by Sharon Gissy
​
Texas alternative rock band The Unlikely Candidates will release their newest EP, Bed Of Liars, on February 17th, 2017. However, the whole six-song EP is currently available to stream on their website or on Soundcloud; you can listen to it here.

The Unlikely Candidates have built an impressive rock resume for themselves with their catchy tunes, signing to Another Century Records in 2016 and hitting alternative rock radio with two hit singles, "Your Love Could Start A War" and "Ringer". They've also been mentioned in The New York Times as one of a dozen bands to watch and in Esquire as one of the bands you need to hear at SXSW. The band has played Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Riot Fest and have toured with St. Lucia, Nothing But Thieves, and Weathers.

The band is beginning its "People's Choice" tour February 17th in Tulsa, OK, and will be playing SXSW as well as playing the Beat Kitchen in Chicago on March 9th. A full list of tour dates appears below. 

The Unlikely Candidates Tour Dates (More TBA):
February 17 @ The Vanguard - Tulsa, OK
February 18 @ Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
February 23 @ Sam’s Burger Joint – San Antonio, TX
February 24 @ Stubb’s Jr - Austin, TX
March 01 @ George’s Majestic Lounge - Fayetteville, AR
March 02 @ Dada - Dallas, TX
March 8 @ Bootleg - St. Louis, MO
March 9 @ Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL
March 14 @ SXSW - Austin, TX
March 23 @ Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
March 24 @ Moxi Theatre - Greeley, CO
March 25 @ Lost Lake - Denver, CO
April 01 @ House Of Rock – Corpus Christi, TX
April 07 @ Vinyl - Atlanta, GA
April 14 @ Gasa Gasa - New Orleans, LA
 
Other Tour Dates:
February 10 @ The Fillmore – Detroit, MI (89X Show)
April 15 @ Buzzfest / Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX

by Sharon Gissy

Continuing a narrative of love and loss she has created over two 7"s and two albums, Scout Paré-Phillips is set to release her latest album, Door Left Open, on Dais Records March 10th. 

Scout wrote the songs for the new record after enduring heartbreak while on tour for her previous album Heed The Call. Her classically trained, operatic vocals rise out of crescendos of guitar, autoharp, cello, and keyboards, as well as acoustic and electronic percussion by longtime musical collaborator Emil Bognar-Nasdor (Dawn of Humans, Rosenkopf). 

Scout's solo career stemmed from her work as a trained opera singer as well as her stint as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in the Baltimore-based post-punk and country act the Sterling Sisters. Her contributions to that group showcased the strains of dark Americana that would surface in her solo work, which is reminiscent of a modern-day Leonard Cohen or Joni Mitchell in its use of autoharp and baritone guitar along with poetic lyrics. 

by Sharon Gissy

Those Pretty Wrongs are embarking on a brief "How Cold Is It Gonna Be?" midwestern tour, which begins in Chicago on February 24th at the Gman Tavern and will end February 25th at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.

Those Pretty Wrongs is made up of Jody Stephens (Big Star/Ardent Studios) and Luther Russell (The Freewheelers), who originally joined forces to perform in support of the documentary "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me." Soon after they found themselves co-writing an album's worth of songs, including "Lucky Guy" which was cut in Memphis and released as a single by Burger Records with "Fool Of Myself," which featured their band name, on the flip side. 

The self-titled debut, Those Pretty Wrongs, was tracked entirely in Memphis making use of the original Big Star gear, including Stephens' original kit from Radio City and Third and Chris Bell's electric and acoustic guitars from # 1 Record. Performing lead vocals for the first time, Stephens sang and co-wrote all the songs with Russell. Both Stephens and Russell have attested to the music being highly personal. Stephens said the "lyrics are a walk through my day-to-day emotions and experiences." Russell, who also created album artwork to reflect the music, said "The record and subsequent live performances are extremely personal for both of us."

by Sharon Gissy

Music industry veteran and Chicagoan Sean McDonough has become the new national talent buyer for FM Entertainment. FM Entertainment promotes and produces concerts throughout the Midwest in 18 venues including Concord Music Hall and Apollo Theater, books music festivals like WIIL Rock Fest, Throttle Fest, and Kraut Fest, and provides entertainment at the Chicago Speedway and other events. Upcoming events include the Open Air Pre-Party at Concord Music Hall, Lordi, Overkill, and Testament. Owner Frank Mastalerz, who has been promoting shows and managing bands for decades under the FM banner, said "Sean has long been a staple of the Chicago music scene starting from his days at the Metro and has grown to be one of the premier and most well respected talent buyers within the music industry."

Sean McDonough started out answering phones at the Metro in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. Over a 14-year tenure at the club, he rose through the ranks to become the head talent buyer, booking shows with acts such as Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, and The Flaming Lips. He booked the Goose Island Fest in 2003, which included acts such as Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, and Bob Mould. He also worked hard at developing local acts like Fall Out Boy, Rise Against, and Alkaline Trio, and was even a part of the managing team of the Smoking Popes from 1994 until their breakup in 1998, later spearheading their 2005 reunion tour.

