Rob Clarke And The Wooltones – Are You Wooltoned?

Are You Wooltoned? is being promoted as an introduction to Rob Clarke And The Wooltones but they’ve have already built a loyal following via an EP and several singles. The new 13-track album, available from Kool Kat Musik, gathers those previous releases together in one mind-altering package. Chances are, it will extend the Liverpool-based trio’s popularity to psych-rock and 1960s music fans around the globe.

Singer-guitarist Clarke has a gift for creating enticing melodies, whether it’s on the beguiling tale “Ambrosine” or the silly garage rock of “Monkey Mind.” A quick scan of Wooltoned’s tracks reveals that Clarke definitely leans toward the eccentric and mysterious. “Pancake Cupcake” is reminiscent of John Lennon’s solo work; “Iron Eyes Cody” opens with a Keith Moon style drum flourish; and “Mind The Gap, Henry Beck” sports all kinds of space-age effects. There’s even a mostly instrumental track simply called “Butter.”

The layered vocals of “End Of The End” recall The Byrds and “Are You Wooltoned?” throws “Eight Miles High,” vintage Neil Young, and fuzzy guitar playing in the same blender. The echo-laden “Peas” is a fun romp while “Colours (Of The Sun)” feels like participating in a sacred ritual. The seductive “Our Business” is a treat for anyone who fondly remembers Norman Greenbaum, and The Wooltones add a dash of glam rock to it for good measure.

Holiday Gift Guide – Part One

Photo montage from The Fest For Beatles Fans Facebook page.

I didn’t have time to create the annual Broken Hearted Toy Holiday Shopping Guide on Thanksgiving, but I’m still hoping to scatter some gift-giving suggestions throughout the season. As in the past, the emphasis will be on entertainment-related items.

You can purchase t-shirts, buttons, magnets, holiday songs, tour books, or other items from the websites of many recording artists. The official Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame website has assorted treasures based on artists who have been inducted, as well as exhibitions that have been held there. Sadly, the inductee t-shirt series seems to have sputtered to a stop. I was hoping to see a new batch of five or six every year.

The Fest For Beatles Fans annual holiday catalog has 32 pages of Fab Four-inspired memorabilia, that includes t-shirts, cufflinks, bottle openers, lamps, socks, pens, dice, dart boards, jigsaw puzzles, plush dolls, lunch boxes, pajamas, watches, and umbrellas. Plus CDs, wall decor, and loads of books. If you’re not on the mailing list for the catalog, you can check out the Fest For Beatles Fans official website. In a perfect world, every band and solo artist would be able to offer such a wide range of swag to its fans.

Concert tickets are always a nice surprise as a holiday gift, but don’t neglect the local clubs. Here in Chicago, we have an especially active music community that encompasses rock, jazz, blues, hip hop, house, soul, country, and classical. Just about every group has a website where you can buy its music in various formats. Support your local bands. The same goes for Chicago’s theatre scene, which ranges from Broadway-bound productions to the in-your-face work of storefront venues.

This holiday season, give thoughtfully, and give creatively.

A Few Notes

Musician Steve Dawson and journalist (Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times) Mark Caro plan to launch their Take It To The Bridge book in a big way at The Old Town School of Folk Music this Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Subtitled Unlocking the Great Songs Inside You, this collaboration is aimed at explaining the art of songwriting in an informative and entertaining fashion. Dolly Varden, the critically acclaimed alt-rock/Americana band Dawson leads with his wife Diane Christiansen, will be performing, along with Rachel Drew, Chris Corsale, Alton Smith, Christine Malcom, Ross Freedman, Melanie Budd, John Kuczaj, and Kevin Davey. Tickets are already available.

Best wishes to Laura Good for a full recovery after her recent brain surgery. Laura and her sister Linda have performed together and as solo acts over the years, and recently reunited as The Twigs on some recording projects.

