept coming up, "She blinded me with science" and nobody in the band even mouthed it into the mics. That kind of freaked me out ... from a musician's standpoint. Obviously, nobody from the audience cared or even noticed.

That's what this comes down to. The audience. Were they entertained? Obviously, as the place was crowded. (Crystal Lake - you take notice of this as there's no place like this in Crystal Lake) Is the band popular? Hell, yes. Is the band entertaining? Hell, yes. Is the band playing what the audience wants to hear? Hell, yes, again.

As this is the case, Hooked On Sonics is a very good band you should go out to see! Let me wrestle with these issues in my own mind. Maybe some other musicians out there could help me with all this!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=109010132
http://www.hookedonsonicsband.com/

Three Finger Fencl - Duke's Alehouse, Crystal Lake 12.20.08

2008-12-21T12:20:00.003-06:00

After leaving Wool Street in Cary, I went over to Duke's Alehouse to catch a band I have never heard of before; Three Finger Fencl. It was a snowy night and I didn't expect a packed house ... and it wasn't. Actually, there wasn't anymore people there for a full band then there has been for single acts and duos. There should have been because people didn't know what theye were missing.

This is a great band! I was very impressed. You're aware from my prior post concerning Hooked On Sonics (the band I saw just before this one) that I have weird mixed feelings about bands playing to pre-recorded tracks. Three Finger Fencl was not playing to tracks (as far as I could tell) and they were very good.

They consisted of a bassist, three guitarists and a drummer. One guitar player switched off on keyboard once in a while to add some smaller brass and keyboard parts and two guitarists switched back and forth on acoustics and electrics. The bassist was good although he had a compulsion to constantly wipe down his strings. Just a little jab! He was good. Two of the guitarists were VERY good vocalists ... some of the best vocals I've heard in a long while. All three guitarists were good players and the drummer was very good as well. Very good sound mix, too.

Their song selection was also very good as I heard a lot of material I have not heard for a while in bars. Rain King (Counting Crows - one of my favorite songs!), some Stones, some Dave Matthews, Angel of Harlem (U2) and some good old Led Zep were offered up. Again. Great unstrained vocals and very in-tume. I'm telling you. Great vocals and hence, great harmonies.

I applaud you guys for the great mix of tunes and the excellent vocals. Now that the Alehouse has scaled back its stage to accomodate singles and duos, bands just don't fit well there anymore. Also, not much of a show but you don't need much of one when you present some great music. Maybe shorten up the time in between songs. Just a suggestion.

I hope everyone made it home safely after the gigs at the Alehouse and with Hooked on Sonics over at Wool Street. The blizzard rolled in during the performances and it got crazy out there with the weather. Check out Three Finger Fencel at: Three Finger Fencl

http://www.threefingerfencl.com/?mpf=frame
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Who Knew - Wool Street (Cary) 10.18.08

2008-10-19T19:09:00.003-05:00

Who Knew is a new band to me and appears to be another newer band being groomed in the Joey D stable (just my guess). I saw a set of theirs at Wool Street this last Saturday night. It was a moderate night over at Wool Street with a fair amount of turnover.

Who Knew consists of two women and three guys. The guys are carrying the bass, drums and guitar chores and they have one female singer and another female singing and playing some keyboard.

Vocals The "lead" singer, for the most part, was good and sang very well in tune. The other female singer who doubled on keyboard also did a good job and sang well in tune. Together , the harmonies were pretty tight ... for the most part. I saw the bassist sing a song. He was OK. Just OK.

Drums This guy was very good at his instrument and was the most inspired-sounding and aggressive of the whole group for the set I was there for (the 1st). Guitar Although I think the guitarist was good, he may have been better than I thought if it wasn't for his non-aggressive playing and indecisive playing. Bass Same thing. Rather indecisive and tentative. Keyboard To me, this is a very dangerous instrument to play in a band because the choice of sounds you use can determine a wedding band/lounge sound for the entire band or a garage band sound or a good pro act ... regardless of how rock-sounding the rest of the band is. My personal opinion was that on the songs I heard keyboard on, the sound was trapped between the lounge and garage band sound. The whole band should work together on the sound choices.

Basically, I thought the band was just OK. I won't address the Stevie Wonder song or a couple of the others. You guys in the band know what happened there. The band just needs some seasoning. Of course, I heard a lot of the same songs every other band plays but that's OK. The band was basically a snoozer ... up until exactly 10:53pm when they did Crazy Train when it seemed like they all woke up. I was leaving during Sweet Child Of Mine which was sounding pretty aggressive.

Also, the look was a little lacking. There was an uneasiness or a kind of we're not used to being up here kind of feel. That was reflected in the tentativeness in the playing. Just go for it. If you're going to make a mistake, make it a big one .. but commit and be aggressive. Play to the crowd. Always keep a smile on your face and keep eye contact with your audience. Play and sing like you're in your basement and nobody's watching. Play like you own that audience.

Who Knew is an OK band now. I'd like to see these guys again in about 6 months. I'll bet you they'll be great! http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=324825533

Triadd (or lack therof) - Porters Oyster Bar 9.13.08

2008-09-14T08:23:00.004-05:00

I think you can tell that this Saturday night was a difficult one for me. I don't get a lot of Saturdays off so I was a bit pumped to see at least two bands to report on. I went to Wool Street and saw Chasing the Day then I thought I'd see what the new owners did with Porters Oyster Bar on Rt 14 in Crystal Lake.

The bar is nice. Not all that much different. They went with the formula of hanging as many TVs as they could over the bar ... like everyone else does. They changed the seating a bit and changed the area a little where the band would play. It was OK. Still not a good live music venue as the layout is awkward. However, they have live music back at Porters again so you have to patronize this place and support them!

Triadd. I think Triadd played there this night. I saw some equipment up there but I didn't see a band. I got in to Porters at 11:05 and left at 11:30 and there was nobody playing. If the band members went up to play as soon as I left it would still take 5 minutes for them to get situated and start the next set. That's a 30 minute break.

Therefore, I didn't get to see Triadd. I did see at least 8-10 people leave during that 25 minutes I was there and they were not going outside to smoke and come back in. I really hope there wasn't anything wrong or an emergency or something. I guess I won't ever know.

Sorry Triadd but it's one of my peeves. Besides the break thing, I have not heard of Triadd and I can't find a web site for them. If you're a band that's been around for a long time, I think you have to admit that a 30-minute break is a long one. If you are a newer band, taking a 30-minute breaks doesn't help your rep.

There you go. This night ended up with me seeing one band and not seeing another.

Chasing The Day - Wool Street (Cary) 9.13.08

2008-09-14T00:38:00.006-05:00

Good band. Two guitarists, one bassist and a drummer. One guy sings. Two sing back-ups but not great harmony and the two back-ups were mixed pretty low so you didn't hear them much. Good players. Not mind-blowing but some good playing. Good vocal. Not mind-blowing but definitely good.

That's what I miss ... the harmonies. CTD just didn't have much for harmony. They had a good song selection (for the time I was there). I do have to say that the Tommy Tutone song "Jenny" was unrecognizable to me in the intro (and I do that song) and this song, as well as most everything, was performed with a very heavy buzz-saw edge. Nothing wrong with that. However, I like some variety and some change in sound (and vocal lead) so I was not blown away with the sound.

Don't get me wrong. This was a good band. Since they play a lot, they are well-rehearsed and tight, but for me, they simply just did not blow me away. There was nothing here to set them apart from the other bands.

I think Chasing the Day is worth seeing. Good band. Just not a lot different from the other stuff you see out there. I'm thinking maybe I was just having a bad day today so I'll make a point to get out again to see them. Oh ... they started at about 10:20 rather than 10 pm. (pet peeve, and this may have been the club's fault)

One other point. Not a big crowd at Wool Street. Decent-sized but not packed. See my other blog - Rant !
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It's a Rant! (For Musicians only)

2008-09-13T23:43:00.003-05:00

Ok. I feel like a rant. Maybe it's more like commenting on an observation but maybe I'll just call it a rant.

Have any of you bands out there noticed that business is down for a lot of restaurants and bars that we play at now days? I think it's very safe to say that the crappy economic times we're in is really putting a damper on most businesses involved in serving food and providing libations and live entertainment or even karaoke. Many bar owners I've talked to are somewhat concerned about the turnouts for bands and entertainers in their bars as well.

Let's face facts. $4.50 for a Bass Ale is a lot of money. $8-$10 for a glass of wine is akin to armed robbery. I will even go so far as to say that $3 for a Miller Light is next to gouging. It really is. I bought a 12-pack of Corona the other day for $13.00 and that's a little over $1 a beer. Restaurants and bars charge maybe $4. Gas is obviously very expensive. Eating out is expensive. Lately, I've had my friends all come over to my bar at home to drink, eat appetizers and have a great time to save money. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

People out there simply don't have the disposable income to pay cover charges and drink $8 glasses of wine, $4 pints of beer and $5 Jack and Cokes. Restaurant and bar owners are constantly evaluating the need for entertainment; be it live or karaoke. It's their bar or restaurant. Not ours. They can have entertainment or none at all. I know you've all seen the trend of virtually every bar now installing as many TV sets as the building framing can hold to provide distractions for their clientele.

Over the course of my babbling over the last year and a half, I have developed two pet peeves. I think both of these peeves affect how the establishment owners view us and the job we're doing for them.

Peeve One: Start on time. If you're supposed to start at 9pm, start at 9 pm. I can't even conceive of starting late unless it's the club owner who's causing the late start. Be punctual. It's good business. Even though most of us are just a bunch of schlubs, at least pretend that you have business acumen and start on time.

Peeve Two: Watch the length of your breaks. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a venue to see a band and I arrive during the break and the break is so long that I give up and leave. Breaks give customers a reason to leave ... an opportunity to transition to leaving and going home. Long breaks give people even that much more reason to leave. Bar owners pay for you by how much alcohol they sell. Keep the customers there, for crying out loud. I'm not saying take no breaks. Let face it, y'all. Although it takes a lot of skill that's developed over many years of performing to play for other people, it's not like we're hauling cinder blocks up there. 10-15 minutes is adequate. 20-30 minutes is simply giving your audience every excuse to leave. The audience leaves, the bar sells less alcohol. It becomes your fault. The bar owner starts re-evaluating his need for live entertainment. We all suffer. Remember: these venue owners don't HAVE to support live entertainment!

There you go. I said it. You may utterly disagree. You may believe starting late or taking long breaks is simply payback for those dates the bar owner cancelled you at the last minute for some odd reason and doesn't compensate you for a night you could have booked elsewhere. You may feel this is pay-back for the owners questioning you about why your fan base won't travel 30 miles to see you, get shit-faced drunk and drive 30 miles back home and risk DUIs. This isn't the 70s, although many bar owners never left the 70s.

Be professional. Dress professional. Act professional. Your band is a business. Run it like you care. Run it like you'd like to have repeat business. Give those bar owners every reason to have you back. It's their establishments. They don't have to let us play there. Especially during these troubling economic times.

Murph - Duke's Alehouse 9.12.08

2008-09-13T08:52:00.003-05:00

Sorry about being "off-line" here for a while but my schedule was very busy as well and I just didn't have much time to see other bands!

Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen. The "old" Duke O'Brien's. This was the first time I was there and it is the same yet very cleaned up. In the era of the post-smoking-ban, Duke's did a good thing cleaning the place up. They did a great job. Great looking floors and some new colors. The extension on the stage has been removed and the stage was refinished. No house big PA system any longer so the loud rowdy band era is over.

That's OK however. Although it's too bad downtown has lost a band venue, it's sticking to having live entertainment in the form of singles and duos and maybe trios. They kept live entertainment there and I absolutely applaud them for that. The place looks great!

Now to Murph. I have not heard of him and unfortunately could not locate a web site for him so if anyone out there knows of a web site for him, please let me know and I'll revise this blog to include it.

Murph is good. He is a single-act acoustic guitar player with no accompaniment except for his trusty Performer vocal harmonizer. I love those harmonizers but it can be a little disconcerting to go somewhere to see an acoustic guitar act and when the performer sings, you hear three or four people. However, I don't think the average audience really cares.

He played a lot of great songs and he's a good guitarist. He's young and plays the songs the 20-somethings relate to and sprinkles in the classic rock. I liked him. He has a very pleasant-sounding voice (when not overlaid with three processed harmonies) and he sings very well in-tune. I liked him. I think you should see him.

I also think you should see him next time he's at Duke's Alehouse so the place can be a little busier and they keep the entertainment there. There was not a lot of people there but I don't think that speaks for Murph's performance. Most places I've been playing at are suffering from diminished crowds and I think it's just a sign of the crap economy.

