CD Review: Lannie Flowers - Circles

Circles, the second effort from Texas native Lannie Flowers, is a 15-song celebration of power pop that’s being released in CD format, as well as a three-sided vinyl record. The singer-guitarist, backed by a full band, creates catchy love songs that are reminiscent of The dB’s, and tap into mid-1960s Top 40 as well. Flowers played International Pop Overthrow - Chicago this past April, and he’ll be performing at Molly Malone’s as part of IPO - Los Angeles on July 29th.

“Looking For You” is a guitar-driven gem that has the immediate impact of a hit single, while “Turn Up Your Radio” honors the bond loyal listeners have with their favorite station. Flowers gets some help from Delbert Raines for the smooth harmonies on “I Don’t Know” and “Where Does Love Go?” which are tunes about not being sure where a relationship is going. On the Hollies-like “Not In Love” and the mid-tempo “Favorite Song,” it’s the guy who definitely wants out. The seductive “C’mon Over” is one of the more fun tracks on Circles, while the mostly acoustic “Just Like You” and bluesy “All Dressed Up” find Flowers succeeding with change-of-pace arrangements.

Slumgullion #65

Photo from Ivy Facebook page.

For The Love Of Ivy Ivy, the cosmopolitan techno trio comprised of Adam Schlesinger, Andy Chase, and French-born vocalist Dominique Durand, will release All Hours, its first new CD in six years, on September 20th. A new single, “Distant Lights,” can already be heard on the band’s Facebook page. No tour dates have been announced yet.

Still, it looks like some busy months ahead for Adam Schlesinger, who’ll be touring with his other band Fountains Of Wayne in support of its new Sky Full Of Holes CD, which is coming out on August 2nd. Fountains of Wayne will headline a MOBfest concert at The Hard Rock Hotel on June 23rd.

Panther Pop. Chicago coed band Panther Style describes itself as sounding like the offspring of Lush and Van Halen, and songs like “Seeing Just Not Believing” and “The Instrumental” back up that claim. Panther Style will be having a release party for its new ¡Emergencia! CD tomorrow night, June 11th at The Beat Kitchen. Veteran power pop outfit The Bon Mots and Wells-Next-The-Sea, a folk-rock band that takes its name from an English seacoast town, are also on the bill. The show starts at 10:00 PM.

Back To Bonaroo. WXRT air personality Mary Lennartz will checking in with the FM station throughout this weekend with reports from the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee. Some of the acts scheduled to perform include The Strokes, Robert Plant, The Decemberists, Florence + The Machine, Smith Westerns, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, and the recently reunited Buffalo Springfield.

Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound? An exclusive online report from Rolling Stone magazine today states that the reformed Buffalo Springfield will play 30 dates on a tour due to kick off in the Fall. So far, Chicago hasn’t been confirmed as one of the reunion tour’s destinations, but based on comments by vocalist-guitarist Richie Furay, a Windy City stop seems likely.

Chairman Of The Toybox. Toynk, the online store that offers loads of fun pop culture memorabilia, now has an Iggy Pop action figure available for $17.99. The 6 3/4” replica from the Neca company has its own microphone, but if you want him to roll around in broken glass, you’ll have to provide that yourself. Now Neca needs to issue a Kate Pierson from The B-52’s action figure so that she can sing “Candy” along with Iggy. Toynk also has a physical store, located at 430 N. York Road in Bensenville.

Imagine There’s More Beatles Memorabilia. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland has just completed a facelift that involved new lighting and technology, as well as several new display pieces related to The Beatles. The Beatles Exhibit now includes a suit George Harrison wore during the band’s 1966 tour of The States; coats that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wore in Help!; illustrations by Stu Sutcliffe and Lennon; McCartney’s handwritten arrangement for “Birthday”; and Ringo Starr’s drop-T Beatles logo drum head.

Model Reunion. Cindy Crawford recently tweeted that she’ll be among several veteran supermodels appearing in a new Duran Duran video. The Modelinia site reports that Naomi Campbell and Yasmin Le Bon (singer Simon Le Bon’s wife) are also on board.

Get Handcuffed In Millennium Park. The Handcuffs will be doing a free concert at Millennium Park as part of a WTMX-FM Party on June 16th from 5:30 to 6:30. Rhythm and funk band PJ’s My Cousin Too open the event at 4:00 PM. The Handcuffs will also be at the Kryptonite club, along with Mana Kintorso in Rockford on Friday, June 17th. Meanwhile, the previously unreleased song “Flying” from The Handcuffs will be included on the two-CD set Pop Garden Radio Presents: The Rock on the Road Tour Season 2.

CD Review: The Webstirs - Smirk

The Webstirs will be performing a gig at Quenchers this Saturday night that’s being called a Re-Present SMIRK - Record Release Show. The Chicago power pop band will be performing its 1994 debut, which has recently been remastered with bonus tracks, in its entirety. I’ve seen The Webstirs play a few International Pop Overthrow gigs over the years, and they’re always a lot of fun.

