Who: Crankupmadonna

What: Their new album, “Hit the Sound”

Did you forget some spaces up there? No. That’s how the name is written.

Shawn Ross Rockin’

As detailed by my friends David and Andrew in their own review of this album, the members of Rockford’s Crankupmadonna have had a long and (partly) storied career making music in and around the area. All pedigrees considered, last year’s eponymous debut couldn’t help but feel less like an album as much as a time capsule. It’s not an unexpected occurrence. Singer/guitarist Shawn Ross had a decade’s worth of songs and the moxie to finally put down his bass and start wailing. The early shows went great (my assessment). The band needed merch so they decided to book studio time and record everything they had. Though I wasn’t there I imagine the thought process went something like, “We’ve got these songs, we’re a decidedly awesome live band, let’s record it live. We’ll do it live!” As a result, Crankupmadonna suffered from being too long (4 songs, by my estimation) and somewhat lacking in both production quality and variety of sound.

When I first popped Hit the Sound into my stereo, I honestly thought they had stepped too far in the opposite direction. That this album has an entirely more produced sound is unmistakable. That it is well produced is even less so (Mike Hagler made sure of that). I couldn’t place the cause of my uneasy feelings. I had first heard all of the songs in their live incarnation and something about the sound was missing Crankupmadonna’s jittery, propulsive muscle. I started the album over after 5 tracks, trying to dig deeper. Then it hit me.

“Everything that night was criminal. Everything that night was dressed in black. Criminal!”

At the first chorus I couldn’t place that nasal yelp of, “Criminal.” The 2^nd chorus slammed me in the head.

Declan mother effing MacManus!

The chorus to, “Mouthful of Booze,” becomes key. The realization becomes impossible to miss. This isn’t an indie rock album like those Superchunk and Dinosaur Jr. releases of Ross’s youth. It’s an Elvis Costello record (a look at Ross’s right arm makes one feel silly for not figuring it out sooner). Suddenly in Attractions territory, it all makes sense. The added organ and noisenik flavors; the wonderfully sneering backup vocals from Gina Knapik; the transparently simple hooks; they all add up to a glorious, fun, snotty power pop record. The songs blow through one’s brain so quickly that you find yourself having unconsciously memorized the lyrics. One moment you’re sitting in your car, concentrated on driving, and then next you notice that you’ve been singing along for the past three songs.

Chris + Jesse = Phat bass grooves

“When we drink/we are the same.”

“Tell me one good lieee/Tell me Tell me.”

These refrains latch themselves into your thoughts. You wake up singing, “When they hit the sound/When they hit the sound/Whose gonna care?” and then realize you had only started listening to the song last week. Do not mistake my use of the 2^nd person pronoun as an indication of this review’s prescriptive nature. I am not saying such things should happen. They just will.

Phil = Hot Licks!

In the end, Crankupmadonna have created an album with innumerable pop pleasure. They’ve now got a fist-raising, sing along album to stand next to their fist-raising, sing along shows. If I made the initial mistake of expecting the two to be analogous, I take it back. It’s an achievement to stand on its own.

Final Verdict: Bonkers; Wowsers; Shit-yeah; exclamatory reaction. Buy this album.

For more info: visit crankupmadonna.com

Sock Monkey Sound

by Andrew Whorehall

Matt Hopper & The Devil Whale | Kryptonite, Rockford, IL 08.25.2010 | Photo provided by Chris Wachowiak at Krypto

Matt Hopper (& The Roman Candles) is a singer-songwriter from Hatcher Pass, Alaska (at least that’s what he’ll tell ya).  He’s lived everywhere it seems in the last 10 years, documenting his tales, characters from places he’s been to, places he’s from and places he’s going to next.  He’s released a few records on his own, as well as under the band name, The Roman Candles earlier in the last 10 years.

Brinton Jones is the lead singer songwriter of The Devil Whale; home base, Salt Lake City, Utah.  The band has self released a full length and their newest e.p. while opening for the likes of respectable artists like;  Cold War Kids, the Autumn Defense, Glen Phillips, Richard Buckner, Damien Jurado, the Band of Annuals, Mike Doughty, Rocky Votolato, Richard Swift, David Dondero and many more.

They recently passed through Rockford, IL, on, August 25th, a Wednesday night.  Usually a ‘staying in night’ for most, they arrived opening for a few of their midwestern friends;  Chicago’s, Cameron McGill & What Army.  3 great bands from all over the U.S. on one night, in Rockford, IL.  The amount of talent in the room may have been the most overwhelming aspect of the night for an informed witness/listener.