Help out Duke's and go there. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how nice it is in there now and I hear the food is great! And please check out the entertainment because you know ... I'm all about the entertainment ... be it bands or singles. As long as it's live music ....

Aunt Janet Band - CL Gala 7.5.08

2008-07-07T21:14:00.002-05:00

I had never seen the Aunt Janet Band and finally got a chance to see them. They had a very diversified song list and I really liked hearing some of these songs I hadn't heard in a while. I kind of like the departure from the obvious that most of the other bands do. They were good players and Janet was a very good singer and front person. This was a professional band and an entertaining band and it was a shame there weren't more people there for them. It was the time slot they drew and it was freakin hot out. I don't even think the parade was over yet when they were playing.

My understanding is that Janet also does an acoustic thing that I'd like to check out as well. The band members certainly carried their own and there was some good singing outside of Janet as well. That's a good thing because some variety in the vocals can be a big thing. Hearing the same vocal all night can get a bit monotonous, especially if the vocalist has some weird little quick that irritates you. No weird quirks here. Good sound all around.

And the good sound all around also applies to B&B Productions. There is no other outfit that does as good a job as these guys do. Always a good mix!

See Aunt Janet's web site at http://www.theauntjanetband.com/home.htm

Find a date you can make and go see them here in McHenry County.

16 Candles - CL Gala 7.3.08

2008-07-07T21:00:00.003-05:00

The second band I got to see was 16 Candles. Another 80s band! Two in a row! Seems like everyone's doing 80s material nowdays.

I like 16 Candles. They were energetic and the crowd had thickened up a bit by the time they went on stage. 16 Candles is a four piece outfit with bass, guitar, drums, singer and keyboardist. They played a few of the cookie-cutter songs everyone else does but had a pretty cool mix of various choices. They were good players and the vocals were very good. They were a fun group to watch and when you join them up with Maggie Speaks, you ended up with several hours of real fun times. If it wasn't for the $6 beers, it would have been a REALLY fun night.

Check out the 16 candles site at http://www.sixteencandlesband.com/
and you'll see they're playing all over the place. Check them out. I'm glad the Gala people chose them and Maggie Speaks to be there.

Maggie Speaks - CL Gala 7.3.08

2008-07-07T20:44:00.003-05:00

I didn't get to see as many bands at the Gala this year as I wanted but I did get a chance to see three groups. One was Maggie Speaks. I've wanted to see them for a while now. They're a very well-rehearsed pro band and they did one hell of a lot of 80s music and some of the cookie-cutter songs.

I remember a conversation I had with a friend back in the 80s and we had both agreed that the 70s had some great music but the 80s was a total waste of time and nobody will remember anything about the 80s. Man, was I wrong. There was some almost criminally bad stuff being played in the 80s and it's become very camp to play it now. So Maggie Speaks did drag back some memories and played the songs well. Again, my only complaint is that there's a guitar player, a bass player, a lead singer and a drummer in the band yet I hear full brass and keyboard sections. I just have a bit of a problem with the concept of playing along with tracks when you actually are a band but you know ... nobody seems to notice and absolutely nobody seems to care. So, enough said on that.

Well anyway, Maggie Speaks was a very good band and they got people moving on this slightly slower night at the Gala. http://www.maggiespeaks.com/web_v16/index.php

The Crystal Lake Gala - July 3 thru July 6 2008

2008-07-06T22:21:00.005-05:00

A few words about the Gala this year, 2008. It moved. That in itself is not all that bad a thing. You know, change can actually be a good thing.

There was always a certain ambiance about the Dole Mansion grounds that really sold that "community" aspect of what the Lakeside Fest and the Gala were all about.

In a way, the moving of the Gala to Lippold Park clinched the change-over they had been going through for a few years now anyway. I will go out on a limb and say that the Gala is no longer a "community" event. It is not being held for the community on the whole. It's an event for the region. They want people to come from as far away as possible. They want to run shuttles from the train station so people can come in from Chicago if possible. It just appears that this is now a big "corporate" event. I think that's a shame.

As far as entertainment goes, there was some great entertainment there and in many ways the committee concerning itself with that aspect should be commended. However, is Sister Hazel going to play there every year? Please please please .... stop with the Sister Hazel. Am I the only one? I can't be. Someone help me out here. Let's get a petition started.

There was some local talent included: Jiggle The Handle, Going South, Modern Day Romeos, Rob Webster and Fluffdog, etc. Thanks! It was great to see they were included. The other talent was fine as well, Maggie Speaks, Aunt Janet Band, 16 Candles, Libido Funk Circus and Blonde on Board (the old Only Sons with a girl singer). The problem is that when I was a kid, the community fests and carnivals always displayed the local talent including the kid bands and jazz bands and aspiring rock groups. The Gala appears to be losing it's grasp of this. Don't get me wrong, the locals that were given the opportunity to play were good and deserved a chance to play and the Gala should be applauded for having them all there. I just think there should be more of that. They did it in years past but apparently, not any longer.

Josh Kelly and Tyler Hilton? I guess you need something for the kids and nobody I've talked to over the age of 25 knows who these people are. I don't. Most people can't tell the difference between Sister Hazel and Blues Traveller either. However, they did pack the place and that's what it's all about, right?

The beer debacle was a bad thing. Let's just say that the price I was paying Thursday night was what you'd expect to pay at a major venue. That was a bad move. I'm glad it was straightened out but it did leave a bad taste.

OK. The Gala's getting the kinks out. You always need to when an event a huge as this is becoming is transplanted to a new place. In my opinion, you want the "community" feel in your fest? Go to the Lakeside Fest. You want to not know anybody around you, go to the Gala. They were both fun. They're just more different from each other than they've ever been now and I don't see any way they'll come back together.

American English - CL Lakeside Fest 6.29.08

2008-07-06T22:12:00.002-05:00

American English played the Lakeside Fest this year and they are a very very good band. It's just that simple. Very professional, very well produced and rehearsed and excellent musicianship. This is a Beatles band and that's all there is to it. I'm putting in this short blurb on them only because I believe most people have heard of this band and if you have not seen them before, make a damned point to go out and see them They are playing at just about every fest in the area this summer so there's plenty of chances to see them. I don't care how old you are either. It doesn't matter. You don't have to know anything at all about music to appreciate these guys.

Those thigs can't be said about a lot of bands. This was a fine group and that's all I can say.

Check out their site at http://www.americanenglishbeatles.com/

Pirates Over 40 - CL Lakeside Fest 6.26.08

2008-07-06T21:53:00.004-05:00

The Pirates Over 40 band consists of some local talent and right there, I applaud the Lakeside Fest group. I certainly think they should have more local talent. Somebody should. Back to the Pirates. This is a good Jimmy Buffett style tribute band with some good performing, good singing and they are well-rehearsed. Actually, I like these guys better than Od Tapo Imi which played last year. I think Pirates played last year, too and Od Tapo Imi did the Gala part. Well, anyway.

Anyway I like these guys. I'm not a huge Buffett kind-of-guy but the only thing that bothers me a bit is what I call "70s rock vibrato". It just brings back memories of the Flat As A Pancake album (Head East) and Three Dog Night. It's kind of an older-style vocal but that's just me. I'm definitely being a little too nit-picky. The song selection is good. The arrangements were for the most part good and they were obviously a notch or three above the usual fare. If you like Buffett stuff, these are the better guys in the area so see them .. if they ever actually play in the area. I can see by their MySpace listing they are playing everywhere but around here. They are a bit of a large band to fit in most places. However, that's an affliction most area bands have. Check 'em out!

http://www.myspace.com/piratesover40

The Crystal Lake Lakeside Fest - June 26 -29 2008

2008-07-06T21:34:00.004-05:00

Here we go .... Crystal Lake Fest Season. I'll start out with the Lakeside Fest

In this post, I feel compelled to make a few personal comments first before getting into the bands I saw. First and foremost ... the beer. I know that we have the same company providing the beverages every year and I know it's one of the local distributors whom everyone knows and loves but ..... I just can't handle Old Style. I mean it. I can't. I can't handle Honey Brown either. And to make matters worse, it was not very cold. Now I don't think it's a huge stretch of the imagination to see what a direct comparison is to warmish Old Style. At least last year they had Amstel which is a drinkable beer. I really mean no direct offense here but I equate Old Style beer with toothless old geezers who are drinking Old Style only because they couldn't find any Blatz or Schlitz anywhere. I feel this needs to change. There ... I said it.

Beside the obvious disappointment I have in that The Gala has moved and I have a hard time figuring out why the direct locals can't handle a community event which was taking place only 8 days out of a year, has anyone noticed that a lot of the long-term locals did not gather there this year as they had in years past? The times they are a-changing.

I like the fact that the Lakeside folks at least look to some local talent which the Gala group is quickly abandoning. I really wanted to see Kimberly Wolff and I couldn't break free to see her. I did see one group which I will comment on.

Well, the Lakeside Fest was certainly plagued with rain and otherwise nasty weather and that's something totally out of any one's control. The time I spent there was not real memorable this year. And that's too bad.

Slamabama - Wool Street (Cary) 6.21.08

2008-06-22T07:27:00.003-05:00

Slamabama is a very good band. They are obviously well-rehearsed and have that flow that only groups who play 6+ gigs a month can really acquire. I have never heard of Slamabama so I had no idea as to what to expect. It's a 4-piece band with drums, bass guitar/vocalist and female vocalist. This is in essence a country band and a very enjoyable one at that. I stuck around for 1 set and heard some mighty fine Telecaster playing (you know how I get about Telecasters). The guitarist (J Juliano) was a very good vocalist as well. Lisa, the female vocalist was also good. It's too bad all she does is sing and hit a cowbell or a tambourine. She could add so much more if she played something but she does have a good voice and adds a great "county" presence to the act. She also harmonizes very well with Juliano. The drummer and bassist are very good. They worked very well together as all good bass players and drummers should. These two always have to be a sinc for a band to have that butt-kicking drive people want to hear and they had it.

I heard "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Little Sister" some Tom Petty and (gulp) "Me and Bobby McGee" among many others. They do non-country rock tunes also but everything has that country edge and I think that is something different that people want to hear and that this area tends to be very lacking in.

Again, great band! There is something about country bands that is so "happy" if you know what I mean. The stage banter between songs was good (although I could scarcely make out a word of it due to the echo in the building) and they always had smiles on their faces ... even the bassist and drummer. Other bands could certainly draw a lesson from that.

I'm starting to like Wool Street more. Great mix of people there. I know the band has a lot to do with it but for Slamabama, there was a good mix of young and "older" in there.

Go see them! http://slamabama.com/

Dejas Vu (Unplugged) - Wool Street (Cary) 6.11.08

2008-06-15T21:59:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you get blindsided. I kind of pride myself on knowing who most of the bands are in the area. I saw there was someone named "Deja Vu" playing at Wool Street in Cary so I decided to see what this was about.

By the way. Wool Street is a very cool place if you have not been there yet. Big beautiful new two-floor bar. My only complaint about the place is that ALL BARS NOW CRAM IN AS MANY TVs AS THE CEILING AND ROOF SUPPORTS CAN POSSIBLY HANDLE. Maybe it's just me but this new trend in hanging TVs up in every available square centimeter of wall space is beginning to turn me off. I have not eaten there yet. That's next.

Enough said on that subject. Back to Deja Vu unplugged. There has been, and are currently, and always will be, a hundred bands named "Deja Vu" co-existing at the same time. I wanted to see what this was about. I entered, ordered a beer and watched two women strumming guitars and singing every song you've ever known.

They aren't bad. They sound good. They look good. They entertain the crowd and especially the guys. They play the right tunes. They're strummers and there's nothing all that wrong with that if they're entertaining. They just didn't blow me away as anything earth-shaking. Then I tried to locate them on the web.

Check out http://www.myspace.com/dejavudv8
They are playing 8,9,12 gigs a month, have 23 members and are playing all over the area. This is weird because I've never heard of them! This kind of freaks me out a bit. It really does. The tracks you can listen to sound kind of wedding-band-ish.

I'm going to just take a wild guess but I'm betting this is a "corporatized" band. What I mean by that is that I'm guessing they can split into several groups at any given time and can do all kinds of gigs all under the same name. They maybe can be all things to all customers. That is, if you want a wedding band, Deja Vu can do it. You want a club gig with 8o's rock, Deja Vu can do it. You want both kinds of bands on the same night, Deja Vu can do it.

That's just my impression. Maybe Deja Vu can e-mail me and explain all this to me. Anyway, the two women were enjoyable and they provided a good musical distraction. Check them out and patronize the new Wool Street in Cary!

Blue Shield Band - Williams Street Tap (Crystal Lake) 6.6.08

2008-06-08T22:42:00.004-05:00

I blogged about these guys last year and I promised that this year, I'd go back and see some of the bands I wrote about last year to see if I still felt the same way about them. I'm not even going to read my previous post to refresh my memory.

