My son Charlie, who's been gigging for a few years now, appears to be perched on the brink of something.
Charlie's latest band, Hollywood Nightmares, has been together for just a few months, but they're getting tons of gigs and good local recognition. One upcoming gig is kind of a big deal for them, with a lot of potential.
There's a British band, Capelle, doing their first US tour. Their tour is being filmed for a TV series titled "All Roads Lead to America". Here's the band's website with some info about it.
As part of that tour, they're playing at a Chicago venue called Memories Bar, 4358 N Cicero, on July 3rd. Show starts at 8pm. Hollywood Nightmares, is one of the other acts on the bill (there are five acts, total, for a four-hour show - not a bad deal for $6 general admission!)
I understand the entire show is being filmed, including any backstage stuff between the bands. If it survives the cutting room floor, Charlie might get a few UK fans out of the deal. If nothing else, it's great publicity - this is from the show producer's release:
"The Hollywood Nightmares play fast and furious pop punk in the vein of Screeching Weasel, The Queers, and Squirtgun. Hailing from Woodridge, Illinois these kids harken back to a time when punk rock meant bubblegum, Chuck Taylors, and leather jackets."
:)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Congrats proud papa :)
And congrats to Charlie and his band, too.
That's good news. Congratulations to you and your son, and to his partners in the band! :D
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Thats great news, sounds like he is doing well. 8)
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
That sounds awesome - congrats. Hope it all goes well!!
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Alright!! That's awesome. Congrats all around. :D
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Sounds good
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Nice one :-)
I'll look out for the program.
They did well. Their music (which was all original) is certainly fast and furious - most tunes were in the neighborhood of 240 bpm, fast enough that the hands of the guitarists and drummer start becoming a blur when they're doing triplets or faster... but they were very tight on every tune. What really impressed me about them musically was their control over tempo: several tunes had one or two sudden tempo changes, and they nailed them all. Even more impressive were the couple of tunes with ritardandos and accelerandos, where all four musicians have to watch each other and follow the changes. They played TOGETHER at a level that many bands strive for, but don't quite reach. The fact that they've just replaced their bass player, and this was his first gig with the band, made it even more impressive.
They worked their set hard. Their tunes are very short, most around 2 minutes. They didn't chit chat in between - they finished one tune and launched right into the next. Nearly wall to wall music, which fit well with the image they wanted to project.
The best moment for me personally was their first tune. About one minute into it Charlie took a screaming solo, and he just OWNED the stage. He projected an attitude of being in total control, but at the same time being completely relaxed and having fun! Made me quite proud of my baby boy (he's got me by about 8" in height now, but he's still my little guy).
The venue's sound wasn't the greatest, with the instruments sometimes overpowering the vocals. That was disappointing, as the songs he's played for me when we get together to jam have very catchy lyrics. But their overall sound was distinctive and different - tight two and three part vocal harmonies (a la Beach Boys) over typical punk rock distorted powerchords (they're big fans of the Ramones, Queers, etc.) with very quick chord changes in spots - sometimes changing on every beat, which is a real challenge at those tempos.
The venue was smaller than I thought it would be for a touring band, with a capacity of probably about 100. My wife noticed the cameraman was taking advantage of what he had to work with - he was interviewing people outside before the show, so you couldn't see the venue's size, and the crowd shots he was getting during the show were filmed into the mirror over the bar, so it'll look like twice as many folks when it's played back.
Another band on the roster to watch for is Kudu Fang, which was the opening act. I enjoyed their set (although with a touch of hearing loss - I guess they like setting everything at 11). They're math rock, but manage to combine time signatures in just about every tune to come out to 8 beat patterns... they'd do a 5/4 and a 3/4 pattern, or a 3+3+2, keeping the tunes danceable but noticeably different. They were also very tight, and the drummer had good dynamic control, making things interesting on another level too. Two talented guitarists who both played lead at times (one of them doubled on keys), and a bass that was always in lock step with the drums. With better sound support they could rival a band like Rush musically - I don't know how they are lyrically, as the sound issues made it difficult to pick out more than a few words. But it's a band I'd like to catch again; they had a lot of energy.
In the non musical highlight of the evening, my nephew Peter came out, and I got to meet his girlfriend Nicole, who did a six year stint as Snow White at Disney World. It's not every day I get a hug from a princess at the end of the night :)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Great news Noteboat - sounds like they really rocked the place! Must have been great to watch :D
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Great night! Congrats!
It was a great night - thanks guys! Charlie and the other guitarist are over right now, working in my home studio. They were supposed to be here about 11, but arrived at 2:30 because they had such a late night (they ended up hanging out with Capelle afterward). Kinda nice to be sitting here listening to new music coming together on a holiday afternoon.
The other guitarist asked me if they sounded out of tune - they didn't. He told me he was worried about it, because he broke two strings during their set - but the way they structure their shows with no break between tunes, he didn't want to interrupt their flow. So he ended up doing half the set on four strings, and I didn't even notice.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
I'm glad it went well, even with broken strings. Nice of you all to get together.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