"Young Wives" E.P. – The Devil Whale

The Devil Whale opened first, convincing a small crowd unaware of their music to turn to their friends and ask, “Who are these guys?  They’re great.”  The Devil Whale played songs off their newest e.p. “Young Wives” and a few selections off their full length, “Like Paraders.” Rock, folk, harmonies slippin’ in and under classic pop arrangements with the right amount of feedback when needed, Kryptonite via Salt Lake City.  Jones’ songs, the band, on record are subdued, well crafted and produced- live, they explode.  The band supports Jones’ lead like a rock machine should.  There’s something going on in Utah;  there would be no surprise to see the ‘Whale’ sign with a respective indie label in the near future and accidentally open for the likes of indie giants while forging their own path to headline.  Catch them now;  an amazing, live band, great players in control of beautiful pop-folk arrangements that explode with color.

Hopper joined the Whale for the 2nd set performing his own set of tunes rooted in ‘Crazy Horse’ delivery and Americana stories of the road, people.  The first thing you’ll notice is Hopper’s voice, a commanding wail from a tiny frame that can hit some bar room falsettos and yelps from deep below.  A great story teller / band leader took control of the room with his own catalogue of songs, many from his recently released beauty of a record, “Jersey Finger.”  The  Devil Whale served as his, ‘Roman Candles,’  following Hopper’s emotional delivery and dressing up standard rock songs with Americana inflections and punk instincts.

Cameron McGill & What Army | Kryptonite, Rockford, IL 08.25.2010 | Photo provided by Chris Wachowiak at Krypto

Cameron McGill & What Army had to close the night after all that;  and they did mightily.  The Army this time around featured Adam Plamann (The Wandering Sons / Miles Nielsen) on keys and sax, and newly hired touring bassist / songwriter, Miles Nielsen (Harmony Riley / The Wandering Sons / Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts).

What’s most ironic about this night of  great talent is that it could have been billed as “Cameron McGill & The Wandering Sons.”  Luckily the midwest irony only went as deep as the eye would allow incestuous, midwest, musical thoughts & connections.  Cam’s songs are musically monstrous regardless of presentation, trampling such thoughts.  The Army and their Rookies took the bar that Hopper and the Whale raised and dismantled it, playing songs from their newest, e.p., “Deserters” and previewing songs from their  finished full-length, record, “Is A Beast” (Due in 2011).

"Deserters." E.P. – Cameron McGill & What Army

Older cuts from “Hold on Beauty” and “Warm Songs for Cold Shoulders” fleshed out a majority, electric set.  Cameron’s voice was in majestic, vicious form and the Army with their newbies in toll proved why they are one of the midwest’s finest going right now;  giving character and weight to McGill’s fragile, honest, emotional songs while playing their own hearts out.  The band is oiling up for a fall tour with Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s where McGill will be doing double duties, keys and what nots for Margot’s gang and then leading his own mates through the east coast and back.  Do what you can to catch this band.

The amount of talent in that room that night has left a mark on me for days. Each band brought their A+ game to an F+ city in the middle of nowhere.  Just another night in Rockford, IL, that I, and many others who were lucky enough to be there to listen, won’t forget soon.

Thank you to Chris & Kryptonite for another great, irregular night of music by 3 of  America’s great bands in one spot.

aw  |  andywhorehall.com

Sock Monkey Sound

Who: The Braves, Joie De Vivre, Heather Perry & The ____’s, Warren Franklin

When: 11/14/09, Night time

Where: CJ’s in Rockford, IL

When it comes to Rockford music, the Braves are one of those bands. Everyone in the Rockford music scene (and for all intents and purposes, the Rockford scene means the Downtown scene. I know there are bands playing original music at Oscar’s or Cousins, but c’mon. Eww!) has either spent many, many nights playing with the Braves, or came up watching them.

