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LOCAL MUSIC NEWS COLUMN by Tom Lounges EASTER WEEKEND “THROWDOWN”… We’ll be rockin’ hard and long on Saturday, April 10 at The Sandbox Lounge out in Roselawn, Indiana. The schedule for Midwest BEAT’s “Spring Thing Throwdown” was in limbo for a spell due to a booking problem with one of the original bands on the bill, but it’s all good now! The Easter Bunny will be delivering us a basket full of great rock ‘n’ roll on this holiday weekend, with a triple bill of strong region bands of varying styles ready to rip it up that night. In order of performance will be Ripley Street (classic), Dawnstone (alt/classic), and Mas Kaos (heavy). CANCELLED DATES...• Poison’s lead singer, Bret Michaels, has postponed his solo tour to take an invitation from Gene Simmons to have Poison join KISS on the road this summer. Michaels’ reps say that Michaels’ solo Songs Of Life dates, including the ones originally booked for April 3 at McCool’s in South Haven and April 10 at Joe’s Sports Bar in Chicago, are expected to be rescheduled sometime this fall. Seven Mary Three have also canceled their April 17 show at Cronies Gin Mill in Kouts due to some kind of booking snafu. The date will be made up, but nobody seems to be sure just when that might happen. BENEFITS PLANNED...• Two special Memorial events are planned at press time for two fallen musical comrades from the region. The first is in memory of regional sound engineer, Greg “Mahoney” Bruks, who passed away from lung cancer in early March. It takes place April 9 at 2nd Dimension in Schererville. Donating performances are – Nick Danger, Shuddup & Drive, TimePeace, Unusual Suspects and Mas Kaos. The second is for DJ Don Wozniak, who spun the tunes for years at McCool’s night club. Don was killed on January 12 in an automobile accident. That event takes place on June 6 at McCool’s and will feature Mas Kaos, Force Five and many others still to be announced. BAND BITS...• Word came in that Jayson Fausnaugh has left the line-up of Michigan City hard rock group, Killjoy. It’s a real shame, because the band’s music and his voice were perfect for each other. Contrary to rumors, Killjoy is continuing on and have not cancelled any of their dates, except for our BEAT Bash on April 10, due to a double booking situation. • Regional pop/rock cover band, Signal Eight has split up after just a short time together. Here is where everyone is going next... Lead singer Natasha Spurgeon is teaming up with a new original music project that guitarist Don Argostino has put together. Bassist Rene Garcia looking to assemble a new club band with former members of Milhouse. Guitarist Colin Peterson has hooked up and the permanent guitarist with the chick rock group, X-Girlfriend, a new group fronted by Tina Dohl that already has folks talking. Drummer Aron Schuhrke is taking a hiatus from music to open his own insurance agency... • Northwest Indiana singer/songwriter, Josh Holmes, is getting a fair share of air play with his new original music CD, A Table For One. His debut single from the disc, “Fallen,” recently got spins on Indianapolis’ Z99FM and WXRT in Chicago. Holmes is also on the roster to be a guest in the next few weeks on the Night Rock Radio program, which airs Sundays at 6 p.m. on X-ROCK 103.9. Holmes currently performs his acoustic show every Wednesday at The Registry in Crown Point and every Thursday at Brewski’s in Valparaiso. More info: www.joshholmes.net • Drop plays a street-savvy style of aggro-rock that is packed with energy and LOTS of guitars. Nothing slick at all about this group, who are one of the better live acts to catch in the whole of Chicagoland. With the album now done, the group is focusing their attention on a summer touring and completing a DVD release for fall. To celebrate the new album release, Drop will perform live at Tower Records in Bloomington, Illinois on Saturday, May 8 at 7 p.m. “It’s a great way to get a lot of people to see us live that might not normally make it to a club,” commented guitarist Patrick Davey. • After years of struggling to get his music heard in the Calumet Region, Justin relocated to California some time ago, where he has been able to make a successful living doing what he does so damn well –– music!
• The singer/songwriter/guitarist’s music sounds like Ronnie Spector, Patti Smith and The Ramones whipped up in a blender. Peri performs as part of The International Pop Overthrow’s “Girls Night Out!” at Wise Fool’s Pub (2270 N. Lincoln). Peri will be doing a 4 p.m. in-store concert that same day at The Record Emporium (3346 North Paulina). Her original song, “Dating Sucks,” is included on ROCKERGRL Magazine’s Discoveries 2004 compilation CD.
