The four track EP that The Inventors did up here last fall is up on bandcamp. It’s pay what you can, and all proceeds go towards service industry workers in Chicago, who, for obvious reasons, are having trouble paying bills right now. Rumour has it that they have a whole new album up their sleeves…

Everyone loves our chickens, but Beat the Smart Kids loved them so much they named their EP ‘Chicken Sounds’, featuring Hen Solo (RIP) on the front cover. It’s ska punk. Just thought I should mention that before you clicked the play button.

The Bossa IV LP is back from Smashed Plastic! Matt’s solo project (he played everything except upright bass on one song) took us the better part of a year, but it’s out. And no, we didn’t record it on those Vistalites. Ludwigs were involved though.

Ho Etsu taiko came by for a creative retreat, to work on their new live set outside the confines of their sonically superior but sporadically available practice space, the MidWest Buddhist temple. They brought extra rope lights for the barn and generally made the place their own, chasing chickens around the yard with Okedo and giving the residents of Antioch an unforgettable spectacle. And even better, unlike most of the bands that stay over, instead of ordering pizza, they cooked up a storm and even did the dishes afterwards. 10/10 would host again.

Derek (of Whipped fame) came by to record some acoustic covers, his main musical outlet since he moved to the PNdubs (Pacific North West, all the kids are saying it). His choice of songs is as unique as his delivery of them. Yell Dezza yell!

These kids again…

The ten track album I bashed out with Damn Champion last summer is out on cassette! Defunct audio format for the win! I’d love to tell you about the analog warmth and saturation of the medium, but my tape player has a heinous hum on the right channel, so in the meantime I’ll be listening to it here.

Vying for the longest EP title ever, Down I Go’s “All Down the Church in Midst of Fire the Hellish Monster Flew, and Passing Onward to the Quire, He Many People Slew” hits the bandcamps today. It’s our poppiest yet, and mainly a stop gap to remind everyone that we exist, in preparation for our next full length. More on that later. The artwork was done by my wife’s ex boyfriend’s older brother and the ridiculous guitar tone is mostly GamechangerAudio’s plasma pedal which if you haven’t seen (yes, seen) then prepare to have your eyes blown. It sounds insane too. Next royalty cheque is going on the rack version which has an even bigger xenon tube!

Chewie is stoked for the latest piece of gear I bought – a combination electric heat and cool wall unit by Frigidaire. It may not be vintage, point to point hand wired or even entirely analog, but at least it puts an end to the ‘bring your own AC’ policy of last summer’s tracking sessions. With just one teensy weensy task left (making all the cables and wiring up the ‘desk’) we’ll be open for the summer. They said build it and they will come. I’m doing my best here.

At long last, the Big Night In LP, Super Dualism, is available on bandcamp, and notably in various record stores in the Chicago area, including (but not limited to) Reckless, Bric a Brac and Record Breakers. And even more notably, at our local record store here in Antioch, Reef Records, who have already sold two copies to total strangers based on it playing on the store stereo, and having a display copy available so everyone can check out the 3D gatefold. I’m proud of it sonically, I think it’s a good compromise between a throw back sound that lends itself to the band’s Rock n Roll elements and the modern edge that the heavier tracks demand. But I’m also proud of it as a physical product thanks to the artwork by Jeremy Mlodik and the thankless task of graphic design and layout by Dave. I know vinyl is a delicate medium (I’ve been perfecting my LP unsleeving skills from a young age) but when the internet breaks forever and all those servers are scavenged for parts to fight the rising robot hoards, Super Dualism will survive well into the 22nd century, 3D glasses included.