With dozens and dozens of great bands playing at this weekend’s Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park, trying to figure out who to see can be a bit overwhelming. That’s where we come in. Below we’ll preview select acts from all three days, with a special emphasis on those that call The Windy City home.
DAY ONE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 5th
Ruby Jane – 12:00pm – BMI Stage
One of the more intriguing Friday acts has got to be Ruby Jane, the 16-year old Austin native who is being hailed as the next big thing in country. And no, I’m not talking about pop-country. Jane’s soulful, elegant ballads suggest a maturity well beyond her years. Not only does she have a killer voice, she’s also a skilled fiddler and guitar player.
The young local glam-poppers in Smith Westerns have been scoring boatloads of praise for their most recent record, Dye It Blonde. Soft, catchy vocals soar over pop beats and some fun guitar noodling — the kind of stuff Lollapalooza was made for. If you’ve had fun in years past dancing to groups like MGMT then do yourself a favor and check these boys out.
One of my favorite moments from the 2008 incarnation of Lolla was sweating my ass of while rocking out to The Kills. Well, the duo is back for 2011 and no doubt prepared to crunch and snarl their way into a whole batch of new hearts. Alison Mosshart’s Patti Smith-swagger is well-complemented by Jamie Hince’s snakebite guitar riffs. Hopefully its not too hot during this set, ’cause they’re only going to make it worse.
When not jumping from Chicago to L.A., Ok Go can be found hopping around on treadmills. Yeah, those guys. One of the best power-pop groups in recent memory, Ok Go channels bands like Material Issue but with the live energy and punch of, say, Screeching Weasel. They got their start playing the city’s street festivals. Now go enjoy them on the big stage.
The gruff shoegaze whirlwinds created by Chicago’s own Disappears aren’t necessarily the most easily palatable thing at Lolla all weekend, but they could be some of the most impressive to see. Despite being relatively new, the band is certainly experienced. They’re already vets of Pitchfork Festival (2009) and have recently recruited Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. This might be the set you hear about for weeks after. Don’t miss it.
Slightly strange, extremely fun, local quartet Maps & Atlases blend folk, experimental and math rock together to create something that fans of Fleet Foxes and Sonic Youth will dig. The group’s tight percussion, starburst melodies and xylophone twinkles are even more powerful live than on record. This is one I’m really looking forward to.
Check out Maps & Atlases performing “Ted Zancha” here in Chicago at Reggie’s.
Cee Lo – 6:30pm – Music Unlimited Stage
The man who makes up one half of Gnarls Barkley is no stranger to the Lollapalooza stage. Cee Lo rocked Grant Park as a part of that duo back in 2006 and now he’s back with a hot new solo record, The Lady Killer. His lyrics and vocals are as smooth as the suits he sports and the beats are sure to get Lolla shakin’ its booty. Got a problem with that? Well, “fuck you!”
Cee Lo Green performs the infamous “Fuck You!” on Later… With Jools Holland.
Lykke Li – 7:15pm – Google Stage
Swedish chanteuse Lykke Li has a striking voice that immediately captures the attention of those within earshot. Backed up by dynamic arrangements that include a variety of instruments — violins, synths, tambourines, saxophones, cellos and trumpets — her songs seem to channel an earnestness far too uncommon in popular music. Lykke Li is one of those rare artists that can make you want to cry and then get you dancing and smiling three minutes later.
The perfect summer pop band, Chicago-based Gold Motel is poised to be one of the breakout acts of Lollapalooza. With frontwoman Greta Morgan (of the Hush Sound), their songs play like a modern take on the girl groups of the ’60s in all of the best ways. Grab a copy of their debut, Summer House, now so that you have time to memorize some of the choruses before Sunday.
Gold Motel’s video for “Safe in LA” should end any debate about whether you need to see them.
The Joy Formidable – 1:00pm – Bud Light Stage
London trio The Joy Formidable are touring in support of their excellent debut, The Big Roar. The album is aptly titled, as songs like “A Heavy Abacus” are armed with solid hooks, sweet vocals and enough bombast to blow your speakers out. With the kind of monster sound-system that Lolla provides, I’d hate to be a band playing anywhere near these guys. Get your earplugs.
Crank the volume and enjoy the video for “A Heavy Abacus.”
Arctic Monkeys – 6:00pm – Music Unlimited Stage
At the beginning of the video for their 2005 breakout single “I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor” lead singer Alex Turner coyly says “don’t believe the hype.” I have my own bit of advice: don’t listen to him. The band’s previous Lolla set turned into an hour-long rock party and this year is shaping up to be no different.
What can I say? I grew up in the ’90s alt-rock scene. Of all the big headliners at this years festival, Foo Fighters are your best bet to give you your money’s worth in one set. Dave Grohl and company are playing for a solid two hours, so you can expect to hear all the hits. This man was in Nirvana for heaven’s sake. Do yourself a favor and don’t miss this set. It’ll give you something to tell your grandkids about.
For a taste of their famous live energy, dig this clip of “Everlong” live at Radio 1’s Big Weekend earlier this year. Goosebumps.
There’s no doubt that Chicago currently boasts one of the country’s premier music scenes. Luckily for us locals, that isn’t a recent development. The ’90s saw a surge of great local bands putting out excellent records. At a time when West Coast grunge dominated radio and MTV, Chicago bands seemed content to carve their own path rather than ride plaid coattails. Here’s 5 records from that scene that kick ass:
The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Released in ’93 at the center of the grunge explosion, Siamese Dream was the second album released by the local rock-gods in The Smashing Pumpkins. Despite garnering the band praise as “the next Nirvana,” the record wasn’t really grunge; it bounced between shoegazey riffs, heavy metal jams and soft, dream pop-y ballads.
