Gossip Wolf spent what felt like half the 90s tracking down illicit dance parties with fellow raver kids—we’d buy tickets with no idea where the party was going down, then hope it wasn’t 150 miles away in Sheboygan! On Sat 10/25 at 6 PM, eight raging local and international punk, noise, and industrial bands are playing at a DIY space that shall not be named—it’s within the city limits, though, we can tell you that much! The bill includes Swedish industrial legends Brighter Death Now, doom heavies BongÂripper, Chicago death rockers Final Grin, and local filth punks Rectal Hygienics. The organizers tell us that tickets can be had for $20 cash at Permanent Records; you’ll just have to trust us when we say you won’t end up on a bus to Joliet.
Speaking of under-the-radar spots, the dudes in local punk four-piece Rat Hammer are on Gossip Wolf’s radar because they’re also behind DIY space the Flowershop. The band’s ferocious hardcore careens around like Dead Kennedys used to, and their live show is just as out of control! Rat Hammer celebrate the digital release of their debut full-length, Baby Carrots—nine cuts from which they’re also releasing on seven-inch vinyl—with a free show at the Empty Bottle on Mon 10/20; Swimsuit Addition and Absolutely Not open.
Local DJ and Still Music honcho Jerome Derradji is releasing a double-LP compilation of rare and “lost” Chicago house tracks that have passed through the hands of Kevin Starke, aka the owner-operator of label and store Kstarke Records. The cover art for Kstarke Records: The House That Jackmaster Hater Built is a photo of a dashing Starke flanked by the names of the featured producers, including house pioneer Ron Hardy and Dance Mania alumni Traxmen. When Gossip Wolf visited the Kstarke shop on Western this weekend to buy a juke cassette, Starke mentioned that he expects the comp to drop next month.
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