You know, these guys are not the best musicians around but you know, they have soul. They sound like they really like to play and just plain have a love for the music. They play whatever they want and don't do hardly any of the songs everyone else does. They play a lot of original material. That's something you don't hear often anymore. I really have to hand it to them. They are very unlike anyone else in the area and they've been around for a while doing exactly what it is they want to do.

Again, I applaud the Blue Shield Band and although I don't think they'll get rich doing what they do, I get the feeling that getting rich is not the primary focus of why they play as a band. They just seem to plain love it.
http://www.myspace.com/blueshieldband
http://www.blueshieldband.com/

Dorian Castle - Fire Wood (McHenry) 5.29.08

2008-06-08T22:25:00.002-05:00

I was coming home from a rehearsal and I saw Dorian Castle's name on the sign for the new restaurant, Fire Wood. I had been wanting to check the place out and since I've seen Mr Castle before, I thought this was good timing.

Fire Wood is a nice place. It's a joy to see a new nice restaurant and lounge in town. I hate using the word "lounge" as to me, the term denotes a Holiday Inn lounge in the 70s with Murph and the MagicTones playing there in their red velvet suits. It is a very nice cozy place and a place I could certainly hang out in.

And it would be nice to hang out there listening to Dorian Castle. He is perfect for this kind of setting and plays a very wide variety of tunes. He plays a Yamaha keyboard that has all the backing music programmed in. He's a one-man-band. He has an excellent voice and the audience really liked him. He plays tunes the 30-somethings would like as well as material for the 50-somethings. I had a good time and I'd see him again. I wrote about him last year and although I thought he wasn't perfect for outside festival events, he certainly was a great fit with Fire Wood. Check out his web site at http://www.doriancastle.com/

Rdubya & Fluffdog - Duke O'Brien's 4.17.08

2008-04-17T22:44:00.004-05:00

I was out making the rounds tonight and stopped in to see Rdubya & Fluffdog (Webster & Szura) at Duke's.

First of all, I'm glad to see Duke's still in the game. As much as I've kind of been down on Duke's over the last year, I've always acknowledged that they are the BASTION of live music in Crystal Lake and I hope they always will be. I thought they were going to undergo a renovation but I don't know what's happening with that.

Second of all, it wasn't very crowded on a Thursday night inside but there were a fair number outside and with it being a warm night, I can certainly understand that. You gotta smoke outside you know.

Third of all, I only caught about a 1/2 hour of the duo and I owe it to myself to catch them again. They're OK. I see by the web site they're playing a lot but from my angle only catching 30 minutes of them, I had only a couple of comments. Szura's a great guitar player and I've known that for a while. I don't know much about Webster although he's definitely a good singer.

What I heard was a typical looping group. I always hand it to loopers as you definitely need to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time to be a looper. However, looping always lends itself to two or three or four chord repetitious meanderings that don't always go anywhere in particular. That is what I kind of heard tonight and it kind of bores me, although it didn't bore the dozen people watching. It was Jagerbomber night after all.

The other comment is that they sound way too processed for me. Although I like almost overprocessed sound at times, tonight really was a Loopalooza/Pocessalooza. Webster's acoustic didn't hardly sound very acoustic at all and team that up with Fluffdog's processed electric and a very heavy-treble mixed looped vocals and drum pads, there was a lot of electrical sound and not a lot of organic sound happening. I'd almost like to hear a more acoustic - sounding thing and maybe that happens later on in the night which is why I should go back and hear them again and report back. However, looking at their schedule, my tastes apparently are shared by the minority. It's just my observations. It doesn't mean I'm right .. or wrong. Just my opinion.

Catch them on Thursday nights at Duke's. They're all that's happening in CL on a Thursday night and they're a good thing because it's LIVE MUSIC!

http://www.myspace.com/webtunes

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=29086624

Do It Differently

2008-04-15T22:24:00.006-05:00

Some of the things I notice about so many of the bands I see is that they commonly (1) perform the songs they've chosen as closely arranged as they can to the original, (2) perform the songs in the key the original was in even if nobody in the band can hardly hit any of the high notes and (3)often take themselves too seriously.

Many may disagree with me but in the grand scope of the cosmos, if you're playing with three or four other guys or girls in a bowling ally bar in McHenry County Illinois, you really shouldn't take what you're doing that seriously. This should be fun. The crowd should have fun. Leave the political musical statements to U2 or Paul McCartney or Green Day. If I'm going out some night with a girl to have some beers and some fun and maybe do some dancing, I want to have fun. If a band is performing as a concert rather than playing songs to get you moving, I'm not having as much fun as I should be having. Don't take yourself too seriously .... because ... most others are not. Most of us who play out know deep in our hearts we are not going to be famous. We know what our place is in the natural order and there is nothing wrong with that!

One thing I really like in a band is when they do some interesting versions of songs everyone else does. There is nothing wrong with doing the same songs everyone else does and you know from my blogs that that is kind of a pet peeve of mine. But there really is nothing wrong with that because most of the people who come to see you want to hear those songs anyway. I get turned on when I hear a song you DON'T hear everyone else do or you do a fair number of songs in a totally different style or tempo or rhythm than the original was done in .. and it actually works! Just like they say on American Idol; Make The Song Your Own. Now that's imagination. That's doing something different from everyone else. That's giving your audience something to remember and something to differentiate you from all those others that do Sweet Home Alabama the same way everyone else does. So your band can't pull off a decent version of Free Bird. Do that song in a different way and in a different arrangement and shorten it up some. Work within your abilities. There was a band around many years ago named The Critics and they did a great version of If I Only Had A Brain. I saw them three or four times and always waited for that song and always remembered the name of that band.

Finally, in some of my blogs, I've mentioned that the singer is stretching too hard for the high notes and subsequently, the song doesn't sound all that good. Don't do that! If the singer(s) can't hit the higher notes, don't do the song. Every song you do should song strong and tight. If you insist on doing the song, change the key. If you can't change the key or won't change the key, you have two options: (1) don't do the song or (2) be content with performing a song that doesn't sound good.

There are other issues as well. Start on time no matter what. Don't take breaks that are too long as that gives your audience a good excuse to leave and bar owners don't like that. When you go into a new club to play, don't immediately ask the bartender or manager if you get free drinks. That shouldn't be an important reason you're there. Be a pro. Stay straight during the gig. You may think you're sounding good as you get more buzzed as the night goes on ... but you aren't. Record some of your gigs sometime ... especially the last set. Get ready for an awakening. Be very nice to all employees of the bar or restaurant you're playing in. Most importantly ... look like you're having a great time up there. That's what truly gets an audience on your side.

Mr Myers - Hemmingway's Port Of Call, Lake Geneva, Wi 4.12.08

2008-04-13T09:49:00.003-05:00

I was up last evening in Zenda (yes, Zenda) and I thought I'd drop by Hemmingway's Port of Call - South of Disorder Bar in Lake Geneva and catch a group I've seen several times but never blogged about; Mr Myers. This time it wasn't the whole band. It was the steel pan player, Todd Donnelly, drummer Mike and bassist Alex.

If you haven't been to Hemmingways, you should check it out. It's got that Jimmy Buffett/tropical feel and it's always a fun place. It wasn't packed last night but there was a good group for Lake Geneva in the winter - yes, WINTER - it was freakin snowing outside!

I like all kinds of music. I can appreciate just about anything anyone puts a band together to perform. I am not a huge Buffett fan but I like what these guys do. I also saw a guy in there I blogged about a couple a weeks ago sitting at the bar who I saw up at Key Lime Cove.

The trio performs Buffett music, calypso and most anything with a tropical bent. Todd has a great voice. The drummer harmonizes very well. They are all very good players. But then again, this band has been around for a very very long time and is a very professional outfit so nothing else could be expected.

One of the things I really like that they do is something I'll be blogging about soon as a topic. They do their own versions of the songs they choose to do. True, it's a trio with no guitar, keyboards, horns or other players and you'd have to do your own version. That's not what I mean. They do many of the songs in a different tempo than the original is known at and they perform their vocals in their own way. In other words, instead of doing the song modeled very closely to the recorded version, they make the song their own. That is a concept few bands seem to grasp. Put your own flavoring in the mix. Do it your way.

Anyway. This is a fun trio of professionals and I don't care if you're a heavy metal fan or a country rock fan, this is a great getaway place and Mr Myers plays great getaway music. Please check them out this spring and summer! http://www.mrmyers.com/ Also, check out Hemmingways! http://74.53.30.200/sodb/

Also, check out the full band. They too will impress the guacamole out of you!

After a few beers here, I went back to McHenry County and caught Eleventh Hour.

Eleventh Hour - Wool Street in Cary 4.12.08

2008-04-13T00:29:00.005-05:00

This was the first time I've seen a band at Wool Street, the new restaurant in Cary. Wool Street is another one of the new generation of bars where they go for the high ceiling, two levels of seating/standing and they cram the place with as many TVs as they can hang. (a la Finn McCool's, Fire Bar, etc.). This is supposed to draw 25-year-olds like moths to a flame. This place even has a GINORMOUS projection TV on the wall over where the band plays which has the band playing on the screen as well via a well-placed camera. Brand new place. Still a little sterile. Needs a little breaking in. It's a JD-booked place which means there is yet another place you can see Insomnia at once a month.

The acoustics were not near as bad as I imagined they might be.At the time of this writing, I just got back from Wool Street. I don't mean this in any kind of a bad way but, this is a wedding or lounge band with an edge. The place was busy and crowded with 30-somethings and maybe a few Lower-Forty-Somethings having a good time in their own 30-something and Lower-Forty-Somethings way. You know what I mean. Those people that obviously don't get out a lot and when they do, they just don't look real natural having a good time. It was actually kind of like a wedding where people were not dressed in suits and dresses and the band was not in tuxes.

Eleventh Hour although good, reminded me of a lounge band; both in song selection and general sound. The drummer was good. The bass player could hardly be heard but I think he was good. The guitar player was good. The keyboard player was not very audible most of the time and adequate. It was the singer that put the final touch on the lounge/wedding sound. She was OK. She was a bit pitchy dawg. She moved like a wedding/lounge singer and sang pretty good but didn't sound particularly better or worse than 90% of all other female lead singers. She's very attractive but for me, the whole package just wasn't totally there.

They sounded good. The wedding/lounge sound come from the not-varied-very-often sound of the keyboard, the guitar sound and the female vocal. I got there after 11 pm and without looking at the songlist on their web site at http://www.eleventhhourlive.com/ I'll bet there was some Melissa E and Benatar songs done earlier before I got there. The other thing that creates the lounge/wedding sound is the song selection. When I got there, Promises In The Dark (Benatar) was being performed and I then heard, Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy, Freak Out, Knock On Wood (vocal was off on this one), Shake Your Booty, Walk This Way, Sweet Home Alabama (not a great version) and when I was getting ready to leave, Faithfully (Journey). See what I mean?

Actually, this was not a bad band at all. It's just that it was a band for the older, straighter and whiter crowd. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Also, the place was pretty crowded and very into the music. I've seen several bands at Duke O'Brien's lately that didn't get the crowd or the crowd response that this band had this night ... and generating crowds is really what this is all about. Therefore, Eleventh Hour had a very successful night!

The Catch - Duke O'Brien's 4.4.08

2008-04-04T23:30:00.005-05:00

I entered in http://www.catchsublime.com/ and got the Joey Derus site for The Catch. I've blogged about Joey Derus before in this Blog ... quite a while back.

I go into Duke's at 10PM and they're still sound checking. They didn't start until 10:30. Then, they started out with a 10 minute jam on 2 chords that was OK but not musically stimulating. I hung out for about a half an hour and honestly left because I was getting bored. NOT that they're a bad band. They just didn't do it for me. The room was pretty quiet with maybe 15 people seated in the "band" room and maybe 15 people at the bar.

The Catch is a drummer, a bassist, a keyboardist and a guitarist. The vocals were OK and the harmonies were OK, too. The bass player was freaking me out a bit as he was playing a lot with his thumb, which is something you don't see a lot. All the players were technically good.

They played a "The Band" song, a Beatles song on a couple other covers besides Sublime material but there is just something about jamming on two or three chords that doesn't keep me interested very long. That's just me. The audience was kind of into it but they weren't foaming at the mouth. They obviously were not real into it either.

As I said, I stayed for only a half an hour. Bands should realize that no matter how few people may be there, you just don't know who is in those few people in your audience. I've said it before but, there could be people sent by other bar owners to see you that night. I really think you need to sell yourself fast to get the interest happening. Now, I'm not a huge Sublime fan and that's probably my problem. But it can also be the band's problem if I'm not the only one there who feels the way I do about Sublime. I absolutely applaud The Catch for trying to create a new tribute band but the same beat continually with solos over 2 or 3 chords is just not that engrossing .... to me and maybe only me.

