Local alto saxophonist and composer Shawn Maxwell has an ambitious new project and accompanying album for 2014. Shawn Maxwell’s Alliance features ten of the city’s best jazz players, all of whom will assemble for a weekend of shows at Jazz Showcase, Thursday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 23.
The Shams Band have put together a stellar line-up for their July residency @ Schubas Tavern. The residency celebrates the release of their sophomore album, Cold City: Monday, July 9: w/ Shovels & Rope and Jeremy David Miller (Rambos) Monday, July 16: w/ Derek Nelson & the Musicians and Elephant Gun Monday, July 23: Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes and Young Jesus Monday, July 30: Archie Powell & the Exports and Young Hines http://www.schubas.com/Page/Shows?Month=July&Year=2012 http://www.theshamsband.com/
The Shams Band will be celebrating their second full length record, Cold City by hosting their own July residency at Schubas Tavern.
Music is supposed to be fun, exciting, thought provoking and daring. On every live performance, The Shams Band makes sure that their audience leaves each concert with a personal feeling of satisfaction. Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, singer/songwriters Biggins/Gulyas create distinct, personal songs. Once completed with unique four-part harmonies, the songs come to life, tell stories, and send audiences singing all the way home.
The Shams Band features music trapezing the line between blues, country, and pop music. They have opened for national acts Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.
The Shams Band is the epitome of a "do-it-yourself" group. They get every audience excited and dancing from their catchy hooks and rock 'n roll atmosphere. It's whiskey-driven. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo.
Mucca Pazza blew the roof off The Hideout last Tuesday, June 12th, in a sold out, sneak peek/album release party for Safety Fifth, now out on Electric Cowbell.Check out their main site for more of a taste of Chi-Town's punk rock marching band.
ChiIL Mama has caught their head muckety muck, Mark Messing, for video interviews twice at Chicago Children's Theatre--once in a duo with Brian Selznick, author/illustrator of Hugo Cabret. (Brian's book was the basis for Oscar Award winning hit movie, Hugo, and The Houdini Box play.)
Mark is the mad maestro and musical mastermind behind Mucca Pazza and the scores to numerous musicals and plays including the critically acclaimed Hunchback Variations.
Freaky Facts:
We shot the heck out of their live show, but didn't try to do anything as formal as an interview at The Hideout. But I did have a few burning questions that Mark Messing and one of the girls were happy to enlighten me on.
ChiIL Live Shows:Does anyone have their old uniforms from school bands they actually used to BE in back in the day?
Mucca Girl: Yeah, one guy does, but he has to remain anonymous because technically he stole it....
CLS: Where do the others all come from?
Mucca Girl:
We've had good luck finding cheap ones on Ebay. Sometimes when a band
is doing new uniforms they'll contact us and ask if we want their old
ones. Or sometimes thrift stores. The wool hatsare handmade, newfor us, though.
CLS: You must be roasting!
Mucca Girl:Yeah,
I'm ready to change outta this! Most of the costumes are wool and
really hot. I dry cleaned mine recently and it was still a little
stinky.
Mark Messing:We spray all the costumes with Vodka, to keep down the funk.
CLS: Wow! Vodka, huh. Does that work?!
Mucca Girl:Not always, but it definitely helps.
CLS:
Maybe with all that vodka soaked wool seeping into your pores, the
costumes are still ripe, but you just don't notice or mind so much anymore, eh?
There was plenty of funk (of the good kind) to go around at Hideout, and Mucca Pazza certainly didn't stink up the joint.
Space was at a premium and the band created some serious heat with their hot new material, but no one was complaining. Mucca Pazza worked the space well--splitting the sizable (30 member) band to border three sides of the rectangular room, encompassing their captive audience and narrowly missing a few noggins with their brass trombones. They even managed to "march" around a bit in the friendly confines....swapping sides and wending through the crowd. I think I got goosed a couple of times by caution tape pom pom flinging cheerleaders. Fun fun! Been there...shot that...bought the t-shirt.
We snagged a press preview of their new album, Safety Fifth (Electric Cowbell), and have been thoroughly enjoying it!
Mucca Pazza--Italian for crazy cow or mad cow--is always high energy, wabi sabi, and entirely endearing. Over the years, we've seen them play to a zombie cast, rock out on top of a paper mache elephant?! and even march into a port-a-let with a sousaphone!! They're a must see live, but they can't play every night. And when you're jonesing for more Mucca, Safety Fifth can fill the void!
Their third disc can't help but make listeners grin ear to ear. The drums and all the horns make the band, but we also dig all the eclectics like mandolin, glockenspiel, violin, and of course, the accordion. Mucca Pazza defies easy classification with whiffs of New Orleans brass carousing around with Balkan folk, surf, reggae, marching band, gypsy, jazz, and the kitchen sink.Mucca Pazza is....seriously talented musicians, being seriously funny, while having some serious fun. Highly recommended. Just don't lick the uniforms......
Local alto saxophonist and composer Shawn Maxwell has an ambitious new project and accompanying album for 2014. Shawn Maxwell’s Alliance features ten of the city’s best jazz players, all of whom will assemble for a weekend of shows at Jazz Showcase, Thursday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 23.