Judging from photos I’m seeing posted on Facebook, Bruce Springsteen met his share of Midwestern musicians while signing copies of his new Born To Run bio at Books A Million in downtown Chicago today. Congrats to Christopher David from Magatha Trysty, Mike Vanderbilt from The Romeros, and Terry Hackbarth from Trolley on being able to pose with The Boss.

Slumgullion

Happy Thanksgiving!

Black Friday Record Store Day takes place tomorrow, so be sure to hit your favorite record store early for one-of-a-kind vinyl treasures in seven, ten and twelve inch formats. Pretty much all genres will be available, including mainstream rock, punk, country, jazz, soul, classical, blues, heavy metal, rap, soundtracks, holiday, and techno. My personal wish list includes releases by The Bangles, The Ramones, The Monkees, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Cars.

CAUDOG recording artist and Chicago music scene veteran Ellis Clark will be hosting a free Black Friday Record Store Day event at Val’s Halla Records in Oak Park tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. He’ll be joined by his band The Big Parade and special guest vocalist Ary Jeebie from the The Amazing Heebie Jeebies. Other guests scheduled include Country Doctors, featuring Doug Corcoran; Phoenix; Aethereal; Big Hair Trouble!, Ary Jeebie’s tribute to 1960s and ‘70s country; Phil Angotti; Rachel Drew And The Bitter Roots; Daniel Connolly; Charlie Crane; and The Dyes. Val's Halla Records will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Dave Davies from The Kinks will be bringing his first-rate backing band to The Arcada in St. Charles on April 8. I caught a Dave Davies show at Taste Of Lincoln Avenue a few years back and it was amazing. The Greg Kihn Band will be at that same venue on March 10.

The Chicago Pop Culture Show And Sale takes place tomorrow and Saturday, November 25 and 26, at the Pheasant Run Mega Center in St. Charles. There will lots of comics, toys, games, and memorabilia for holiday gift shopping, as well as special guests and cosplay. The event will also serves as a publishers and artists convention.

Tired But Not Dead Yet! After an exhausting day of shopping, Chicago area music fans can celebrate their Black Friday bargain-hunting savvy by seeing The Bad Examples at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn.

Last Friday, my wife Pam and I saw the Music On Stage production of A Christmas Story - The Musical at Cutting Hall in Palatine. It’s a fun show with talented singers and dancers, including several kids. The final shows will be staged this weekend.

I can’t remember the last time The Handcuffs had club dates two weeks in a row, but they’ll be following last Saturday’s gig at Quenchers by performing with The Demerits and The Artist Formally Known As Vince this Saturday at Township. It will be a birthday celebration for Vince. As most Handcuffs fans know, drummer Brad Elvis is also a member of The Romantics. Mike Skill from that band will be a special guest at Saturday’s show.

Damn right, I got the drumstick. Sopro Music’s 34th Annual Chicago All Star Thanksgiving Blues Revue will be held this Saturday, November 26 at Sullivan’s Night Club and Fine Dining Restaurant in Midlothian. The Chicago Horns will once again be on hand, along with special guest guitarist-vocalist Chainsaw Dupont. Other acts include Joey Drada, John Falstrom, Scott Bonshire, Frank Anastos, Wolfman, Doug Lee, Marty Binder, Billy King, Ed Neese, and Deb Seitz. The music starts at 9:00 p.m.

Two impressive local bands will join forces for a good cause when Dream Version and Bloom perform at the Protect Our Winters event being sponsored by New Belgium Brewing and Ben and Jerry’s on Wednesday, November 30 at Lincoln Hall. POW, a group working to raise awareness of the dangers of global warming, will have representatives on hand to explain their mission. There is a suggested $5.00 donation.

Also coming up at Lincoln Hall, Chicago music scene veterans The Hemmingbirds will be doing a farewell show on Tuesday, December 29. They’ll be joined by Mutts, Archie Powell And The Exports, and Jesse W. Johnson.