Again, I like the band. They're OK players. I just was not that turned on by what I heard for the first half hour and they lost me.

Worth checking out, though. See http://www.catchsublime.com/

Gregory B - Key Lime Cove (Gurnee) 3.15.08

2008-03-24T19:49:00.004-05:00

I decided to take the wife to this new Dells-style resort - slash - monster indoor water park in Gurnee to check it out and I see that a guy who's a friend on my MySpace site is playing there. He turns out to be Gregory B, a Jimmy Buffett tribute single act out of Crystal Lake. We had to sit down and order a couple margaritas and see what happens.

He's all right. He's very good at what he does. He's a strummer on guitar but he has a good voice and is very personable with the crowd. He genuinely looks like he's having a great time on stage and that's as important as your virtuosity (or lack of it) or your song selection. Gregory B couldn't have had a better song selection for a tropical-themed margarita grill (The Crazy Toucan). His web site states that he records all his own backing music and I believe him. They are very good tracks and he really does sound like an entire band. He even does his own vocal harmonies.

All in all, I'm very glad I had a chance to see him, albeit due to a weird coincidence and if you're in the mood for tropical music and Jimmy Buffett material, this is real fun stuff. Oh .... check out Key Lime Cove. It's a really cool place.
http://www.geocities.com/gregbmusic/GregoryB.html
http://www.myspace.com/gregorybbeachpartymusic\
http://www.keylimecove.com/

The Wiggle-Os - The Onion 3.14.08

2008-03-24T19:18:00.003-05:00

The Wiggle-Os is Alex and Buddy from Alex and the All Stars and they are a real joy to watch. I stopped in for a short while late on this Friday night at The Onion in Lake Barrington (on Pepper Rd) and the place was loaded with musician-types. This seems to turn into an open mic night of sorts as friends of the group go up and play on songs with the two.

Buddy is a great guitar player on electric but he's also very good on acoustic. Alex plays at the acoustic guitar and is better than the last time I saw them many months ago. She's got a great voice. Together, they make for a fun night. I didn't know most of the people there but I did recognize the bass player from Jiggle The Handle who played on a song or two. Patrick from the All Stars was there as well. They all have to be locals.

Well any way, it was a real fun night for the short amount of time I was there and if you want to see some good players, both locally known and not, check these guys out!

Chicago Rock Circus - Chicago City Limits 3.1.08

2008-03-24T15:30:00.004-05:00

It's time I got caught up with with some groups I've seen but have not had the time to write up yet. I got off an early gig and was in the area of Chicago City Limits in Schaumburg and stopped to see who was playing. I've never heard of the Chicago Rock Circus but understood from word-of-mouth there that they had not played out that much yet. You wouldn't have known that from the way they were playing.

This was a fun band! Great players! They are a bit of a confusing band and what I mean by that is that there appears to be a core 4-person unit: guitar, bass, drums and singer/guitar/misc. percussion. They have a different featured singer for each set. These singers apparently rotate in and out. I missed the first singer who I understand was great. I did get to see a good part of the second and third sets. I got to see Kerry D from Liquid 7 who I've blogged about before. Great job.

These three core musicians are great! These are some of the better musicians you'll see in a bar in the area. The other guy, who acts as a ringmaster, was good as well.

They also had some entertainment going on in between sets. That was kind of weird but actually somewhat entertaining. I think the idea is to keep your attention all night and not give you any reason to leave, which is actually a good idea. More bands should think about that ... especially you guys who take 1/2 hour breaks between sets.

Anyway, great band. Novel approach. Check them out! http://www.chicagorockcircus.com/index.html

I-Road - Duke O'Brien's 02-23-08

2008-02-24T08:13:00.003-06:00

The name of the band is I-Road. It's a 4-piece group with drums, guitar, bass and vocalist who sometimes plays guitar. They're a good band! They really are. They just present themselves as a group of guys who just got back from the mall and decided to play a gig at Duke's. Constructive C - dress a little different from your audience and string your songs together a little closer.

Also, Charlie (the guitar player); when I first got there, I thought that buzzy-thin guitar sound was just for that particular song. After a while, I realized it was your sound. For what basically is a 3-piece with a singer, you need a fuller sould to fill up the overall "wall of sound" and an old 60's fuzz sound just isn't cutting it without another guitar player in the group.

On the plus side, these guys are going to be real good with some more seasoning. The vocalist is very good. He just doesn't know how to carry himself yet. The guitar player is good, the drummer is good and the bass player is good. Although I didn't know a lot of the songs, I liked everything they played. They have some good original stuff. This is a good band now but has all the earmarks of being a very very good band when they get their show and stage presence together. Good job guys! I'd come to see you again! See them at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=227252521

Me and my Bobby Benz

2008-02-03T09:30:00.000-06:00

Why is it that any woman who has any vocal ability at all can sing Me and Bobby McGee or Mercedes-Benz? What's a more relevant question is, why is it that they insist on singing one of these two songs? As much as I think Janice Joplin was and still is a great vocalist, I almost curse the day when she decided to do a song a cappella. This means that even if your band doesn't know the lyrics or the music, this is no excuse as far as the woman (or her boyfriend) is concerned for you not letting her get up and sing the damned song. It may actually be the only song any women even want to sing. It seems to be a universal song for aspiring female vocalists crossing religion, race and nationality. It may even be a great thing for a bar somewhere to have a Bobby McGee/Mercedes-Benz "song-off" where women in various towns can compete for who can really actually sing the song the best .... or the worst. I feel confident in saying that if it's the boyfriend who comes up and asks you if his girlfriend can come up to sing one of these songs, chances are 98% that she will suck. If it's another girlfriend that makes the request, she may even suck more. That's why there should be contests held at every karaoke night in every town to nominate the best and the worst female vocalists so as to create a distraction for them and hopefully, get them to see how much they really do suck so they and their friends stopping asking musicians to come up and take the stage. That's it. I've said it. It's off my chest. Damn you,Pearl.

So Long, Duke's Grill

2008-01-29T14:39:00.000-06:00

Just read in the paper at http://www.pioneerlocal.com/wauconda/news/743995,wk-dukes-011708-s1.article that Duke's Grill in Wauconda has closed its doors. This was a great place and another place that featured live bands. Kevin Purcel and Pez and the Dispensers and many others played there. It's really a shame to see Duke go. Competition has been getting pretty tough in town with Docks, Lindy's Landing, TJ Twigs and Lakeside Inn all having live music. To tell you the truth, Wauconda is now starting to get quite the rep as a town for live music. However, it's very sad to see Duke leave and I certainly wish him the best!

Liquid 7 - Duke O'Brien's 1.4.2008

2008-01-05T11:57:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! It was a good way to start out the new year with a good band! I've heard of Liquid 7 before but never saw them until now. It was a fairly good night at Duke's .... not like the "old days" but still a good turn-out. At least Duke's is still there!

Liquid 7 consists of drums, bass, guitar and a vocalist. The drummer was OK and held the beat as was the bassist. The guitar player was good and holding his own. The singer was very good but slowly started getting sloppier as the night went on. That's OK. The drunker the crowd is, the better we sound. However, there can be times when the drunker the musician is, the better he or she thinks he or she sounds .. which can get dangerous. There might as well have not been any mics set up for the bassist and guitarist as even when they did occasionally have something to add, you couldn't hear it. One can never be sure if we really wanted to hear it but we won't know from this performance. They had a good mix from the house sound.

Anyway, this was a good band and it was refreshing to hear a good, well-rehearsed band. They were aggressive and pretty full-sounding for basically, a three-piece with a singer. Of course, they do most of the same classic rock songs everyone else does with an occasional surprise. They did a few new songs that went over well but then again, this crowd was into it. It got to the point later in the night where the band could have farted into the mics and the crowd would have loved it! Hey, nothing wrong with that! It's an accomplishment getting a crowd that whipped into a frenzy. They were not a spectacular band, but they worked within their abilities and as a result, they sounded great!

They'll be back, I'm sure. They were certainly worth the admission price! http://www.myspace.com/liquid7band

The 5th Element - Govnor's Public House 12.21.07

2007-12-22T07:55:00.000-06:00

There's not much else to say. It's a wedding band. It's a 1970s Holiday Inn circuit lounge band. It's the 5th Element band.

You can see the band's blurb at the gigmasters link at http://www.gigmasters.com/liveband/The5thElementBand/

I used to be in bands like this. Don't get me wrong. They were OK for what they do. I just wasn't aware bands actually formed up to do this kind of gig nowadays. And I'll bet there's still money in it, too.

I survived Spooky, Fly Me To The Moon, Just The Way You Are, Lady's Night, and a Saturday Night Fever two-fer. The one though that made me hurry up with my pint of delicious Doppel Bock was when I heard Quando Quando Quando.

It's not the band. For me, it's the memories that I had successfully and happily suppressed for all these years that came flooding back into my consciousness like so many flying monkeys from Oz. I'm absolutely sure there were many people there who liked what they heard but I also noticed that the entire end of the bar was empty when I left.

The 5th Element consists of a drummer/vocalist, keyboardist/saxophonist/vocalist, bassist and guitarist/vocalist. Guys, you were OK and believe me, I know what you were doing up there. I just .... I can't go ... I .......you just kind of freaked me out, that's all.

The Volcanos - Govnors Public House 12.14.07

2007-12-15T08:07:00.000-06:00

As Wedding Banned was at Duke O'Brien's this night, I decided to go over to Govnors to see what was happening there.

The Volcanoes was a very good band and the only way I got their name was I saw it on a posting there.

These guys were very good and featured one of the better guitar players I've seen lately. They consist of a guitarist/singer, a guitarist/singer/keyboardist, a bass player and a drummer. All of them were excellent musicians. My only complaint was they do most of the songs you hear everyone else do but then again, that's what the audience seems to want.

I was only around for the first set and heard They Call Me The Breeze, The Last Train To Clarksville, Honky Tonk Woman, American Girl, The House Is A Rockin and some others. I was extremely impressed with Good Times Bad Times by Lead Zep. They played everything with an edge to it and I'd certainly like to see them again and I'd like to see their whole show somewhere else besides the "Boom Boom Room" of McHenry County .... but Govnors will do. Their bios are very impressive and they apparently aren't in JD's stable and their "past peformances" tab on their web site does not show them doing the Creative Talent - controlled establishments so, more power to you guys!

Keep an eye open for The Volcanoes! They are more than worth the drive!
http://www.thevolcanoesband.com

Axe Grinder - Govnors Public House 12.7.07

2007-12-15T07:55:00.000-06:00

Just a short blurb on one of those other bands I have a soft spot for. I've blogged about Axe Grinder before so I won't get too much into it again. They play some great hard-driving blues and do very well with some well-chosen classic rock selections. Stuff you don't hear every other band doing. I stopped in for a while to catch a few on this night and I'm never let down.

These guys play some fun music and there is some very solid talent in this band and it's obvious. The two guitar players are superb, the bass player is right on the money and in sinc with the very solid drummer. There's some very good vocals as well. I once indicated that they didn't have much of a show but who needs one in Govnors anyway. What? You want to see a guitar player up on the bar knocking over your drinks? Actually, most bands don't have all that much of a show so maybe I'm picking on these guys unfairly. Anyway, they are always worth the effort to see them and hopefully they will be back in Govnors again soon. http://www.axegrinder.us/

Just Thinking Out Loud

2007-11-26T18:16:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I've posted a few comments and communicated with a few of you out there on the side. It's not that I haven't seen any music lately. I saw Alex and the All Stars again (can't get enough), Todd Donnelly who plays steel drums and other stuff for Mr Myers (excellent) and a couple of other guys.

I'm a little bummed because downtown Crystal Lake is taking a hit from McCool's. Don't get me wrong. Finn McCool's is a great place. Crystal Lake needed something like that downtown. However, it's come at the expense of the other establishments downtown that only add to the great atmosphere downtown Crystal Lake always had. I don't like Duke O'Brien's, but it served a purpose as a place to see live music. It could have been so much better but apathy on the part of the owner(s) let McCool's beat it up.

If McCool's had been located out on Rt 14 where everything else was, things would be somewhat different. This last Wednesday Night Before Thanksgiving told a lot.

It used to be that you couldn't shoehorn your way into the Cottage on this sacred night. This last Wednesday, you could get yourself a table at 6:30 without hardly waiting. There was nobody in the tent on the deck. This is what I heard from a friend as I wasn't in town that night. I was playing somewhere farther away because there's only two places in the entire area to get a gig anymore, Govnors on a Friday and Duke's. Soon it may only be Govnors. The only other option is to sing mindless karaoke at 85 Brink Street with the same people who sing the same songs every Friday.

