ChicagoVerseUniteD: Chicago Scene Salvation

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Cut Teeth!

Cut Teeth is an outfit made up of musical orphans, comprised of members of acts like The Felix Culpa, Stay Ahead Of The Weather, Red Knife Lottery, and Monday’s Hero that are either defunct or on hiatus. The group came together to form a new project at the start of 2011, and spent a large part of the year crafting their initial release, an EP titled Televandalism. And as the act’s Dustin Currier tells CVU, that’s just the beginning.

“We’re releasing an EP in a couple weeks and have already started working on new songs,” the former Felix Culpa guitarist reveals. “Hopefully we can put out an LP next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we put out a split 7″ or something in between as well.”

“The EP we’re releasing is our first batch of songs,” Currier continues, ”so it’s hard to say where we’ll go from here, but I think there’s a lot of room to evolve in a lot of different directions, which is a really good feeling. Overall, though, I think we’re just a really loud rock & roll band. There’s definitely a mindset that you could say is probably more akin to a lot of Dischord or Touch and Go bands from the ’90s when it comes to aesthetic and songwriting. Definitely a departure from what a lot of us have done before, which also makes it really exciting.”

Televandalism will post online at the group’s soon-to-launch Bandcamp page on Tuesday, Jan. 31st as a choose-your-price release. The EP coincides with the group’s first live outings, happening Friday, February 3rd at Underground Lounge and Saturday, February 4th at the Cactus Club in Milwaukee. The group will have a limited supply of 100 hand-packaged and numbered CDRs available for purchase at the events, as well.

“Right now we’re just focused on getting this EP out, and we’ve done everything ourselves up to this point – writing, recording, packaging and assembling the CDs, booking, etc.,” Currier concludes, “but it certainly would be great to see a vinyl release for this at some point (…ahem, cool indie labels out there…).”

Check out a mid-mix snippet of the group’s song “Stone of Yap” below. And watch for more from Cut Teeth right here at CVU.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: BBU!

Though the group has been keeping busy with sizable accomplishments like performing at Lollapalooza in 2010 and then North Coast Music Festival in 2011, conscious-minded hip hop outfit BBU haven’t released a new mixtape since 2010′s Fear Of A Clear Channel Planet. That changes next month, with the release of the act’s forthcoming mixtape effort, bell hooks (“Named after the author bell hooks,” the group explains).

“We got a lot in store for 2012,” the act informs CVU. “From a full length project coming out to collabs with artist we have dreamt of rocking with since were we shorties, all that and then some releasing in 2012.” Speaking of their new music, the group offers, “It Sounds like Malcolm X and Maya Angelou discussing the state of the nation at a Brick Squad Concert.”

Catch BBU live on February 23rd at Schubas for the bell hooks release show. And preview tracks from that effort below, including a link to the download page for “Kurt De La Rocha” (via Ruby Hornet), “Outlaw Culture” (via Gowhere Hip Hop), and “Jumpers” (via Prefix), all following the act’s CVU podcast interview from this past summer’s North Coast Music Festival, and followed by a BBU promo video.

BBU – “Kurt De La Rocha”

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Gemini Club!

Gemini Club’s last high visibility appearance in Chicago was late summer 2011, when the trio performed an early but strongly received set at North Coast Music Festival. Now, with the group set to perform at tonight’s 2012 Snow’d In Music Festival at Double Door, the band’s Dan Brunelle fills in CVU on the state of the band’s new music, including the band’s forthcoming EP, Here We Sit, set for release on April 17th, as well as “a few remixes that are already finished and laying in wait for release.”

“Our new EP, Here We Sit, is a definitely a more mature record for us,” Brunelle ascertains. ”We still have the catchy melodies and driving beats of the first EP but overall its much less of a “bedroom producer” record. Every song has live drums, the vast majority of the instrumentation was performed live, the synths were played through amps and mic’ed. We made sure to use digital music techniques but not so much that that’s all there is to it. There’s a much greater sense of physical space in this EP than you might expect from an “Electro Band”.

“Like our first EP there’s a large range of styles and influences,” Brunelle continues, adding “there’s even R&B angles to some of the melodies.”

In addition to Here We Sit, Gemini Club is also looking towards additional remix work and collaborations, as well as aiming “to be consistently working on new material while our new EP makes the rounds.” As if that weren’t enough, the act is “working a bunch of music videos for most of the EP.” Also in the works are the band’s plans to tour, with a focus on “getting back out to New York.”

