INCOMING: Catch In the Whale at Chicago's Double Door 11/15

IN THE WHALE TRACK 

"PRAY FOR THE PREY" 

PRODUCED BY NO AGE

IN THE WHALE RELEASE  

NEIGHBOR NOW OUT!

Denver rock band In The Whale released the heavy and hardcore "Pray for The Prey" last month. The band released Neighbor, their two-song digital single out via Red Bull Sound Select October 23rd. Neighbor was produced by the GRAMMY nominated experimental punk duo No Age and mixed by Romesh Dodangoda (Motorhead, Funeral For a Friend, Bullet For My Valentine).

No Age and In The Whale are set to share the bill during the month long music festival, Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days In LA, on November 18th at The Echo along with So Pitted.

Listen to "Pray for the Pray" here!

Listen to "Neighbor" here!

In The Whale Photo Credit: Mike Ford / Red Bull Sound Select / Content Pool

No Age Photo Credit: Sub Pop Records

About In The Whale: 

In the Whale is a high energy two-piece rock band hailing from Denver, CO. Members Nate Valdez (vocals and guitar) and Eric Riley (drums and backing vocals) have been making no-nonsense, balls-to-the-wall rock songs since they formed the band in 2011. 

Since then, the two have stayed busy exploring the seedier sides of Denver that inspires their music. In 2012 they released their first EP, 'Cake', and followed it up with the EP, 'Eric', in the late fall of 2013. In between those two releases they played with a stupid number of artists you'd happily phone home about. In addition to sharing stages with bands like Murder By Death, Local H, Reverend Horton Heat and Electric Six in their hometown, the band has hit the road and played alongside The Airborne Toxic Event, Agent Orange, Jane's Addiction and Slash. In the Whale released their third EP titled 'Nate' in April 2014 and will continue relentlessly touring until they have conquered everything.

Catch In the Whale's incredible live show on tour this winter!

2015/2016 Tour Dates

11/10 - Arlene's Grocery - New York, NY

11/11 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA

11/12 - Wonder Bar - Asbury Park, NJ

11/13 - Ardmore Music Hall - Ardmore, PA

11/14 - Music Box Supper Club - Cleveland, OH

11/15 - Double Door - Chicago, IL

11/17 - Soiled Dove - Denver, CO

11/18 - The Echo - Los Angeles, CA

11/27 - The Hideout - San Diego, CA

11/28 - Tiki Bar - Costa Mesa, CA

11/29 - Whisky A Go Go - Los Angeles, CA

12/01 - Rockbar Theater - San Jose, CA

12/02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA

12/03 - Shea's Tavern - Reno, NV

12/04 - Volcanic Theatre Pub - Eugene, OR

12/05 - Dante's - Portland, OR

12/06 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA

12/07 - Garibaldi Lift Co - Whistler, BC

12/08 - Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, BC

12/10 - Denizen Hall - Edmonton, AB

12/11 - Dickens - Calgary, AB

12/12 - The Vat - Red Deer, AB

12/14 - Club X - Salt Lake City, UT

12/15 - Aggie Theatre - Fort Collins, CO

12/16 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO

02/02 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM

02/03 - Blue Max - Midland, TX

02/04 - Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX

02/05 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX

02/06 - Siberia Bar - New Orleans, LA

02/07 - Vinyl Music Hall - Pensacola, FL

02/09 - Beachside Tavern - New Smyrna Beach, FL

02/10 - Debauchery - Melbourne, FL

02/11 - The Inlet - Fort Pierce, FL

02/12 - West End Trading Co - Sanford, FL

02/13 - Propaganda - Lake Worth, FL

02/15 - The Foundry - Athens, GA

02/16 - The Jinx - Savannah, GA

02/17 - The Sparrow - Charleston, SC

02/18 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC

02/19 - The Rabbit Hole - Charlotte, NC

02/20 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA

02/21 - Grey Eagle Music Hall - Asheville, NC

02/24 - Exit/In - Nashville, TN

02/26 - The Hi-Tone - Memphis, TN

02/27 - Shrine - Tulsa, OK

http://www.redbullsoundselect.com/artists/

https://twitter.com/inthewhale

https://soundcloud.com/in-the-whale

Midwest Hype Album Release at Double Door Friday 4/4 (21+) #OriginalPhotos #TBT

Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar

We've shot Chicago's own Midwest Hype in action a number of times in the past and they're a lot of fun live.  Click here for some of our past photo filled features.  Then get out and see them live tomorrow.