It's a sad state of affairs. As much as the town and the 20-somethings need Finn McCool's, the rest of the establishments are taking a beating because they simply appeared to have lost interest before Finn McCool's even came to town. The owners of the old Downtown Bank Club had their chance. Now they can see how it could have been.

One thing's for sure ... things always change. I can only hope the big corporate establishments don't take over downtown Crystal Lake and I hope that someday live music will come back onto the scene. We've lost Porters, Escape (in FRG), Cary Indoor Golf, River Bend, Sloppy T's, and others. I'm hoping we don't lose more live music clubs or lose live music clubs to karaoke. There's the niche nobody else has ... live music!

Doublewide - Duke O'Brien's 10.12.07

2007-10-13T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here is a good band. They actually brought a crowd into Duke's and you know of my uneasiness with the future of Duke O'Brien's. Incidentally, I saw Mark in Duke's last night and I have not seen him in there for quite some time on a week end night. Maybe he read my blog.

Anyway, Doublewide was very good. This is very rowdy rock and roll but it's well-done. Great drummer! Good guitars and bass and it's a delight to hear a singer who can sing in tune and not sound strained all night. This band consists of two guitars, a lead singer, drummer and bass. See their MySpace site at http://www.myspace.com/doublewidechicago

They had a great song selection and the songs were aggressive and well-rehearsed. This is the first I've heard of this band and I'd go see them again. Their show was as good and maybe a little better than most other acts. I think they could pick it up a notch in the "show" department.

Check out Doublewide ... more than worth the cover charge.

Greg Culp - Broken Oar 10.6.07

2007-10-13T08:09:00.000-05:00

Greg Culp is a single one-man-band act who was playing outside at the Broken Oar. It was an exceptionally hot week end and great weather for playing outside.

Greg Culp has a great voice. He's good. My only issue is that he certainly sounded like he was using stock karaoke tracks to play along with. There is simply something cheesy about the sound of most karaoke tracks. A good number of these one-man-band acts use karaoke tracks.

It's not easy doing a single act gig. You have the "Village Squire" types which to me is just plain boring. However, in places like the Village Squires, the performer is not meant to be entertainment. You're meant to be background noise. You have the piano bar types who usually need to be pretty sophisticated in their musical training. You also have the very good singles ... Dave Sarkis for instance. Sarkis doesn't need background to be entertaining. You then have this newer phenomenon; the one man band.

All in all, most one man band acts are boring because there is only one person standing there to watch. The other issue is that the backing tracks are non-exciting and if the karaoke tracks are all purchased from the same provider, they sound homogeneous and uninspired. In some ways, this makes the one man band act nothing more than LOUDER background music.

Greg Culp is good. I only wish the backing tracks were more exciting.

Getting Worried About Duke O'Brien's

2007-09-14T07:01:00.000-05:00

You know. I'm getting worried about Duke O'Brien's.

Back in the 1970's - 1980's, it was Cat Ballou's. In actuality Cat Ballou's looked very much like Duke O'Brien's does now; dingy, usually dirty-looking and mostly kind of dark. It was a fun place however and the only place of its kind in town ... and the biggest. Then, it changed into Southside Johnny's. It was cleaned up and bright-looking, had live music and had good food. Then it became Duke O'Brien's ..... and things changed again.

In many ways, Duke's is not a lot different from a lot of other bars that have live music. If you are a hot-looking female in a tank top, you can get in for free. I've seen whole groups of women get in without paying and I've seen a few guys who are obviously the friends of the doorman's get in for free. This is a direct rip-off for the band who, by the way, is working way harder than that doorman.

There is also the friendliness factor, which is totally lacking in Duke O'Brien's at night when it's time for the band to go on. The door guys never smile. They just have this air of being on some kind of power trip. Dingy, unfriendly, hard to get around in, bad washrooms, and lately ... a lot of not-quite-up-to-par bands.

When JD took over the booking there, almost all of the local bands were nixed out of a chance to have a place to play in locally. If you wanted to see Insomnia on a Saturday night, check out Sideouts or Algonquin Road House or wait a week. They'll be at one of them. Then JD picked up even the little places like Georgios and DC Cobbs and Govnors. You had to be on JD's money maker list to get booked anywhere around here. I'm just guessing but I'll bet you the bigger better bands are not making anywhere near the money in Duke's as they used to so the D-Man's backing off on booking the bigger bands there. Maybe local groups can get back in again .... if the place stays open.

I don't know the reasons for Dave Sarkis's departure but he and Skaja are premier-class musicians and entertainers and Sarkis has been there since he was old enough to walk. You have to think Sarkis is making a move either because he sees the writing on the wall or Duke's management doesn't want to pay any more. It's a genuine drag to see Dave and Skaja leave. They are truly excellent musicians and McHenry County should be proud to have them.

I don't know. I don't see Duke's making it. The 20-somethings were shunning the place for the most part anyway for a few years now. Duke's has always had great great food but that alone is not enough to keep it afloat. The 20-somethings are gravitating to Finn McCool's and the Cottage now. Duke's can make it and maybe still could make it as a live-music place but it will take a bunch of bucks to clean it up and probably new management to show these employees that their livelihoods depend on how they greet and treat people.

85 Brink Street could keep do better but I think that place needs a new attitude. Labemi's is just too dark and scary in there. The deck may help but the place needs to be more festive. The Williams Street Tap is way too scary to hang out in. It's turned around some but there still seems to be an an unsavory crowd that hangs out there. Georgio's used to be the 20-something hangout and will lose that title if it hasn't already. It just needs a gimmick now.

The real sleeper is Metro Bowl. That place could be a friggin gold mine if they wanted to be. It's very obvious they just don't want to be because why else to they stay like they are? They're hopeless. They want to be the last of the townie bars and they'll tread water until they sell the place in their old age trying to keep it that way.

Well ... that's my take. Let me know what you think.

3rd Exit - Duke O'Brien's 9.7.07

2007-09-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

Duke's may be hurting over there. I went in Friday night to see 3rd Exit, and there was about 25 people in the band area, a big group upstairs for what was probably a private party and about 15 people sitting at the bar. A few more people came in as I was leaving but this is not the Dukes one was used to experiencing (probably due to some local outside influences) but it's still the only place in town for live music. It's just that no bands can make any real money there any more.

I kind of really like these guys but they're definitely still in the seasoning process. They are not a bunch of 20-something guys obviously but they do sound good together and they have some great possibilities.

Since I really kind of like these guys, constructive criticism only. They are a Class C band on the Bandstalker listing. Drummer - good and more than adequate to do fine with this type of material. Bassist - good and he'll be fine. Guitar player - I think he had some strange choices of tone for many of the songs and especially for his solos, which were not real strong. Singer - good but think about either changing the keys of some of these nearly impossible-songs-to-sing-unless-you-are-22-years-old songs, tune everything down a half-step to give the singer half a chance, or don't do them. Rock and Roll - Led Zep - obviously too high for any normal human. Change the key or capo it. Nobody in the audience will know what's going on. Great job on the Live song. There's your key! Don't open the night with tunes that are strained-sounding. Maybe save those for the end of the night when everyone's inebriated and wouldn't know anyway.

All in all, they're a little rough but I really do like these guys and they are taking on some good material. The cardinal rule of bands, work within your capabilities. Know your limits in the beginning and work within them - that's when you sound the best. When the core 30 or so tunes are solid, then reach out for the chancy stuff. Keep it up! http://www.myspace.com/thirdexit

The Whaleshark - South of Disorder Bar, Lake Geneva

2007-09-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

I forgot to add this sighting. I had been up in Lake Geneva a few weeks ago and had heard about Hemmingway's Port of Call Restaurant which contains the South of Disorder Bar. You parrotheads immediately know what that means. This is a Jimmy Buffett bar. Brand new. Way off the beaten track. Certainly a destination bar ... not a happen-into bar like most of them in Lake Geneva on the "strip".

I stopped for a few beers to check it out and a guy named Erik Pietsch was playing there. He says his friends call him the Whaleshark. Maybe he just called himself the Whaleshark and other people said, "OK. We'll call you that."

He is a single acoustic guitarist and singer. He does some cover stuff and many songs he authored himself. He has a CD or two out as well. He's performing in an old T-shirt and a beat-up cowboy hat. He has a pleasant voice and plays guitar pretty good.

I was bored. He would sing a song and then stop and tell a story about Hawaii or some other place and then sing another song and stop and tell another story and .... so on. It was hard for me to grasp how he makes a meaningful living unless he has a trust fund in the background.

He was good ... just not entertaining. Way too laid-back for me. http://www.thewhaleshark.com/

The bar was OK but I do not know how it will make it through the winter times as , 1) not everyone likes Buffett music, 2) it's hard to find and off the beaten path and 3) they are having some what I know to be are some high-priced acts in there. I know they're having some straight ahead rock stuff in there as well. I hope they grow and prosper.

The Benton Street Irregulars - Duke O'Brien's 9.1.07

2007-09-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

It was a Saturday night. Nice out. I go into Duke O'Brien's and immediately notice nobody on the deck. Open parking spots on Main Street. I pay my $4 cover and go in and join the 35 or so people in the band area, three people upstairs and maybe 15 people in the bar area. Not a packed house.

The Benton Street Irregulars were on stage. They're a 4-piece outfit. Drummer, bassist, electric guitarist and an acoustic guitarist/lead and only singer. They must be from Woodstock as there is a Benton Street there in town. Classic rock and newer stuff.

Let me first say that I generally don't like bands where there is only one lead singer. I think in today's bar scene, the crowds have very short attention spans and one gets tired of a single singer's voice throughout the whole night. That singer had better be really really good to hold my attention. It can be even worse for me when there are no harmonies to that lone lead vocal. The Benton Street Irregulars did not have any back-ups happening.

I have to say the lead singer was good but he's just a little hard for me personally to watch for all that long. The Dave Matthews/John Mayer facial expressions were hard for me and at times and I thought they all were taking themselves a little too seriously. Have some fun and look like you're having some fun!

They were not all that bad. They are a Class C band (see my May blog group for rankings). Everyone but the lead singer looks like they are very bored up there. I know they really were not, but ... they looked like they were. They dressed like they would when they get up in the morning and there really is no show at all. It's hard to put on a show when you don't have a very crowded house but you have to put one on anyway. Like I've said before, you never know who is at any given gig checking you out. They do have a great base to work from and I think things could happen for them with some more seasoning. They are a local group playing locally. Kudos to Duke's for having them there!

The Wiggle-Os - Broken Oar 9.1.07

2007-09-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

I was going out for a drive Saturday and I had done my normal scoping of the band listings for the area and noticed that the Wiggle-Os were at the Broken Oar. Hell. It's a Saturday afternoon. Who the hell has a gig on a Saturday afternoon. Thinking that the Oar was probably inaccessible because of the flooding I stopped by anyway to see if they might still be playing and have a beer or two.

I had no idea it was Alex and Buddy of Alex and the All Stars. It was a pleasant surprise. They sounded good. Alex played just a little guitar and of course, she has the great voice. Buddy sounded absolutely great on acoustic guitar. The guy can really play. They mainly did acoustic versions of what they do on the full-band gig.

It looked like they were pretty much just messing around but they did have an agenda and they actually sounded just fine as a duo. Maybe something can happen with this? Maybe we'll see.

Good job you two. There is a lot going on out there that isn't as good as you were Saturday. Keep going.

Sweet Pick - Duke O'Brien's 8.10.07

2007-08-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

Bad name. Just my opinion but, bad name.

Not a bad band. Sweet pick consists of some younger guys playing guitar, bass, drums and Tenor Sax. They are basically pretty good musicians and very well practiced-up and tight.

However, I'm not sure what they were doing in a place like Duke O'Brien's. It was a slower night there and it looked like most everyone there inside was a fan or somehow knew the band. There were maybe 30 people inside and not a lot outside. The inside group were definitely there to see Sweet Pick.

They just didn't entertain me. I am a sucker for any Fender Strat or Tele being played through a Fender Twin but the way the guitar player had his sound dialed up, it could have been any Silvertone through any Crate amp. I just was not a fan of the sound he had. The guitar player and bass player were good players. The sax player was OK. The drummer maybe was the better player. They did play very tightly together and had sounded like they had the parts down solid. They do a kind of jam-band thing and I was not familiar with most of what I heard ... but I was only there for an hour or so. There was one vocal during that period and it wasn't anything to sing about.

I'd say just an alright band. They're maybe a Class C band (see my band ranking system in the May blogs). You really aren't driven to dance with these guys and a place like Duke's is really more of a dance-kind-of-a-place rather than a "concert" venue. Check their web site out at http://sweetpickmusic.net/default.aspx Just OK. Once was enough for me.

