True story: Gossip Wolf once started a gay-positive crust-punk band called buttfl@pz. We got a Wolfbrigade tat and worked our tail into a fierce dreadlock for a few weeks. We even recorded a demo tape, My Other House Is a Pink Boxcar. The only person who currently owns a copy is Felix Havoc. (Felix, we’d like that back.) Anyway, we’re feeling a little homesick for the scene. Luckily, it looks like the scene is coming to us. Featuring three shows and more than 20 bands October 7-9, Chicago Apocalyptic Crust Fest IV will be the prime dogs-with-bandannas-spotting event of the season! The best bet to really get your ultimate grind on looks to be the Saturday show, which features legendary acts Dropdead and Phobia, as well as a slew of others. Door time at the Black Hole (3057 W. 26th) is 3 PM. More info at blogs.myspace.com/apocalypticcrustfest.
Local heavy trio the Swan King have just mastered their first full-length, Eyes Like Knives, recorded at Semaphore with Sanford Parker and due out in spring ’11 on Seventh Rule. One unmastered track, “Staring Through Skulls,” is now up on the band’s MySpace page. The Swan King play Quenchers on Thursday, September 30, with the Fucking Hot Lights and Velcro Lewis.
Great Society Mind Destroyers are on a veritable music-making bender. The local psych wizards have four releases planned: a split single with Dark Fog available by Halloween, a live split ten-inch with Plastic Crimewave due in 2011, and an as-yet-labelless split cassette with The Buddha Smile. And they spent September recording their debut full-length with Phil Karnats of the Secret Machines at his home studio in Forest Park; it’s to be released before the end of the year on CD, cassette, and LP. The release show for the Dark Fog split is November 2 at the Hideout.
Local record store/label Permanent Records is celebrating its fourth anniversary on Saturday, October 2, at the Bottle. The bill features four bands with releases on the label, including Internet buzz band Moon Duo (featuring Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips) and Umberto. In other Permanent news, this week the label dropped its latest release, The Survival Scroll, a full-length by zonked local pop trio Brain Idea.
True story: Gossip Wolf once had a Tom Waits cover band called Waits Watchers. We got us a snappy fedora and shaved off all of our fur, save for a goatee. But people said it looked like a “chin pussy” so we shaved that off too. The band broke up, but Waits fans, there are other tribute options available. B1g T1me specializes in re-creating entire records by the grizzled one, down to the last jazzy, beat-poetry-inspired inflection. Their next gig will be playing Rain Dogs in its entirety at Mayne Stage on Wednesday, October 6.
Locrian is dropping a new double LP, The Crystal World (we would have preferred “The Crystal Wolf,” but unfortunately that’s not the name of any known J.G. Ballard novel), on November 27 via Milwaukee microindie Utech. For a sneak preview, pick up the October issue of The Wire—a track is included on the free CD that comes with the mag.
Brand new Logan Square joint Shake Shop is open for business as of October 1. Run by Daily Void and Tyler Jon Tyler drummer Tom Cassling, it sells books, records, and artwork from local musos and both repairs and sells musical gear. He calls it a “rock and roll general store,” and we call that a totally sweet idea. To celebrate, Cassling is hosting a party that night that features a raffle for credit toward instrument repair and other prizes. The event kicks off at 5 PM at 3247 W. Fullerton.