Finally, Gemini Club is also turning its attention towards the remix treatment for their forthcoming EP.

“We’re going to have remixes for Here We Sit from producers from all spectrums,” Brunelle remarks. “ Local, national, international. We have a very talented pool of artists on board to remix our songs and we’re excited about the variety of content that we’ll have available to share with people.”

Look for presale information and album artwork for Here We Sit to post online next week, and for fans of the CW program Ringer, listen for Gemini Club cut “Mirrors” in an upcoming episode. And catch Gemini Club as official talent at this year’s SXSW. Check out video of a new Gemini Club song snippet, following the group’s CVU podcast interview from North Coast Music Festival 2011.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: My Gold Mask!

The last release from gold-dusted haunt-rockers My Gold Mask was A Million Miles (From Where We Were Last), the act’s winter 2010 four-song EP. Since then, fans have turned towards events like a November 2011 episode of Gossip Girl featuring “Violet Eyes” and the group’s New Years Eve set at Lincoln Hall opening for The Hood Internet for their MGM fix. Now comes word that the band is hitting the studio to record their debut full length at the end of this month, as the band’s Gretta Rochelle and Jack Armondo inform CVU in a joint statement.

“It’s hard to predict exactly what the finished project will sound like,” the band states of the effort. “Ideas are still evolving and we are writing right up until the first day of recording.”

The group is looking at a month of mixing all through February, and while they haven’t yet nailed down a final title for the forthcoming record, they do have some track titles firmed up, including “Never Go Home” and “Some Secrets.”

While its too early to announce a release date (“We’re not rushing the process,” the band explains), both Rochelle and Armondo are eager to share their new sounds. ”We’re looking forward to sharing new music with our friends and are eager to get to the point where we’re out playing the new songs live,” the group affirms.

Check out the band’s cover of “Bette Davis Eyes” and the video for “Violet Eyes,” both following the group’s CVU podcast interview from SXSW 2011.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Larro Wilson of Lawless Inc.!

This week on the ChicagoVerseUniteD audio podcast: Larro Wilson of Lawless Inc.! In an interview recorded at the his hotel room, Wilson discusses his and John Monopoly’s Chicago-based hip hop label, Lawless Inc., why hometown rapper King Louie is the label’s flagship artist, Chicago’s standing in the music business, and what else Lawless Inc. has in store in 2012. Stream or download that podcast below, followed by the companion King Louie podcast released here yesterday.

ChicagoVerseUniteD is a weekly music and nightlife podcast series, hosted by Jaime Black. CVU features interviews with the premier talent and tastemakers in the Chicago music and nightlife communities, and is published through the Dynasty Podcasts network. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Tumblr, and Posterous.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: King Louie!

This week on the ChicagoVerseUniteD audio podcast: King Louie! In an interview recorded at the artist’s hotel room, the in demand Chicago rapper discusses his forthcoming Dope & Shrimp record, working with Lawless Inc., his thoughts on the Chicago music scene coming together, and what else he has on deck for 2012. Stream or download that podcast below, followed by the Fake Shore Drive remix of Kidz In The Hall‘s “Pour It Up,” featuring King Louie, as well as Rockie Fresh, Vic Spencer, and Paypa. And catch King Louie live at Ruby Hornet’s Digital Freshness on Saturday, January 21st at Beauty Bar.

ChicagoVerseUniteD is a weekly music and nightlife podcast series, hosted by Jaime Black. CVU features interviews with the premier talent and tastemakers in the Chicago music and nightlife communities, and is published through the Dynasty Podcasts network. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Tumblr, and Posterous.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Young Jesus!

Things have been moving ahead pretty quickly for Young Jesus as of late. In November 2011, the Chicago rock group surpassed its  Kickstarter campaign goal in support of the band’s debut album, Home. Then earlier this month, the act played a record release show at Lincoln Hall. And on January 24th, the band will release Home, an album YJ frontman John Rossiter is definitely excited about.

“With this being our debut full length record, we wanted it to be very ‘us,’” Rossiter explains to CVU. “We worked with out friend Jordan Thomas, who self-designed a little studio in his apartment in Lincoln Park. We all know and trust Jordan, so it was basically like working with a fifth member of the band, and that’s exactly what we wanted. On a technical level, it was pretty bare bones. Whatever we could scrounge up or borrow.”

