Slumgullion # 26

Heart On The Line. Record Store Day is reporting on Facebook that Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, who were so impressive at Lilith Fair Chicago, have released a heart-shaped vinyl single with the new song “WTF” and a live recording of “Magic Man.” It’s available at select record stores. That is, if you can find a record store. Or you can order a copy at the band’s website. That’s also where fans can watch a brief video of the Wilsons expressing their love and gratitude for indie record stores for their continued support. Red Velvet Car, Heart’s all-new CD, will be released on August 31st.

Deep Fried Power Curds. Chicago power pop band The Bradburys will travel a bit north tomorrow to perform at The Taste Of Wisconsin in Kenosha. They’ll be on the Snap-On Stage from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

Just The Two Of Us. WhiteWolfSonicPrincess is doing an acoustic show featuring founding members James Moeller on guitar and vocals and Carla Hayden on vocals and shaker at The Upstairs Lounge at The Elbo Room on Lincoln Avenue Saturday night, July 31st. Show starts at 9:00PM.

When The Rain Comes. Beatles fans, don’t forget the American English outdoor concert originally scheduled for the Fred P. Hall Amphitheatre in Palatine this past June, will take place on Tuesday, August 3rd. That is, unless it gets rained out again. Rain won’t be a factor at The Beatles Celebration at the Old Town School of Folk Music tomorrow night. It’s a benefit for the Brendan Hedges Scholarship fund.

Hot Fun In The Summertime. The Handcuffs continue their series of outdoor performances this Sunday, with a 12:30 PM gig at The Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival, on Racine, between Fullerton and Webster. Drummer Brad Elvis also has some upcoming gigs as a member of The Romantics.

Swirling With The King. Paul Collins’ new effort, The King Of Power Pop, which will be released in August, features Collins, along with Nikki Corvette and Wally Palmar of The Romantics. Five hundred copies of a limited edition will also be released on swirled vinyl. The CD and the record, as well as a CD/record bundle, can be ordered at www.bompstore.com

Nerks On Film. “Either Way,” the catchy title track of the Nerk Twins’ 1997 CD, will be used in the independent film Inventory, which will be released soon and start making the rounds at film festivals. Taking their name from early Beatles lore, The Nerk Twins were comprised of guitarist-vocalist Jeff Murphy of Shoes, and guitarist-vocalist Herb Eimerman, who recorded solo CDs, and is now part of the international power pop trio, The Britannicas.

The 'Zine Scene. The Printers Ball, an annual celebration of indie media, will be held from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM tonight at The Ludington Building at 1104 South Wabash in downtown Chicago. There’s no admission charge for this event, which is sponsored by Poetry magazine, and offers lots of free publications. There will also performances and readings.

Burlington Northern Kept A Rollin’. Braam’s Return, a sort of homecoming gig for the family-named band at The Dark Room on August 12th, is officially back on again. Braam, which includes brothers Scott, Tom, and Mike, and non-related new drummer, Mike Mattner, had temporarily canceled due to a scheduling conflict, but everything has since been ironed out. The group is promoting its new CD, Living Room, which features the single and video, “Burlington Northern.”

Beat On The Street. Congratulations to She-Nannigan’s, the long-time singles bar on Division Street, on 40 years of being in business. I still have fond memories of hanging out there, particularly on summer nights. Until I read Dave Hoekstra’s piece in the July 29th issue of the Chicago Sun-Times, I wasn’t aware that this venue had hosted performances by The Go-Go’s, Matthew Sweet, and Cracker.

Slumgullion #19

Comic book cover art taken from Jane Wiedlin's Facebook page.

Congratulations to The Go-Go’s for being honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame. Now if only this would keep them from breaking up. Meanwhile, Jane Wiedlin, whose recent injury caused the Go-Go’s to cancel their tour, is sure to be much more durable in her comic book persona, Lady Robotika. The musician is telling fans on Facebook that they need to pre-order Issue #1, which will be published by Image comics, at their local comic shops by June 24th. Maybe if the comic book-loving nerds on Big Bang hear of Wiedlin’s alter ego, it will result in a guest spot on the show for her.

