Author: rachelzyzda

A contributor to the Shuga blog, Rachel Zyzda also created ANCHR Magazine, an online music magazine based here in Chicago, focused on new music discovery. She got her start in music journalism as a contributor for Rabbit Hole Magazine. In addition to collecting records and seeing shows, she loves to travel.

American Grizzly – Instore Insight

Words and Photos By Alicia Maciel 

Good ole’ fashioned rock n roll band American Grizzly performed in-store Friday, October 6. From sharing a few beers together to talking about shows going on the same night, the Southsiders put on a cozy show that drew a lot of people in. With Matt Ladd on vocals, Jack Doyle and Dennis Wilson on guitars, Marty Funk on bass, and Anthony Perez on drums, American Grizzly is a fantastic local act worth listening to.

While “Love Somebody Else” is my pick from their noise rock twist on American folk music, I chatted with Dennis, Marty, and Jack to learn some more about the band.

How did you choose your band name?

Marty: I was listening to a My Morning Jacket album I just picked up called It Still Moves right around the time we first started playing together 3 or 4 years ago. I was listening to the record and admiring the album art, which has this really groovy bear wrapped in tinsel with geometric patterns all around the front and back covers and the name “American Grizzly” came to mind. We were throwing around band names at that time and I suggested American Grizzly and it kinda just stuck.    

Are you guys actually local? If so, what neighborhood are you from?

Dennis: We’re all local. We’re all originally from the Southwest Side and have been living in different neighborhoods throughout the city for a while. Our studio’s in Pilsen.

How did you guys get to know one another?

Dennis: We all met through a mutual friend group. Marty and I grew up down the street from each other and have been playing music together since 7th or 8th grade. Jack and I kind of knew each other from mutual friends then I saw him play some Black Keys songs at an open mic and called him up to jam a few days later (7 or so years ago). Jack knew Matt and Anthony from some other bands they played in. Once we all got together,  we realized how many friends we all had in common. It felt very natural for us all to hang out.

What gear do you have? If any of you are gear heads, what does your gear mean to you?

Dennis: Marty plays an Epiphone Thunderbird bass that looks super cool and always gets compliments on how it sounds. He’s currently in the market for a Fender Mustang bass. Jack plays a Fender Stratocaster and, on special occasions, Telecaster and has a few different Fender amps he plays (shoutout to his Fender Champion 600 which is a small tube amp that’s too small to gig with but sounds amazing). He also has a Waterloo acoustic that you’ll hear a lot on the next EP. I play a Gibson ES 390 hollow body electric guitar through a Vox amp. I also have a Musicvox Space Cadet 12 string electric guitar that’s made its way onto a few recordings and a Gretsch lap steel for when a bit of twang is required. Anthony will use anything he can get his hands on for drums/percussion. He once recorded a steak knife on a metal mesh screen and it was exactly the sound we were looking for. Matt has the good fortune of his instrument being his voice – pure and simple. I look at a nice instrument like a work of art. They’re so cool looking and have such personality. At least with guitars, the way they look and feel definitely influence how you play them.

What do you think about Chicago’s music scene?

Marty: Chicago has a great scene and a lot of cool venues and house shows to either play or catch a show. Since we moved into our studio in Pilsen a couple years ago, we’ve been catching a lot of shows at Thalia Hall and have been itching to play there.

If you can describe your music (genre, tone, etc.), how would you describe it?

Jack: The American Grizzly sound in most simple terms is good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, which gives us the luxury of pulling from a lot of different genres. Some of our tunes have heavy blues roots and others have a southern rock and/or country vibe. American Grizzly changes shape from show to show and album to album . We play folk songs, noise rock and pop tunes. We don’t really have a predetermined sound, so we can pretty much explore any area of music we want at any given moment and regularly do.

What’s your favorite song you’ve composed so far?

Jack: Favorite song we’ve composed so far is probably “Big City” because we got to collaborate with some awesome horn players and a great keyboard player here in Chicago. The song has a lot of energy and we enjoy playing it and listening to it. Anthony crashed his van the first time he heard the recording. That being said, our first album was recorded in Nashville, so any one of those songs could also take this slot.

Are you working on new music or touring soon?

Jack: We are going into the studio October 22nd to record a new EP. We are very excited. We are going to practice restraint.

What are your favorite Chicago bands?

Marty: We’ve all been diggin’ Lucille Furs album they put out a few weeks ago.

What are your influences?