The album opens up with possibly the band’s most well known tune, “Cherub Rock”. The tune’s thundering drums and punchy guitars roll through Billy Corgan’s obtuse lyrics effortlessly. Buoyed by the equally punchy “Quiet” and even catchier “Today,” the first half of Siamese does nothing less than prove itself the quintessential ’90s alternative rock record. After about 24 minutes of defining the genre, The Pumpkins switch it up with “Disarm,” a chilly, driving acoustic number complete with church bells and violins. The cloud-like “Soma” follows with a warm, tangled opening melody before blowing up into headbanging territory. “Geek USA” and “Silverfuck,” both of which show off drummer Jimmy Chamberlin’s chaotic talent, yank the last bits of pure rock from the band before the record’s denouement. The brief, chime-y “Sweet Sweet” is followed by the soothing alt-love ballad “Luna.” Featuring lines like “I’ll hear your song/ If you want me to/ I’ll sing along/ It’s a chance I’ll have to take,” the song was built for ending that mix tape for your lumberjack-shirted sweetheart.
Rolling Stone named Siamese Dream one of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and it comes in at #3 on Chicago Magazine’s “Top 40 Albums by Chicago Artists.”
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
Liz Phair may be known now as a pop radio-friendly girly girl, but her 1993 debut album, Exile in Guyville, couldn’t be farther away from garnering those kinds of labels. A lo-fi, guitar-driven collection of brutally honest ballads, Phair intended Guyville to be a direct response to the machismo rock of The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street.
“6’1″” begins with jangly guitars that could easily find their way onto a Stone’s record, but here they hold up defiant, woman-scorned lyrics that Jagger would never touch. “Never Said,” which remarkably garnered play on MTV despite the album selling only around 200,00 copies, makes up for its grammatically incorrect chorus with the genius line “So don’t look at me sideways/ Don’t even look me straight on/ And don’t look at my hands in my pockets, baby/ I ain’t done anything wrong.” The wandering folk song “Explain it to Me” shows off Brad Wood’s production, creating a perfectly thin layer of ambient sound around Phair’s soft guitar and some tip-toe percussion. “Fuck and Run” might be Guyville’s most radio-friendly tune, but the lyrics demolish any hopes of such exposure. The song details the morning after a one-night stand that both parties regret while still going through the motions, making plans to see each other again that neither will keep.
Exile in Guyville also appears on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” a few slots ahead of Siamese Dream, and is ranked at #7 on Chicago Magazine’s “Top 40 Albums by Chicago Artists.”
Ministry – Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
Al Jourgensen’s band Ministry had been kicking around Chicago since the early ’80s, mostly putting in time as a synth-pop band. By the end of that decade the group was taking on a decidedly more metal sound, and Psalm 69 is the end result. Released in 1992 by Sire Records, the album scored regular MTV play with videos for “Jesus Built My Hotrod” and “Just One Fix.”
The record starts off with the doomsday-assault that is “N.W.O.,” a protest song aimed at the Persian Gulf war and then-President George H. W. Bush. The song ends on a series of crunching riffs that carry a sample of Bush announcing “a new world order” off into the silence. The next track, “Just One Fix” starts up with a B-movie scream and actress Chloe Webb’s line from Sid and Nancy, “never trust a junkie.” A remixed version of the song featuring cover art and vocals by author William S. Burroughs yielded a video that animated buffoons Beavis and Butt-head dubbed the “best ever.” The strength of the record lies in Jourgensen’s combination of rapid-fire drumming, speedy guitars and scathing lyrics. “Hero” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod” follow this formula expertly before the album ends with a series of slower, brooding industrial tunes. The album’s eponymous track is perhaps its creepiest; a nasal voice asks that his “congregation please be seated” and open their “prayer guides to The Book of Revelations, Psalm: 69” before what is essentially an end-times soundtrack blows up for five and a half minutes.
Psalm 69 has been certified platinum in the United States, peaking at 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In 1993 Ministry scored a Grammy nomination for “Best Metal Performance,” with “N.W.O.”
Material Issue – International Pop Overthrow
The story of Material Issue is right music, wrong time. Considered the definitive power-pop band of the ’90s, the group was putting out their best music when angsty grunge dominated the radio. It’s our loss, as International Pop Overthrow, their 1991 release, is one of the most kickass records of that decade.
The classic case of “I love this song but never knew who did it,” “Valerie Loves Me” opens the record with its warm, catch melody and bouncy drumming. A typical tale of unrequited romance, the song succeeds by not whining, and also by offering the listener the chance to shout the three word chorus with little fear of not hitting the right notes. “Diane,” the record’s first single, is another simple love song. Perhaps even more simple than “Valerie Loves Me,” as the chorus is just one word. Can you guess it? Lead singer Jim Ellison had to have been the kind of guy to crush on everyone. We all have one of those friends, though we might be less inclined to shake our heads at them if they all wrote songs like “Renee Remains the Same.” The dreamy ballad features the lines “I always wanted to get her affection/ I only got rejection anyhow,” material ripe for a John Hughes movie. The album’s title track is the rare Material Issue song not about a girl. Instead, the upbeat, Cheap Trick-ian rocker details life touring in a power-pop band, including a cute jab at their more “serious” contemporaries: “And all these other boys they’re just makin’ noise/ They don’t know rock ‘n roll/ They just need someone to have their picture taken with.”
International Pop Overthrow appears on Chicago Magazine’s “Top 40 Albums by Chicago Artists” at #25. The album and band also spawned the International Pop Overthrow Festival in 1998. The festival plays in Chicago, LA, New York, Liverpool, Vancouver and San Francisco, annually featuring the best in power-pop music.
Local H – Pack Up The Cats
Another band whose lack of fame is slightly boggling, Local H have been a staple of the Chicago music scene since the late ’80s. After scoring some much-deserved attention with their ’96 release As Good As Dead, Zion-bred rocker Scott Lucas and his partner in crime, drummer Joe Daniels, unleashed Pack Up The Cats on the alt rock world.
