February 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

by Tom Lounges


      Greetings! I trust you all had a great holiday and are now back in the mood to rock away those added Christmas pounds you’ve acquired while sitting around grandma’s table. As we find ourselves now looking towards spring, a wretched new Presidential administration and getting lucky on Valentine’s
Day, I’ve scheduled a few local music events requiring your attention.
Let’s get begin...

BEAT-IN’ THE STREET...

     Our first Midwest BEAT Bash of the real new millennium – “A Hard Rock Odyssey 2001” – took place Jan. 25 on the main stage of Finke’s Entertainment Complex and was a delightfully savage event. A very big thanks for Chris Writt and Ken Finke at the club for their hospitality!

The night kicked off with an incredible set of bluesy hard rock from American Motherload (read about them in this issue), who then passed the musical torch to Inzane (our cover band this month), who heated things up to a sizzle before turning the stage over to Undertow (who made their live debut
at this show) for an energetic finish.

Kudos to all who came to rock with us and congrats to those lucky stiffs who walked away with the free swag we raffled off throughout the night – Thin Lizzy concert tix, NoOne concert tix, Canon cameras, NFL sportswear, Pulsar watches, CDs and more. If you weren’t there...kick yourself squarely in the ass!

• We’ll be out on the streets a lot in the coming weeks with four great shows. It sucks that Valentine’s Day is mid-week this year, so we decided to host TWO parties the following weekend.

After having headlined such major Midwest haunts as The Metro, the Double Door and The Riv – Gravelbone – make their Porter County stage debut at our “St. Valentine’s Metal Massacre” on Friday, Feb. 16 at The Silver Bullet (391-1 West US Hwy. 6) in South Haven, IN. For more info, (219) 763-0031.

Although veteran Beat Bashers, it’s been a long while since they’ve rocked one of our shows. Gravelbone spent most of last year performing in other parts of the nation, where they shared stages with the likes of Disturbed, Alice In Chains and Slipknot. Joining Gravelbone on Feb. 16, will be two other slamming bands – Undertow and Lift Kit – with sound by Tony Troncozo’s Gerard Audio.

The very next night we will once again invade on of our favorite N.W. Indiana haunts, The Backdoor Lounge (811 Ridge Rd.) in Griffith, IN. For our “Valentine’s Pop Candy Bash” on Feb. 17, we’ll present a triple bill sure to keep the house rockin’ until the wee hours. Hosting the night will be the remarkable Slagg Wagner (read about them in this issue). Wicked City will
deliver a solid set of alternative and classic radio fare and making their Beat Bash debut will be the growingly popular pop/rock band, Grape Soda.

If you have fun Feb 17, don’t take those dancin’ shoes off, because our “Stardust Memories Dance Party” happens on Feb. 24 at the Stardust Lounge in Merrillville. Dusting off funk, soul and classic rock to keep those butts shaking will be AZIZ, Tamallicka and Grape Soda.

Please join us in entering The Twilight Zone” on March 10! This great new night club – The Twilight Zone – is located in the Portage Shopping Mall and sports a cool pop culture decor that includes a snugly ‘60s-like living room area and a killer game/pool room.

    Hosting the Twilight Zone stage will be the stellar Southern
rock-inspired concert band, Eat A Peach, who have opened for Santana at the World Music Theatre and who are heading to Atlanta in April to entertain with some national headliners at the “Down To Earth Day MusicFest.” Joining those peachy guys will be the new pop/rock combo, Don Baron & The Spin Cycle,
and my favorite local acoustic band, Drivin’ Blind. This loose ‘n’ lively line up is a guaranteed good time.

A HELPIN' HAND PLEASE...

•    Courtney Miller, a native of N.W. Indiana and former high school athlete, sustained a neck injury in a diving accident leaving her wheelchair bound. A special benefit concert to help raise funds to purchase a handicap accessible van for Courtney is being held at 7 p.m.on March 23 at the Wicker Park Social Center (U.S. 41 & Ridge Rd.). Donating performances will be the Motown/R&B acts, Soul What and TimePeace. For more info, call (219)
924-4945.

•    Two-year-old Paige Ronco, daughter of local drummer Jeff and Sandi Ronco of Red Shift, will be the subject of a benefit concert being held on Sunday, Feb. 11 at The Court Restaurant (69 Franklin St.) in Valparaiso.   Paige needs to be flown to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a battery of tests to determine if she has a rare kidney disease. The benefit – featuring Red Shift, The Bones and Ransom – is being held to raise money for that trip.
Donation is $10. To donate door prizes, email to: peapodj1@gte.net .

•    Hobart’s David Lopez donated his “Legendary Memories of Elvis Presley” tribute show just before Christmas and raised just over $800 towards the repair his hometown’s Doughboy Memorial. The bronze World War I memorial statue, erected in 1925 by the Hobart American Legion Post #54, sits on Route
51 just south of the downtown area.