Here’s a review I did for the Illinois Entertainer back when Smirk was originally released. At the time, I was working a temp job as proofreader at a graphic design firm in Chicago’s River North area. If memory serves, one of the designers had worked on the Smirk CD jacket, and said she had removed the dog’s private parts in Photoshop.

Smirk, the debut from The Webstirs, strikes an unlikely balance between eccentric British pop and straight forward Midwestern rock. The Chicago quartet’s singing-songwriting duo of guitarist Preston Pisellini and keyboards player-horn player Mark Winkler set their wry social commentary and working class frustration to energetic arrangements. They also tap into the music hall zaniness that has inspired U.K. acts from The Kinks on down to Blur and The Wonder Stuff.

The catchy opening track “You Can Hang Around” features a honky-tonk piano break, while the clever “Only Thirty Three” offers a requiem for vinyl records that begins with the scratchy sound of a phonograph needle. The slightly sick musical tale “Maurice Klybatzia” evokes The Hollies or pre-disco Bee Gees. Elsewhere on the CD, The Webstirs hammer out melodic rock songs like “Stone On The Ground,” “Old Enough,” and “King.”

CD Review: Phil Angotti - People And Places

Phil Angotti has a gig with his band coming up on Saturday, June 18th at Martyrs. He’ll also be be performing as part of Material Re-Issue as the opening act for The Lemonheads at Taste Of Chicago on June 28th. Plus, the word is, he’ll have some more tribute shows, like the one he recently did featuring Paul McCartney’s Ram album, coming up in the near future. Anyway, here’s a review of his latest CD I did for the Illinois Entertainer.

As a founding member of The Idea, vocalist-guitarist Phil Angotti is probably most often thought of as a power pop musician. But his latest release is an exploration of roots rock music and complex emotions that calls to mind fellow Chicagoan and Dolly Varden frontman Steve Dawson’s masterful solo effort, I Will Miss The Trumpets And Drums. It’s possible Angotti was inspired by that effort, especially since Dawson, along with Mike Zelenko, Brad Elvis, Carolyn Engelmann, and Tommi Zender, is part of the Lazy Apple Orchestra Angotti recruited to help out on People And Places.

The Country & Western tune, “You Were Right (Probably)” depicts a man casting a melancholy glance toward his past as Angotti sings, “I thought all that I did had a just cause/Now I regret almost everything.” Dawson provides back-up vocals and plays slide guitar on the folksy tale, “Railroad Angel,” while singer Jacky Dustin harmonizes with Angotti on the Byrds/Dylan influenced “Same Ol’ We.” “Broken Baby Doll House” has more of that Beatles influence Angotti has so successfully tapped into throughout his career, and “National ‘36” exudes a blues rock bar band feel. People And Places is a well-crafted effort that covers a lot of musical ground.

(Self-Indulgent) Vintage Media Publication Spotlight

This is a publication from around 1970, and I know for sure that no one else has a copy except me. It’s a typewritten anthology of rock song parodies I created while working at a McDonald’s in the posh Beverly neighborhood in Chicago. I even did the poignant cover illustration myself.

I used popular songs to vent the frustrations of minimum wage labor in a sweltering fast food joint, as well as to express my fascination with various female customers. I had quite a few crushes back then, including a statuesque blond who worked at a health club across 95th Street, some sales girls from the nearby William A. Lewis clothing store, the daughter of a local business tycoon, and a mysterious brunette who gave me the strange sensation we must have known each other in a previous life. I swear there were times, when I sensed her presence even before I saw her.

And so I created parodies like “What Do You Get When You Buy A Mac?” to the tune of “What Do You Get When You Fall In Love?” There were a number of Beatles parodies, with lines like, “I am the meat man, I am the bun man, I am nauseous. Goo goo goo joob” and “She’s in line with me and feel fine.” I used a parody of “Norwegian Wood” to spin the humiliating true life tale of the time I tried to flirt with a gorgeous dental assistant and wound up blushing so deeply she laughed in my face. It ended with the lines, “Then I turned around and I saw that the drive-in was packed/With everyone laughing at me, so I hid in the back.”

Ah, rock and roll and young love. I also created three comic books while working at McDonalds, one of which was confiscated by management and never returned. Many years later, I wrote a mini rock opera of parodies based on my experience of working at Arthur Andersen at the time of the Enron crisis. Famous In The Future, the comedy group I was a member of at the time, was kind enough to perform it with me. We sold out shows and were written up in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, and a number of local papers. Had that dental assistant only known the fame I would later go on to, she might have regarded my beat-red face as an honor rather than something to laugh at.

CD Review: Smoking Popes - This Is Only A Test

The Smoking Popes played SausageFest, one of the first outdoor festivals the summer last night. Here’s a review I did for the Illinois Entertainer of their latest CD.

The Smoking Popes’ third release since reforming in 2005 is a sort of concept album that explores the mindset of the average teenager. Some of the tracks on This Is Only A Test may sound surprisingly commercial, especially for a critically acclaimed punk band. But lead vocalist-guitarist Josh Caterer consistently spikes his material with satire and a biting sense of humor.

