Elizabeth Carol K (Chicago, Il)
https://www.reverbnation.com/elizabethcarolk

“Elizabeth Carol K…” (whose full name is quite too complicated to use when performing) started performing professionally in 2008. The solo performer began with only her very expressive voice and an acoustic guitar, but has now expanded her stage presence by adding percussion (her trusty tambourine) and a looper to create live harmonies, giving her the opportunity to create an even broader dynamic range during her sets.

“Elizabeth Carol K…” enchants audiences with her fresh take on classic songs and her drive to bring wonderful but more obscure songs to a mainstream audience. She delights in taking songs traditionally sung by male vocalists and subtly changing the words to make them for suitable for a female vocalist.

By doing such things, “Elizabeth Carol K…” reminds audiences just how universal feelings can be and reminds us of the common threads that tie us all together.

Beauty Minus Beast (Chicago, Il)
https://www.facebook.com/beautymbeast

Beauty Minus Beast started with just one song and five hours of recording time. Having only known each other for a short while, Hank and Ian entered the studio with little more than some shared aspirations and scribbled words on notebook paper. Wanting to utilize the studio space as best they could, they enlisted the help of a nearby horn player and, with the aide of veteran producer Bobby Scumaci, the track they eventually cut turned into “I Don’t Want To Fall In Love”.

Excited at the sound they had created, and wanting to capitalize on the momentum of the project, the two quickly put together a ragtag group of musicians from other bands they had worked with in the past, and in one week in May 2013 recorded their self-titled debut album, “Beauty Minus Beast”.

The record, which was released independently a couple months later, instantly became very popular among local groups of friends in Chicago. Having already been playing the songs acoustic around the city, Hank decided to make Beauty Minus Beast a full band, and recruited Ian on keys and Charlie on drums.

Two follow-up singles were then quickly recorded, the acoustic “Modern Times”, and the bittersweet “Be Sad With Me”, featuring guest vocals from Elizabeth Carol K.

Cavern Hymnal (Houston, TX)
https://www.presskit.to/cavernhymnal#

Cavern Hymnal is a folk-rock band from Houston. Led by Mary Kate Spawn, the group writes great songs and delivers engaging live shows. The band is currently working on an EP to be released this summer.

“Their music was an amalgam of indie rock and folk. The strumming vibrated off the walls and floor, up your legs, and into your skull. Cavern Hymnal played a trick however. Indie Folk music carries a certain vibe of relaxation and calm. Sharespace was well into its beer when the last song played, slow and melodic, relaxing almost, but then came a crescendo of drums and guitar like a splash of water. End on a high note? Sure, why not.” - Free Press Houston

Daikaiju (???)
https://www.daikaiju.org/

Daikaiju (die-kie-joo)

Who is the Daikaiju??? Premium action heroes deliver most high rocket music! Special reverb skill combo for full impact! Loud sonic boom for earful pleasure!

Beautiful radiation of hyper-dimensional springy sound creates divine psychic wind for your special protection.

Worship Psycho-surf band Daikaiju daily for good luck and health!

All reverb guitar action full on, GO!!!

secret-man - guitar
rock-man - guitar
hands-man - drums
rumble-man - bass

Round Eye (Shanghai)
https://www.roundeyeband.com/

Round Eye is the sexiest, hairiest and loudest band in China! The freakish malformed spawn of doo-wop, punk and free-jazz, we seek to help audiences across the globe ascend into a nirvana of noise, weirdness and sax-powered mayhem. With a psychotic live act that may or may not feature nudity/body paint/destruction/degeneracy this band is not for the faint of heart and not to be missed.

Since their formation in 2012, Round Eye have gone on three China tours, one Asia tour, supported Beijing legends P.K. 14 and rock and roll stalwarts M.O.T.O. and Paul Collins, released a critically acclaimed 12” LP Full Circle featuring Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn and won the prestigious title of City Weekend’s band of the year in a totally un-rigged and reliable internet poll.

Round Eye are currently working on a new album that will feature Stooges/Violent Femmes saxophone player Steve MacKay, indie legend R. Stevie Moore and a host of other collaborators, as well as a 7” single to be released through Beijing based Maybe Mars subsidiary label Genjing Records.

This summer, they will come to America for the first time to tour for over 30 dates with surf monsters Daikaiju.

Hold on to your balls and strap yourselves in, because we’re coming to a town near you soon.