Can I play a Song or Two with You?

2007-08-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've added to my blog. I've been out-of-my-mind busy lately and have not had a chance to check out many bands.

However, I do feel compelled to address a topic that I think all musicians are confronted with from time to time. Why is it people feel compelled to ask the band if they can play or sing on a song or two? Why is that?

I think we all know that almost 98% of the time, when a band member is confronted by a person who asks this, and that requester actually is allowed to play or sing, that requester is simply not good.

For those of you who aren't actively playing in a band, you should understand that the band is usually being paid to play there that night. They have been hired to do a job. Unless you are the owner of the establishment, you shouldn't be asking if you can interrupt the show, the flow and the song list. Also, if you can really sing that great, why aren't you playing there that night?

A REAL musician does not go up to the band and ask if they can sit in. It's as simple as that. This is not karaoke. There is a show going on here. Unless you are Robert Plant, please don't do it.

Also, it's one thing to ask a band member to do a particular song. However, do not ask an AC/DC cover band member if they could do a Justin Timberlake song. Do not ask a hair band guitar player if they can do any Brittney Spears. I swear to God. This actually happens! Do not ask a solo acoustic guitar player if they know any Godsmack.

Also, do not go up and ask a band member if they do a particular song and when the band member says, sorry, we don't do that one, ask for the song list so you can look through it while the band waits for you. Just don't do that. Please. Please.

There, I've said it. Musicians know where I'm coming from. All of you who do this sort of thing know who you are. You're the best friends of those guys who are leaning up against a pillar yelling "Free Bird" and thinking it's the funniest thing that's been yelled out in that bar in the last 30 years. (see my Blog about those guys!).

Got that off my chest, eh?

Cat Fight - Crystal Lake Gala 7.1.07

2007-07-03T05:19:00.000-05:00

Now here's a band! It's hard to say but on the Bandstalker rating system, they may be a cross between Class A and Pro. They know how to get the job done. One song flows into the next seamlessly. Their banter can be a little funky. They do the songs they do in their own way and I really really liked their takes and arrangements. They consist of guitar, bass and drums with a lead singer and they have a very full sound. They are excellent players. They are not afraid to tackle any song with just guitar, bass and drums.

Cat Fight is pure professionalism. This was the first time I've seen them. I need to see them again in a bar as they may have been behaving themselves in front of an outside mixed festival crowd. If they did make an effort to behave themselves, they did a great job.

They also played a great mix of songs. There played many guy-sung songs and sounded great doing it. They didn't do the normal mix of what I think are stupid girl-sung songs you so often hear virtually all female singers do. They were hard-driving and aggressive. I must say also that the singer was the best singer I heard at both the Lakeside Fest and the Gala Fest. Her pitch was right-on on virtually every note she sung. She was GREAT!

Go see these ladies. They are worth every cent of admission and worth every mile you travel to go see them. There are a lot of very good bands doing the circuits right now and this band is better that most all of them I've seen. Go see them! http://www.catfightband.com/
http://www.catfightband.com/frame_index.html

Jiggle The Handle - Crystal Lake Gala 6.30.07

2007-07-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

Great band! Great-sounding PA. Good players. Good vocals. You have keyboard, bass, guitar and drums I can't find them in MySpace or with a web site! Good mix of all kinds of tunes. These guys have been around for quite a while and they're no youngsters. This is why they're good. It's too bad they were not on the main stage.

They really do have an amazing mix of country rock, blues, classic rock and other stuff. They didn't have a great show but they were very at ease on stage and obviously seasoned vets. They are playing all over the place from what I see in Wassup! magazine. As I said, they are very good musicians and worth seeing!

Dorian Castle - Crystal Lake Gala 6.30.07

2007-07-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

Dorian Castle is interesting. He's a single act on electronic keyboard (Yamaha) and he's got a great voice and is an excellent player. What I heard at the Gala was a little "loungey" for me but he was very good at everything he played. His PA system wasn't loud enough at the beginning of his set but he ended up somehow plugging into Jiggle The Handle's PA that was being set up for the next performance and Dorian sounded much better.

Check out his web site at http://www.doriancastle.com/ He's very accomplished musically and has some great awards and recognition. Although I don't know how his keyboard works, it sounded like he could put together his own arrangements of the songs and he did a great job of that. The keyboard had a great sound but it still had that I-know-it's-a-brass-section-playing-but-it-still-sounds-like-an-electronic-keyboard sound.

Dorian Castle was a joy to hear for the first time but he's not exactly my kind of thing, if you know what I mean. I think he's for the older types out there ... and there really is nothing wrong with that.

Modern Day Romeos - Crystal Lake Gala 6.30.07

2007-07-01T10:13:00.000-05:00

The third musical group of the afternoon at the Gala was Modern Day Romeos. They perform alternative and classic rock material and were on the Main Stage with a very good sound company doing the mixing. Great sounding PA!

I've seen them before and I'd see them again. This is a band with tons of energy, and mostly good songs. They started off with some good material but then warped into the same old songs everyone else does. I seem to be on a "personality" kick today, so I'll say that this band has a lot of personality, which is one of their best points. The singer is very personable and draws the crowd in. They're good players and their versions of the songs were good. The crowd loves them. They are another band that's been around for a while and I applaud the Gala people for having another good local-area band featured on the entertainment line up. This area has a lot to offer with good bands so the fest people should showcase them.
http://www.moderndayromeos.com/

2007-07-01T09:59:00.000-05:00

Od Tapo Imi - Crystal Lake Gala 6.30.07

2007-07-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

What a great day Saturday was! Perfect weather and music all day long at the Crystal Lake Gala.

It started with Chicago's Od Tapo Imi. This band was on the Main Stage through the big PA. This is a large band with lots of props with them on stage. There are steel drums and steel drums are like Telecasters to me ... I love 'em. However, this band was just "OK". The vocals lacked personality and were pitchy. Some of their versions of some songs were just not all that great in my opinion. Other songs were great. The crowd liked them.

They were costumed and choreographed and they had a great show. They are apparently very popular and have lots of bookings as per their web site: http://www.odtapoimi.com/

All in all, they were a good way to get the afternoon kicked off with what appeared to be a tropical - Jimmy Buffett style theme. Good band over all.

Mike and Joe - CL Lakeside Fest 6.24.07

2007-06-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

Here we go again. Here was another GREAT band! Mike and Joe are a five piece operation with brilliant harmonies and top caliber playing. These guys are so well-rehearsed that you can't fault them for anything at all. I've seen them before and loved them before but I always get excited about seeing them again.

They do new music, alternative and throw in some classic rock once in a while for yuks. They are great. Their sound was great. Their song selection was flawless. Their musicianship was top-shelf. There is nothing else to say.

If you have not seen Mike and Joe, you are missing a truly great musical experience and you need to get out once in a while and see some quality entertainment. Yeah, I know. Sometimes it's so late for you 30 somethings plus to go out at 9 or 10 to see a band but, you need to get out and see who's out there busting their asses to perform quality entertainment.

Go. See these guys. Go see them with extreme prejudice. http://www.mikeandjoe.com/start.html

Crossfire - CL Lakeside Fest 6.24.07

2007-06-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

Ah ... the Lakeside Fest. You see so much music all in one place. The only thing is that most all of the bands you see at fests are really good bands. Crossfire is certainly one of them.

This is not a good band. Crossfire is a great band! I have a secret repressed love for country music and especially ass-kicking country guitar soloists. The lead soloist in this band was exceptional but what I was really blown away with were the vocal harmonies.

Now I don't care if you like country music or not. But I'm telling you, even if you don't think you like country music, you have to appreciate the phenomenal harmony work between these guys. As a musician, I am very very impressed by their arrangements of many of the songs they do. Rocky Mountain Way and Hotel California were beautifully done. So was the Johnny Cash material and Rascal Flats stuff. These guys are really really really good. I hope they come back year after year and I will see them again.

The sound this time was very good and well executed. I was very simply blown away with these guys. Crossfire consists of two guitar players, a bassist and a drummer. And I have to say this, hearing two Telecasters on stage at one time got me kind of hot.

Go see these guys. They are worth every mile you have to travel to see them ... especially if you appreciate country music.

Hairbangers Ball - CL Lakeside Fest 6.22.07

2007-06-22T23:29:00.000-05:00

What a band! It's true that most bands, even mediocre bands, can sound great through a huge PA system outside at festivals. But it's really a good band that can still sound great and be very entertaining even though the mix was, in my opinion, atrocious. More on that later.

This is a seasoned group of what appear to be "pros" or at least Class A on the Bandstalker rating system. These men and woman are there to do a fully pro job of delivering some great songs in a great way. They are a niche band and do a very good job at it. The niche: 80's hair band classics. The song selection is superb, the show is great and the musicianship is top-notch. There really isn't anything you can say bad about this band (except maybe they ask the crowd how they're all doing way too often - however, the crowd always howls when they're asked). That's it. There's nothing else to say. They are a great band worth going way out of your way for.

Now, the mix was a different subject. Hairbangers Ball was great ... even though they had to fight what I thought was a weak mix. The company doing the mixing at the Crystal Lake Lakeside Fest is usually the same outfit that does it every year. I stood at different locations during the Hairbangers sets and there was virtually no bass drum! The drummer would do a roll around the set and most of the drums didn't even respond. The cymbals weren't there. It looked like there was an Ampeg SVT set-up there for the bassist and you could hear virtually no low end to the mix. Man, it's the bass drum keyed into a pounding bass guitar that drives the crowd and neither were there. The vocals were fine and the keyboard and guitars were fine. It sounded like a loud AM radio broadcast. This was the weak link this night.

Great band! Go see them! Now! http://www.hairbangersball.com/

Blue Shield Band - Duke O'Brien's 6.15.07

2007-06-16T07:32:00.000-05:00

I stopped in, I heard a couple of songs and the Blue Shield Band took a 40 minute break. For those who don't think about these things, that is a very long break!

Now, I know it was a real slow all over town last night as there were no cars parked anywhere and all of the bars are now into their summer phases where nobody wants to be inside in the summer, but as a band, you have to play to 8 people the same way you play to 300 people. Doing that is really hard to do but you never know who's stopping in to hear you. What if I was another bar owner looking for other bands to book this fall and my place was slow last night so I decided to check you guys out? What if I was a person looking into getting a band for a private party?

It was obvious that everyone inside last night (maybe 25) were friends of the band and to be fair, I don't think the band was making huge efforts to play their best. I have heard The Blue Shield Band before and I know they sound better than they did last night so I think I'll catch them again sometime. They consist of a keyboard, drums, two guitars and a bass. All are just average players. The lead singer wasn't hitting on all cylinders and was a bit pitchy, dawg. There were two other mics for background vocals up on stage and people occasionally sang into them but nothing discernible came out to the audience. The mix was less than good and the songs that I heard just didn't do anything for me. I wasn't there long but I heard mainly classic rock songs and ill-chosen ones at that.

Again, you have to play to 25 just as you would 300. True, you can't generate the same energy and feedback that whips people into frenzies but ... you have to at least try. If anything, these are the nights where you work on your show. The BSB certainly had no show last night. They might as well have been playing in the garage for a party at home last night.
http://www.blueshieldband.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

The Incognitos - Govnors Public House 6.1.07

2007-06-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of freaking out right now. If it wasn't for the fact I was just at Govnor's, I could have sworn I was at Holiday Inn in the 1980's. The Incognitos are all guys; keyboard, guitar, bass and drums. They're all good players. They are a Class C+ band according to my ranking system.

They dress in neo-nerdy lounge band kind of clothes to the point where the drummer looked like he had a leisure suit on. They had really good equipment. They just all had the earmarks of a lounge group. I was only there for a few songs: Brown Eyed Girl, Some Kind Of Wonderful, You Shook Me All Night Long, Let's Get Together, Authority Song and (gulp) Soul Man.

They did the AC/DC song with the vocal an octave lower and with a lounge-style of singing. Their harmonies were fine but the vocals were just not inspired. Their playing just didn't have any "edge" to it. I'm not sure why the guitar player felt compelled to put on a pair of sunglasses to go out into the crowd to sing Some Kind of Wonderful but I think they thought the crowd would like it ... which they did. You just don't hear anyone play Soul Man anymore ... unless they're a lounge act. I also have to say that the audience there that night was a mix you'd usually find at a wedding or ...... at a Holiday Inn lounge in the 70's or 80's. This means that you can basically play a Bb Concert Scale and the crowd will go nuts.

