Slumgullion

Brad Elvis must have felt a touch of deja vu when his band The Handcuffs performed as part of a triple bill tonight with The Impalas and Paul And Gloria at the Cowboy Monkee club in Champaign. Brad logged a lot of time on the Champaign club scene back when he was with The Elvis Brothers. The music starts tonight at 9:00, with a $5 cover charge. That’s about what you would have paid to see a band back in the 1980s. 

Pezband, fronted by singer-guitarist Mimi Betinis, will be performing high energy, classic power pop tomorrow night at Wire in Berwyn. The group has a CD of previously unreleased material on the way.

The Rock For The Kids 25th Annual Rock And Roll Auction takes place tomorrow night at Park West in Chicago, with WXRT air personalities Lin Brehmer and Marty Lennartz once again serving as hosts. The list of items available to bid on includes an Abbey Road LP autographed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr; guitars signed by Wilco, B.B. King, and The Rolling Stones; and autographed posters of Lou Reed and Pearl Jam.. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Those unable to attend but still interested in being part of the auction can participate online. See the Rock For Kids Facebook page for details.

Also going on tomorrow night is the School Of Rock Scholarship Fund Benefit Concert. It takes place at the World Of Beer venue in Evanston from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. Veteran Chicago bassist Gordon Patriarca, who serves as one of the school’s Music Directors, will be performing as part of Staff Infection (Teachers of School Of Rock Band). Four other groups are scheduled to perform, and a number of items will be available for auction. Admission is $5 for students, $10 for adults.

You can expect to hear songs by artists like Faron Young, The Everly Brothers, Hank Wiliams, and Gram Parsons when Decoy Prayer Meeting, a covers band that leans toward rockabilly and roots rock, performs this Sunday night at Simon’s Tavern on Clark Street in Chicago. There’s no cover, and the music starts at 9:00PM.

I posted a favorable review of Cystal Jacqueline’s new Sun Arise CD back on October 10th. Now her label, Mega Dodo is using Kickstarter to help fund the release of Sun Arise on yellow vinyl. The project runs through November 21st, and Mega Dodo has already reached £1,369 of its £1,500 goal. The label is offering some interesting perks for contributors, including a digital version with bonus tracks not found on the LP or CD. 

Closer to home, singer-guitarist Matt Feddermann is hoping his Kickstarter campaign can raise enough funds for him to record a CD, Life In Whiskey Junction. Feddermann owned and operated the Phase Recording Studios in Highland Park from 2004 through 2012. 

Music producer Will Avery is set to release Baby Gonna Holla, a CD with 22 classical, funk and R&B songs for kids. His upbeat compositions, like “ABC Jobs” and four versions of “Bamalama Phonics” use quick and clever lines to teach the alphabet and letter sounds. Avery also has some fun videos on his Yesnack website.

The Safes have a new EP called Thanks To You coming out, and they’ll be part of the 10th Anniversary Black Wednesday show at the Empty Bottle on November 27th. The Differents, The Phenoms, and Jet W. Lee will also be performing that night.

Congratulations to Mojo on its 20th Anniversary. The UK mag, which strikes an entertaining balance of current, cutting-edge acts and classic artists from previous eras, is celebrating with a special issue that lists its readers’ choices for the 20 most important albums released throughout its two-decade existence, as well as interviews with Visionary Musicians like Jimmy Page, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, Ray Davies, and several others. Kate Bush designed the cover, and the issue comes with a 20-track CD. 

There will be a Premiere Screening for the digital release of Wild Chicago at the Historic Patio Theater on Irving Park Road next Sunday, November 17th at 3:00 PM. 

The Buzzcocks have just announced new dates for their current tour. So far, I don’t see any for the US.