Slumgullion

The combination Trouser Press 50th Birthday Party And Zip It Up! The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974-1984 Book Launch takes place at the Bowery Electric venue in New York on Saturday, March 16. Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey from The dB’s will be on hand to perform, along with The Shirt Event featuring Dennis Diken from The Smithereens; the Washington, DC alt rock band Dot Dash; and DJ Steve Reynolds.

The event is two days after Zip It Up! becomes available on the Trouser Press Books website. The book features original articles about several iconic acts, including Small Faces, Syd Barrett, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Todd Rundgren, Ray Davies, Cheap Trick, T. Rex, Bryan Ferry, Kate Bush, Peter Tosh, Graham Parker, Ramones, The Go-Go’s, X, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, The Cure, U2, Joan Armatrading, Human League, Joan Jett, and Eddy Grant.

Cosmic Bull, a Chicago band whose members have loads of experience on the local scene, will hold a release party for their debut full-length album Band Substances at 12:00 am tonight at Gallery Cabaret. The first single from the album is “Once the Dust Settles.”

The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ‘80s recently opened at the Black Ensemble Theatre and will run through April 14. BET is well known for its musical salutes, and this latest one has a sci-fi twist involving a high school senior who travels back to the era when Prince, Sheila E., Al B. Sure, Keith Sweat, and LL Cool J. ruled the charts. The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ’80s is written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks. Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark Street on Chicago’s north side.

007 Science: Inventing The World Of James Bond, a new exhibit that views the popular spy movies from an intellectual but still fun perspective, opened yesterday at Chicago’s Museum Of Science And Industry, and will run through October 27. As Chicago Sun-Times staff reporter Sophie Sherry noted in yesterday’s edition, “The exhibit features 13 vehicles and over 90 artifacts from the Bond films.”

Energetic rockers The Telepaths will open for DubbleBubble — an offshoot of the band Triple— at Sovereign Liquors tonight. Sovereign Liquors is located at 6202 N. Broadway on Chicago's north side. The music starts at 7:45.

As noted by the always informative Joe Marchese on The Second Disc website, a Best Of  Bruce Springsteen collection in CD, vinyl, and digital formats will arrive on April 19. The CD and 2-LP versions will offer 18 tracks, while the digital will boast 31. I’ll leave it to Marchese to explain the reasoning behind that decision.

SXSW started today and will run through March 16 in Austin, TX. The annual festival celebrates creativity in all its numerous forms and from various countries. This year’s music acts include The Black Keys, STRFKR, Blondshell, and Thee Sacred Souls; there will be film and TV screenings, and comedy shows as well.

The Chicago venue Hideout Inn will hold its Annual SXSW Send-Off via an all day party tomorrow. The event will feature performances by Reilly Downes, Waco Brothers, Smushie, Astrachan, Cabeza De Chivo and Samuel Aaron. Doors open at 2:00 pm and the music starts an hour later.

 

Tall Poppy Syndrome, which brings together music veterans Vince Melouney from The Bee Gees; Clem Burke from Blondie; guitarist Jonathan Lea from The Jigsaw Seen and singer Paul Kopf and bassist Alec Palao of Strangers In A Strange Land, continues to have a blast covering vintage rock songs. The band’s third single comes out March 22, and it’s a catchy rendition of “This Time Tomorrow” from The Kinks’ 1970 Lola Versus Powerman album.

Singer-songwriter-author Michael McDermott will continue his three-day run at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights with performances tonight and tomorrow night. McDermott has several albums to choose material from, including his 2022 effort St. Paul’s Boulevard.

The Collective, the second solo effort from Sonic Youth singer-guitarist Kim Gordon came out today. The American leg of The Collective Tour includes a Chicago stop on June 8.

R.E.M.: The IRS Years - From The South, a tribute show featuring several Chicago area musicians, returns to Montrose Saloon this Tuesday, March 12. Brian Krumm, J. Niimi, Mike Conroy, Niko Twistaction, Tony Long, Brian Krumm, Brian Stout, Erica Loftus, Pierce Crask, Phil Yates, Danny Higgins, EC, Rick Nitz, Jason Wade, Carey Anne Farrell, Chris Dorff, Scott and Odie, Vini Bruckert and Taylor Morse will be providing the mysterious jangling. The event starts at 7:00 pm.

Director Sam Mendes has an ambitious plan to create a series of four biopics about The Beatles. One for each member. And have all four ready to screen in 2027. Coyle notes that the recent biopics about Queen, Elton John, and Elvis Presley were box office successes. No word yet on when auditions to portray John, Paul, George, and Ringo will take place.

Sonic45, sports broadcaster/musician Len Kasper’s atmospheric and often eerie alt rock band featuring Chicago music scene veterans Matt Spiegel (also a sportscaster); Liam Davis; Gerald Dowd; and Dag Juhlin, has finished recording its second full-length album. According a Bandcamp email from the group, the sophomore effort will likely be be released this summer. The first single, “You And I Are Stereo,” will be released exclusively on Bandcamp on April 5.

A Gibson Garage recently had its grand opening in England. The American-based guitar manufacturer now has a 4,500 square feet store on Eastcastle Street in London. The only other Guitar Garage is located in Nashville, TN.

Staged in partnership with local radio station 90.9 WDCB, the annual Jazz Thaw will take place across 13 locations around Oak Park’s downtown area tomorrow and Sunday. Performers include guitarist Tony Richards; the Barry Winograd Duo; Chris Greene Quartet; Sueños Latin Jazz; The New Deal; Abigail Riccards Quartet; and the Crystal Rebone Duo. Other Jazz Thaw events include a Jazz Tour involving over 10 locations and a Jazz Brunch.

 

An army of well-respected musicians calling themselves Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes have recorded a new version of  “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” from the Dire Straits guitarist’s 1983 soundtrack album. The song will be available on March 15 and will benefit The Who’s Teenage Cancer Fund. Pre-order from Mark Knopfler’s official online store. 

That’ll Be The Day he honors three 1960s music icons. Phil Angotti And Friends (Casey McDonough, Marc Edelstein and Jason Batchko) will perform their favorite tunes by Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley at City Winery Chicago this Sunday at noon. Later that day, Angotti will cover the Another Side Of Bob Dylan album and other Dylan tunes at Robert’s Westside in Forest Park.

Congratulations to Elton John and Bernie Taupin on being awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. They’ll be honored during a tribute concert being held in Washington, D.C. on March 20.

Chicago filmmaker Michael Smith’s latest effort Handle With Care will have its Illinois premiere at the Afterimage Film Festival being held on the weekend of April 12 – 14 at Charlestowne 18 Cinema in St. Charles.

The Sound And Vision exhibit, which features artwork by well-know artist-musicians, will run from March 16 through April 21 at Mad.Kat Gallery in Rancho Mirage, CA. Participants include Joan Baez, Jon Langford, Penelope Houston, Juliana Hatfield, and Steve Wynn.

Congratulations to Tributosaurus on selling out its tribute to Electric Light Orchestra tomorrow night at Theater On The Lake. To those lucky enough to have tickets, enjoy all that strange magic.

The Kooks’ current 16-city tour, which brings them to America for the first time in quite a while, includes a stop at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on March 15. The shows will celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Kooks’ debut release Inside In Inside Out, and feature the band performing the entire album.

Metro manager Joe Shanahan will be spinning records tomorrow afternoon at the All Vinyl 45 Party taking place at the nearby GMan Tavern from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. A Facebook post promises Punk/Funk/Soul And A Splash Of Disco. GMan Tavern is in Wrigleyville at 3740 N. Clark.