Sean's other experience includes time spent in New York booking Irving Plaza and the Gramercy Theater for Live Nation, where he booked shows with Jay-Z, Gaelic Storm, and Lenny Kravitz, among others. He also began booking the Bottom Lounge in 2010 and turned the West Loop club into one of the more diverse music venues in Chicago by booking acts as varied as Blonde Redhead, G-Eazy, Dashboard Confessional, and KMFDM.

In 2012 Sean returned to Live Nation as the senior talent buyer for House of Blues Chicago, soon bringing the Bottom Lounge into the Live Nation fold. While at the House of Blues, Sean booked acts such as Guns n' Roses, B.B. King, and Megan Trainor, and continued to pursue his personal mission to support and promote local artists. 

Sean lives in Chicago with his wife Meghan, daughter, and dog, Duke of Squirrel. 

by Sharon Gissy

Combining costumed satirical bite with hard rock guitar riffage, The Upper Crust is due to release their new album Delusions of Grandeur ​April 7th on their record label Upper Crust, Ltd with distribution via Redeye Worldwide. 

Beginning in 1994 as simply a concept to entertain friends, The Upper Crust has since taken off and released five albums, toured the United States and Europe, and appeared on TV shows such as Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson as well as at festivals like All Tomorrow's Parties and Tenacious D's Festival Supreme. They have been the subject of a documentary film, have written the theme song for the History Channel's American Daredevils, and even placed a song in Guitar Hero.

Dressing in powdered wigs and velvet knee breeches, the band has billed itself as the finest purveyors of 18th-century "rocque" and roll and has steadily increased its devoted fan base around the world for the past two decades. Beneath their goofy exterior, The Upper Crust's quality songwriting, recordings, and live performances establish them as a fine "rocque" band in their own right.

The band consists of the Lord Bendover and the Duc d'Istortion on guitar, Count Bassie on bass, and Jackie Kickassis on drums. 

by Sharon Gissy

This Friday, January 13th, in celebration of their "Winter In Space" event, label Modern Harmonic will release a handful of coveted space-themed records. The newly released records will include the following:

Tom Glazer & Dottie Evans - Space Songs - LP

The first reissue of the collectible space age educational music LP for children on red vinyl. Pressed from the original 1959 atomic-era master tapes, the album features Leo Lionni cover art and the songs "A Shooting Star Is Not A Star" and "Why Does The Sun Shine," which was covered by They Might Be Giants. Space Songs was originally part of a set called "Ballads For The Age Of Science" created by Zy Haret and Lou Singer, and the music for this volume was written by Zy Haret and is sung by the folk singers Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans.

Attilo Mineo - Man In Space With Sounds - LP/CD

Created for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle with the unveiling of the Space Needle, this album features interstellar sounds from Mineo's archive along with period narration to create a singular sonic landscape. The alien sounds include circus organs, bongo beats, and electronic hydrazine expectorations, while the narration dips into many recognizable sound bites that have been widely sampled over the years. This release is available as a swirly green and yellow vinyl in a gatefold jacket or as a CD with a coloring book style insert. 

Sun Ra & His Interplanetary Vocal Arkestra - The Space Age Is Here To Stay Double Album

This very first collection of Sun Ra's vocal tracks contains over 75 minutes of performance as well as album art interpreted from Chesley Bonestell, the "father of modern space art," and extensive liner notes from Charles Blass of Sun Radio. It is available as either a CD or double LP to experience more of the output of the Man From Saturn.

The Modern Harmonic - Sun Ra 7" Singles Series 

A special Modern Harmonic set of three 7" Sun Ra singles designed exclusively for the "Winter In Space" event, providing six collectible releases featuring colored vinyl and custom-made space-age style envelope sleeves with liner notes from Charles Blass of Sun Radio. Cover artwork was created ny noted science fiction illustrators such as Dune artist John Schoenherr and "the father of modern space art" Chesley Bonestell, adapted for Modern Harmonic by John Sellards. The 7" singles each have a known Sun Ra recording on the A-side and a previously unissued track on the B side. 

by Sharon Gissy

Los-Angeles-based trio Willodean will release Awesome Life Decisions: Side One, the first of four planned EPs for 2017, on February 20th. The unique-sounding breakup album is an amalgamation of the three members' talents: the southern roots of frontman Abbie Huxley, the smart melodic songwriting of Randy Wooten, and the indie-rock influence of producer/bass player Eric Holden.

Awesome Life Decisions: Side One showcases the band's pop muscle, beautiful instrumental arrangements, and crystalline studio sound. The EP will be released by Bigger Better More Records, a label created by Eric Holden. 

The band continues a decade-long partnership between Holden and Wooten, who were previously in the Bloody Lovelies and created the record label Cheap Lullaby. Cheap Lullaby went on to sign more than a dozen acts and release records for more than 30 artists, including The BellRays, Joan As Police Woman, and Ivan & Alyosha. Now they bring their DIY production skills and propensity for insightful, lyrics-based songwriting in combination with Huxley's Tennessee background and grit to form Willodean, a power-pop package that is difficult to forget.