Mutts and Hemmingbirds at Beat Kitchen Fri. Sept 24

The Hemmingbirds are fronted by Yoo Soo who wrote and recorded all of the songs on the Hemmingbirds incredible debut Death Wave (my REVIEW). The band sounded great and the guitar really popped live. I spoke with Yoo Soo afterward and he said they have only played out a handful of times. It sure didn't seem like they had played only 4 or 5 times together. See them live, it's a great experience. The album link below is a name your own price download. So if you do download it for FREE , please post the link wherever you can. Help spread the word about the inexhaustible great indie music here in Chicago.




Thanks for the invite from Mike Maimone who fronts the indescribable Mutts low end force. Plenty of swing an a bit of soul and tons of conviction mark Mutts shows.Every Mutts show I have seen has a different twist. In this show the guys welcomed Yoo Soo from the Hemmingbirs to play violin amidst the growl and prowl of Mutts bottom end rumble. It was interesting dichotomy to have the higher end of the violin in that setting. Of course the violin was played marvelously by Yoo Soo. The Mutts were supporting the release of their great ep The Tells of Parallels (My review HERE). Mike and the guys did a cover of "Little Wing" (Hendrix) to a crowd that was very amped. Great to talk to Mike and the guys afterward. Please download the album below for FREE if you haven't already.

Mike Maimone and The Mutts - We Float (ep)

Mike Maimone is back with his new ep. which is FREE on his bandcamp page. Like all the rest of his stuff this is unconventional and I love it. This music growls. He has a record release show for this ep is Friday May 28th at The Mutiny (2428 N. Western). NO COVER!!! I plan on going and you should too. Mike is giving the download away for FREE and there is FREE entry to this show on Friday. I will also have an events link on the side of this blog for the show as well.

Wotienke - Acoustic Live (bandcamp)

Wotienke is a female piano singer/songwriter from Amsterdam. She moved to the Czech Republic and met four Czech musicians with whom she started the band Wotienke.

Finger snap on 2 and 4...check. Upright bass slow groove....check. Softly breathed saxophone....check. Sultry female vocals with a jazz delivery...check. Banjo... ? At first listen the banjo stands out, but it really works on "This Year's Thought", the track opener.

"Skip The Present" has a waltz time and has jazz, folk and classical touches as well. The mixture of the two cultures of the band members really shines here. With all of this going on it's important to remember the heart-felt vocals.

 The live download is FREE. You can also purchase their debut album Mainland Sailors on the same page.