“It’s in dire need of a new concrete base,” says Lopez of the crumbling memorial. With replacement costs of the huge base estimated at two thousand dollars, Lopez will give an encore performance (see page 27) on Feb. 17 at Hobart’s American Legion Hall (208 S. Linda St.).

     A 25 year veteran of the regional music scene, Lopez spent nearly two decades as the bassist/vocalist of the popular oldies revue band, Solid Gold, before going solo with his Elvis Presley act about five years ago. With Solid Gold, Lopez backed up dozens of major stars on stages all over the Midwest, including Rufus Thomas, the Buckinghams and Tommy James. For more
information on the Feb. 17 benefit, call (219) 947-2054.

•   Carrying on a proud region tradition that began in the early 1950s with The Spaniels of Gary and The Dells of Harvey, is a new doo-wop vocal group calling themselves, Harbor Lights, in tribute to their Indiana Harbor roots.

After a dozen years spent harmonizing on stage and in recording studios as members of Stormy Weather – George Carl, Dave Mitchell, Cheryl DeRosier and Dave Sigler – have stepped away from their alma mater to create this new
vocal outfit with newcomer, Ron Hanchar.

    The group will begin recording their first CD this month at Thunderclap Studios with area producer, John Carpenter. “For this first CD, we’re just going to cover some old favorites to show our musical roots and show what we can do as a group,” said bass singer George Carl, who added that a second
album of original songs that will blend the old street corner style harmonies with a more contemporary sound.

•   Last month, Chesterton’s Turnerjoy was named as the top Chicagoland band in the “Land Your Band II” contest on iCast.com and as such landed a cash award of $2,500. Sadly, it was the last contest the music website will ever host as their parent company, CMGI, Inc., has opted to shut down the site.
Turnerjoy songs (available on a full length CD via www.turnerjoy.com) have gotten a lot of internet radio play and some broadcast play on WXRT (93.1 FM).

•   Calumet Region musician and local cable television host, Johnny Ross, recently teamed up with pro football hero turned film star, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, to score the music for the Gary, Indiana native’s direct-to-video Blockbuster release, “Down ‘N Dirty.”

An in-demand session player during the 1960s, Ross played once guitar with Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Famers Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions. He later recorded as a solo artist for both Chess Records and 20th Century Fox.

Williamson has directed and starred in dozens of films, including “Original Gangstas,” for which he returned to his old Hoosier street turf for filming. His latest action-packed effort, “Down ‘N’ Dirty,” is now available for rental at local Blockbuster Video locations.

• Frontman/vocalist Mike Malaski, a guitar-slinging school teacher with a real talent for writing great pop/rock songs, came to this writer’s attention a year ago when he called me to attend the stage debut of his self-named band, Mr. Malaski. The group soon after changed their name to Mr. Mark and began hitting local night spots. Now a hit attraction at frat parties on the campuses of Purdue, Butler and Wabash College, the band now call themselves, The Same Difference.

     Regardless of their moniker, the music they create is top shelf if you like the quirky pop style of bands like R.E.M., Cheap Trick and Third Eye Blind. This is one of those bands you really need to check out soon.

•    Chicago’s renown singer/songwriter and modern rock minstrel, Michael McDermott, has informed this column that he is releasing his second national single from his recently released Koch International CD, Last Chance Lounge.
The new track, “Unemployed,” was shipped to radio stations nationwide this week. It follows hot on the heels of McDermott’s first single, “Junkie Girl,” which received a lot of airplay locally on WXRT.

THE SHIFTING SANDS OF BANDS...

•   The revolving doors of membership are again spinning for Hammond’s retro rock kings, History’s End. One almost needs a score card to keep up with the changes that have been going on within that band.   Just three months after leaving the group to form what proved to be an ill-fated band called, D-Minus, guitarist Greg Milikan and bassist Scott Hicks, have returned to
History’s End. Also joining up with the combo, albeit for the first time, is keyboardist Chris Kurtis.

•    Reality Check, a N.W. Indiana rock combo that has grown quickly in popularity over the past year, has surprised the scene by announcing that they are splintering into two separate factions.

Vocalist Kevin Benson and guitarist Eddie Rapata will continue on under the name of Reality Check with new members soon to be announced. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of bassist Rene’ Trevino Jr. and drummer John Hieno will
stay together and form a new group. Fifth member, rhythm guitarist Dave Lindsey, is stepping down from local music for the time being. I am happy to report that all sides concede that the split was amicable.

• Those Michigan City purveyors of tasty pop –– The Merkins –– have announced that long time keyboardist/guitarist, Dan Sells, will be on hiatus for an unspecified length of time for personal reasons. Stepping in to fill the void in his absence will be Ted Swanson, who has produced and co-produced the group's two CD releases, A Pony For Leo and Tumblin’ Chuck, respectively.