As a Byronite I’m probably much newer to local music than most. I completely missed the entire Divine Cup era that all of my peers speak so highly of (I swear it wasn’t my fault. None of my friends had cars until like 2004 and we weren’t cool enough to know anything was happening). My local music intake at the time was from whenever a Rockford band would take the hit to play for free at Byron’s only all ages venue, The Friday Night Club (gotta love church youth groups) and whatever music my high school friends were playing. My interest was certainly raised when Nate Kirschmann started teaching at Byron, but the largest crowds were still assembled for Killing Abraham and that time Patty D was in an emo parody band (they played Story of the Year and Thursday covers because none of them had a clue about who the fuck The Promise Ring or Mineral were). Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, the Braves. I wasn’t around for shows at the Divine Cup or the Pit, but I began to take a strong interest soon after and I can remember many weekends where one could go to Minglewood or the ELB and see The Moment, This is The End, and the Braves on the same bill. As awesome as it was to fill 250 people into the tiny Minglewood space for the Felix Culpa and Colossal (I swear the Braves played that night too), there were so many nights (and by that I mean at least 6) when they would stumble back from whatever bar was closest to the all ages venue and play for 12 people. Those shows, when half of the people watching were in other bands and I was too naïve to figure out that Joe and Phil were flailing around onstage because they were mostly drunk, were some of my favorites. As fantastic as the later, janglier, Teenage Fanclub era of the Braves was, this was the period of the band that most people remember.

Which brings me to the end of the longest disclaimer I have ever written. Anyone who was at CJ’s on Saturday night to see The Braves was viewing the events through a veil of nostalgia, myself included. Whether the objective quality of the performance was equal to our impression is debatable. That’s totally ok. It’s kind of how all reunion shows work. As I write this, a few thousand Pixies fans are at the Aragon Ballroom thinking about how they got a squeezer while listening to Doolittle instead of actually listening to the band play an album blunted by 20 years of life. I was never cool enough to have Love & Mercy soundtrack a BJ. I did, however, spend some of the set thinking about a time when I was lucky that my dad worked downtown so I didn’t have a mom who wouldn’t let me go there at night because it was too dangerous (unlike many other Byron kids).

I suppose we’re getting ahead of ourselves, chronologically speaking. Back to the beginning. All around sweetheart, Warren Franklin was the first to play. I’ll be reviewing his brand spankin’ new album, Stray, in the next couple of days, so I’m going to save most of my music related comments for that. Instead I’m just going to talk some smack. Warren’s girlfriend is substantially cuter than he is. What’s up with that? It’s probably because he’s a super nice guy.

Joie De Vivre played 2nd for the first time in quite a while. I was caught off guard because I’m accustomed to being more intoxicated while listening to them. JDV is usually like, “Ooh look at us, we play later because you can get our CD in Japan,” but apparently this hadn’t been the case. Regardless of my lack of preparedness, Joie De Vivre did something that was slightly shocking. This rag-tag bunch of scruffy looking misfits has turned into a tight, well oiled emo machine. Playing with their infrequently appearing one man horn section, Paul Karnatz, they built songs around easy grooves and open emotions; letting tension explode into anthems at just the right time. It was disconcerting. Most disconcerting indeed.

Soon after Joie finished their set, I went down the street to the Carlyle Brewing Company. They have very good beer. And it was only $4 a pint, which is surprisingly low for a microbrew. Good times. Because of this detour, I missed Heather Perry and the ___s’ set. Lots of their relatives came to see them so I’m sure they had fun.

At long last, the Braves took the stage. What can I say? To quote one Brandon Lutmer, “It was the Braves of my high school years.” Drawing mostly from their second album, Love & Mercy, the classic five piece lineup of the Braves threw down. In retrospect, there was no reason to think that it would somehow feel different now than 4 or 5 years ago (these guys mostly still play in bands with one another. See Crankupmadonna and the recently defunct Table and Chairs), but it was a most pleasant surprise. I just kept smiling because that’s what the Braves do. They make me feel good inside. I initially felt some need to give a more in depth analysis of the music and compare them to Wire and Sebadoh and whatever past indie icon you wanna throw in, but it seems unnecessary. If you like the Braves already, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t. I do, I do.

Alex Danger Stewart is a contributing writer to Sock Monkey Sound and will be appearing on Episode 17. Please, no flash photography allowed.

Sock Monkey Sound

Podcast name:
Sock Monkey Sound Music & Culture Podcast

Web site or contact info:
www.sockmonkeysound.com

Members:
Hosted by Brandon Lutmer, Chip Copeland, and Patrick Delehanty. Recorded at M.I.A. Studios by Mark Gustafson.

Started in:
August 2009

What is Sock Monkey Sound?
Chip Copeland: We’re a podcast and website that you can find online. A podcast is similar to a radio show, but we’re not under the same rules as terrestrial radio stations in terms of content and time structures. We talk about music and pop culture, and play songs by local, regional, and the occasional national artist or band. In addition to Rockford we also cover the Midwest region as well and have a large following in the Atlanta area. Due to the Internet and iTunes we’ve been able to cultivate an audience that extends beyond our little corner of the world.