Double Door Welcomes

Midwest Hype

Spare Parts, The Palmer Squares, cLOUD9, ILL Ambition, DJ Steezy

Friday, April 4, 2014

Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm

$10.00

Chicago’s Midwest Hype will celebrate the release of its new album The Time with a show at The Double Door on Friday, April 4: http://www.doubledoor.com/event/516713-midwest-hype-chicago/

You can listen to the title track at https://soundcloud.com/midwesthype/the-time and check out the band's site for more. http://www.midwesthype.com

Throwback Thursday: ChiIL Live Shows/ Midwest Hype

House of Blues Chicago 2/4/12

INCOMING: The Wild Feathers Play Double Door 2/16 (21+) #FreeDownload

Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar: 

The Wild Feathers Announce Winter Headline Tour Presented By Filter "The Ceiling" Wins Sirius Spectrum Award Selected As One of Amazon's Rising Stars of 2014

The Wild Feathers have announced a winter headline tour presented by Filter. The North American run kicks off January 22nd in Austin, TX, and runs through SXSW. Full tour dates are below. Saints of Valory and Jamestown Revival will support. JAM Productions and Double Door Welcome The Wild Feathers Saints of Valory, Jamestown Revival Sunday Feb 16, 2014 Doors: 8:00 PM Show: 9:00 PM 21 and over $14 This year has been an impressive one for the Nashville five-piece, who released their Jay Joyce (Cage the Elephant, Emmylou Harris)-produced debut album August 13th via Warner Bros Records. They have played well over 200 shows, with Gary Clark Jr, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Dawes, Dwight Yoakam and ZZ Ward,.and more, and stopped at the Austin City Limits festival,  San Francisco's Outside Lands, Sasquatch and Hangout Festivals, Milwaukee's Summerfest, Louisville's Forecastle Festival and Nashville's Live on the Green. The Wild Feathers performed their acclaimed single "The Ceiling," which the Minneapolis Star Tribune called "perhaps the most elegantly crafted song of the year" on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the track just won the Sirius Spectrum Award for Best Song Discovery. Amazon has selected The Wild Feathers for their "Rising Stars of 2014" campaign, which runs from December 25th to January 31st.  The program features a free download of the band's new single "Got It Wrong," which they performed on Rachael Ray December 10th.   Critical response to The Wild Feathers has been effusive. Rolling Stone declared the album "something that fans of heartland artists like the Avett Brothers and My Morning Jacket will appreciate while it recalls the magic of Tom Petty and Neil Young," Relix called it "boisterous and impassioned, reverberating with a raw, live quality," Baeble Music said, "Electrifying, soul stirring, and utterly reverent rock and roll...they're The Wild Feathers and they're pretty much here to kick your ass," and  the NY Daily News gave the album four stars, declaring "the Feathers have the vulnerability and beauty of the Jayhawks...the chemistry they found has the 'eureka' effect of the great American harmony-rock bands, from Buffalo Springfield to Poco." The Wild Feathers North American Tour Dates: WED      1/22/14  Austin, TX            Stubb's THU       1/23/14  Houston, TX        Warehouse Live FRI         1/24/14  Dallas, TX            as Monkey FRI         1/31/14  Mobile, AL            Soul Kitchen SAT        2/1/14    Atlanta, GA          The Loft SUN        2/2/14    Athens, GA           The Melting Point TUE        2/4/14    Washington, DC  U Street Music Hall THU       2/6/14    New York, NY      Mercury Lounge FRI         2/7/14    Philadelphia, PA  World Café Live SUN        2/9/14    Boston, MA          Brighton Music Hall MON      2/10/14  Montreal, QC       Belmont WED      2/12/14  Toronto, ON         Horseshoe Tavern THU       2/13/14  Ann Arbor, MI     Blind Pig FRI         2/14/14  Indianapolis, IN   Radio Radio SAT        2/15/14  Madison, WI        Majestic Theatre SUN        2/16/14  Chicago, IL           Double Door TUE        2/18/14  St. Paul, MN         Turf Club WED      2/19/13  Lawrence, KS       Granada Theatre FRI         2/21/14  Denver, CO           Bluebird Theatre SUN        2/23/14  Boise, ID               Neurolux TUE        2/25/14  Portland, OR         Star Theater WED      2/26/14  Seattle, WA           The Crocodile THU       2/27/14  Vancouver, BC     Media Club SUN        3/2/14    Sacramento, CA  Harlows Night Club MON      3/3/14    San Francisco, CA               The Independent TUE        3/4/14    Solana Beach, CA               Belly Up Tavern      *Saints of Valory will not perform on Seattle, Vancouver and Sacramento dates                        www.thewildfeathers.com / www.facebook.com/wildfeathers