Round Eye are:
Chachy: vocals / guitar
Dave: bass
Pete: tenor sax
Lewis: alto sax
Jimmy Jack: drums

Talk Sick Brats (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/talksickbrats

3 piece 70′s style punk attack from Houston.
BRYAN FUNBOY- DRUMS VOX
DIRTY STEPH- GUITAR VOX
DIRTY JEFF- BASS VOX

Bastard Cult (Houston, TX)
https://bastardcult.bandcamp.com

Hardcore Punk with members of Bomraw, Guilt Party, Versklaven, and Sik Mentality

Jaron Sayers - Vocals
Mark Warmth - Guitar
Tony Glasses - Bass
Sean Riley - Drums

Bob Log III (Tucson, AZ)
https://www.boblog111.com/

A man in a human cannonball suit soon appeared from a side door, his head completely obscured by a tinted black helmet, its front welded into a telephone which seemed to wirelessly amplify his voice to the audience. Bob Log III launched into a mind-blowing set, finger-picking his beaten-up black guitar for a sound of steel string blues and heavy rock n’ roll. The sound was reminiscent of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion if it had to be categorised, but his music would be better described as Jerry Lee Lewis crossed with a little of Tom Waits’ heavy industrial sounds.
-yorkpress.co.uk 2012

His guitar growls like a rabies-infested mutt, straight from the backyard of an Alabama whorehouse. The expletives he squawks are absolutely unintelligible, at least while the groan of his six stringed demon viciously dominates the aural realm. When the blanket of perfectly distorted guitar ends, which always coincides with a great victory stance, Mr. Log displays his propensity for what is only describable as ‘not giving a fuck’, which in his case takes the form of the perfect stage presence. beatsperminute.com 2012

Boobs were dipped in scotch, one fan took an accidental swan dive into the music equipment and Bob Log III managed to play slide guitar, drums and sing while balancing three women on his lap.
-heyreverb.com 2011

Should you never have had the joy of seeing Bob Log III play, let me attempt to describe it for you: picture a man in a shiny blue jumpsuit and a pilot’s helmet wired to a telephone receiver, playing slide guitar with all the dirty, scuzzy joy in his heart. Add to that a kick drum and foot cymbal, the myth of a monkey paw in place of a right hand, and a setlist that includes songs named Boob Scotch, Bubble Strut and My Shit Is Perfect, and you’ll begin to get the gist. It is loud and strange and electrifying, and how ecstatic it all sounds, that guitar glazed with a kind of sublime and honey-dipped happiness.
-theguardian.com 2011

One would have to be in a pretty foul mood not to be entertained by the mysterious awesomeness of Bob Log III. Sure, his musical skills are something to behold, his one-man-band brand of blues/Americana displaying dexterity, creativity, and plenty of good old rock ‘n’ roll, but then there’s his wacky persona. At Monday’s packed Union Hall gig, Mr. Log leapt from behind the curtain that functions as the stage door in his signature getup: a full suit with bits of gold teasing at the bottom, and a dark-glassed racing helmet with a phone receiver wired as a mic. After a quick intro jam he shed the formality to reveal his shimmering gold full body suit, the very rocket man the audience had been waiting for, and burst into “Goddam Sounds Good” off the recently released My Shit Is Perfect.
-theowlmag.com

Bob Log III’s live shows are wild affairs. Bob likes to ride rubber dinghies across the heads of his audience and summon women onstage to stir his whiskey with their tits.
- nme.com 2009

Dead Rider
https://www.deadrider.us/

It’s been almost five years since Dead Rider unleashed it’s brand of dark psychedelic funk. Since that first show in their hometown of Chicago IL, they have produced two LPs, toured the United states extensively, and played a handful of UK gigs including the ATP festival in 2011 and 2012. A few great players have been in and out of the group in that time. Todd Rittmann (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Andrea Faught (synth, trumpet, vocals), Matthew Espy (drums), and Thymme Jones (synth, trumpet, vocals) have been the current lineup for the last two years and have furthered the band’s reputation as a challenging and entertaining powerhouse.

In 2010 the band released their second LP, The Raw Dents. This record continued the their trajectory of fresh syncopated rhythmic ideas with bold, and sometimes abrasive, sonic textures. The sound examines total juxtapositions between harmony and noise, chaos and groove, bombast and space, beauty and disaster. Though the emphasis is on songwriting, the players are free to subvert. The hooks are designed more like events than simple repeating motifs, dissonance and elegance are embraced with equal measure.

Dead Rider has just finished recording their third LP which will be released on Drag City records in early 2014.

Iron Skillet (Houston, TX)
https://ironskilletx.com/

The musical styles of the members of Iron Skillet are drastically different from one another, yet there is some unknown common thread running through them all. Somehow, J.W. Americana’s punky “Tony the Pony” meshes perfectly with the Western roots of Jimmy James’ “Where the Hell’s Johnny Cash?”! People stand in amazement at the duality between JW’s shiny flying V and JJ’s beat up acoustic. They say that’s the hidden beauty of Iron Skillet. Some bring the iron, others bring the skillet.

Iron Skillet is described by some as a rock and roll band from the southern tip of the northern part of the south. Others claim they are a country band from the northern tip of the southern part of the north. Members and fans of Iron Skillet enjoy a broad swath of musical styles and genres.