“As a set of songs, it’s a concept album, telling the story of David and Eloise and the narrator,”  the singer reveals of the concept. “David and Eloise are a couple troubled kids, early 20′s, who kinda fall into each other in the midst of drugs and alcohol. David is an aspiring filmmaker, and, at the start of the album, Eloise has just given up on a band she was in in New York (see the song “Maybe Baby” off our last EP). Anyway, David has been obsessed with Eloise for awhile (maybe me too, she’s been in our songs for 2 years now AHH), and she just kinda settles for him. Then she leaves. That really fucks with David. He goes one direction, she the other. And then there’s the narrator. He’s pretty obsessed with both David and Eloise. It’s a bizarre love triangle, but doesn’t sound much like that New Order song.”

“We put our hearts into this album, are very proud of it, and hope some people can relate to it and like it,” Rossiter concludes. “Creating Home has been amazing, and we’re just so so glad we get to make our music. It’s all because of our family and friends so, words are not enough.”

Stream or download Young Jesus’ alt-infused “Away” below, followed by the video for the band’s song “Earthquake.”

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Supreme Cuts!

In March 2011, Austin Keultjes and Mike Perry released the first song under the banner of their new group, then a production project, the haunting and ambient electronic soul-infused Supreme Cuts. The project isn’t the first time the two have collaborated together, with both having headed up Chicago dream-pop outfit Dirty Diamonds. In August, Supreme Cuts released its debut EP, Trouble, on Smasll Plate Records. And now, as Keultjes reveals, the act is looking towards a proper album.

“Around march of 2012 supreme cuts will release our first full length record, Whispers In The Dark, on Dovecote Records,” Keultjes reveals to CVU. “After that we are working with a slew of rappers on various projects but can’t say much more about that.”

“The music coming out this year will sound like the epic soundtrack for a world altering paradigm shift/good makeout music,” Keultjes adds.

Check out the Supreme Cuts Soundcloud set below, followed by the group’s videos for the tracks “Trouble” and “Fools.”

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Suns!

In 2010, percussion-heavy psych-rockers Suns hit the scene with the free release of their double EP, Close Calls In The U​.​S. Space Program/The Howl And The Many. Then, in late 2011, the group launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of their forthcoming debut album. The fundraising effort proved to be successful, raising $6,174 of the band’s $5,000 goal. And now, as Suns’ Mike Russell tells CVU, there are solid details to share on the effort.

“We are almost done tracking our first full length record, When We Were Us,” Russell recently informed CVU, adding ”This record is the best thing any of us have done musically thus far. hands down, without any doubt.”

The band is looking to release When We Were Us “sometime around” spring, just in time for ”touring extensively” in the spring and summer. Also in the works is a documentary about Suns “making and touring on this record,” which will be filmed by Jess Price.

Stream an untitled new Suns demo below, followed by a live clip of the band’s track “Four Winds,” both following Suns’ CVU podcasts from Record Store Day 2011. And look for more on Suns and When We Were Us right here at CVU.

For this month’s ChicagoVerseUniteD cover story, every day in January will preview 2012 plans for a Chicago talent or tastemaker. Today: Sleeping At Last!

As the driving force behind Sleeping At Last, it’s impressive what Ryan O’Neal can accomplish over the course of a year. The singer-songwriter just finished his 12-month, 12-EP Yearbook project in September of last year, only to have the SAL track “Turning Page” featured on the the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 shortly thereafter. Even tonight, Thursday, January 12th, a Sleeping At Last Selection will be featured on Grey’s Anatomy. So what’s next for Ryan O’Neal and Sleeping At Last?

“I have several projects in the works,” O’Neal shares cryptically with CVU, adding “lots of new Sleeping At Last music will be released this year! Can’t wait.”

Though new music is set for the year, the artist doesn’t yet have an immediate answer as to the sound of new Sleeping At Last material.

“Since completing my 36-song project, Yearbook, last September, I’ve been focusing on just refilling, getting inspired again, after so much non-stop writing/recording!” O’Neal informs. “So I’m not sure of the direction of the new material – I’ve got some small seeds, but who knows what they’ll turn out.”

The artist does reveal he hopes to put out new music this spring. In the meantime, download a free SAL sampler now through Noise Trade. And watch a performance of “Turning Page,” live at Electrical Audio, below, immediately following O’Neal’s CVU podcast interview from 2011 in support of Yearbook.