INCOMING: This Tuesday Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg With Andrew W. K. on Vocals at Double Door (21+) #OriginalPhotos

Chi, IL live shows on our radar.  We've shot Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg at AAA Social Club as part of Riot Fest and last year at Bottom Lounge.  

Note the venue change to Double Door and come on out this Tuesday. Tickets purchased for Metro will be honored.

Now they're back with Andrew W. K. on vocals.

Tuesday Double Door Show Details

AM Productions and Double Door Present

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg with Andrew W.K. on Vocals

FIGO, Porn and Chicken

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 8:30 pm

$25.00

*NOTE CHICAGO VENUE CHANGE FROM METRO TO DOUBLE DOOR

Tickets

This event is 21 and over

Tickets purchased for the Metro will be honored.

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg with Andrew W.K. on Vocals

• Watch
• Links

**Click here to check out ChiIL Live Shows past photo features on Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg from Riot fest 2011 & Bottom Lounge 2012 featuring Michael Graves on lead vocals.**

Andrew W.K. will be joining Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg as the lead singer for their 2013 world tour. The punk drumming icon and his band will be fronted by the king of partying for a high-octane performance of more than THIRTY of Marky's classic fan-favorite songs! These will include songs that took him from the halcyon stage of CBGB's to touring around the world. From the celluloid halls of Rock 'n Roll High School to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Ramone's career has taken him far and wide, earning him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, and immortalizing his handprints on the Hollywood Rock Walk.

Speaking on how he chose Andrew W.K. as his singer, Ramone said, "I first met Andrew through a mutual friend and he told me about his party philosophy, which has also always been my exact take on life. We went into the rehearsal studio and it just clicked. We had so much fun that we wanted to invite everyone to the party. I've said before and I will say it again, these songs are too good not to be played live!!!"

W.K. echoed Ramone's sentiment, saying, "When Marky Ramone asks you to be his singer, you don't even think about it. It's an automatic, YES. I was intimidated by the magnitude of the opportunity – freaked out and overwhelmed – but I was also completely determined and focused – it's something I had to do. Even just the first rehearsal felt like an odyssey, but that's how you can tell the experience is changing your life. I've never had a more rewarding, humbling, orchallenging invitation than this, and I'm serving the gods via this incredible sound Marky and his band created. There's never been better rock 'n' roll music made than this, and I will give everything I have to do it justice." 

The historic pairing will kick-off their world tour in New York City on May 3rd, 2013 at Andrew's very own venue, Santos Party House, in downtown Manhattan.

Currently, Marky Ramone hosts his own weekly satellite radio show "Punk Rock Blitzkrieg," which is broadcast nationally via Sirius/XM Faction. He has also entered the culinary realm with the release of his highly successful Marinara Pasta Sauce, based on his Great Grandfather's recipe. Marky Ramone's Marinara Pasta Sauce has wowed such mainstream media outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Food Network Magazine and the New York Post. The sauce is even served and sold at world renowned chef Daniel Boulud's New York City restaurant, DBGB Kitchen & Bar.