Patrick Delehanty: Along with that aspect of the show, we also interview local artists and musicians in a loose and uncensored talk show format where the guest can relax and be themselves. Not only do we give them the opportunity to promote their upcoming shows or projects, sometimes we’ll just talk about breakfast cereal, TV shows, or random silliness; nothing to serious. It enables us to have fun with the guest, they can be themselves and not have to worry about constraints; and I feel like the listeners can really connect with the guest in a way that they can’t in a more “mainstream” media outlet interview.

Mark Gustafson: We’ve also done topical, roundtable style shows on local issues that matter to us, as musicians and fans of music, such as the current state of the On the Waterfront Festival in Rockford. We feel as if a certain segment of the population of music fans in Rockford are under served by how the festival has been run and what acts have been booked. While we’re certainly not experts on the subject of how to successfully organize or run such a festival, we do have opinions as to what we think a vibrant and relevant music festival could look like in downtown Rockford. It surprises me when people tell me that they listened to that episode and enjoyed our loony, coffee fueled ramblings. We’re planning a RAMI episode that I’m sure will ruffle some feathers.

What’s the inspiration for the name of the show?
Brandon Lutmer: We really were trying to come up with something that would be lighthearted, but also reflect and identify the fact that we’re a show based in Rockford. We didn’t want to try and play on the name of the town and tie it into rock music. It’s been done before and it seemed like a lame idea to us.

Patrick Delehanty: The Sock Monkey on the other hand is Rockford’s equivalent to Mickey Mouse. It has universal cultural appeal, but seems totally Rockford at the same time.

How did Sock Monkey Sound come together?
Chip Copeland: Blame me. I’m a podcast junky because I work in front of a computer all day. On one of those days I was listening to the Sound Opinions podcast and Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic at The Chicago Sun-Times and co-host of Sound Opinions, said in his review of the Cheap Trick record ‘The Latest’, and I quote, “Cheap Trick, a band from Rockford Illinois, not exactly a hotbed of rock and roll”. When I heard that I cursed at my computer for 10 minutes. I guess his comment fired me up a bit. While Cheap Trick is a Rockford institution and I respect them and enjoy their music, they are not the only talented band around these parts.

Brandon Lutmer: There are tons of great underground bands of all genres that play original music in the area. And it seemed to us that these groups just needed a voice to get out there. All four of us play in local bands that perform original music and each one of us understands how difficult it is to try and get the word out to people.

Chip Copeland: I called up Mark and told him my initial idea to do a “Rockford Invasion” episode on a podcast recorded by my friends Walk to Run Records based in Atlanta. I knew Brandon had done a radio show in college and thought he would add a little more polish as a host, as well as the fact that he’s huge music geek. Initially Brandon and I would be the hosts and Mark would record the show. On the night of recording the fill in episode, Brandon brought Patrick along and just for kicks we threw him on the microphone as a guest.

Mark Gustafson: Surprisingly, it was a blast. We had so much fun with the three of them hosting and me behind the recording console that the four of us decided to do a weekly show. And Sock Monkey Sound was born.

Who are some of the guests you’ve had on so far?
Patrick Delehanty: Dan McMahon, guitarist for Miles Neilson and Cameron McGill; Marky and Heather Hladish from the band Venna, Jason Beatty, Arik Jenkins from Guzzardo’s Performance Music, Warren Franklin, White Moose, Joe Reina, Kevin Schwitters, and Dave Pedersen; just to name a few. All heave been great guests.

What does the future hold for Sock Monkey Sound?
Brandon Lutmer: Well, I think we want to build our listener base, and our online community. At the same time we want to continue to improve and refine the show. We recently have started posting articles by contributors on our website, such as Alex Danger Stewart. He’s a trip and Danger really is his middle name.

Mark Gustafson: Another idea is to incorporate more shows about the local culture, in addition to the local musician who play original music. Rockford does have a good size art scene and cultural entities such as theater groups. Not many towns our size have a symphony orchestra.

Chip Copeland: Yeah, we think branching out beyond just local musicians as guests will help draw attention to a rich cultural scene in Rockford that many area residents seem to ignore or don’t know about because it’s not on the east side of town.
Brandon Lutmer: At the same time we realize our show probably won’t be for everybody. Still, hopefully we can show both local residents, and the wider global audience, another side of Rockford that they never knew existed.

