Chapter three picks up with Chamber Strings front man Kevin Junior suddenly without a band but with a heroin problem. Years spent bouncing from Chicago to Akron, Ohio, to Los Angeles, to Berlin to London take their toll and Junior faces the End. Along the way he passes a cast of characters from homeless poets to Nikki Sudden, in whom he finds a kindered spirit and sometime drug partner.
Hear excerpts of Kevin Junior performing several new, unrecorded Chamber Strings songs.
The second act of a three-part documentary on Chicago’s rock and roll tragedy, the Chamber Strings.
Act Two starts off with the band meeting with producer Thom Monaghan (Pernice Bros.) to record their follow-up, A Month of Sundays, which singer Kevin Junior described as “Dusty in Memphis meets All Things Must Pass.” More touring on the critical success of the album found the band reaching out to new audiences and building a fan base from Chicago to New York to San Francisco to…Boise. The band felt that they were on the verge.
Around the turn of the last century, Chicago singer-songwriter Kevin Junior finally got all that he wanted: a critically acclaimed debut album, sold out shows, and big time label interest. The Chamber Strings were Chicago’s Next Big Thing with a timeless sound, enigmatic front man, and a catalog of the catchiest songs this side of Chrissie Hynde.
As you might guess, things don’t go exactly as planned for Junior and what started months ago with a strange request for a ride back to Chicago from New Orleans ends with the reunited band and another Glorious Noise video feature directed by Whiskey Bender’s John Boston.
Part One of our three-part documentary details the formation of the band and the recording and release of their first album, Gospel Morning.
You’ve already seen our two-part video/interview feature on the Blacks. That mini-doc contained footage from the soundcheck. And because people have been asking for it, we’re now finally bringing some footage from the actual show later that night.
And remember everybody, Blacks leader Danny Black is headlining the Black and Orange Ball this Saturday in Chicago with his new band, Healthy White Baby. Come out and see it!
In the video clip post after the jump, see the legendary Chicago band perform “New New Waltzing Blues” and “Fake Out Jesus.” (Also, a couple of bonus videos from the two other bands on the bill, Riviera and Quasar Wut-Wut.)
The Drams, a Texas band composed of former members of Slobberbone and Budapest One, sat down with Glorious Noise in Chicago while touring in support of Jubilee Dive, out now on New West Records.
The video includes an interview with Brent Best (Slobberbone) and Keith Killoren (Budapest One) discussing the formation of the band and the recording of Jubilee Dive, and features live footage from The Drams’ performance at Subterranean in August 2006. The songs performed are “Hummalong,” “You Won’t Forget,” and “Fireflies.”
“We purposely, production-wise, went away from what Slobberbone was known for,” Brent Best told Glorious Noise. “The songs are more melodic, but it was more about doing stuff in the studio that make us grin and go, ‘Oh yeah!’ and kind of going overboard with it. For me what it comes down to is just doing whatever the hell we wanted to that served the song.”
The Drams are heading out on tour this fall with the Drive-By Truckers, and then heading over to Europe. See the dates (and an MP3) after the jump…
GLONO hosts Dirty Pretty Things for a day in Chicago and gives them an authentic tour of the Windy City with vintage clothes shopping in Wicker Park, hotdogs, and a dip in the great Lake Michigan. Oh, and the band put on a hell of a show…
Anthony Rossomando is a skinny fuck topped with a disaster of curls. As the sole American in Dirty Pretty Things (MySpace) he was the cultural translator for the band as they did seven dates in the colonies this summer. Throughout our day together, Rossomondo continually put the quirks and intricacies of American minutia into perspective for his three decidedly British bandmates. He bridged the gulf between what was described by George Bernard Shaw as two countries separated by a common language. Interestingly, he’s also the bridge between the Libertines and the Dirty Pretty Things, despite the fact that TWO original members of the former are also members of the latter.
We caught singer songwriter Tim Easton at what is becoming our go-to venue, Schubas. Determined to get out and see the world, Easton purposely wrote songs he could play alone. As a GLONO exclusive, we have three that cover Politics, Religion and good old clean Entertainment.
They say that no man is an island but sometimes a man needs to break away and indeed be alone. The idea of the wandering troubadour may seem quaint today but thank God there are people out there who still believe in romanticism.
On his fourth album, Ammunition, Tim Easton wandered the world, recording when and where he felt like it. From Joshua Tree, California to Amsterdam and back to Alaska, Easton followed his songs and his heart to write an album with admittedly political leanings, but one he says could be applied to anytime. To deny the weight of current events does not bear influence would be silly though.
“I started out writing political songs,” said Easton. “The news lends itself to wanting to comment.”
Live at Schubas in Chicago, Philly’s own Marah go “acoustic” and GLONO’s there. Get your soul on with live versions of “The Catfisherman” and “Walt Whitman Bridge” as the brothers Bielanko show you just how loud an acoustic guitar can be.
Legendary Chicago band The Blacks blew open the No Depression scene with gender bending stage shows and genre twisting music. Signed to Bloodshot Records in the late 90s and embraced by critics, it seemed like the band was well on the way to re-imagining country music for larger audiences until it all fell apart among the alcohol soaked costumes and volatile relationships that doomed this bastard son of Hank Williams and Bon Scott. Here, we present a feature article and mini-documentary on the newly reunited band who traveled dark roads and ultimately got lost.
Walking up to the large, blue house on Chicago’s north side where the Blacks were rehearsing for their reunion show at the Empty Bottle, I had to check my notebook and confirm the address. Having been to many, many basement rehearsals, I was confused by the eerie silence that made this residential neighborhood seem darker than it already was. As I came around to the rear basement door, the tell tale signs of a band at work finally came within earshot. Through the cinder block and cement foundation I could hear the mournful wail of Hank Williams, the soulful call and response of the Staples Singers, the thumping bass of Bill Black, and beneath it all the unmistakable backbeat of rock and roll. This was the right spot.
On his new album Wall to Wall, Chris Mills opens up his orchestral maneuvers and delivers the finest piece of orchestral pop since the demise of the Chamber Strings. In this exclusive GLONO video feature, we caught Mills at the Hideout in Chicago. There are two songs on the clip, including an as yet unreleased beauty.
Chapter three picks up with Chamber Strings front man Kevin Junior suddenly without a band but with a heroin problem. Years spent bouncing from Chicago to Akron, Ohio, to Los Angeles, to Berlin to London take their toll and Junior faces the End. Along the way he passes a cast of characters from homeless poets to Nikki Sudden, in whom he finds a kindered spirit and sometime drug partner.