Andrew W.K. has been a constant figure in national media ever since his 2000 debut, and in recent years he's been spreading his message of positive partying and high-energy entertainment with even greater intensity. His singular ability to straddle both mainstream media and fringe culture has made him an instantly recognizable modern pop icon. An example of his lasting influence is the recent 10th Anniversary Deluxe release of his landmark debut album, I Get Wet, the world tour of which sold out dates across the U.S., Europe, Australia and Japan. Most recently, Energizer Personal Care announced Andrew W.K. as the face of Playtex's new product, Fresh + Sexy Wipes. Andrew continues to surprise, confound, and engage his audience with an expanding array of energetic and enthusiastic entertainment.

FIGO

• Links

It's been a crazy ride for New York's FIGO. The band, which doubles their live electronic punk rock carnage with a strictly bangers DJ and remix crew, has rocked crowds across North America, Europe, and Asia, touring relentlessly on the local club circuit to sharing stages with the likes of The Crystal Method, Ladytron, Cut Copy, The Faint, Skrillex, The Presets, 2ManyDJs, Eric Prydz, and several others. They've crushed major music festivals along the way, including Identity, Summerburst, Detour, Amsterjam, I Love This City, Camp Bisco, South By Southwest, and more.

After releasing their first single, "PLAZA," via Calcium Records with remixes from EDM heavyweights Tommie Sunshine and Stephen Cole, followed by their own remixes of Justice, Ladytron, and A Place To Bury Strangers, FIGO's debut EP, Put It All On Black, was released independently in 2012. The release has received critically – acclaimed reviews and nods from RCRDLBL, FILTER Magazine, The New York Post, NME Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, URB Magazine, and many others, with comparisons to anyone from The Misfits and Iggy & The Stooges, to Nitzer Ebb, Soulwax, and Kasabian. Keeping true to their signature electro-punk vs. dance sound, FIGO has since collaborated with and remixed artists as diverse as K'Naan, The Boxer Rebellion, and NERVO, for labels such as AM Octone, Astralwerks, and Mute.

In a recent collaboration, FIGO hooked up with Doc Nasty to take on dancefloor dracula Drop The Lime's stupid-funky cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper", out now as an official remix on Ultra Records. In signature FIGO style, the flip-script of Drop The Lime's dark and gritty cut takes grimy punk riffs spun with bits of electro-house and reverb, and voila, you've got raw dance-core in all its crunchy, bass-battered glory. FIGO shows no sign of slowing down in 2013: in addition to their Ultra Records release, this October they'll be packing up their musical mayhem and traversing the U.S. on a full live tour supporting legendary punk-rocker Marky Ramone with notorious party-rocker Andrew W.K.

Porn and Chicken

• Links

A Party. DJs. Music Makers. Trouble Makers. A Lifestyle.

Venue Information:

Double Door

1572 N Milwaukee Ave

Chicago, IL, 60622

http://doubledoor.com

The Locals Record Release at Double Door THIS Friday

Chi, IL Live Shows on our radar:

Double Door Welcomes

The Locals (Record Release!!!)

Hemmingbirds, The Sweeps, Lights Alive

Friday, August 30, 2013

Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 8:30 pm

$7.00 - $12.00

Chicago band The Locals will celebrate their ninth release, an EP entitled Stereostatic Funicular, at Double Door on August 30. The EP was produced by Steve Gillis and features background vocals by Bob Mould/Robert Pollard sideman Jason Narducy. 

Record release show (w/ Hemmingbirds as direct support) 

The Locals are an alt-rock, power pop three piece based in Chicago. Fans of The Pixies, The Whigs and Yeah Yeah Yeahs dig The Locals. They have been steadily gaining more fans with their latest release "SALT". Produced by Steven Gillis (Filter), The Locals' latest effort delivers guitar heavy sumptuous alt-pop through and through.