The Telepaths and whitewolfsonicprincess are hosting their annual Toys For Tots benefit at Red Line Tap on Sunday, December 3. The music starts at 7:00 p.m. and will feature KC Chronis; John Dalton; The Telepaths (with special guest Frank Carr); Steven Gilpin; The Darkroom Men; The Remember Knots; whitewolfsonicprincess (with special guest Tina Teske); Highway; Natalie Gaza; Noel (with Desiree Burcum); and 357s.

WXRT’s ONXRT Live From The Archives Vol. 18 will be available at Chicago area Target stores and at Target online starting next Friday, December 2. Listeners who enjoy the FM station’s frequently played roster of current artists will likely be pleased, since Vol. 18 includes efforts from Leon Bridges, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, The Arcs, Avett Brothers, X Ambassadors, and The Record Company. Silverspun Pickups, Andrew Bird, Twin Peaks, and Los Lobos are also featured. It’s disappointing that all the tracks were recorded within the past two years, since I’d like to see some genuine WXRT archive stuff from much earlier concerts. This edition of Live From The Archives is supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield with proceeds benefitting Horizons for Youth—Scholarship Mentoring Community and Welcoming Center—Lutheran Social Services Of Illinois.

The Monos! - Live ’78

Live ‘’78 is a low-fi trip back to the dawn of the punk and power pop genres. Available from the Kool Kat Musik label, it features the UK band The Monos! performing at the North East London Polytechnic club a few weeks before The Pretenders made their debut there. The Monos! released a few singles but broke up before they could record an entire album. This show was captured on a cassette recorder, but it’s worth enduring the primitive sound quality to experience catchy and hard-edged songs that otherwise would have been lost to obscurity. Note: there is currently an English band called The Monos that is unrelated to the late 1970s version.

The driving beat and biting observations of “New York Girls” is reminiscent of Joe Jackson while “Pop Heart” and “Melt Away” have a classic power feel. “Ericafire,” introduced by the band as “a bit of reggae song,” is the only number that feels less than genuine. The Monos! masterfully blend social satire with great hooks on “Cathy’s Got A Girlfriend” and “Guitar Hero,” while “Shot Dead,” apparently a tale of a woman’s unsuccessful attempt to get past the Berlin Wall, has a more punk style intensity.

“Difficult World” deals with navigating the perils of everyday life, and is described by the band as, “the one NME [New Musical Express] would like if they ever came to see us.” The musicians’ between-songs banter adds to the live club ambience and makes Live ’78 even more fun. Still, it would be great if someone could unearth those early singles so we could hear how The Monos! sounded in the studio.

Tomorrow Night

Just a reminder about some fun things taking place on Thanksgiving Eve.

The Safes, a band that has adroitly mixed hard-edged melodies and harmony vocals with punk exuberance on a series of releases, will hold their annual pre-Thanksgiving bash Friendsgiving 

tomorrow night at Chop Shop on North Avenue. They’ll be joined by critically acclaimed siblings White Mystery. Flesh Panthers, who switched from their usual manic punk rock to a more atmospheric approach on their new Willows Weep album, will also be on the bill. Comedian Bill Bullock opens the show. The Safes will be performing live early tomorrow on Fox Morning News.

Also tomorrow night, Phil Angotti And Friends will be performing Paul McCartney’s Ram album at Reggie’s Chicago on State Street. Angotti has done his Ram tribute before, and has gained a good deal of expertise in honoring worthy artists in shows around Chicago. Mr. Blotto is also on the bill tomorrow night.

And moving on to a post-Thanksgiving event, you can wrap up your Black Friday adventures by dropping by FitzGerald’s in Berwyn and singing along with “Not Dead Yet!” when The Bad Examples are performing that night.

Sunday Papers

Musician/artist Graham Elvis will be showcasing his latest artwork today at the Pearls, Paintings And Prosecco Open House at Bourdage Pearls on Ravenswood Avenue.

The Second Disc website recently had a post about Upon The Rocks, the fifth and final entry in Glenn Tilbrook’s series of Squeeze-related demos albums. This one concentrates on the band’s 1982 release Sweets From A Stranger, as well as the 1984 Difford And Tilbrook side project.