According to band leader, Jon Rice, “Ted has always been the ‘fifth Beatle’ in regards to helping us out by being a replacement player. Ted is multifaceted player that will surely add a new dimension to the group. During his time away, Dan Sells will be our ‘Brian Wilson’ and continue to write and contribute songs to the band.”

• Regional singer/songwriter Kevin J. Friend has likewise announced that his band, 20/20, will be calling it quits after one last show on Feb. 17 at J.J. Kelley’s in Lansing. Friend will be out of commission for awhile due to back surgery.

   Once he has recuperated, Friend said he plans to carry on in his musical career either solo or with another team of musicians. “I certainly won’t stop playing or writing ,” he said, “but I not sure where things will go from here.”

•   Valparaiso singer/songwriter Steve Vansak has redesigned his website – http://stevevansak.iuma.com – to now feature his original music in the downloadable forms of Real Audio and MP3.

ROLLING TAPE...

•    Chicago rockabilly band, Cat Sass, has recently teamed up with the Chicago-based touring/recording artist, Richard Black. The alliance began when Black met the band at Chicago’s Blue Flash Studios, where he was preparing to record a track for the album, USA/UK 2001, a new CD compilation being released and distributed worldwide by Savant International Records of
London and Chicago. Cat Sass was at the facility at the time working with engineer, Alan Crane.

Black wound up co-producing the band’s song, “My Girl Just Won’t,” with Crane and helped get the song included on the compilation CD along with his own blues rock original, “City Burns.” Black is presently in Blue Flash recording his third and latest solo CD with Cat Sass backing him in the studio.

Representing the South burbs on the new Savant International CD with her original song, “Easy Jo,” is fast-rising teen singer/songwriter, Tristen. The 17-year-old came to Savant’s attention when she performed before a talent
scout who attended last year’s “Musical Youth Day” in Griffith’s Central Park, which was co-sponsored by The Midwest Beat and Dynamite Music.

Tristen, who has two solo CDs to her credit, will join Richard Black & Cat Sass in a CD release showcase concert on Feb. 16 at the prestigious Sabre Room (8900 W. 95th Street) in Hickory Hills, IL. For infor/tickets for the 8 p.m. event, call (773) 468-8748.

• After testing the local waters with a free 3-song sampler CD that they passed out at area venues, Hoosier goth/metal band, B.L.U.D.D., report that they’ve finally begun work on their full-length debut CD, “Slow Drain Of Life.”

The group is guitarist/vocalist Nathan “N8” Trumble, bassist “Digga Dan” Schutzenhofer (both ex-Revolution), keyboardist Kali Zahra (ex-Leviathan) and drummer/percussionist Michael Lyon (ex-Phat Aggression). Those who missed getting a copy of the 3-song CD sampler, can still get one by emailing a request to: bluddbank@excite.com or calling (219) 921-1968.

• Regional rockers Vis@40 rattled the walls of Chicago’s Hard Rock Cafe late last month to celebrate the release their latest CD, Cruelty 2 Humans, a nine-track set of originals now available in local stores and via their newly redesigned web site (www.vis40.com). The project was recorded at Hammond’s
Sheffield Record Studios and engineered by (former Midwest Beat staff writer) Dave Grove.

• Ralph Covert (of Bad Examples fame) has really embraced his role of fatherhood it seems. The renown Chicago singer/songwriter who has been hosting children’s music shows at the venerable Old Town School of Folk Music for some time now, has released a delightful CD of children’s songs titled,
Ralph’s World.

     Covert’s new project comes via Minty Fresh Records, which gave the world the likes of Veruca Salt and The Cardigans a few years back. The much respected Covert is keeping good company as well. Backing him on Ralph’s World is Corky Siegel (Siegel-Schwall Band), Matt Walker (Smashing Pumpkins/Filter) and Kurt Elling.

•   Hammond’s harbingers of rip-hop, INZANE, have finished mixing down the tracks for their first full-length CD, Straightjackets For Everyone.   Frontman/shouter Bob Szany said the CD will be released in early February.

•   Chicago rock trio – troy – ended a long performing hiatus when they rocked The Metro last month. Enabling the band – featuring N.W. Indiana drummer Jay Will and singer/guitarist Troy Petty – to return live performing was the addition of bassist Scott Schaafssma. With the Grand Rapids native filling the long empty void, the band has returned to work on their debut CD
(tentatively titled, This Past Shall Pass...), targeted for a spring release. troypettymusic@aol.com .

KICKIN' ASS AND TAKIN' NAMES...

•    Midwest Beat’s good buddy and professional Hollywood stunt man/actor, Mark Stefanich, will be seen this month on “Walker: Texas Ranger.” The former Highland native (who’s become the pride of the Highland High School graduating class of 1977) will show his acting side while playing an antagonistic char