Within five seconds after dropping the needle on Pack Up The Cats, the listener knows exactly what to expect: catchy balls-out rock. “All-Right (Oh, Yeah)” begins predictably enough, with Lucas hollering his rally cry over a dirty riff and minimal drums. Like Material Issue, Local H seems to revel in playing alternative music without its almost requisite sadness and pissy outlook. From song titles like “Hit the Skids or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rock” to lyrical one-liners like “People seem to like when things are bad/ Things are good” in “Fine and Good,” Lucas comes across just content to be making music. “She Hates My Job” sounds tense and haunting at the outset, as if some ominous Soundgarden chorus was waiting around the corner, but instead keeps its crunch while playfully complaining about the subject’s girlfriend’s dissatisfaction with his station in life. Pack Up The Cats’ big hit, “All the Kids Are Right,” not only features Lucas’ best licks and most entertaining lyrics, it’s also the song that captures what it was like to be in the middle of a crowd at Metro in the ’90s: sweaty bodies, smiling faces singing along and fun, catchy Chicago rock.
Rather than reissue their records two decades later in an attempt to make a buck, Local H are still putting out excellent albums and gigging frequently. Pack Up The Cats also made the Chicago Magazine “Top 40” at #38 and was named the 20th best record of 1998 by Spin.
Got a favorite that I missed? If they didn’t make the “Honorable Mentions” list, comment below and give ’em a shout out. Tell me why I’m a jack ass for thinking that record isn’t kick ass.
Honorable Mentions:
Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Want to know more about Chicago’s local music scene? Here’s the plan of attack: one musician, six questions. Let’s check them out, see what turns them on. If you like ‘em, turn ‘em up.
Another Six Pack, another awesome Chicago band. Moon Furies is relatively new to the local music landscape, but they’ve already got the city dancing. Young and ambitious, this dance-rock outfit is getting ready to embark on a journey some might call crazy, some might call suicidal, but no doubt will be a blast: 100 shows in 100 days. And no, this isn’t just a booty-shakin’ booze-fueled bacchanal. Andy, Jim and Andrew are undertaking this daunting task in an effort to create awareness and raise funds to aid cancer research at the locally-based Kellogg Cancer Center.
Six questions from yours truly, six answers from Moon Furies guitarist Andy Kiel. Here we go…
Ok Andy, How did Moon Furies get together? And where’d the name come from?
While Moon Furies is a bit of a newer band, our history reaches back over 150 years. Jim and I first met when we were a mere four years old. We shared a common bond in our love of finding new ways to destroy our Crash Dummies — a totally sick toy from our childhood. Ever since, our imaginations have been running wild and we’ve been constantly creating; from petty kid games to childhood record labels to our former band, Relativity (an alternative-rock band). When college came around, Jim and I went our separate ways in hopes of finding the answer to life — which was quite fortunate, because it was at this time that I met Andrew. Jim moved to Chicago a few years later, and of course, we couldn’t help but start writing music again. After spending a bit of time shaping our new ideas, which were more electronic-based than anything we had previously done, Jim and I began experimenting with different drummers. The moment we saw Andrew’s tattoo of the number 42, we knew it was perfect fit.
As all bands do in their early phase, we threw around what seemed like millions of ideas for band names, but of course none of them had quite the right touch. Out of nowhere though, the ’70s cult film “The Warriors” showed up on our doorstep. I don’t know who came up with the names for the gangs in that movie, but they must have been on some ill drugs or a genius. “Moon Furies” is a fusion of the “Moon Runners” and “The Baseball Furies” gangs.
Playing dance music in Chicago means facing audiences notorious for not dancing at shows. Do our crowds deserve that reputation?
I think in some instances Chicago crowds are more hesitant to dance than crowds in other cities, but that doesn’t mean they don’t dance. At our shows, it’s a bit like “flash dancing”. Once it gets going, everyone in sight takes off their pants and starts dancing like Tom Cruise in “Risky Business.”
If you look at Chicago’s trending music scene, there are DJs and there are more traditional rock bands. When you want to dance, you go to a dance club. When you want to listen to music, you go to a rock venue. Why not fuse them? Are they really so different? It’s for this reason I’m especially excited about our upcoming performance at Debonair on June 9.
How would you say the city has influenced your music, or you as a musician?
I came from a smaller city in Wisconsin where cows were common, and they made lifetime supplies of toilet paper. It’s also the manhole capitol of the world. Holla Neenah, WI. Seriously though, next time you’re going over a manhole cover look down. I bet it will say it’s from Neenah, WI.
Exploration of an artistic soul can be very different in a city such as Chicago, because there simply isn’t the same type of community support where I grew up in Wisconsin. It wasn’t until I moved here that I felt free to fully let go of my barriers and try to explore who I really am and what I have to offer to this world. This continual experience defines who I strive to be as a musician. I’m always trying innovate and cross new boundaries.
So, Moon Furies is getting ready to play 100 shows in 100 days. Where are you most excited to play? Imagine a world with no limitations — where in Chicago do you play your 100th show?
I’m honestly most excited to play on the streets. I’ve always wanted to see what this would be like. It’s such a raw means to share your passion with the world and such a unique opportunity to spontaneously interact with so many different people from across the world. Sure, there will be cold or rainy days, and I imagine we will inevitably have plenty of people walk right by, completely ignoring us. However, the individuals whose attention we will catch will make it all worth it for me.
My most pressing goal in life is to be the first musician to perform on the moon, so that would be pretty awesome (Yo, Richard Branson, hit me up). However, for this project it would really mean most to me to end our adventure by playing anywhere with Andrew’s mom present. Whether it be the Pritzker Pavilion or Andrew’s parent’s backyard.
Speaking of shows, got a favorite local band to see live? To play with?
Those are both extremely hard questions. I think my favorite Chicago band to play with to date is probably The Earth Program. They are pretty fun and unique. My favorite artist to see live is definitely Andrew Bird. His songs are so intricate and well produced and he can pull off his show as a one man act (excluding production crew of course…) He has a fascinating musical mind.
And finally, the “High School Counselor Special,” where do you see yourself in five years? Ten?
Five years: Touring the World. Ten years: Touring the Universe.
