FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…

by Tom Lounges / Editor

RED CROSS WEARY…BUT HAPPY

This edition of Midwest BEAT Magazine hits the streets a few days later than usual, and I apologize for that, but something a tad more pressing than even a serious deadline needed my attention and occupied my time the last week of September.

When the hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast in recent weeks, it was like nothing mattered as much as making sure that we as Americans were there to help our fellow countrymen.

Hegewisch Lisa and I were out on the streets in the X-ROCK “Bob & Tom” Radio van for several hours a day, every day for a solid week, collecting money for the American Red Cross.

Thanks to Scotty Rosenberg and Radio One Communications for the use of the attention-getting X-Rock 103.9, Z-107 and Indiana 105 radio station vans for this cause!

I salute the many wonderful national, regional and local musicians who have been giving so freely of themselves to help raise funds.

Many fund-raising events –– featuring everyone from The Blues Brothers, Robert Plant & Pearl Jam, and Steve Winwood all at House Of Blues, to events at local clubs and fairgrounds –– are using music to help the hurricane survivors.

With the capable assistance and generous support of many key Chicagoland music scene players – I produced our own Hurricane Relief event on October 2 at Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana.

Midwest BEAT Magazine, X-Rock 103.9 and Star Plaza Theatre sponsored “Chicago Rockers To The Rescue”, a show that united some of the biggest and best Chicago-based bands of the 1960s and 1970s.

Generously donating 100% of their time and talent were – Deep River Band, M&R Rush, Heartsfield, Dirty Dan Buck & The Boyzz, Bob Stroud, Ronnie Rice (of New Colony Six fame), The Cryan’ Shames and The Buckinghams.

Also, on stage was an amazing guest speaker – Dr. Jerry Back of LaPorte Hospital – who was on the front lines of the tragedy in Biloxi, Mississippi shared his experiences. What an amazing man that all Hoosiers can be very, very proud to call one of our own.

Kudos also to the management folks at the Star Plaza Theatre who worked alongside of me every step of the way on this project: Charlie Blum, Mark Bishop, Monica Montella, Holly Pettet, Sharon Bennett, Steve Kokos and Jim Holly.

Also to J.C. Hooke of The Cryan Shames, Susan Rakis and Carl Giamarese of The Buckinghams, for all their extra efforts.

And to the entire Star Plaza Theatre staff – from security officers, to the box-office girls, to the ushers, to the concession workers, etc. – who all donated their time for this show to insure that 100% of the funds we raised went to the American Red Cross.

Lastly... great BIG “Thank Yous!” all around to Joe Rega and his Joey Rega Tours crew, Alex Evolga and the crew of Spyder Staging, caterer Connie Grashel and her hard working family, the ladies of the Highland High School Alumni Association, and to Midwest BEAT Magazine’s own Julie Lounges, Lisa Sotiros, Craig Herron and Corrine Jurgerson for all the help with the raffle project.

To the MANY area businesses who donated prizes and/or contributed in other ways to this event.

Psssst... Special thanks to my friend Ted Nugent and the guys of Queensryche for autographing guitars for our silent auction!

Look for a full page of photos from this grand event taken by my friend and partner, Kent Follett, to appear in the November edition of Midwest BEAT.

So, yeah...this issue got out a little late and I’m what you could call Red Cross weary, but I feel really good that we were able to do something to help people who need to know that others care and are there.

On that note: Please keep supporting as best you can, the many efforts and benefits being hosted throughout Chicagoland.

One event in particular that I want to bring your attention to takes place at The Pearl Room (19081 Old LaGrange Road) in Mokena on October 21, when guitarist Steve Hackett (of Genesis and GTR fame) performs to benefit the residents of the hard hit Moss Point, Mississippi. The event is being sponsored and presented by Mokena’s Mayor Joe Werner. Tickets are $50.00. More info: (708) 479-5356 or www.colosseumbar.com

WELCOME... CHARLIE DANIELS!

Speaking of The Pearl Room! Please join Night Rock Radio and Midwest BEAT Magazine as we enthusiastically welcome The Charlie Daniels Band to town on October 14th to Mokena, Illinois. The South will indeed do it again that night!

Myself and Hegewisch Lisa will be there whooping and hollerin’ on Oct. 14th after bringing on opening act, 101 Ranch (a band not to miss!) and The CDB! We’ll have a few shirts and prizes with us...so get there early!