Where can people find Sock Monkey Sound?
Sockmonkeysound.com is the place you can listen and download weekly episodes. You can also subscribe to and download the show through iTunes or on pod catching websites such as podcast.com, podcastalley.com, or podfeed.net. Leaving a review on any of these sites also helps us to reach a wider audience.

Sock Monkey Sound

We recorded this first episode of Talk Monkey Sound back in August 2009 and initially made just an exclusive video version of the interview available only on our website. Now we’re making this available to all of our podcast listeners as well so they can hear the elusive “2 words spoken by Patrick” that have been mentioned in later episodes.

Patrick and Chip got a chance to sit down and interview Heather Perry and the _____s after a show at CJ’s Lounge in Rockford, IL. Heather, Emily, Ben, and Carlos talk about their history, the writing process, and what they do when they’re on tour.

After that Brandon, Chip, and Patrick talk it up about Kevin Devine, Lollapalooza, and Pitchfork Music Festival. Mark gets irritated.

www.myspace.com/heatherperrymusic

Sock Monkey Sound

Who: Wilco with special guest, Tortoise

What: A concert. Duh

Where: The UIC Pavilion

When: October 19th

I’m often prone to beginning reviews and essays and such with one of several reassurances. Either that (despite possibly nebulous evidence to the contrary) I am actually well informed enough to provide a quality review of the topic at hand, or that in declaring my personal biases I am freeing the reader to discount my opinion for clearly shallow reasons even though I think they should place trust in what I have to say. It’s a self reflexive, vaguely post modern ploy meant to distract from the fact that I didn’t take any notes or do any actual journalistic work. Fuck it. I think it works.

Here’s the part where I confess my bias. I love Wilco. I hear accusations of dad rock and I don’t really care. That’s not even a real term. A lot of dads like Sonic Youth. Would anyone accuse them of being bland, or passé, or people who wear high waisted jeans, or any other of the more derogatory adjectives associated with being a dad? The Wilco of late is not any more retro sounding than any one of a slew of roots rock bands. The accusations most likely stem from the fact that the band has been in existence for a good 15 years and has (seemingly) left behind the noisier, avant leaning aspects of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born to return to more conventional stylings. Although that criticism is valid on some levels, it shows a lack of deeper listening to the more recent releases. In the end, no matter the dressing, you can’t beat a folk song that grabs your heart and squeezes your mind grapes. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I love Wilco. I find them to be one of the more perfect internalizations of American music in the last 50 years. I would even go as far as to argue that (my love for Jay Bennett not withstanding) the current line up is Wilco’s most accomplished. These guys are a god damned mechanized assault squad. These songs sound like they do on the record and, in many cases, are bigger, louder, and more dynamic. This becomes even more evident when they play Via Chicago.

Quick! What’s your favorite Wilco song? Poor Places? They played it and it sounds the way you remember it. Except now Nels Cline is in the band. He’s a crazy free jazz nutjob (the man once covered the entirety of John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space on guitar!) so the chattering, dissonant, electronic burbles in the latter half of the song become more swirling and encompassing. Name another song! Passenger Side? Really? Ok well they didn’t play that. But they did play Casino Queen. They played for more than 2 ½ hours. During that time, with nods to George Harrison jammed up against krautrocking epics, in between lushly orchestrated chamber pop, one begins to realize that this is a band that defies any easy categorization beyond American Rock and Roll. It becomes entirely ok for Wilco to record an easy going love song like You and I instead of something as damaged as She’s a Jar (neither of which were played, by the way. That’s ok because they opened with Via Chicago and threw down a stellar Shot in The Arm because America is nothing if not society’s great melting pot. A place where any myriad of influences can fit comfortably next to one another as long as you cushion them with fantastic melodies (luckily this shallow metaphor is able to ignore America’s rich history of bigotry that goes along with the cultural diversity). And like Wilco, America isn’t just for dads. Despite those Steely Dan comparisons (yuck!), America is for everyone.

Oh wait. Quick PS: Tortoise was reliably entertaining in the opening slot. They sounded great, although I find them slightly boring in long stretches. Tortoise should open for all of my favorite bands.

Final Verdict: 5 out of 5 Kiss Covers.

Alex Danger Stewart will be eating those negative words about Steely Dan someday.

Sock Monkey Sound