Check out Moon Furies talking about their upcoming 100 shows in 100 days project here:
The year was 1996. I remember it was pouring out — thick molasses drops of rain. My mother was driving me home from a floor hockey game at Dunham Park. Oldies 104.3 was playing commercials, so I spun the dial around looking for some music. I landed on 101.1 and my life was changed forever. That sounds overly dramatic, but it couldn’t be more true. A swirling acoustic-guitar riff came melting out of the speakers, church bells clanging and violins swelling to a kind of sad crescendo. I was hooked. This nasally whisper-screech was crooning desperate lyrics that sounded as if they’d been written during the last moments of a life. When the song ended I eagerly waited for the DJ to name the artist. As soon as I heard the words, “Smashing Pumpkins,” I began pleading with my mom to take me to the record store.
She’s a good woman, my mom, and seeing the weird and immediate attachment that took place was enough to convince her to turn the car around. At that point in my life I was listening pretty exclusively to The Beatles, The Kinks and Buddy Holly. The newest music I’d ever voluntarily put on were her Michael Jackson and Gloria Estefan records; a little behind the times for sure. We pulled into a spot at Rolling Stones Records on Harlem and I raced inside toward the “S” section. I was greeted by two albums, Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was a hard sell, but I convinced my mom to splurge on Mellon Collie. The double-album was twice the price of Siamese, but in my head that just meant twice the number of songs. Math is easy when you don’t have a job.
The song I heard on the radio that day was, of course, “Disarm”, which isn’t on the record I chose. I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. A fifteen-year (and still going strong) love affair was born that night.
***
The Smashing Pumpkins were formed in 1988 by lead singer and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky. The group started off as a shoegazey three piece with a drum machine, mixing influences like Cheap Trick, The Cure, New Order and Black Sabbath into a goth-rock stew with tight, pop sensibilities. If that sounds like a mess, it’s because early on it was. At a time when most other Chicago bands were taking their cues from ’80s punk records, the Pumpkins never quite fit into the local music scene. Their first break came after a gig at The Avalon. The band was approached by Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan, to whom the band had previously sent demo tapes. Shanahan agreed to book the band providing they replace their drum machine with an actual human being.
A friend of Corgan’s recommended local jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. About four weeks before their initial Metro gig, Chamberlin met the band for rehearsals and immediately had Corgan wondering what he’d gotten himself into. In the documentary Graceful Swans of Never, Corgan recalls the meeting: “He showed up, he was wearing a pink t-shirt, stone-washed jeans, he had a mullet and was driving a 280z and had yellow drums. We were sorta looking each other in the eye thinking, ‘This ain’t gonna happen. This is not the guy.’ He learned all our songs off the top off his head. Within one practice we were ready to play.” Chamberlin not only learned all of the Pumpkins songs, but he completely changed their sound. Corgan would later tell Chicago rock critic Greg Kot that while he and Iha “were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing,” it only took “about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined.”
After putting out a few well received singles on Chicago label Limited Potential and Seattle’s renowned Sub Pop, the band signed to Caroline Records and enlisted the legendary Butch Vig to produce their first full-length album, 1991’s Gish. Led by the drowsy single “Rhinocerous”, Gish was fairly well received by critics, earning the band comparisons to another psychedelic-metal mashup, Jane’s Addiction.
The ensuing tour took it’s toll on the band. While they were opening for acts like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns ‘n Roses and Jane’s Addiction, D’arcy was going through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became dependent on drugs and alcohol and Corgan battled depression and writer’s block. The alt-rock explosion of the early ’90s led to the band being signed by Virgin Records, with high exceptions. In an interview on MTV’s 120 Minutes, Corgan remarked, “We’ve graduated now from [being called] ‘the next Jane’s Addiction’ to ‘the next Nirvana.'” Admittedly depressed to the point of contemplating suicide, Billy began to write constantly to channel his frustration. The band reunited with Vig in December of 1992 to begin work on a new album, Siamese Dream.
The album was recorded at Triclops Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, partly in an attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his drug connections. The fact that Corgan insisted on recording everything but the drums for the record let to constant arguing with D’arcy and Iha, which forced Vig to play producer and mediator. Siamese Dream was a considerably heavier record that its predecessor, making use of the grunge-era’s fuzzy guitar riffs and tossing a little prog-rock into the stew. The album eventually debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts due to the massive success of it’s singles, “Cherub Rock”, “Today” and the aforementioned “Disarm.” The Smashing Pumpkins toured aggressively to promote the album, scoring headlining slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour and the Reading Festival, as well as releasing a b-sides compilation, Pisces Iscariot, and a video featuring live performances and behind-the-scenes footage, titled Vieuphoria.
Rather than take a break, the band immediately began writing new material for a follow-up album, penning almost sixty new songs. The result, this time produced by Alan Moulder and Flood, was the double-album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Corgan described the record as “The Wall for Generation X.” The band’s label wasn’t pleased with the idea of a double-album, fearing that it was too early in their career for such an endeavor. When word began to leak that the band was releasing a 28-track record, the common thought among critics was that it was a sign of overindulgence and a lack of editing. Corgan says that “Mellon Collie became this kind of cause by which we were going to truly separate ourselves from everybody. Not just say, ‘hey, we’re our own band,’ but completely obliterate any thought or idea that anyone else was even in our league.”
Opening with a soft piano and strings instrumental, Mellon Collie was an immediate departure from previous work. Corgan’s songwriting was more nuanced and mature than it ever had been, allowing him to bounce back and forth between songs like the orchestra-backed ballad “Tonight, Tonight” and metal bulldozers like “Tales of a Scorched Earth.” Time called the album, whose songs were arranged to represent a life cycle, “the group’s most ambitious and accomplished work.” Going 9-times platinum and earning the band 7 Grammy nominations, Mellon Collie became the best-selling double album of the decade. The record spawned 5 singles — “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “1979”, “Zero”, “Tonight, Tonight” and “Thirty-Three” — as well as a box-set featuring more songs from those recording sessions, titled The Aeroplane Flies High. Originally released as a limited-edition offering with a run of 200,000 copies, Aeroplane sold out quickly, forcing Virgin to produce even more.
