Four years ago blogger and filmmaker John Yingling, who runs the site Gonzo Chicago, moved here from Appleton, Wisconsin, because he was so in love with our ol’ music scene. That’s the same reason Gossip Wolf left Wisconsin! Back in ’92, this Wolf was tail-out tripping at a barn rave in Oshkosh when a drug-informed vision struck: head south, start a band, and get signed to Drag City. We could’ve been bigger than Mantis! Anyway, Yingling has filmed and photographed more than 500 local concerts and recently helped release a documentary by local director Victor Spatafora about the last show at Logan Square DIY venue the Mopery—it’s called, um, The Last Mopery Show. Yingling tells Gossip Wolf he wants to release more videos of the shows he’s filmed and shoot new ones, but he needs some cash money for new equipment. If you agree, you can donate to his IndieGoGo campaign at bit.ly/gc-igg and get some sweet swag—and all donors get free admission to a summer show with Tyler Jon Tyler, Close Hits, and Magic Milk. Yingling is about to go on tour with TJT, and before he leaves he’ll host a benefit for himself Saturday at Reggie’s Record Breakers (2105 S. State). There’s a $5 suggested donation for the all-ages show, which kicks off at 8 PM and includes sets from locals Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, Lechuguillas, and Snacks.
New band alert: look out for Bare Mutants! The group is Jered Gummere of the Ponys, Jeanine O’Toole of the 1900s, Seth Bohn of Mannequin Men, Pete Falknor of Derek Nelson & the Musicians, and Leslie Deckard of, well, no other band. The quintet’s first show is May 2 at the Empty Bottle. Gummere tells Gossip Wolf that this one gig is the extent of the band’s plans for now, though they’ll likely record “something” at his home studio come summer.
Local Rhymesayers artist Psalm One tells Gossip Wolf she’s hard at work on her next album, the follow-up to 2006’s The Death of Frequent Flyer. Just don’t expect to hear it this year. The hold-up? Not only is she still tinkering with the album, but the Rhymesayers 2011 release schedule is already packed with records from the label’s marquee artists. Though she anticipates a 2012 release date, Psalm isn’t waiting around. She expects to drop a mini album in June, though she’s not sure whether she’ll call it a sequel to the three she released last summer as part of her Woman@Work series. For now, check the YouTube of the new Brandon All Day remix of “Better Than My Last,” off the first Woman@Work release.
Drummer ’bout town Theo Katsaounis (Dead Rider, Joan of Arc, Locks) says Bee Control—his project with Milemarker front man Dave Laney and Pelican guitarist Trevor de Brauw—will make a proper full-length this summer. Laney, who moved to Germany in December 2009, is expected to visit Chicago in July and finish a set of songs that Katsaounis and de Brauw will start on in the next few weeks; no label or producer is lined up just yet. Katsaounis and de Brauw recently made a video for “Erection in a Suit,” a song off Bee Control’s debut seven-inch; it should hit the Internet soon.
On May 5 at Lincoln Hall, local instrumental postrock quintet Del Rey will perform a live score for Fantastic Planet, a cult-classic 70s animated sci-fi movie about giant blue aliens who speak French and keep people as pets. Del Rey is set to play some Fantastic Planet shows in Spain during their first European tour in May and June, which also includes stops in Poland and Germany; they’ve also nabbed a coveted slot at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival.
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