by Sharon Gissy

Saustex Records has announced the release of Lords & Ladies, a split album pairing Boston's The Upper Crust and San Francisco's The Grannies, two of America's leading bands portraying costume rock. The record is available digitally September 16th and on LP September 30th, and will be complemented by "Lords & Ladies Across The Colonies," a full national tour.

On the record, both bands deliver cuts that are sure to please a punk and hard rock audience. The Upper Crust re-imagine High Voltage-era AC/DC as filtered through the lyrical lens of 18th century nobles. Meanwhile, The Grannies offer a set of Jack Endino-produced songs (Nirvana, High On Fire) that recall the punk side of grunge and messy, chaotic music such as The Dwarves.

Known for their over-the-top stage theatrics and predilection for dressing either in period finery or thrift-store dresses, the bands are sure to offer many delights on their national tour. This is the longest U.S. tour The Upper Crust has taken since the 1990s, and the longest tour The Grannies have ever given. Tour dates are listed below.

ORDS & LADIES ACROSS THE COLONIES TOUR 2016
THURSDAY 9/29 - FT. WORTH, TX - FRED'S TEXAS CAFE
w/ PAT TODD & THE RANK OUTSIDERS

FRIDAY 9/30 - AUSTIN, TX - THE LOST WELL

SATURDAY 10/1 - SAN ANTONIO, TX - PAPER TIGER
w/ BELLRINGER

SUNDAY 10/2 - NEW ORLEANS, LA - SIBERIA
w/ ANGRY LOVERS
TUESDAY 10/4 - MEMPHIS, TN - MIDTOWN ROCKHOUSE LIVE

WEDNESDAY 10/5 - LITTLE ROCK, AR - WHITE WATER TAVERN
w/ THE FRONTIER CIRCUS

THURSDAY 10/6 - TULSA, OK - MERCURY LOUNGE

FRIDAY 10/7 - KANSAS CITY, MO - DAVEY'S UPTOWN RAMBLER
SATURDAY 10/8 - T.B.A.
SUNDAY 10/9 - CHICAGO, IL - COBRA LOUNGE w/ BLACK ACTRESS
MONDAY 10/10 - DETROIT, MI - SMALL'S

TUESDAY 10/11 - CLEVELAND, OH - BEACHLAND BALLROOM

WEDNESDAY 10/12 - BALTIMORE, MD - METRO GALLERY
w/ WESTERN STAR

THURSDAY 10/13 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - HILL COUNTRY LIVE*

FRIDAY 10/14 - NEW YORK, NY - THE BOWERY ELECTRIC*

SATURDAY 10/15 - SOMERVILLE, MA - ONCE BALLROOM*
*with HICKOIDS

by Sharon Gissy

Riot Fest has announced that their first-ever live broadcast will take place from Chicago's Riot Fest & Carnival this coming weekend, September 16-18. Riot Fest has partnered with the new music festival digital television network UphoricTV to offer live performances from the festival starting at 3 p.m. CST on September 16. Viewers will be able to watch the channel's live performance for free after registering on the Uphoric Youtube channel here.

Uphoric TV has also partnered with Flood magazine to produce original content, including interviews and behind-the-scenes content, the entire weekend at Riot Fest. This exclusive video content will be available via Uphoric TV's Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as later as VOD on Verzion's Go90 or on their Youtube channel. The Riot Fest live broadcast schedule with participating artists will be announced on Thursday September 15th through Uphoric TV's social media outlets. The broadcast is in partnership with Chicago-based Cobra Productions, the producers of Riot Fest.

by Sharon Gissy

A new Riot Fest Series One Garbage Pail Kids eight-card collection will debut and be available for purchase at the Riot Fest & Carnival in Chicago, September 16-18. The series will feature a card for the festival as well as cards created for current and past performers, and will include the following:

1) NOFX (“Fat Mike”)
2) The Lawrence Arms (“The Lawrence Harmed”)
3) Naked Raygun (“Ray Gun”)
4) Descendents (“Mad Milo”)
5) Riot Fest (“Riot Festus”)
6) Andrew WK (“Awesome Andrew”)
7) Taking Back Sunday (“Taking Back Tidal Wave”)
8) GWAR (“GWAR Noir”)
​

by Sharon Gissy

Singer-songwriter Margo Guryan may be lesser known in the canon of wildly diverse 1960s music, but some would call her a singer-songwriter prodigy. Signing as a writer to Atlantic Records at the age of 19, Guryan cut her teeth on jazz originally, attending the Lenox School of Jazz where she worked with Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, among others. Her compositions were recorded by the likes of Harry Belafonte, Cass Elliott, and Jackie DelShannon, and she was married to jazz trombonist and pianist Bob Brookmeyer. Her life was about to change when she heard "God Only Knows" and Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys.

"I thought it was just gorgeous," said Guryan, and after listening to it "a million times," she wrote "Think Of Rain,"  and continued to write more in a pop music vein, eventually signing to Bell Records for the release of 1968's sunshine-pop masterpiece Take A Picture. Although Guryan refused to perform live, citing what she had seen happen with Brookmeyer's career, Take A Picture gained fans and traction based on a strong following by record collectors, drawn in by its original arrangements and melodies and Guryan's shimmering vocals. 

In 2001, a Guryan CD collection called 25 Demos was released featuring a group of intricately-recorded songs; 29 Demos gathers these songs and adds four new tracks. Released in stores on August 26th, 29 Demos is a double colored vinyl (one red, one blue) that is a worthy successor to Take A Picture. To listen to these songs is to both note a facet of pop music that has been overlooked and to realize a timeless classic.