Russian Circles: Embracing a New Sound on Second Album
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Dave Turncrantz, drummer for Chicago-based instrumental rock group Russian Circles speculates, “I think that Chicago has its own sound, because it gets so cold in the winter people get bitter. Maybe it’s all the salt in the air.”
He is obviously at least half joking, but the facts are nothing to laugh at. Chicago has given an electric jolt to the blues, witnessed the birth of house music, and acted as a cornerstone of the blossoming independent music industry of the 80s and 90s. Today, Chicago plays a prominent role in nearly every popularized style of music in America. Chicago’s music lovers have nurtured some of the least conventional and most inspirational artists in the history of independent rock and created an environment where newer bands are encouraged to write their own rules, and then break them. (more…)
Anyone who attempts to navigate a crowded street during a downpour knows that umbrellas are as cumbersome as they are convenient. Imagine a stranger walking toward you on a rainy day. As she gets closer, her umbrella contracts like a jellyfish, shrinking from a parasol to a mushroom, then expanding to its full size once you have passed. Ingenious! The umbrella knows its manners. This is the Polite Umbrella, the brainchild of Joo Youn Paek, an interactive technology artist. Paek explained, “It has simple mechanics. You pull on this handle and you can change the shape. This umbrella bows to other people on the street.” 
Oakland’s Annihilation Time are a rare, rare find for the aught years—a prodigiously talented and punk-derived guitar band that is familiar with the honest-to-goodness musical language of rock. Their third album, and first release on Tee Pee Records, finds the band stronger than ever, with a crushing rhythmic core and dueling guitar solos that are not only muscular and modest but purposeful. 
TAKE A DEEP BREATH group exhibition opened over the weekend at Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art. Co-sponsored by ALARM Magazine and Imeem, the exhibition runs though July 20 and features new works by Asbestos, Cherri Wood, The Dark, Kngee and Know Hope. Visiting international artists have also been extending their installation to works in the street to create a colorful urban landscape and striking imagery for passer-by. 
Quitzow and Setting Sun have both just released new albums and will be embarking on a joint tour together for the remainder of the summer. Quitzow (aka Erika Quitzow) and the founder/lead-singer of Setting Sun, Gary Levitt, are the masterminds behind running and recording on their label, Young Love Records. The two have assisted each other in recording and are often interchangeable onstage, offering their services to a wide range of instrumentation and voice. 
Despite popular thought, Philadelphia hardcore mainstays Paint It Black did not get their moniker from The Rolling Stones. The misnomer takes credit from the real inspiration, a song title from Ink and Dagger, an early nineties Philly outfit for punk vampire lovers that featured Eric Wareheim, who went on to co-create Tom Goes to the Mayor and other Adult Swim mayhem. Ink and Dagger were short lived. After six plus years together, Paint It Black have outlasted their successors and like those who came before them, continue to evolve the language of punk. 
If you thought Lollapalooza’s lineup was ridiculous you haven’t seen anything yet. Tomorrow, Glastonbury Festival will begin in Scotland and will carry through the weekend until Sunday, the 29th. The festival will showcase bands from all over the world on 6 different main stages, with 17 other smaller tents and stages for bands and DJs to perform at. 
Austin-based band …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead have joined Justice Records in creating a new label imprint, Richter Scale Records. After splitting with their major label, the band signed up with Justice Records to release their sixth, as yet untitled album due for January 2009. 