Don't get me wrong. They are not a bad band. In fact, if you look at the bookings they have on their web site, I'd dare say they're playing more than just about anyone else. However, they are kind of an updated version of Murph and the Murph-Tones from the Blues Brothers. Just not my cup of sloe gin fizz. They have their place in that wild and wonderful world of entertainment we all love so much. This would be a great band to audition for your next wedding. I'm serious. (Actually, I wrote this blog before I checked out their web site.)
http://theincognitosband.com/

Band Ranking System

2007-05-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

I had spoken in an earlier blog about a band ranking system I had developed just to entertain myself but I'll share it with you anyway. This is all in regards to rock bands and doesn't apply to the full-time lounge acts and jazz or pop acts that play resorts and the like. Also, having a sound engineer or "roadie" doesn't necessarily apply to the single acts or duos who are real successful. There can be little shades of "tweeners" and you might let me know if you agree with me or can add to this. Here it is:

Pros - “professionals” in the aspect that the band or musician plays at least two gigs a week and as many as 3 or 4. They can tour the region and playing accounts for most of the members’ incomes. They have a sound person and a van or a truck and a marketing person to help sell CDs and T-shirts. They get top pay and are just short of breaking big.

Class A - These are the top-tier bands that play Chicago and the surrounding area and carry sound engineers and have a van or truck, real classy web sites and play most every Friday and Saturday. They may derive some of their incomes from playing out but have regular day jobs and/or teach in music stores or privately. They have great followings and warrant some good pay.

Class B - These are the better-than-average week end warriors that have a show and know what it takes to get to be a Class A status but choose not to take that step, mainly because that step usually does not include 401Ks or pensions and health insurance and long-term disability plans. In other words, they have a great day job and stepping up musically isn’t worth the drastic change in benefits packages. They’re still great players and entertainers. They have a good following which includes people they don’t even know.

Class C - These are the bands that are still trying to pull a show together, are average players, and may or may not change personnel regularly. They can be real entertaining but they tend to depend on friends and people they know to come to their gigs. They also tend to play some of the more out-of-the-way places and smaller venues.

Class D - These are the bands that are just plain average to not-so-good. Their performances can be great one night and devoid of customers the next night. They absolutely depend on their friends to come to gigs, usually don’t have sound crews and have no idea as to what a mailing list is. They play for little money and change personnel like they change their socks.

Class F - These are the bands or musicians that really talk the talk but are totally unable to walk the walk. This can be weird level as these bands rarely get out into public but dress like full-blown rock stars and are always talking about the CD they will be putting out. They can be of any age bracket but tend to be younger and much more Bohemian. Most of the players have not played for more than a year and are only a month or so away from playing Smoke On The Water. These are also the guys that will actually come up to you when you’re on-stage in the middle of a solo and ask you if they could jam on a song or two or maybe sing a song. As we know, real musicians NEVER ask another musician if they can sit in on a song in that musician’s gig … but that can be the subject of another whole blog.

Don Russian - Duke O'Brien's 5.18.07

2007-05-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

Man, did I hear a great band last night. Although I could only hang out for about an hour there to see them, I heard some very inspired and well-performed music. They were more alternative oriented so I didn't recognize everything they were doing but they did a good version of I Think I'm Alone Now and I heard some original material that was just damned good. They consist of a guitar player doubling on a little Korg keyboard, two other guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. I know the drummer was frustrated all night because his drum set was walking away from him. But anyway, these guys were fun to listen to, very into what they were doing up there, and just plain entertaining. For a relatively young band, I was very impressed and you need to check these guys out. There was some good playing; not mind-blowing but solid. I think it may be Don (?) playing the Firebird and the Gibson Firebird is one of my favorite guitars. That alone is excellent. What I think was great about them was the sound textures they were pulling out between the arrangement and the choice of what notes which instruments were playing (again, arrangement). I really liked these subtleties but I'm not sure the audience caught it consciously. However, I know how hard these guys probably worked on this and it was a very conscious effort to get these sound textures on their part. Anyway, They are a very good band to check out especially if you'd like a break from all of the classic rock everyone else does. http://www.myspace.com/donrussian

Alex and the Allstars - Duke O'Brien's 5.12.07

2007-05-13T11:06:00.000-05:00

If you've read any of by prior babblings, you know I have a soft spot for this group. I liked them in their prior line-up and I like them with their present line-up. They are just plain fun and that is what playing out is all about. They play some great songs and they always look like they're having fun and that oozes out into the audience and gets the audience worked up. Patrick does a good job taking on some vocal responsibilities and Alex on drums is always always impressive vocally. The bass player (Kelvin, Kalvin?) is a GREAT bass player and you bass players out there need to pay attention to what he's doing up there. Great stuff and tasty player. I come to understand that Buddy operates Dr. Wood's Guitar Emporium in Fox River Grove. Great lead guitar player.

This is a good line-up and a fun fun band to watch. They seem to have a great local following and they are worth going out of your way for to check out. Party on, Garth. http://www.alexandtheallstars.com/home.html

Axe Grinder - Govnor's Public House 5.11.07

2007-05-13T10:48:00.000-05:00

I like these guys. There's some mighty fine musicianship happening here and some generally great vocals. They play a lot of stuff you don't normally hear bands do and most of it is great to hear. They do some ZZ Top, SRV, Skynyrd, some other southern rock and some obscure yet entertaining blues. Some of it I didn't know but it was still good stuff. They consist of 2 guitars, a bass and drums. The drummer and one of the guitar players do the lion's share of the singing but the other guitar player on the far side does some as well. There is some excellent guitar playing happening with these guys and it's worth the price of admission just to hear some of the lead guitar work! Their only downside is that they don't have much of a show.

Good job to the bass player. It appeared that he must be the newest member of the band but I don't think anyone in the audience knew it.

Again, the "Boom Room" there at Govnor's doesn't help but if you can listen past the endless smear of strange reverberations in the room, you hear some great stuff from these guys. They've been around for quite a while and I really hope they stay around for a long time to come. Definitely check these guys out; especially you guitar players out there. http://www.axegrinder.us/

Goin' South - Duke O'Brien's 4.28.07

2007-04-29T00:26:00.000-05:00

I've always kind of liked this band. I've seen them several times and I mostly like them. It's also always fun to see a band with a new player being coached through the songs in real time on stage. They did a good job. They fill the Southern Rock niche in the local area and it's hard to find a better local Southern Rock band. However, there are times I'm not bowled over by them and I sometimes think they should pick some better tunes for later in the evening. It sometimes feels like they run out of steam. Southern Rock is not as huge as it once was ... about 25 years ago ... so they aren't going to attract the younger audience as much as the older audience. However, they do seem to pick up a lot of good bookings so they're doing just fine.

Again, I like them and if you're in the mood for some Southern Rock, they are the choice.

As a side note, I had mentioned that Tycho Brahe at Govnor's last night was advertising the other bars they play at and I had mentioned I thought that was a little weird as you're telling that bar owner that you'd like the clientele there to not come there next week and patronize some other bar. Well, Goin' South announced they were playing at a different venue the next week end and I again thought that is kind of a weird thing to do. I don't think that is all that bad to do at Duke O'Brien's as it's never been my favorite venue anyway. I go there because it's the only venue of it's kind in town. Anyway ... see Goin' South. They are a solid practiced local band that deserves your support! http://www.goinsouth.com/

Frank and Dave - Broken Oar 4.28.07

2007-04-29T00:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I just got home from checking out some bands and after feeling like I got clubbed like a baby seal last night by Wedding Banned at Duke O'Brien's, and it was a welcome breath of fresh air to see Frank and Dave. http://frankanddave.com/ I fully recommend that you go out of your way and check out this mostly acoustic duo. They do all things acoustic from the Who to The Wallflowers to new stuff and they are just plain excellent. They have obviously put a lot of time into their vocals and harmonies and it pays off. I'm not a huge fan of their bass/drum looping sound but it's overshadowed by their music ... and that's the way it should be. They are GREAT and there isn't much else to say. They are good players. They don't have much of a show but again, their music completely speaks for itself. Make an effort to see these guys!

Old Guys

2007-04-28T15:37:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed that most of the bands out there do not consist of a bunch of 20-something musicians? Modern Day Romeos, Nothing and a few other groups have a bunch of young guys in them but most bands out there consist of guys and babes in their 40s and "gulp" 50s. There is usually an obligatory 30-something-year-old in each band but most are older types.

I'm thinking this is because of the I-just-got-married-and-my-bride-doesn't-want-me-gone-every-Friday-and-Saturday-night syndrome. New brides don't want their guys being lusted after by other potentially new brides and their guys have had to get real jobs and can't practice as much any more.

After taking as much as a decade off, the now 30-something musician is getting the itch again, the baby is now around 10 years old, the marriage is about 10 years old and the "bride" is glad to see him gone now so she can get the house and the TV and the bathroom to herself for a precious few hours. This guy is also now maybe making enough money to get some decent equipment he couldn't justify owning before and he calls up his old buddies and they start jamming away in the basement.

Money is not the object now. They can play anything they want and maybe pick up a block party gig or a small bar gig somewhere and invite all of their neighbors, friends and fellow work employees and make a good impression for that bar owner.

Then, it happens. After several gigs, the crowds slim down as all of his friends have seen him six or seven times and have better things to do on Fridays and Saturdays and by now, he's in his 40s. He really likes doing this so, after a few personnel changes because of health issues and people just turning into dicks, he decides to get serious about this. By now, he's pissed off all of the other serious musicians who can not demand good pay for their gigs because all of the bands like his have been charging $250 to play and the bar owners who just want some excitement in their establishments have hired guys like his band rather than pay for quality entertainment.

Now, he checks out the other bands and he tries to model himself after them and he picks up some better gigs but he can't make much more money. He does make more,but now, he has to drive all over Chicagoland playing for "beer money" because he doesn't want to piss off some booking agent because he knows that all he has to do is refuse a couple of gigs and the agent won't call him any more. (I think we all know who I'm talking about). He also realizes that when he gets "the door" on top of some measly base pay amount for the gig, he's just been told that he's going to get economically raped because the guy taking the cover charges and checking IDs is letting every nubile babe with a tube top on in for free and of course, all his buddies are getting in for free so whatever they tell him he made at the door, he can add 40% to that and he's probably closer to what they really took in.

At this point, he's in his 50s. He's now doing this so that he can exercise his brain cells so he can stave off Alzheimer's and he really doesn't have much else to do and he needs the money now because his "bride" and children have left him and he really needs the money to pay for alimony and child support. He never got into rap or hip hop and all he knows is classic rock.

Then he dies.

That's the glamorous world of rock and roll. But of course, this isn't reality ... is it?

Wedding Banned - Duke O'Brien's 4.27.07

2007-04-28T15:26:00.000-05:00

This is the third time I've seen Wedding Banned .... and it will be my last. If you enjoy hearing rampant profanity coming from your entertainment for 3 to 4 hours, I guess then this is the band for you. They do all of the formula songs (the same songs that most other bands do). They do them well but ... they still do them. The musicianship is good. It really is. The lead singer is not that great a singer however, he is animated and a great front guy and really insists on the audience whipping themselves into a frenzy. That's not hard to do at 11:30 at night after each person in your audience has consumed 5 Jager-Bombs, 3 shots of tequila and 10 or 12 beers. That's probably why the audience may not even know they are being sworn at. It's like being at a Sopranos bachelor party!

As for myself, they bore me now. Each of the three times I saw them was like deja vu. They do the same show (as far as I've seen) each night and I really don't see why some bands insist on the relentless profanity. It's just a bunch of shit. Go see them once and you'll have seen them 30 times.

Tycho Brahe - Govnor's Public House 4.27.07

2007-04-28T06:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a band I just have not heard much about. I know I've seen their name before but not often. They're definitely not a Demarco band. (you playing musicians know what I'm talking about) You always have to give a band some credit for having a cool name. It takes imagination to name your band after a Silurian bivalve pelecypod (ancient clam) ! .... No. Just kidding. They're named for an ancient Danish "astronomer" who was a good drinking buddy of Johannes Kepler.

I was only able to catch a set of Tycho's performance. They're a three-piece outfit with drums, bass and a guitarist/keyboardist. They all sing. I admire them for doing the kind of material they really want to do. The first set that I was there for was definitely geared for an older crowd as it was mostly 60s and 70s rock. When I was leaving, I heard them doing Jaded by Aerosmith so they at least got one more recent tune in there. All three guys were accomplished on their instruments. I really liked the guitar playing and he had some great lead solos. The bassist had some nice bass lines happening and the drummer was solid.

Taking into account that they were playing in the worst acoustic room in the area, the vocals just were not all there. The bass player's vocals were just not all that good. The guitarist slash keyboardist's vocals were better but they should have lowered the key of several of the songs. It just doesn't sound good when someone is singing on the far outskirts of their vocal range and they just can't quite hit the high notes. "All Right Now" by Free was a great example. The instrumental part was very good. The vocal just wasn't.