The Locals tour extensively in the midwest, and have played in clubs and festivals all over the US including: Schubas (Chicago, IL),Lincoln Hall (Chicago, il), House of Blues (Chicago, Il),Southgate House (Newport, KY), Halsted Market Days (Chicago, IL), EAT'em Music Conference (Las Vegas), Invasion of The Go Girls (SXSW) Austin TX, GOGO Festival (Kent, United Kingdom). The band did their first UK tour in 2011.

THE LOCALS ARE:

Yvonne Doll: Vocals, Songwriter, Guitar

Christy Nunes: Bass

Tommy Oerding: Drums

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE LOCALS:

• The Locals were the subject of years of public resentment from The Matches (formerly The Locals, Oakland California) who had to change their name because of a trademark conflict. They released their first record on Epitaph Records and named it "E.Von Dahl Killed The Locals".
• Yvonne was just featured in Guitar World Magazine as one of the top "10 Female Guitarists You Should Know".
• Yvonne is a photographer best known for her cell phone photo project, "SleepyUrbanite". (sleepyurbanite.com cell photos of people sleeping on the el train in Chicago) The project was featured on The Today Show, NBC News, Chicagoist, TimeOut, VoxPop magazine (France), Newstalk Radio (Ireland)
• Christy Nunes (co-founder, bass player) originally hails from San Diego. Christy began playing professionally at the age of 14. She once shoved a kid during a job as the Chuck E. Cheese mascot when he kept kicking her and pulling her tail.
• When hen he's not drumming for The Locals, Tommy Oedering makes custom drums at the custom drum shop "Chicago Custom Percussion".

PRESS:

What people are saying about "SALT": "Doll proves she has the alt-rock style of singers like Karen O, but also exhibits a unique blend of sultry sounds that definitely sets her apart and makes this track noteworthy. With a blend of old and new sounds and lyrics about letting go, the songs on "Salt" prove to be worthy contenders for Chicago indie anthems..." --Time Out 

"The chorus to 'Away From Here' is epic" MTV via Twitter

"Obvious skill occompanied by a punky attitude" -- Guitar Player Magazine "Top Female Musicians You Should Know" 

“The EP ‘SALT’ will have listeners craving more than four exceptionally crafted songs….” — Rock Wired Magazine 

"I feel that The Locals light up each track on 'Salt' with an energy that parallels that of early punk artists" ---- Nufutur.com

“I simply love the style The Locals provide on Salt because it seems to be music that pushes along consistently while never letting up..."----Skope Magazine

Chicago alt-pop, indie-rock trio The Locals will celebrate the release of their new EP, Stereostatic Funicular, with a hometown show at The Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave, on Friday, August 30th. 

Stereostatic Funicular, which was produced Steven Gillis at Chicago's Transient Sound and features guest musicians Jason Narducy (Verbow, Bob Mould's band), Vijay Tellis-Nayak (The Steak House Mints) and Joanna Vassilatos (Radio Vago), follows 2010's critically acclaimed SALT.

Stereostatic Funicular is described by The Locals as a "transitional album," as it was recorded with longtime drummer Kirk Snedeker, who moved to Northern California before the EP was finished. The EP's title was inspired by a trip to Spain, specifically by the "stereostatic" chain models that Anton Gaudi created to calculate the height/width of each column of the Sagrada Famila and "Funiculars," trams that whisk riders up to the tops of high mountains.

Stereostatic Funicular's songs include "Inventio," the story of a love triangle between the Ocean, the Moon and the Sun, and "Running Toward the Sound," which is about trying to harness the unbridled instinct of hearing a sound and running full-on toward it.

Fronted by Yvonne Doll, who was featured in Guitar World Magazine as one of the top "10 Female Guitarists You Should Know," the Locals boast a killer rhythm section comprised of bassist Christy Nunes, who began playing professionally at the age of 14, and new drummer Tommy Oedering, who also makes drums for Chicago Custom Percussion. The Locals have been a part of the Chicago music scene for the last decade. They have played extensively in the Midwest and completed their first UK tour in 2011.