The Smashing Pumpkins seemed to be riding high by 1996, making an appearance on The Simpsons and embarking on a massive world tour. Things took a turn for the worse during a gig at The Point Theater in Dublin, Ireland when, despite pleas from the band for the crowd to stop moshing, a 17-year old fan was crushed to death. The show ended early and a performance the next night in Belfast was canceled as a result. Two months later, on July 11th, touring keyboardist Johnathan Melvoin and Jimmy Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a New York City hotel room. Melvoin died and Chamerlin was arrested for possession. The band announced that Jimmy had been fired as a result of the incident. The Pumpkins have since been on record saying that the decision to continue the tour was the biggest mistake of their career.
With the band’s lineup and attitude changing, the Pumpkins began work on their 4th full-length record, Adore. The album would feature few guitar-based songs and relied heavily on electronic instruments. James Iha told Guitar World magazine after the Mellon Collie tour that “the future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock.” The loss of Chamberlin, the death of Corgan’s mother and his pending divorce all played heavily into the texture of the album. Despite the fact that Adore was well received by critics, even winning a Grammy for Best Alternative Performance, it only sold 830,000 copies in the States (though it sold roughly three times that overseas). Billy, James and D’arcy put together a seventeen-date, fifteen-city North American tour in support of Adore, donating 100 percent of ticket sales to local charities. By the end of the tour The Smashing Pumpkins had raised roughly $2.8 million for various groups across the country.
Tension continued to build among the remaining band members, mostly over the fact that they hadn’t taken a break to process and deal with the loss of Chamberlin. In a documentary about the making of the record, D’arcy remembers going over the initial recording schedule. “We were gonna go in, we were gonna record this album in six weeks. We were gonna work four days a week. We were gonna work six hour days. Yeah, yeah I was laughing too when I heard that. Oh, and we weren’t gonna tour on the album either.” Corgan played the role of strict task master, often resulting in blowups between he and his bass player. By the end of 1998 things were coming to a head.
The Pumpkins attempted to bounce back in 1999, announcing a reunion with a now-clean Jimmy Chamberlin, a new tour, a new album and the promise of a return to rock. The “Arising!” tour featured the band playing a combination of classic material and songs from the forthcoming Machina/The Machines of God. The tour wound down in September of that year, and at it’s end it was announced that D’arcy was leaving the band. The Smashing Pumpkins, as constituted, had run their course. Machina’s two singles, “The Everlasting Gaze” and “Stand Inside Your Love” had been garnering the band it’s most praise since the mid-’90s, though album sales were still relatively low. Since Virgin had rejected Corgan’s plan to release another double album after Adore, and then subsequently refused to issue a second Machina record, Corgan formed his own label, Constantinople Records, and pressed 25 vinyl copies of Machina II/ The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music. Those copies were distributed mostly to friends of the band, along with instructions to release the material for free via the internet. One of that album’s singles, “Let Me Give the World to You,” managed to get a decent amount of local airplay despite the less than studio quality of the initial rips. The A.V. Club called the album “an artistic high” for the band and Pitchfork noted that the band seemed at “energized and at a creative peak.”
The Pumpkins ended their farewell tour in Chicago with two shows, one stadium gala at the United Center and a 4+ hour marathon at the Cabaret Metro with appearances by Matt Walker, Bill Corgan Sr., Linda Strawberry, Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick and long-time friends The Frogs. Hours before the show local rock radio station Q101 debuted one last single from the band, Untitled.
The years following the band’s initial break-up were filled with a multitude of short-lived projects. Billy and Jimmy reunited in 2001 as a part of Zwan, only releasing one album, Mary Star of the Sea, before disbanding. Corgan toured as a part of New Order, providing vocals on their album Get Ready, and played on Chamberlin’s solo record, The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. Billy also recorded a modestly received solo record, TheFutureEmbrace, and penned a book of poetry, Blinking With Fists. James Iha joined and toured with A Perfect Circle, while D’arcy all but disappeared from public life, only making the news when she was arrested in early 2000 for allegedly purchasing three bags of crack cocaine.
In 2005, after Zwan’s break-up, Billy Corgan took out full-page ads in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, announcing “I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams.” Chamberlin signed on, though Iha and Wretzky declined the invitation. Guitarist Jeff Schroeder and bassist Ginger Pooley joined the band, which recorded an album of new material, Zeitgeist. Released by Reprise Records in 2006, it entered the Billboard charts at #1. The album, made up of tight, radio-friendly rock songs, received mixed reviews. The slightly over-produced effort was followed up by the release of American Gothic, an EP of thin acoustic ballads. Having fulfilled their contract with Reprise, The Pumpkins met the changing landscape of the music business head on, releasing several tracks for free online. In an attempt to work out new material, the group booked extended residences at The Filmore in San Francisco and The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC, footage of which would make up the 2008 documentary/performance film If All Goes Wrong.
If you’ve read this far you’ve probably guessed that something else was about to go wrong. In March of 2009 Corgan announced on the band’s website that Chamberlin had left the group. In a weird twist, Jimmy was replaced by the 19-year old Mike Byrne, a long-time Pumpkins fan who auditioned against hundreds of other drummers. Shortly thereafter it was announced that Ginger would be leaving the group, replaced by bassist Nicole Fiorentino. The newly constructed band has taken on the ominous task of recording The Pumpkins’ eighth album: a 44-song collection entitledTeargarden by Kaleidyscope, to be released for free, one track at a time, on www.smashingpumpkins.com. (As of March 2011, nine songs have been released.) Shows from the subsequent world tour have featured material dating from as far back as Gish, as well as songs slated for future release. Schroeder and Byrne have expressed interest in staying with the Pumpkins for the foreseeable future, and both are involved in the recording of new Teargarden material.