Petty, Neil, Hendrix, Dylan, The Band, Auerbach, Aretha, Jim James, Dylan, Garcia, Petty, Lennon, Mic, Keith, Ray Charles, Natural Child, Brian Wilson, Allman Bros.,Freddie King, Jeff Tweedy, Pete Townshend, Clarence Carter, Denney and the Jets, John Prine, Stevie Wonder.

With their upcoming shows consisting of Lincoln Hall on November 2 and opening for Third Eye Blind December 1 at 115 Bourbon Street, make sure to catch American Grizzly before they hibernate in the studio to work on another EP.


Alicia Maciel is a junior at DePaul University studying marketing, music business, public relations, and advertising. Immersing in photography, promotion, interviews, interning at Metro and Notion Presents, managing The Chicago Vibe, curating live music, and plenty more – she hopes to bring innovation to the music scene. “A Chicagoan gal making music personnel personal.”

by Categories: Interviews, Live Music Reviews, Local MusicTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Trifecta Julien Baker, Half Waif, and Petal Take on Thalia Hall

This past Sunday night, a stacked lineup of incredible artists shared the stage at Thalia Hall. Petal opened the night, returning only a few weeks after her tour with Slow Dancer. Half Waif, the project of Nandi Rose Plunkett (who sometimes plays in Pinegrove) followed, and Julien Baker closed out the night.

Baker performed crowd favorites like “Everybody Does” and “Funeral Pyre,” but she also gave the crowd a teaser of her upcoming sophomore album, out this Friday on Matador Records. The spruced up set also included some of Baker’s latest singles, “Appointments” and “Turn Out The Lights,” which is also the sophomore album’s title track.  Baker even invited Petal and Half Waif to join her for a collaborative performance towards the end of her set. Relive the evening with our photo gallery below.

Julien Baker finishes up tour this weekend–see the rest of the dates here. You can also pre-order Julien Baker’s Turn Out The Lights from our webstore by clicking here, or pop into the store on Friday to get it in person!

 

by Categories: Live Music Reviews, News & EventsTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Beach Fossils Bring Their Music, a Proposal, Skateboard Tricks, and Stage Crashing to Bottom Lounge

This past Tuesday night, NYC’s Beach Fossils put on a show at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge that was just as entertaining between songs as it was during the songs. Although the tour was in support of Beach Fossils’ latest album, Somersault, their eventful set kicked off just before 10PM with a few older tunes, “Generational Synthetic” and “Shallow.” Before playing their third song of the evening, lead singer Dustin Payseur noticed that someone in the crowd had been making airhorn sound effects and called forward the audience member to demonstrate his skills over Payseur’s microphone.

From the second Beach Fossils had taken the stage, a sense of unity and excitement fell over the crowd and remained there throughout the whole set, but a huge highlight of the evening happened early on when a couple got engaged onstage. Beach Fossils staged the proposal by telling the crowd that they had a nightly raffle contest and that the winner tonight got to come onstage with his guest, and then called the name of the fan who would be proposing. Once the couple joined the band onstage, the question was popped and of course she said yes. Beach Fossils invited the newly engaged couple to dance onstage for the next song and Payseur addressed the crowd, saying, “There’s too much hate in this world. We need to come together.” The crowd did just that by cheering and applauding the special moment they had just witnessed.

The good vibes and positive energy just soared upwards from then, with the audience beginning to crowd surf at the intimate venue during “Sugar,” from the latest album Somersault. That crowd surfing momentum carried over into the following song, “Be Nothing,” also from the latest album. The track starts slow and finishes with an epic build up that had the crowd losing their minds. The explosive energy lulled slightly for laid-back “Sleep Apnea,” but the crowd still showed their support by turning on their phone lights and holding up lighters as they swayed together. An audience member chucked their bra onstage at the end of the track, and Payseur decided to put it on himself, over his t-shirt, saying, “I also look great in a dress and fuck you if you think I shouldn’t wear one.”

As the first part of the set began to wind down, the band left the stage briefly before returning for an eventful three song encore. During the encore, Beach Fossils invited an audience member onstage with his skateboard, where he actually did a kickflip on the small stage. Beach Fossils then invited people to come dance on stage for their second to last song, “Daydream,” which further promoted the sense of unity they had instilled.  The night ended with Payseur singing “Jesus Christ Saved My Life” in a British accent, and the crowd erupted with applause and cheers at the end of the encore.

Beach Fossils has frequently spoken up on social media about accepting everyone and calling out abusers, and their show that promoted spreading love and coming together continues to spread that same message in real life. Their tour continues for the rest of this week, and you can check out all the dates here.