• Wookie Luv, the once popular Northwest Indiana cover band who called it quits six months ago, will come out of retirement long enough to make a “one night stand” on April 17 at McCool’s night club in South Haven. They will open for The Peacemakers, the new group featuring ex-Refreshments vocalist/frontman, Roger Clyne. Since Wookie Luv’s former female singer Kerry is very pregnant at the moment and unable to perform, stepping in for her at this reunion will be band leader/guitarist Randy Anderson’s daughter, Kyrie. • The popular Chicago club band, REVO, is officially no more. At least two of the members have moved on in the regional music scene. Vocalist Desiree has joined up with the dance band, Libido Funk Circus. Bassist Mark Konzen has hooked up with the cover band, Rubber, whose set list includes everything from Outkast to Slayer. More info at: www.Rubber-Chicago.com • Simple Something, the hard-edged modern rock band that has been steadily making a name for itself, is now in the market for a new lead singer. Interested parties who think they can “man the mic” for this energetic young outfit can make a bid for the gig at: www.simplesomething.com • Mike Curtis, formerly with the region bands Loudflower, ROOK, and Dying Breed, has officially hooked up as the new guitarist with The Crawpuppies. Though known as a popular classic rock cover group, The Crawpuppies, have started recording some of their original songs with a full length CD project in mind. • The celebration took place at the Buffington Harbor Koko Taylor Blues Cafe and among those who came to pay tribute to Taylor were –– Lonnie Brooks, his guitar-slingin’ son Ronnie Baker Brooks, Marie Dixon (Willie Dixon’s widow), Dennis Edwards (former Temptations vocalist), and Chicago blues musicians Billy Branch, Artie “Blues Boy” White and Johnny Castro. • Blues music fans will not want to miss my pal Buddy Monaco’s annual “Easter Blues Parade” over at Tommy’s Place (12237 S. Western Ave.) in Blue Island on April 10. This yearly shindig is the talk of the South Side as Buddy really knows how to pitch a wang dang doodle when it comes to live music events. Just some of the 15 Chicagoland blues artists on board for this event are –– Hollywood John Cosgrove, Deb Seitz, Jody Noa, Bill McFarland’s Chicago Fire Horns, Patrick Doody, Ray “The Flame” Sucash and Joe Jammer. That’s enough to whet your blues appetite I’m sure... More info: (708) 389-7810. • Everyday Celebrity will be among the region bands showcasing their original music at Chicago’s MECA Music Conference between May 12-15. Info on the band on line at www.EverydayCelebrity.com. More on the event at: www.MECAConference.com • After two months of talking about the reformation of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s South Side metal legends, Tyrant’s Reign, I can finally give you a date and venue to see them live! The Reign will fall out for their first gig in many years together on April 10 at Cafe Lura (3184 N. Milwaukee) in Chicago. Joining them for this debut show are their old buddies, Ion Vein. Tyrant’s Reign has also been invited to perform live in Germany on November 6th at the “Keep It True” metal festival. • Congratulations to Terminal Fix, on their beating out 50 other Midwest bands in a St. Louis “One Night Stand – Battle Of The Bands” on March 27. The band now gets a ton of free recording studio time and will get to open for a compatible national artist later this year in the Arched City. • Congratulations to Porter County’s Crankchest on their winning the first round of “The South Haven Showdown,” a new “battle of the bands” series now being hosted at McCool’s in South Haven by Kaos Productions and Midwest BEAT. • Watch out for a new band of hard rocking Hoosier youngsters called ZooSpore! The all “under 21” Portage-based group perform mostly original music that bridges the genres of alternative and classic rock. Having caught their energized performance at the aforementioned “South Haven Showdown”, this writer was very impressed with what the group had to offer after only eight months of playing together. The band will record at Hammond’s Thunderclap Studios in late April/early May. More information at: www.zoospore.net • Another relatively new region group is Mulberry Whine. Founding members – Eddie Reid (drums/vocals), Greg Faddel (guitar), Mike Hogg (bass) – have been jamming together for