Charlie Daniels is one of the most amazing human beings I personally have met in my 30 years in the entertainment biz. He is also on helluva entertainer!

TOSSERS TOSS ONE OUT!

Fans of aggressive Irish bands like The Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues, should make a point to hit Chicago’s Double Door October 8th for a performance by The Tossers, a powerful seven-piece outfit that hail from the Toddlin’ Town’s Irish-Catholic South Side.

Though sporting a name that is Shakespearean slang for “commode”, The Tossers’ Celtic-flavored punk music is anything but flushable fashion.

Using traditional Celtic instrumentation such as fiddle, tin whistle, banjo, mandolin, and Uilleann Pipes in conjunction with loud and snarly guitar, bass and drums – The Tossers – have hit their stride with their new album, The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death, released via Chicago’s Victory Records.

CONGRATS TO WINNERS!

Congrats to David Hollings, Jr. of Hammond, Indiana! David was the lucky and knowledgeable Led Zeppelin fan who took home a brand new B.C. Rich Warlock guitar in the month long “Zeptember Montage” contest hosted on our Sunday evening “Night Rock” radio show (from 6-9pm on X-ROCK 103.9).

David was one of ten qualifying winners whose name was placed on a wheel that was spun on the air by contest sponsor Nick Kutzko of Music Lab in Lansing, Illinois. Nick also was the celebrity guest DJ that night and proved he has a future in radio if he ever wants to leave the retail world behind.

First runner up winner Jim Bonick of Crown Point, Indiana won an authentic 1980 Led Zeppelin concert ticket (via Metro-Pulse, Inc.) from the group’s never performed Chicago Stadium show, which was cancelled due to John Bonham’s death 25 years ago next month.

DYLLYNGYR & KAMERA ROCK

HALLOWEEN BEAT BASH

My old friends – DYLLYNGYR – will perform their first official club gig for our Midwest BEAT/Night Rock Radio Halloween Rock Bash on Friday, October 28th. The band will be sharing the stage with a remarkable keyboard-driven classic rock group called Kamera who have been getting a lot of radio spins and attention lately.

Dyllyngyr 2005 features three of the four original members– vocalist/frontman Billy Rak, guitarist Zon Haralovich and bassist, Joe “The Grunt” Grunstein. New to the group is slamming region drummer, Maria Garcia.

Old school rockers and clubbers will recall Dyllyngyr from their late-‘70s/early-‘80s heyday, when they shared stages with the likes of Angel City, Rick Derringer, The Hounds, Gamma and others at The Pointe East and other Chicagoland concert halls.

Come ready to rock in your best costume, because there will be a costume contest to boot!

A CHANCE TO LAUGH...

Region funnyman – Chuck Kilgore – will perform two final area night club gigs next month before hitting the road for a few months on Midwest and East Coast club tours.

Catch Kilgore in action on November 11 at Clancy’s Irish Pub in Portage Mall on Central Avenue in Portage, Indiana. Then again on November 12 across the county line at Sheffield’s in Dyer, Indiana. More info online at: www.chuckkilgore.com

A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR...

Kudos to Schererville, Indiana’s Jim Lauder, Sr. The Grand Knight of the Cedar Lake Knights of Columbus, Lauder, has organized a benefit concert at his service club hall (Marian Council #3840) to help the children of two Remington, Indiana murder victims.

The proceeds of the October 22 concert will go to the children of local residents Lisa Kendall and Kendora Furr, who were slain while working at a Remington convenience store.

The 12 hour event is split into two halves – the all ages show runs from noon to 6:30pm, with a 21 & Over show going from 6:30 to 11:30pm. Performing are Free Beer Band, Broken Sequence, Mommies’ Little Monsters, Copper Snake, Cobblestone Wine featuring Wallace, Bomac Blues Band and C-4.

More info, call Jim @ (219) 322-3201.

BAND BITS...

• Michigan City hard rock band, Signal, released their third CD, Between The Switch And The Fade, last month at McCool’s. Check out Corine Jurgerson’s feature on the fast rising rockers on page 13 of this issue and visit them online at: www.signaltothenoise.com

• Chicago prog-metal gods, Ion Vein, head back into the recording studio this fall with Grammy Award-winning producer, Neil Kernan, to work on their next album.