It’s hard to imagine Caterer isn’t poking fun at the jealous outsider of the title track, who envisions a post-high school dreamland where the jocks and cheerleaders have fallen from grace and geeks rule. The suitably energetic “Punk Band” is a funny look at rock star aspirations, while “College” presents a kid who dismisses higher education as a trap set by The Man. Smoking Popes even spin mononucleosis symptoms into engaging power pop on “I Got Mono.” Not everything on This Is Only A Test is played for laughs. The catchy “How Dangerous” promotes self-confidence while the mostly acoustic “Letter To Emily’ deals with teen suicide.

Slumgullion #64

Photo from the Smoking Popes Facebook page.

Da Popes. Somehow the idea of attending an event called SausageFest conjures images of the Super Fans on Saturday Night Live enduring cardiac arrest while expounding on Da Bears and Da Bulls. But at least some of these guys must like dat dere punk rock because Chicago’s own Smoking Popes will be headlining the Fest on Sunday night at 8:30 PM. Smoking Popes have a new CD out called This Is Only A Test, which I highly praised in a recent issue of the Illinois Entertainer. I’ll post the full review here some time next week. SausageFest is taking place at the corner of Sheffield and Addison, in the shadow of Wrigley Field. Tell ‘em Coach Ditka sent ya.

And Now Something For The Wine & Cheese Crowd. If you see someone holding a Discover Me, I Write Real Good! sign at Chicago’s 27th Annual Lit Fest this weekend, it could be me trying to impress literary agents. But I definitely wouldn’t be the only aspiring novelist at this gathering, which includes book sellers, authors being interviewed about their work, music performances, and even cooking demonstrations. Lit Fest runs from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM Saturday, and from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Sunday on Dearborn, between Congress and Polk.

Get Up And Go-Go. Fans looking forward to seeing The Go-Go’s in concert this summer got a preview when they appeared on Good Morning America earlier today. The band performed live as part of GMA’s Summer Concert Series in Central Park. Despite the early hour, there was a large, enthusiastic crowd and The Go-Go’s were wide awake and rocking out.

Dot Dot Dot Dashes Off Some New Songs. Local synth rockers Dot Dot Dot have been playing gigs across the country, but they’ll be back in town Sunday for a taping of the JBTV. The band revealed on Facebook that it will unveiling five new songs on the music show. Fans can check out the new material on its ReverbNation page.

For What It’s Worth, It Was Worth A Lot. Rolling Stone online has critic David Fricke giving an enthusiastic thumbs up to the reunited Buffalo Springfield’s first gig of their summer tour. The current line-up, which includes original members Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay, performed 15 songs, plus encores at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Fricke seemed particularly impressed with “On The Way Home,” “Rock and Roll Woman,” and “Broken Arrow.” Here’s hoping Buffalo Springfield extends its tour and adds a show in the Chicago area.

Taste Of Chicago Highlights.

Anyone who wasn’t able to get tickets for that sold out Material Re-Issue gig at International Pop Overthrow - Chicago last April should have an easier time checking them out at Taste Of Chicago. The trio, which features new vocalist-guitarist Phil Angotti, along original members drummer Mike Zelenko and bassist Ted Ansani, will be opening for The Lemonheads in Grant Park on June 28th. My review of the IPO Material Re-Issue show at the Abbey Pub can be found in the archives, on April 26th.

Irish Music Fans, Take Note: Celtic Fest is no longer a stand-alone festival, due to the city’s budget cuts, but there will be a Celtic Music Day at Taste Of Chicago on June 29th. Natalie MacMaster with Liz Carroll, John Doyle, and John Williams are slated to headline that night. Performances throughout the day will include Glen Ayre, Kevin Flynn & The Avondale Ramblers, the always mesmerizing Baal Tinne, and Bua. There will also be Celtic dancing at noon and 2:40 PM.

Taste of Chicago will hold Viva/Latin Music Day on June 24th; Pop/Rock Day on the 25th; Gospel Music Day on the 26th; World Music Day on the 27th; Singer/Songwriter Day on the 28th; Variety Day on tJune 30th and July 2nd; Country & Americana Music Day on July 1st; and the Alligator Records 40 Anniversary Party on July 3rd.

Loyal viewers of the Ellen Degeneres Show will recognize the name Grayson Chance. He’s the teenage singer-piano player who rode a video of himself performing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi”at a middle school recital to YouTube stardom and appearances on Ellen’s show. He was the first act signed to her eleveneleven label. Chance will share a bill with actor-singer-dancer Shane Harper at Taste Of Chicago on July 3rd. Attendance might not be as overwhelming as it has been in previous years, since the city recently announced the cancellation of its fireworks display that night.

Other acts worth checking out at this year’s Taste Of Chicago include Archie Powell and The Exports at 2:40PM on June 25th, and the Crosby, Stills, & Nash tribute act at 5:20 PM on July 2nd.