Tycho Brahe was basically a good band. Each song flowed to the next. They would be all that much better if the songs were in registers that the guitar player could feel more comfortable in. They are a band for the older crowd. Oh .. and one more thing. I've always thought it strange when bands pass out flyers with their upcoming gigs listed on them. I had a bar owner once express his distaste with this practice once stating that he didn't appreciate the band advertising for other bars in his bar. If it was a well-liked band, the clientele would be advised to follow them to some other watering hole to spend their money. Just a pointer. Pass out leaflets with your web site and and ask for the customers' e-mail addresses for you mailing list instead.

Somebody's going to say it!

2007-04-15T07:25:00.000-05:00

I think there comes a point in every performer's career when they know they've hit a plateau. You all of a sudden hear some guy (it's always a guy) yell out Free Bird!. You glance around and there he is, sitting with his friends or leaning against some wall and as he yells it out, he looks at his friends and laughs like this is the funniest thing anyone has ever done in a bar and everyone in the bar should be laughing right now. THERE IS ONE IN EVERY BAR IN THE UNIVERSE. I SWEAR.

I really don't know what compels this behaviour as the offender is not always drunk. Quite often, he may actually want to hear this song, no matter how bad the version would be. Free Bird is yelled out in virtually any venue, no matter how classy, and at weddings. Free Bird is yelled out at Irish pipe bands, Zydeco bands, polka bands, Bon Jovi concerts and 8th grade concert band performances. The chronic offenders yell Free Bird at the little speakers in the suspended ceilings at their doctor's office while they're waiting for their appointments. Although I don't know this for sure, I have to think it's yelled out in other countries such as India, China, Saudi Arabia and Chemung.

The plateau I mentioned earlier is the point you get to when you just wish people would stop. You just wish the song had never been written. You don't feel violent towards the purp because you know you shouldn't feel that way about the infirm or the mentally disabled. You just wish there was rehab that this person could be forcibly made to attend.

My recommendation: stake this song out on the juke box and punch it in to play two or three times while you're setting up or get a CD player to play it during your breaks. It's really all you can do. This affliction of yelling Free Bird will never ever ever end and no degree of enforced federally-mandated sterilization will deter the further birth of more of these guys who yell Free Bird every time they get the chance. It's a guy thing.

Joey Derus Band - Broken Oar - 4.14.07

2007-04-14T23:02:00.000-05:00

I went to the Broken Oar to check out Joey Derus thinking I was seeing the solo act. I saw the three-piece band. Let me first say that I've always had a thing about bands that go by the name of the one star performer. I don't think I could be a member of a band that goes by the name of one of the other members unless that guy (or woman) is one hell of a great player/singer/performer.

Joey Derus is OK. Just OK. He sings alright and is a good guitar player. The drummer I thought was just as proficient on his instrument as Derus was on his and the bass player was good. Harmonies were not all that strong. There was a wait in between each song. There was two-way banter in between songs where each participant was stepping on the other to such a degree that you really didn't know what anyone was talking about. There was no real "show".

Don't get me wrong. They were entertaining but in that "roadhouse band" kind-of way. The song selection was eclectic and I think, could have been better. Some bands are content with playing smaller venues and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, some bands just aren't going to get beyond that ... and don't especially plan on getting beyond that. I think this outfit is a small venue kind of a band and again, more power to them. I was not real impressed .. they were entertaining ... but as for myself, I won't make huge efforts to see them again although, if I happen to stop in a place to see a band and they're there, I'll hang out for a while. http://www.allloopedup.com/JDB/index.html

Patio Daddy-O - Govnor's Public House 4.13.07

2007-04-14T00:20:00.000-05:00

First of all, before I get to the Daddy-Os. I have to applaud Govnors for being one of the very few non-Demarco-booked venues in the area who will have some of the local talent play there. I really respect Govnor's for that and I hope they continue.

On the other hand, Govnor's is pretty much known among musicians as one of the worst venues in the area for acoustics. It's really hard to not feed-back when you're playing against a solid wall of non-sound-absorbing glass. Your sound can only be so-good in this situation.

Getting to the Patio Daddy-os, they appear to be playing everywhere when you check out the web site at http://patiodaddyoband.com/index.htm. This is good. There are many bands out there not playing this much but there are variables that can enable a band to be booked way more often (how much they charge is most of them).

There are many different "levels" of bands and I will outline my system of categorization in a future blog. This 3-piece band (guitar-drums-keyboards) with no bass guitar is just OK to me. I may be wrong, but I get the impression that at least two of the three guys were players when they were in their early twenties and knocked off for about 10-12 years to raise some kids and give their wives some time to cool down from being pissed at them for being gone playing in bars two week ends a month when they first got married. They then decided to get back in and got a band together. Again, I'm just speculating.

I was only there at Govnor's to see them for a set but I heard the usual Mustang Sally, a couple of SRV tunes, Stray Cat Strut and a pretty weak arrangement of You Wreck Me ... in addition to a couple of older 70s tunes. The guitar playing is good ... not great ... but good and solid. The drummer is adequate and a good singer. The keyboard player is no Keith Emerson but really, he doesn't have to be. He held up his dual roal of being the bassist and the keyboardist. They do sound good together and have that certain tightness that playing fairly often creates.

However, I'm just not a fan. They have that "roadhouse band" kind of feel and look. They all appear to be in that 35 to 45 year old bracket which means that their favorite music is the stuff they play ... which appeals mainly to the over-40 crowd. Nothing wrong with that. Govnor's was pretty packed when I was there. This music is not really the kind of stuff that appeals to the under 30 crowd.

All in all, I thought they were just "OK" and I really don't foresee me going too much out of my way to see them again ... but you know, that's just me. I'm glad they're playing often. I really am. And I'm glad they're a local group playing in a local venue where locals can see them!

Mr. Blotto - Duke O'Brien's 4.13.07

2007-04-14T00:05:00.000-05:00

I like Mr. Blotto. Rather, I like the acoustic show that I've seen now for the 2nd time. I have not seen them with the full band. I really love good acoustic guitar playing and these guys are great at this. You have two acoustic players and an electric bass and great vocals. These are obviously seasoned musicians who know what they're doing. To the "average Joe", most of the songs are unkown. However, they create a great groove and the stuff they play is infectious.

However, you do have to be in the right frame of mind for Mr. Blotto. I basically was not this night but I still like them and really respect the excellent musicianship exhibited on stage. Although there can be some dancing during the show, Blotto gives me the impression that this is more of a drink-alcohol-and-get-down-with-the-groovy-vibe kind of a night. If you're looking to get nutty and dance your ass off, this probably is not the kind of a show you're looking for.

Again, I really do like this acoustic Blotto show and I'm looking forward to catching a full-band night one of these week ends. http://www.mrblotto.com/

Some Other Personal Faves

2007-04-07T21:03:00.000-05:00

I just thought I'd blog a bit on some other personal favorites I go out to see whenever they are in the area.

Libido Funk Circus is a great band to see whenever they are close by. They have a great song selection and a very good show with a lot of energy. They've obviously been doing this act for quite a while and are constantly gigging ... hence, the very good show. Great vocals and very good players. Great song selection which includes a huge range of different styles.
http://www.lfcentertainment.com/

One band that seems to have gone through a change lately is Alex and the Allstars. They were a very entertaining band when they had the venerable Dave on guitar and Sandi as a vocalist but I have to say, they are just as fun to watch without Sandi and Dave and the addition of their new member on guitar. This band puts the F-U in FUN. Alex is a good drummer and a very good singer and just a plain nice person. I swear Buddy W, who was always GREAT on guitar, gets better and better every time I hear this group. Buddy goes back a ways with One Armed Bandit, the Poppin' Mollies and the Snake Stretchers. The new guy, Patrick, is a blast and a fun and enthusiastic singer. Great song selection which includes a lot of songs you just don't hear every night in bars. http://www.alexandtheallstars.com/home.html

The Only Sons is another very good band. On the down side, they use a lot of lap top computer backing music. The audience neither cares or knows so I suppose it really doesn't matter. However, there was a song where they had a bass line playing on the lap top and the bass player wasn't playing bass or anything else and was just singing. I think that is a little weird. The other downer which can also be considered an upper, is the song selection. The song selection contains all of the songs everyone else plays that are guaranteed get-them-dancing songs. This is good because ... well ... it gets them dancing ... which is why there's a band there in the first place. That is what gets them re-booked. However, I personally just get tired of every band doing Sweet Home Alabama and Jack and Diane, etc, etc. On the good side, they do a real good job with these songs and the crowd loves them. They are a fun band and it's always fun when everyone around you is having a great time. So, over all, this is a good thing.
http://www.onlysons.com/main.html

Nobody - Duke O'Brien's 4.6.07

2007-04-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

NOBODY is a new music/alternative band - guitar - lead singer and sometimes ac guitar - bass - drums. They're all 20-something in age and virtually all of their audience looks like they just celebrated their 21st birthdays and stumbled over from Georgio's.

I was not very impressed. They are just barely OK. The lead singer has a lot of work to do. The guitar playing and bass playing were adequate and the drummer (maybe the better musician) was just "OK". It also didn't help to have what I thought was a poor mix by the house sound guy. Sure. They play all the songs the audience wants to hear but they sounded (and dressed) like they just got out of the garage. There just wasn't a lot of professionalism here. They also had equipment that most musicians far older only dream of having and believe me, this audience didn't know or care.

Again, they had great song selection ... they just didn't execute very well and the singing was the weakest link. There were two other mics up on stage and they should just take them off the stage as they give the impression that the guitar player and the bass player may sing, which also didn't help matters either.

Remember .... the drunker you get, the better we sound. I also believe that the louder you play, the better you sound, if they're drunk. These guys need time marinating in music to get more seasoned. Good luck ... you'll get there eventually.

Hans and the Hormones - Duke O'Brien's 3.24.07

2007-03-25T08:40:00.000-05:00

It's a feedback loop that you have to establish. The band puts out energy to the crowd. The crowd responds and sends more energy back to the band. The band feeds off this and puts more energy out to the crowd. Yep. It's a feedback loop. Hans and the Hormones did a great job of that last night at Duke's. This is a very good band. Yes, individually they are very good players but it's not that aspect that makes this band a blast to see. It's the fact that they look like they're having a great time being up there that makes this band so good .... except maybe for Glen the bassist who always looks grumpy. Maybe it's because he can't forget his old Blackwater Gold days. Great great drummer. Hans is a very good singer/front guy. I remember Victor (on guitar) as being in the Poppin' Mollies years ago. He always looks like he's having a great time. He's good and solid although his sound is a little too processed for me but the crowd doesn't care. The other and perhaps most important key to this band is their song selection. This alone can break or make a band. Yes, they play some of the same songs every band in existence had better play (Jack and Diane, Sweet Caroline, etc.) . However, they play many many songs you just don't hear all that often that are simply great dancing songs. I applaud them for NOT doing the same song lists you hear out of the other bands. Great local band. Make it a point to see them! http://www.hansandthehormones.com/

Hey. How do you make a Hormone. ....... Don't pay her.

7th Heaven - 3.23.07 at Duke O'Brien's

2007-03-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

Interesting group. It's amazing they can get those 9+ guys on that small stage at Duke's. Actually, it's a 4-piece band (G-G-B-D) that performs along with some pre-recorded tracks on a lap top ... not all of the songs ... but a lot of them. Musically, the four real players are very good. My favorite is the drummer. He's one of the better drummers you'll see out there. I think many musicians would split on whether playing along with a lap top is OK. Some look at this as full-band karaoke, but I don't. I think they did a great job of it and the tracks were very seamless with the real band's sound. What really counts is what their audience thinks and their audience loved them. Besides, there are other bands out there doing this as well. The point is to put asses in the seats and they seemed to have done this at Duke O'Brien's. They are good performers. They did a 25-minute hot mix at 120 beats-per-minute (your heartbeat rate) of portions of about 20 or 30 of your favorite classic rock tunes. They do a good job also with the new music. The lead singer is very good (not Idol material but very good). There's two other mics up there but you really don't know if the bass player and lead guitar player can sing as you suspect it's the lap top doing the singing when their mouths are at the mics.

All in all, this is a good band and you should get out to see them. I was only able to catch 1 set of theirs as they did the one thing that I hate the most ... they started 50 minutes late! When you're supposed to go on at 10PM and you make an effort to get there at 10 and they're only 1/2 way set up, this is bad. I think it shows a disrespect for your fans and for the prospective new fans. This is the first time I've seen them and I was hoping to catch another band last night as well but when I got to Govnor's at 8:50 to see whoever was playing there, they were still setting up and they are billed as starting at 9. That was two bands with late starts so I was pissed when I got to Duke's anyway. Well, 7th Heaven was a good group and you should make a point of seeing them! http://www.7thheavenband.com/