Slumgullion

Self-portrait from the Official Graham Nash Facebook page.

Happy Birthday to Graham Nash, who’s been performing nearly as long as he’s been breathing. I know this from reading his Wild Tales - A Rock And Roll Life autobiography, in which describes how much he loved singing in the church choir as a child. “Even at that age I learned how to put my voice above the melody, something that would serve me well the rest of my life.” Nash performed with Allan Clarke as a teenage duo before they formed The Hollies in 1962, and he’s been a rock and roller with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and as a solo artist ever since. He continues to tour and record at the top of his game. And he’s still outspoken about issues that are important for us all. Cheers, Graham.

 

Opening acts have been added for tomorrow night’s PriMary - The Cure Tribute performance at Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side. Donn Ha Is Not Alone will go on at 7:00 pm, followed by MarsVenusMoon at 8:00 pm. PriMary, which modestly bills itself as “Chicago's Most Tolerated and Reasonably Accurate Tribute to the music of The Cure.” will start rocking at 9:00 pm.

I recently received the copy of Eric M. Shade’s All Over The Place - The Rise Of The Bangles from the L.A. Underground I ordered from HoZac Books. So far, I’ve only read the interesting first chapter, which covers the earliest days of Debbi and Vicki Peterson’s journey from musically inclined kids to their early days of performing on the Los Angeles club scene. Glancing through the pages, I see a lot of cool photos of the band members as they moved on to global stardom.

Debbi Peterson will join Matthew Sweet this month as his tour makes stops in Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Sweet has previously toured with Susanna Hoffs to promote their series of Under The Covers albums, and he co-produced The Bangles’ Sweetheart Of The Sun album with the band.

 

Richard Milne is once again booking the performers for the annual Lakeview East Festival, after taking a year off. He can be contacted at rankentertainment@gmail.com. Many of us know Milne as the long-time WXRT air personality who hosted Local Anesthetic, the station’s weekly showcase of Chicago area talent. He also did a fine job as XRT’s early morning DJ.

Long-time music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor’s first book She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism is now available from Backbeat Books on Amazon, and other sites.

CHIRP Radio 107.1 FM, the Chicago indie station that hosts the CHIRP Record Fair And Other Delights every year, is having a Rock And Bowl! fundraiser tomorrow from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the Fireside Bowl on Fullerton. A $40 donation will entitle you to two games of bowling, shoe rental, and pizza from Pizza Lobo.

Heart will be in good company on both sides of the Atlantic during their Royal Flush Tour 2024.  Cheap Trick will be the special guest for the North American concerts and Squeeze will be the special guest for the European concerts. Heart and Cheap Trick have justifiably been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Squeeze jolly well should be.

Chicago-based singer-songwriter David Ashdown will host a matinee EP release party/open mic event tomorrow at Montrose Saloon. Ashdown and his longtime friend Tristan Forgus recorded the three-song can’t get too high or low EP under the name dashDown last summer and it’s now available on Spotify, Bandcamp, and other sites. The show will run from 4:00 to to 6:00 pm.

Michael Shannon And Jason Narducy And Friends Play R.E.M.’s Murmur opened last night at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and will be back at that same venue tonight. John Wurster, Dag Juhlin, Vijay Tellis-Nayak, and Nick Macri are friends backing Shannon and Narducy. Minneapolis, MN; Athens, GA, Carrboro, NC; Washington, D.C.; Ardmore, PA; Cambridge, MA; and Brooklyn, NY are the other stops on the tour.

10,000 Maniacs, with lead vocalist and violinist Mary Ramsey back onboard, have shows coming up at City Winery Chicago on February 15, 16, and 17.

Over the Rhine, the highly regarded Americana music band led by Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, has two performances of Infamous Love Songs: An Over the Rhine Valentine’s Concert coming up in its home state of Ohio. The first is on February 9 at the Lincoln Theatre in Columbus and the second is on February 10 at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton.

Liar’s Club has a triple bill of oddly named acts coming up tomorrow night that features The Wee-Beasties, a Denton, TX band that’s been known to get rowdy; Outronaut, the impressive guitar-powered instrumental quartet; and Hotlips Messiah, who describe themselves as “Mutant Masters Of Sci-Fi Sleaze!” 

Fest For Beatles Fans will celebrate its 50th Anniversary at the TWA Hotel in New York City next weekend, February 9 – 11. 2024. The TWA Hotel is located at the JFK Airport, which is where The Beatles first touched down in America back in 1964. Friday night’s entertainment includes Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - A Swinging Sixties Party In Honor And Memory Of Brian Epstein. Special Guests throughout the event include Patti Boyd; Billy J. Kramer; Laurence Juber; Gregg Bissonette; and Steve Holley. 

Bang A Gong will present a four-act evening of live rock next Thursday, February 8 at Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side. The Real Time; whitewolfsonicprincess; Thomas Pace Band, and No Hero will be performing. The music starts at 7:00 pm.

As noted on The Who’s official Facebook page today, the band has released 180-gram vinyl limited-editions of the Quadrophenia and The Who By Numbers albums. Each is packaged in its original sleeve with a certificate of authenticity.

Part 2 of Chicago-based entertainment writer Mark Caro’s interview with XTC bassist-vocalist Colin Moulding on the Caropop podcast is now available. Pt. 1 is also still available for those who missed it. 

Rock music fans planning a trip to England might want to check out Jon Askew’s 2022 book Rock & Stroll - A Walk Around London’s Greatest Hits. He covers numerous rock and roll sites around London and explores how they served as inspiration for famous songs.

The Adler Planetarium’s Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon Fulldome Show has been extended through all of 2024.

The Zombies have announced the eight cities for their 2024 US Spring Tour, which starts in Annapolis, MD on March 26. The other stops through mid-April are Alexandria, VA; Charlottesville, VA; Durham, NC; Charleston, SC; Atlanta, GA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and Clearwater, FL.

Chicago isn’t on this particular Zombies tour, but singer-guitarist Phil Angotti will honor The Zombies with a tribute show this Sunday at the Robert’s Westside venue in Forest Park, IL. He and fellow musicians Casey McDonough, John San Juan, and John Perrin will perform under the name Phil Angotti’s Legendary Long Players, and the focus will be on the Odessey and Oracle album. Robert’s Westside is located 7321 21 Madison Street in Forest Park.

The Bowery Electric venue in New York, NY will honor the life and music of Scott Kempner on February 5. Kempner, a member of the groundbreaking bands The Dictators and The Del-Lords, passed away last November. The Scott Kempner’s 70th Birthday Celebration will feature performances by The Del-Lords, The Dictators, Willie Nile, Marshall Crenshaw, Dennis Diken from The Smithereens, Syd Straw, and other bands. All proceeds from the event will be donated to The Association For Frontotemporal Degeneration.

The Sufjan Stevens musical Illinoise—based on his critically acclaimed 2005 album with that name—is now being performed at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier and will run through February 18. The production features Stevens’ music and lyrics; story by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibbles Drury; and will be directed and choreographed by Justin Peck.

U2 has partnered with Fandiem to give fans a chance to win a trip to meet the band at the high-tech venue Sphere in Las Vegas on February 24 by making a donation to The Farmlink Project. Donations need to be received by February 14. The charity organization strives to collect fresh food that would have been trashed and bring it to people who desperately need it.