Bangles guitarist-vocalist Vicki Peterson has extended her congratulations to The Go-Go’s on their Walk of Fame honor. In a separate tweet, she noted that she, sister Debbi, and Susanna Hoffs just finished a new Bangles song that will be a tribute to famed songwriter Toni Stern.

Indie rock for a good cause: The Handcuffs will be performing at a benefit for the Chicago Abused Women Coalition at The Viaduct on Saturday, June 19th. The show starts at 10PM and admission is $10. The Handcuffs will also be part of an impressive double bill when they and Phil Angotti perform in Millennium Park on Thursday, June 24th. Angotti kicks things off at 4PM, followed by The Handcuffs at 5:30PM.

Avant garde indie rockers WhiteWolfSonicPrincess are coming off a successful gig at Goose Island on north Clark Street, and will be playing from 1PM to 2:30PM Saturday afternoon at the Custer’s Art Fest in Evanston. The stage will be located at Chicago and Main Street. Leave it to radical guitarist-vocalist James Moeller to make a crack about Sitting Bull on his Facebook post.

Yesterday, I did a post about Paul Collins, and wondered if he would be coming to the Chicago area soon. I’ve just heard from Martha Westbrook, the Midwest Commander for The Beat Army, that Paul Collins will be performing at The Empty Bottle on August 25th.

Hollus, a Chicago band that exudes the look and sound of classic 1970s rock bands like The Faces and The Who, has just released its first official video. Their well-produced clip for “Songs That You Love” features the musicians and friends frolicking at various locations, and finds Hollus working in a lighter, jangling pop mode. Maybe those appearances at International Pop Overthrow are rubbing off on them. At any rate, it’s a good song and a good video.

Happy birthday to Paul McCartney. Nice to see so many contemporary musicians and groups saluting him on Facebook.

Anyone familiar with the anecdote about how Paul’s original working title for “Yesterday” was “Scrambled Eggs” will hopefully get a kick out of a running gag my wife and I have going on our comedy series, Manchester Gallery. And when I say ‘comedy series,’ I mean some short clips that can be seen on the Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff Internet program. I play an inept and untrustworthy curator of a pop culture museum. On one episode, I displayed the scrambled eggs Paul was eating when he came up with up with “Yesterday,” and explained that they were on loan from the Treasures Room at the British Museum in London. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep a close enough eye on the eggs, and the episode ended with the Gallery’s feline mascots eating them. In a more recent clip, a private dick hired by the British Museum came by to inquire about the eggs. All of this is fictional of course, but if you’re looking to celebrate Paul’s birth in a wacky kind of way, you can check out the episode at Jeff’s blog.

I Want You (To Not Fit In)

Paul Collins art from poster on The Beat Army Facebook page.

Musician Paul Collins has been recruiting power pop fans for The Beat Army, and recently posted on Facebook that he’s now selling I DON’T FIT IN t shirts. The slogan on the bright red and white shirt comes from a song by the same name on the impressive 1979 self-titled debut from The Paul Collins Beat.

I didn’t discover Collins until a few years after that. Back then, I still lived on Chicago’s southwest side, and hung out at Haywires, an unusually adventurous bar for that area. It often booked new wave and punk bands like Bohemia, The Clocks, and Gary Jones, and held jam nights organized by Bud Monaco. One of the most popular acts was a young local band called Take Me that seemed to have an awful lot of good original songs. As it turned out, they were covering new acts like 20/20 and The Paul Collins Beat that we hadn’t heard before. A bit sneaky, but ultimately, Take Me did these groups a favor by making us want to buy their albums.

The I DON’T FIT IN shirts can be purchased in person when Paul Collins performs along with Mondo Topless, Stupidity, and former Friggs member Palmyra Delran at Asbury Lanes in New Jersey on June 17th. You might also be able to buy one when he plays gigs at Proud Larry’s in Oxford, MS on July 16th, along with The Neckbones; and at Hi-Tone in Memphis, TN with The Neckbones and Peter Case of The Nerves and The Plimsouls. The Beat Army had a rep hanging out at International Pop Overthrow in Chicago this past April, so hopefully that means Collins might be coming our way.

The shirts can also be ordered at paulcollinsband@gmail.com but according to The Beat Army, supplies are limited.