The Second Disc also had news this week about the Blu-ray and DVD versions of Ron Howard’s Beatles documentary Eight Days A Week; a super deluxe, 5-CD box set of The Who’s My Generation album; and the various formats for R.E.M.’s 25th Anniversary Edition of Out Of Time.

The Safes, a band that has adroitly mixed hard-edged melodies and harmony vocals with punk exuberance on a series of releases, will hold their annual pre-Thanksgiving bash Friendsgiving on Wednesday at Chop Shop on North Avenue. They’ll be joined by critically acclaimed siblings White Mystery. Flesh Panthers, who switched from their usual punk rock to a more atmospheric approach on their new Willows Weep album, will also be on the bill. Comedian Bill Bullock opens the show. The Safes will be performing live earlier that day on Fox Morning News.

More pre- and post-Thanksgiving treats: Phil Angotti And Friends will be performing the entire Paul McCartney album Ram on Wednesday at Reggie’s Chicago on State Street. Mr. Blotto is also on the bill that night. You can wrap up your Black Friday shopping and then drop by FitzGerald’s in Berwyn to proclaim, “Not Dead Yet!” while The Bad Examples are performing that night.

Walk Like A Humanitarian. The Bangles headlined the multi-act Music On A Mission benefit this past Thursday at the Casa Escobar venue in Malibu, CA. The event helped raise funds for Mending Kids, which brings life-saving surgical care to children around the world.

Dream Version has just created a fun, Devo-style video for “Romance,” a track from its 2015 album Beginners. The catchy melody evokes Buddy Holly and the Chicago-based band adds energetic guitar strumming and harmony vocals. Dream Version and the indie rock/power pop trio Bloom will be performing at the Protect Our Winters event being sponsored by New Belgium Brewing and Ben and Jerry’s on Wednesday, November 30 at Lincoln Hall. POW, a group working to raise awareness of the dangers of global warming, will have representatives on hand to explain their mission. There is a suggested $5.00 donation.

Also coming up at Lincoln Hall, Chicago music scene veterans The Hemmingbirds will be doing a farewell show on December 29. They’ll be joined by Mutts, Archie Powell And The Exports, and Jesse W. Johnson.

The Jigsaw Seen will be playing songs from their cold weather concept albums Winterland and Gifted at the Divebar in Las Vegas on December 9th. The band also has four California gigs coming up next month: Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles on the 10th, Continental Room in Fullerton on the 12th, Whistle Stop in San Diego on the 15th, and Hotel Utah in San Francisco on the 17th.

The Telepaths and whitewolfsonicprincess are hosting their annual Toys For Tots benefit at Red Line Tap on Sunday, December 3. The music starts at 7:00 p.m. and will feature KC Chronis; John Dalton; The Telepaths (with special guest Frank Carr); Steven Gilpin; The Darkroom Men; The Remember Knots; whitewolfsonicprincess (with special guest Tina Teske); Highway; Natalie Gaza; Noel (with Desiree Burcum); and 357s.

Tickets go on sale this Monday for Sting’s March 3 show at the Aragon Ballroom.

A boomerang dream. Australian power pop outfit The Jangle Band has just released an extended version of the Edge Of A Dream album I reviewed favorably here on May 25 of this year. This one has five earlier bonus demo mixes that feature the writer of each as lead vocalist. Some are quite different from the versions used on the album. I’m hoping to post more about this in the near future.

The Chicago Pop Culture Show And Sale takes place next Friday and Saturday, November 25 and 26, at the Pheasant Run Mega Center in St. Charles. There will lots of comics, toys, games, and memorabilia for holiday gift shopping, as well as special guests and cosplay. The event will also serve as a publishers and artists convention.

Wilco will bring its Winterlude 2017 concert series to The Chicago Theatre on February 22, 23, and 25. Tickets went on sale this past Friday.

Maybe he’ll be autographing coconuts. John Cleese will on hand when The Chicago Theatre offers a special screening of Monty Python And The Holy Grail on January 22. Tickets are going quickly.