three years. They decided to get serious after adding Simon Allaway (guitar) and Pete Anticki (lead vocals/acoustic guitar) to the mix. The well rehearsed band does cover songs from the ‘70s to today, and is just getting its feet wet in local night clubs. • Former Midwest BEAT video columnist and feature writer, Ben Likens, is back in action on the musical front after taking some time off. Likens has a new group, Saucy Jack, who will be rocking live on April 17 at Buddies in Whiting, Indiana. • There is a new jazz band hitting the scene in “da region” called, The Real Horns. Headed up by brassman Tim Bales, the group includes the talented bassist Scott Pazera (www.scottpazera.com), drummer Anthony Taylor (winner of last fall’s Guitar Center Drum Off), tenor sax man Carl Coan and alto sax player, Rich Cohen. More info at: www.TheRealHorns.com • Looking for a quirky new group to follow? Then check out the Styrofoam Giants, a brand new group masterminded by Matt “Mr. Pierogi” Valuckis of Cheese Pizza fame. Kitschy party gems like “Hey Ya,” “I Want Candy” and “Pretty In Pink” constitute their live sets. More on this disturbingly fun band at: www.styrofoamgiants.com • After nearly five years of bending strings for heavy rockers Lugnut, guitarist Joe Grenchik, has parted ways with the band. Stepping in for him is new axe man, Rob Kobak. For more on Rob and the reorganized band, log on at: www.lugnut.o-f.com • Northwest Indiana songwriter – Jon “Lyrical Lizard” Guthrie – has penned “Man’ Cow’,” a parody of the Outkast hit single, “Hey Ya,” for Mancow Mueller’s popular morning radio program on Q101. “I put all the characters from Mancow’s Morning Madhouse into the song,” explained Guthrie. • Chicago’s eclectic Americana rock outfit, Satya Graha, has released an 8 song CD called, Under The Skin. It is the follow up to their debut EP, Pony Up, which got the group critical acclaim and radio play in the U.K. The group plans to cash in on that past success with this album and tour extensively in the U.K. in April and May. • Wonderful Smith, an original pop group from Chicago that features Munster native Holly Senchek on vocals, will be recording a new CD during May and June with acclaimed studio wiz Steve Albini (Nirvana, Cheap Trick, Pixies, etc.) at his Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago. • Chicago’s acoustic-driven modern rock combo, 56 Hope Road, have announced that they will be releasing their sophomore album –– Drop It All –– on June 5 with a live performance at the Double Door. This is a tasty little band whose music appeals to this writer’s ears. Check them out online at: www.56hoperd.com • Freek Johnson have released a new original music CD –– Make It Stop –– that is now available at their live shows. It got me to me at press time, so I haven’t heard it yet… but coming from the Freek…I expect nothing short of excellence once it hits the CD laser. In the immortal words of that stuttering slab of bacon, Porky Pig ––– “Th...th...th...that’s all folks! | ||
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Chicago’s premier hard rockers –– DROP –– will live up to their name when they drop a third album of original music on May 4th. The band’s latest, Suckerpunch, comes via Dark Star Records/Direct Impact and follows their previous releases, Perfect Absolution and Pitifully Human. Unlike those past CDs, Suckerpunch, will have nationwide distribution.
Joel Justin, former leader and visionary of the grossly under-rated and overlooked Northwest Indiana group, The Mad Ants, released a brilliant new solo album last month. The 13 original pop/rock tracks on 4/4 were recorded in South America, Brazil to be exact, where “the crazy gringo’s” songs are already getting radio play.
So far, 4/4 ranks as my favorite local artist release of 2004. Faves at the moment are the lead off cut, a Midwest rock-sounding tune called “The Liberty Station,” and the ultra perky pop dittie, “I Love You Too.” Super good stuff from start to finish. The region can be proud to call Justin one of ours! 
Jana Peri -- a guitar strummin’ rock gal this writer met during her former life as a N.Y. music publicist -- is hitting Chicago on April 19 to showcase her musical wares. 
Though long regarded as the reigning Queen of Chicago Blues, Koko Taylor, became Queen of Gary, Indiana on March 3. That city’s Mayor Scott King proclaimed that day as “Koko Taylor Day”.