***
The Smashing Pumpkins, now approaching 25 years of rock, stupidity, bombast, fun, mayhem and excellence, are firing on all cylinders. It would be easy to knock Billy Corgan as alternative rock’s Axl Rose, to dismiss this incarnation of the Pumpkins as a fraud, but if you close your eyes and forget the endless drama and just focus on the music, he’s still got it. The songs are tighter now than they have been since Adore, more diverse than they have been since Mellon Collie, and though the new concept album, all 44 songs of it, seems entirely bloated, it’s pretty fucking good. Do I believe that all of it will see the light of day? Hell no. I could write another article about all of Corgan’s abandoned projects. But I won’t. I’m more interested in the ones he finished. And the ones he’s still working on.
Want to know more about Chicago’s local music scene? Here’s the plan of attack: one musician, six questions. Let’s check them out, see what turns them on. If you like ‘em, turn ‘em up.
Photo Credit: Gene Wagendorf III
Our third Six Pack is going to be hard to top. I see a lot of shows, buy a lot of records, but rarely come across a band that I want to be in more than anything else. Rambos is such a band. No matter how much fun I have at one of their gigs it seems damn near undeniable that these guys are having three times that up on stage. The ringleader of this joy-tornado is a man with the balls to list his own band among his current top five (along with the likes of Grinderman, The Louvin Brothers and The Carter Family), a man just as sweet as his music (and that’s saying a lot): Jeremy David Miller.
Jeremy, one of the most infectious things about your shows is the presence you bring to the stage. How long have you been making music?
When I was 13 I told my dad I had an interest in learning the bass guitar; within the hour we had gone to the pawn shop and he taught me my first and only lesson — which consisted of a basic blues run and how to visually follow a guitar player. Since then I’ve been writing songs and playing bass in many little known bands. Since arriving in Chicago five years ago I’ve played solo as Jeremy David Miller, fronted and broke up the band The Butcher’s Boy (Grape Juice Records) and played bass behind friends Joe Pug and Tom Schraeder.
What kind of impact has Chicago had on your music in those five years?
The city makes you cynical; you either get mad or get clever. I put out only what I take in, and there is a lot to take in. Chicago has too much talent for its own good and too many clubs for that matter, but both simply mean you have to work harder than the next band to get noticed.
What bands from the city stick out to you, either to play with or watch from the crowd?
We Repel Each Other is a louder than life Chicago outfit consisting of Rob Majchroswski, Eric Quilan and Izzy Price. I recently saw these guys at The Empty Bottle and was floored by the wall of sound they put off, not to mention the crazed stage antics. I’ve been following this band since they formed less than a year ago and their progress is noteworthy and inspiring. Eric and Rob also run Two States Audio, a recording studio on the Northwest Highway where Rambos is working.
You mentioned the excess of solid clubs in Chicago. Where’s the best place to play?
Schubas. The staff at this club is more pro than any you could ever hope to deal with. They’ve got the best sound guy in the city. You can throw anything at that guy and know that he’s going to make it work. We as Rambos used a “suit case” for a kick drum the last time we played there and none of us could believe the way it sounded after our man routed it through his magic in the back. The room is kind of known for being “chatty” but that only means you’ve got to earn it to own it. It’s a fact; if your music is poor people are going to talk through your set. If you’re Rambos, people are going to stand at attention.
Everyone I’ve talked to raves about playing at Schubas, but it doesn’t come up as frequently when I ask about great places to see a show. When Rambos isn’t out conquering venues, where do you like to take one in?
My favorite view in a Chicago club is from the balcony at Subterranean. I am able to see the entire stage, take good accurate aim and launch beer cans directly at my target.
Although this sort of action is looked down upon in most concert settings it always makes me laugh and never fails to get me ejected, though never banned, from the club.
As far as sound goes; I would have to say The Riviera Theater in Uptown. Most critics might argue that this room sounds like garbage and I would maybe agree if I didn’t love the fact that you can’t leave the Riv without blood coming out of your ears. The sound guys in that room must be perched, laughing and pointing at all the people in the crowd they are permantly damaging who don’t know better than to put some ear plugs in. Rambos likes it loud, baby.
Rambos also seems to like it a bit theatrical. During your set you don a mask and gloves, playing the part of a monster for “Human Monster.” If you were to write a song about a Chicago icon and dress as them on-stage, who would it be?
I think I would put together a super band consisting of Billy Corgan’s bald mug singing about who cares what, with an aging Jeff Tweedy puking on his guitar because he still does that, along with shy and confused Andrew Bird whistling dixie to the tune of something from when he cared, mixed with or by Flosstradamus who are on the side of the stage wondering when Chicago will start dancing, all playing a song I wrote called “Enough is Enough.”
Want more? Watch them play their now-infamous take on the Black Lips song “Bad Kids” from Chirp Night at The Whistler. You can keep up with Jeremy and Rambos on Facebook and hear more music on myspace.
Bonfires blazing, a crowd out of control, Chicago police officers on horseback trying to restore order, people making love in the grass… The ’68 Democratic National Convention? Nope, a White Sox game.
Let’s back it up a bit. The year is 1979. The Chicago White Sox were struggling to fill Comiskey Park. Local disc jockey Steve Dahl was waging a war on disco music from behind the mic at Chicago’s 97.9, The Loop. Then Sox owner and P.T. Barnum-like promoter Bill Veeck gets an idea.
The plan came together as Disco Demolition Night, to be held during a double-header between the Sox and the Detroit Tigers on July 12th. Fans who came to the ballpark with a disco record would be admitted for 98 cents. The collected records were to be blown up by Dahl between games. The crowd would go nuts, buy more beer and stick around for the second game. Sounds simple enough.
Dahl admitted to being terrified of making a fool of himself leading up to the event in an interview with ESPN years later. “I really did think that, this is gonna be embarrassing. At most there will be 5,000 people that will show up for this thing and I’m gonna look like an idiot.”