Fu Manchu LIVE at Double Door Chicago #originalshowshots

Fu Manchu LIVE at Double Door, Chicago 4-9-13    Bonnie Kenaz-Mara for ChiILLiveShows.com

We were stoked to catch Fu Manchu at Double Door earlier this month. 

Stoner Rock Lives.   The show was packed and it was sweet to hear them play The Action Is Go in its entirety.   





Check back like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often.   We'll have live show video up shortly as well.

INCOMING: ALO + Ryan Montbleau Band at Double Door Saturday (21+) #originalbandinterview #Scamp13 #Scamp12

JAM Productions and Double Door Present

ALO

Ryan Mountbleu Band

Saturday April 20

9:00 PM  •  Doors: 8:00 PM

21 and over

$20 - $25

Click here for tickets

ChiIL Live Shows had the chance to interview ALO and catch them at Summer Camp Music Festival.   They had some sweet insights for our long running interview series on How Creatives Parent & How Parents Create.

They also kicked us a press download of their latest album, Sounds Like This that we've been enjoying and intrigued by this past year.

Check 'em out live this Saturday 4/20 at Double Door!

Click here for ALO's main site and tour dates

“We’ve never fit into any quickly digestible category,” says ALO’s keyboardist/singer Zach Gill. “It’s just a different kind of experience.”

With its delightfully vibrant blend of inventive musicality and genre-blurring reach, Sounds Like This sees ALO operating with fresh verve and vitality, their always-kaleidoscopic funk pop n roll aglow with exceptionally ebullient songcraft and deliriously danceable grooves. The California-based band’s fourth Brushfire Records release showcases their unfettered passion, wit, and imagination while simultaneously exploring hitherto uncharted musical terrain. Invigorated by an unstructured approach to the studio process, ALO have accessed new avenues of resourcefulness, resulting in a truly distinctive collection of songs that adroitly captures all the glorious ingenuity and adventure of the band’s legendary live sets.

“There has always been a division between the fans that get to know us through our live shows vs. the fans that get to know us through our albums,” guitarist Lebo says. “This album is going to bridge that gap.”

Long acclaimed for their deft musicianship, potent songwriting, and astonishing on-stage interaction, the members of ALO have played together for more than two decades, with the current permutation now in its 10th year and counting. The band followed the release of 2010′s Jack Johnson-produced Man Of The World by doing what they do best: playing live, with highlights including the Halloween-themed “Haunted Carnival of Traveling Freaks & Frights” tour and their annual Tour d’Amour benefitting public music school programs.

In April 2011, ALO convened at San Francisco’s Mission Bells studio with no plans other than to make some music together. With studio owner/longtime collaborator David Simon-Baker assisting behind the board, the band opted to take the same improvisational tack towards recording as they do on stage. Any distinctions between pre-production and real recording would be shed, allowing for ALO’s instinctive spontaneity to make it to track.

“We thought, what if we started recording from the get-go,” Gill says, “instead of rehearsing, making songs, and then going into the studio. We decided to start the whole process all at once, with the intention of wanting things to feel really live.”

“Without a clear roadmap, we hit a lot of dead ends,” says drummer Dave Brogan says, “which forced us to create our way out of the morass. I think that helped us look to within ourselves,rather than outside influences, to bring the music to life.”

The band , all based in the Bay Area, Gill, who resides in sunny Santa Barbara, were also able to utilize a lifetime’s bag of tricks in a way the previous album’s sonic scope only suggested.

“The previous record was done in Hawaii, so we simply couldn’t fly with much,” bassist Steve Adams says. “Doing this one in San Francisco definitely made it easier to bring anything we wanted from home, Dave set up a more elaborate drum zone, Lebo had more guitars and amps, Zach brought up more keyboards. I had all my basses and a keyboard rig as well. Having a broader palette of sounds definitely had an influence on how the record turned out.”