 

While you wait for the next tour from Beach Fossils, check out their latest album on our webstore here.

 

This article was originally posted on ANCHR Magazine. 

 

 

by Categories: Live Music Reviews, News & EventsTags: , , , , Leave a comment

Engine Summer – Revved Up

Words and Photos By Alicia Maciel 

At first listen, up and coming Elmhurst trio Engine Summer resonates rock music like that of Parquet Courts, Omni, and their biggest inspiration – Wire.

With a name that appears to have come from a mad lib, it turns out that the band got their name from a novel titled Engine Summer. As Jeremy Marsan, guitarist and vocalist, read the book in college and was fascinated by the plot line of society 3,000 years into the future – it’s no wonder he chose a band name that emphasizes the importance of time and motion.

IMG_2727

Engine Summer’s most recent lineup consists of Jeremy (mentioned above) with Ben Kostecki on bass and Ryan Ohm on drums. Being friends since high school with the possibility of being MySpace enemies at one point or another, they’ve all grown closer over the past few years. While Jeremy makes fun at Ben for his hands being “too small” to play bass way back when to simply goofing off with one another, the guys are more than ecstatic to be in a band together.

The group formed collectively after having had jammed for a while and narrowed down members to be the trio they are today. Starting to have played plenty of shows in 2014 and having had played 30-40 shows to date, they finally decided it’s time to make a record together as Engine Summer – titled Trophy Kids and self-engineered by Jeremy.

IMG_2719

While garnering influence from bands like Creedence Clearwater, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Spoon, and any other krautrock bands – Jeremy, Ben, and Ryan bring some of those stylistic elements when composing songs. Recording the bass and drums together for their upcoming album release ensured that the rhythm carrying each track would bring adrenaline to any listener.

Attending concerts regularly and being active in the local scene is important for the suburban group. With their favorite local bands including Luke Henry, Twin Peaks, and Knox Fortune – it’s obvious that their taste delves into more than just rock music.

When asked what their ideal lineup would be, throwing names like Wire,Van Halen, Iggy Pop, and Ben’s dad performing slam poetry were no hesitation to the guys. While some merch they have coming out will include Elmhurst’s tree, you’ll see Engine Summer in the city more than you’d expect.

IMG_2660

With a top-secret release show followed by a benefit show at Tonic Room the same weekend, Engine Summer is bringing a limited run to their show Sunday, October 29. You can buy tickets here and who knows – maybe a record or two will end up at Shuga.

If Ben’s dad loves Engine Summer more than any of the other groups he’s been in, I’m pretty sure you’ll love ‘em too.

Alicia Maciel is a junior at DePaul University studying marketing, music business, public relations, and advertising. Immersing in photography, promotion, interviews, interning at Metro and Notion Presents, managing The Chicago Vibe, curating live music, and plenty more – she hopes to bring innovation to the music scene. “A Chicagoan gal making music personnel personal.”

by Categories: Interviews, Local Music, News & EventsTags: , , , , Leave a comment

Live Review: Glass Animals at Aragon Ballroom

Glass Animals brought dance moves, pineapples, and an energetic performance to Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom last week

New York’s singer songwriter Amber Mark warmed up the sold out crowd with her lively pop and R&B fused tunes. Performing a 30 minute set composed mainly of songs off her debut EP, called 3:33AM, Mark showed off her powerful vocals while exuding a carefree and fun attitude.

Glass Animals took the fully decked out stage next, stocked with a pineapple disco ball, palm trees, and a prop TV. Hitting the stage in a blaze of energy, the British indie rockers commanded the crowd’s attention and had them all echoing back the words of songs from their sophomore album How To Be A Human Being. The exuberant and dynamic set included the entirety of the band’s second album, as well as a few of their most popular tracks, like “Black Mambo”  and “Gooey,” from their debut album ZABA. During the latter, Glass Animals’ frontman Dave Bayley jumped off the stage to bring his signature dance moves directly to the crowd. Between each song, the devoted audience erupted in nearly deafening applause and cheers, and Bayley never stopped expressing the band’s gratitude.  The memorable performance wrapped up just before 10PM, the crowd filing out of the ballroom with infectious smiles on their faces.

If you missed out on the show, check out our gallery of Amber Mark and Glass Animals below!

Check out the rest of Glass Animals’ tour dates here, and grab your copy of How To Be A Human Being on vinyl on the webstore, or in the shop!

 

This article was originally posted on ANCHR Magazine. 

by Categories: Live Music Reviews, News & EventsTags: , , , , , Leave a comment