People can debate whether Dahl made an ass of himself, but there’s no question that his ability to estimate crowds was terrible. Comiskey was packed beyond capacity for the event, with an estimated 70,000 people in the stadium and another 30,000 partying outside. Fans were climbing in through the stadium portholes, forming human chains that got more people, and more records, into the park. The Dan Ryan was shut down, as cars were abandoned on the exit ramps and people walked to the stadium, alcohol in hand. The first in a series of ill advised decisions was to stop collecting records after around 20,000. Once the crates were filled and carted off, fans were asked to hold on to extra albums.
As if a rowdy, Frisbee-armed crowd weren’t enough, security didn’t do a very good job of making sure fans didn’t bring in liquor and drugs. My parents, both of whom attended Disco Demolition night, recall people regularly passing around bottles of Jack Daniels and tons of marijuana. Tiger’s outfielder Ron LeFlore said afterward that “it seemed like there were kegs in every aisle of the ballpark that night.” Then Sox broadcaster Harry Caray went a step further, suggesting that if Veeck wanted to make money he “oughta have a pot concession. From what I just smelled down there, I think there must be a master-load of pot here in this ballpark.”
The Tigers won the first game 4-1, though it’s questionable how many people actually noticed. My father, Gene Wagendorf Jr., remembers the game being stopped a few times when “people were throwing LPs at the Tigers outfielders. Most of them just hit other fans, never made it to the field. That’s when the fights started breaking out. Some jackass hit my friend’s date in the head with, I think a Donna Summers record. My friends held me back, and then someone dumped beer on all of us. Didn’t see any security.” What security there was may have been tied up in left field, where fans were shooting off firecrackers.
After the first game, Dahl and company, dressed in full military fatigues, rode out to center field in a jeep to blow up the records. The shock-jock had made a habit of demolishing disco albums by breaking them over his head and scratching them up on his radio show, but this was to be his crowning moment. As the crowd chanted “disco sucks”, Dahl began the countdown. A series of blinding flashes burst from center field, people screamed, shards of shredded vinyl shot across the stadium. As the smoke started to settle the crowd bubbled to a frenzy, cheering Dahl while his jeep took a victoy lap around the warning track. A crater was left in center field.
Sox pitcher Ken Kravec took to the mound and began warming up for the second game while Comiskey’s ground crew attempted to clean-up the oufield mess. That’s when all hell broke loose. First one fan, then another, rushed the field. Once it was clear there was no security stopping the crowd, the seats emptied. Thousand of fans began dancing on the field, still chanting “disco sucks.” Some fans slid down the foul poles in right field, as others tore down and demolished a batting cage. Outfield picnic tables were tossed onto the field, ripped apart and lit up, allowing fans to burn more records. As the broadcast came back from commercial, Caray’s partner, Jimmy Piersall, couldn’t have been more disgusted. He described the madness on-air: “Jimmy Piersall, back at the ballpark. I’m hoping they don’t let you people see what’s going on here at Comiskey Park. One of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen at a ballpark in my life. This garbage of demolishing a record has turned into a fiasco.”
What had begun as a baseball game had turned into a cultural event. A couple was caught having sex on third base. They might have, more appropriately, done it on home plate, but it had already been dug up and stolen. Second base was reserved for a group of potheads simulating their own baseball game, or perhaps more likely just sliding into each other and giggling. The few physical conflicts that broke out seemed to be between regular baseball fans, people who were there for the game, rather than the outsider crowd who were there for the event. “I didn’t rush out onto the field. We stayed in our seats, had a few beers, tried to figure out how the hell they were going to play the second game,” my father recalls.
A banner with the words “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” was erected on the pitcher’s mound as right field continued to burn. Harry Caray pleaded with the crowd over the P.A. system, asking “Can you hear me out there? Holy cow! What say we all regain our seats so we can play baseball again?” He couldn’t have been more out of touch. The fans cheered at his “holy cow”, and then continued burning records.
If Caray was out of touch, Veeck was on another planet. One of the best pieces of video from that night is of Veeck standing where home plate used to be, staring down a crowd of thousands of inebriated rock ‘n’ rollers, trying to lull them back into their seats by singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Current Chicago Tribune sports writer Paul Sullivan attended Disco Demolition and has one of my favorite stories from the madness. He and his friend were passing around a bottle of Jack in the Tiger’s dugout when one of the coach’s came out, took their booze and kicked them out.
So how long does this go on for? I asked my father when he finally left. “We sat in the bleachers drinking until the police showed up. At that point, we figured there wouldn’t be a second game.” The stadium lights were turned out and Chicago’s finest made their way onto the field, some on horseback, some in riot gear, to attempt to restore order. Nearly an hour later, the field was cleared — of people at least. The grounds crew went to work cleaning up glass, puddles of beer, potholes and fires. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson looked about ready to explode as he argued with umpires that the field was beyond repair. A somber Veeck eventually took to the microphone again, this time to announce that the Commissioner’s Office had called for the cancellation of the second game. The next day it would be announced the White Sox were forced to forfeit.
While the event goes down as one of the biggest promotional disasters ever in baseball, it’s hailed as one of the hallmark moments in rock history. The next year saw the quick demise of disco. Mike Veeck, son of Bill Veeck and Sox promotions czar, insists that if “you talk to people in the radio business they’ll tell you that overnight stations stopped being disco stations.” Disco producer and Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers claimed that the event felt to the disco community “like a Nazi book-burning. People were now afraid even to say the word ‘disco’.”
Steve Dahl proudly notes that “the Bee Gees actually blamed me for killing disco, which I thought was a victory for me. I took that as a win.”
That win wasn’t reflected in the American League standings.
Want to know more about Chicago’s local music scene? Here’s the plan of attack: one musician, six questions. Or in this case, two musicians, three questions. If you like ‘em, turn ‘em up.
Blood is thicker than beer, so this Six Pack (maybe it’s more of a Three Pack) is going to be split with sibling duo Miss Alex White and her brother, White Francis. Don’t be fooled by their subdued demeanor — White Mystery pounds out some joyously aggressive garage punk on their self-titled record, the same record that Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune listed as one of the top 10 records from “Chicago indies” in 2010. The two have been playing together since childhood, and if we’re lucky they won’t stop any time soon.