In the past, ALO felt compelled to adjust their expansive songs to better suit the recorded format, trimming tracks to a more easily consumed length. While this certainly honed the band’s songwriting skills, ALO were now eager to let it all hang out, marking tracks like the bombastic “Dead Still Dance” with collage-like structures, deep dance grooves, and inventive, intricate solos. The inclusion of longer songs on Sounds Like This epitomizes “ALO being more comfortable with who ALO is,” according to Lebo.

“The truth is, longer songs come more naturally to us,” he continues. “In the past we’ve spent more time whittling the songs down because we felt that we needed to do so in order to ‘fit in.’ This time around, we let the songs be what they wanted to be, and sometimes that meant a long song.”

“There was a part of us that went,”Are we being a tad too indulgent?,’” says Gill, “but in the end we decided that we wouldn’t say we were being indulgent “we were being generous.”

ALO let their imagination run free, both musically and lyrically, resulting in such larger-than-life highlights as the Old West flight of fancy, “Cowboys and Chorus Girls” or the self-explanatory glitterball workout, “Room For Bloomin.” Where prior albums featured songs penned individually and then arranged by the band, this time out, ALO were determined that their collective spirit inform every groove.

“With collaborative writing, everyone’s personal stamp is in the DNA of the song,” Lebo says. “That makes these songs definitively ALO.”

At the heart of the album is ALO’s raucous reverie for days past, “Blew Out The Walls,” as well as its more subdued sibling, “Sounds Like That” (included exclusively as an iTunes bonus track). The track reverberates with the excitement and passion of a rock n’ roll band in its nascent stage, that magical moment where four friends first get together in someone’s basement for the sheer joy of making music together.

“I think we all were feeling the dream again,” Adams says, “remembering back to where it all started.”

All four members of ALO agree that a similar sense of excitement is currently spurring the band forward. Sounds Like This has imbued ALO with an audacious energy that is certain to infiltrate the band’s already spirited live shows, not to mention their next studio outing.

“Like all ALO albums, the next one will be a culmination of all the past albums and everything that happens in between,” Brogan says, “I don’t know if we’ll be so bold in our lack of planning next time, but I’m sure we’ll find some other way to challenge ourselves.”

“I love making records,” Gill says. “With this one done, now there’s the excitement of, what about the next one? Those juices are already brewing. I feel like we just cracked the ice so it’ll be exciting to see what happens next.”

Liquid Soul 20th Anniversary at Double Door 1/20/13

We've been huge Mars Williams fans since back in the Psychedelic Furs days.   Here's Mars in orbit at Chicago Folk and Roots Fest 2011 with Soul Sonic Sirkus.

The Grammy-nominated Liquid Soul is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with a show at Double Door on Sunday, Jan. 20. The show will feature all original members and some very special guests.  (21+).   ChiIL Live Shows will be there...will YOU?!   We'll be shooting stills and we'll have a photo filled recap for you shortly thereafter.

Double Door Welcomes

Liquid Soul 20th Anniversary Show!

Sun, January 20, 2013

Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 8:30 pm

Double Door

$10.00 - $20.00

http://www.doubledoor.com/event/181447-liquid-soul-20th-anniversary-chicago/

Having exploded from a small underground street-jazz sound in Chicago in the mid-1990s, the Liquid Soul universe continues to expand at a dizzying pace. Founded and led by innovative saxophonist/composer Mars Williams, the ensemble has developed a trademark mixture of jazz and urban dance music that incorporates everything from R&B to hard-bop to hip-hop to world music and more. 

Downbeat proclaims that Liquid Soul “sweeps the mold and mildew out of jazz-funk and breathes it back to glorious life.”

Liquid Soul have opened for Sting at Madison Square Garden and Central Park, played at the Bill Clinton inaugural parade and 21st century ball, and twice rocked South By Southwest, where they were heralded by the Austin American-Statesman as “the single hottest showcase of the festival.”

The band’s impressive discography includes Make Some Noise (1998), Evolution (2002), and One-Two Punch (2006).

Click here for ChiIL Live Shows past Mars Williams related coverage including Liquid Soul, Soul Sonic Sirkus, and Midnight Circus collaborations.

Check out Liquid Soul's main site here for more info.