• Chicago’s top Southern Rock group, Eat A Peach, has decided to reform after nearly two years apart, according to current bassist Mike Lubecke.

Original guitarist Curt Sanders and keyboardist Greg Scheiltwiler, will be joined by guitarist Andy Ross a member since 1999 and drummer Kid Jackson, who joined the E.A.P. prior to their 2003 break up.

The band’s first official gig takes place at Daytona’s “Bike Week” in March of 2006.

• Chicago’s heavy rock group –– SOiL –– has just signed a new recording deal with New York-based DRT Entertainment. The band will be in Los Angles this month and next to work on their new album with producer Ulrich Wild. The as-yet-untitled album is currently slated for an early 2006 release.

DRT’s head honcho is none other than Derek Shulman, the former CEO of Roadrunner Records and a former President of Atco Records (he signed Enuff Z’Nuff while there). Shulman is also remembered by deep rooted classic rockers as having been a founding member of the legendary prog-rock group, Gentle Giant, whose classic catalog is currently being re-issued on CD.

• Guitarist Stevenvy and bassist Glenn “The General” Curtis have parted ways with Tattoo Frank Spears’ and his band, Premonition. The two have joined up with frontman/vocalist Quimby (ex-Power Opera) and drummer Jeff Triolo. That new project, Godz ‘N Gunz, is a tribute to Judas Priest and Guns ‘N Roses.

Tattoo Frank reports that he is taking his time and hand-picking new members for a revamped version of Premonition, the national touring/recording band he formed in Florida a decade ago and transplanted to Chicago last year.

• Local blues queen – Deb Seitz & Her Swank Daddys – are now hosting a weekly Thursday evening “Open Jam” at St. John’s Pub (9623 Wicker Ave.) in St. John, Indiana.

Deb is not only a great blues singer and hard working member of the local music scene, she is a great person. I encourage you players to get out there to support her on this endevour. The stage and mics are open for all serious local musicians from 8pm to midnight. More info: (219) 365-7880.

• Regional modern rocker – Josh Drake (formerly of O’So E-Z and Amber) – is now performing solo under the name, Dear Noel. Drake has modeled what he hopes will soon be a full group, after Dashboard Confessional, which began as the solo project for Chris Carraba. Watch for local dates, beginning Oct. 7 at The Southside Christian Church in Munster, IN.

• Transplanted Hoosier singer/songwriter/guitarist Derek See (ex-Cosmic Slop) now residing in San Francisco, dropped a note that he is gigging with a band call Careless Hearts, an original band whose sound he states is akin to – Wilco, The Band, Neil Young and The Byrds.

• Long time Force Five bassist, Todd Fulk, has parted ways with the popular Northwest Indiana retro-rock group. Keeping the groove in his place is former Survivor bass player, Billy Ozzello, who old school clubbers may remember from his days with the early 1980s region pop group, Digital Hair. More at: www.forcefiveband.com

• Acousti-rock combo Echofarm and likewise going through a bass change. Veterans of last year’s Region Rumble and contender (Oct. 9) in the Night Radio “Local Cage Match”, the band lost bassist Tom McClure and have replaced him with Mike Dahlgren, who had been in an earlier line-up of the band.

Next month, Echofarm will begin working on their new 10-song disc, Herd, at Thunderclap Studio with producer John Carpenter. More info: www.echofarm.com

• Chicagoland is giving birth to a brand new PINK FLOYD tribute act called –– Eclipse! Fans of Waters & Company will not want to miss a big event that will be happening with this group on November 26th. Sorry, can’t leak out more than that. Watch the pages of Midwest BEAT next month for all the details! Word to the wise... take yer meat...so you can have the pudding!

• Twisted Martini Lounge (the lower level of Gaucho’s Brazilian Restaurant) on U.S. 30 in Valparaiso, is now featuring a live acoustic jam night hosted by Michael Wallace and Bob Baldwin. Open mic is free but open only to musicians who are age 21 and over.

• In closing, the cut off date for bands to send their materials for the January 14, 2006 Midwest BEAT Region Rumble is November 10th. More info in this month’s “Soapbox” column on page 3 or at: www.midwestbeat.com Just click on the Rumble icon.

‘Nuff said!

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