At shows you guys introduce “Take A Walk” as a song about walking around Chicago. Aside from that glorious two minutes and thirty-three seconds, how has the city influenced your music, or the both of you as musicians?
Alex: The life, energy, and severe weather is reflected in the range of sound in White Mystery. Opportunities for consuming music present themselves in countless clubs, record stores, and houses.
Francis: The city has given me an appreciation for harder music with some balls.
Yeah? Got some examples?
Francis: Black Sabbath, Sleep, Iron Maiden, Gary Glitter, Slade.
Any Chicago bands you guys really enjoy seeing? Or playing with?
Alex: Mickey, Heavy Times, Squish, CAVE, Loose Dudes.
I finally got a chance to see CAVE play at the Empty Bottle in the fall. You guys have a gig coming up there on Valentine’s Day 2011. That seems to be a venue local rockers can’t get enough of. If you had the chance to play anywhere in the city, where would you love to do a show?
Francis: On the beach.
Alex: I’ve always wanted to play on the flat, red roof of a foreclosed Arby’s here on the north side.
How did White Mystery come about? What’s it like playing in a band with your sibling?
Alex: It’s a life-long project between my brother and I that started as kids, led to projects like Trash & Heat, and Forestbride. It’s awesome playing together because White Mystery is a rock’n’roll yin-yang.
Check out White Mystery’s video for “Powerglove.”
You can listen to more of Alex and Francis here, or catch them live as they gear up for SXSW and a new album, to be released on April 20, 2011. For more interviews with local musicians keep an eye out for new Six Packs here at UPchicago.com.
Want to know more about Chicago’s local music scene? Here’s the plan of attack: one musician, six questions. Let’s check them out, see what turns them on. If you like ’em, turn ’em up.
Our first six pack is split with Dan Rico of, well, a ton of bands. A musical Swiss Army Knife, Dan is currently playing guitar and working the mic with Close Hits as well as playing bass for Caw! Caw!, Snacks and Tender. As if that didn’t keep him busy enough, he can also be found playing solo gigs around the city, performing classic jazz and swing ballads. You know, music to get all lovey-dovey to. What is a man who lists his favorite artists as T. Rex, the Entrance Band, Prince and Elvis like? Let’s find out.
Dan, what’s your favorite place in the city to see a show?
Empty Bottle, with the Hideout as a close second. The Empty Bottle has a friendly staff, cheap drink specials every night, a pinball machine(!!), and pool. I’m a sucker for pinball. Not to mention lots of great bands and FREE MONDAYS. On Monday night the lineups are often very exciting, though it’s fun no matter who’s playing. It’s refreshing to come to a venue that’s all about the music.
That said, what’s your favorite Chicago venue to play?
This is a tough question because there are so many different things that make a venue fun to play. The Empty Bottle, for instance, has a wonderful green room. They also ask you beforehand how you’d like the lighting on stage and you get extra drink deals, etc. However, I think my favorite place to play is Subterranean. They’ve got a killer sound system and just know how to use it. Also, they provide a cooler of beer and it’s right in the heart of Wicker Park, so it’s no problem to find an audience. That said, underground venues are always the most exciting, though they come and go rather quickly.
We just lost a great underground venue at the end of 2010 when the Mopery closed it’s doors. Those kinds of places tend to put on marathon shows with a ton of bands. What Chicago act has been your favorite to share the stage with?
I’ve played with a lot of great local bands, seen a lot of wonderful bands. The nature of the beast is groups tend to come and go. Which is why it’s important to support live music, go to shows, see the bands you like. In 2003 One Last Walk was my favorite band to go see, and I played with them a few times in my [old] band, No Comply. In 2004 it was the Monroes, who went to my high school, Northside Prep — they did a lot of really cool stuff in 3/4 and the songs were just very heartfelt and beautiful but rockin’. Today there are too many bands to mention them all and there’s a lot of variety, from rock to pop to electronic to crazy polyrhythmic metal. I’d recommend off the top of my head, White Mystery, Blah Blah Blah and Rabble Rabble. But these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Chicago musicians seem to have a hard time keeping the city out of their songs. How has the city influenced you, and has it popped up in your work?
I was born and raised on the north side of the city. Romantic imagery of the skyline, the lake, and the streetlights fill my lyrics and writings. Not only that, but if you’re from Chicago you come from a tradition of music. In high school I listened to a lot of the Smashing Pumpkins, for instance. Rock Music. Then beyond that there’s all the jazz and blues, which aren’t as popular today but if anything are even more important. That history made me realize how important it is to be a MUSICIAN, not just to play in bands.
That’s a lot pf material to choose from — a fat muse. If you were to pen just one song about Chicago, what would you write about?
Laying at the beach over the summer, watching the sunrise. I would write a song about the food but I don’t think I could do it justice.
Can’t go wrong with the beach. Is that your favorite place in the city to unwind? What other Chicago spots are near and dear?
My favorite spot in the whole city is in Montrose Harbor, on a little-known road that leads to a cul-de-sac with a beautiful view of the skyline. I love Wicker Park, but after a few nights in a row it totally wears you down. Pilsen is somewhat exotic and filled with creativity. That can also be said of Humboldt Park — lots of artists living there. Logan Square has some great bars/venues/friends’ apartments which I enjoy visiting, but really there’s no place like home. Generally I prefer Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Roscoe Village, Uptown. Foster Beach, Wilson Beach, Diversey Harbor.
Check out Close Hits performing “Personals” live at the opening of The Yellow Book:
You can listen to more of Dan Rico and Close Hits here. For more interviews with local musicians keep an eye out for new Six Packs, as well as articles and interviews from Mr. Rico himself here at UPchicago.
The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
Ministry – Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
Material Issue – International Pop Overthrow
Local H – Pack Up The Cats
upchicago.wordpress.com 