the WHISTLER

All Night…

9pm: Mr. 666 (DJ set)
10pm: Mr. 666 (solo — Mike Perkins)
11pm: Mr. 666 (full band)
12pm: Mr. 666 (DJ set)

Blending dub, soul, pop, blues and rock with break beat, electronic, ambient and classical music, AUTOMATA seamlessly shifts through an endless spectrum of organic and mechanical textures. One is likely to find themselves meandering through a spaghetti western one moment, a Kingston dance hall the next. Truly an act to be seen as well as heard, Automata pairs their tracks with psychedelic video work for their live performances.

“But probably the wildest and weirdest outfit in San Francisco right now has got to be Battlehooch - a hyperactive brotherhood of Captain Beefheart fanatics who peddle crazy party-prog that few can comprehend but everyone wants to dance to (irrespective of how completely impossible it may be). Fearlessly experimental, boundlessly energetic and when they end their sets by ripping through an insane cover of James Brown’s “Superbad” you can’t help but wonder what the weather’s like on their planet.” — NME Magazine (UK)

“The bass was grooving, the guitars were jangling, and the sax was smoothing. Which made it all the more surprising when they switched gears and played a song akin to an Eastern European drinking dirge, complete with crying from all the members. Every person in the crowd was moving to the music, it was hard to resist. Even after they finished, my foot was tapping to the ghost of their set.”
— LA Record

What sets CHEW HEART apart is that they do give a subtle nod to their love of ‘60’s pop, but they don’t drown in it like many bands today. In fact I would say they are more influenced by ‘90’s indie rock than anything else. In fact, I would say this band is a combination of Saturday Looks Good to Me and Frente. There is a raw edge, but sweet innocence that ultimately prevails. Chew Heart celebrates the release of Messy Snarls on Sept. 12th at The Whistler.

Bandleader and chief composer Tony Barba leads a new group of like minded musicians in an departure from the traditional jazz tenor-bass-drums trio. With songs borrowing heavily from rock and roll, north Indian classical music, reggae, ambient electronic and jazz, Barba leads this high octane trio into new dimensions and decibel levels.

“The tenor saxophonist Tony Barba emanates an amiable extroversion in his music, drawing on a world of sources.” —Nate Chinen, The New York Times

The Andy Wagner Band kicks things off with a set of live music, then Lawrence spins from his enormous collection of vintage country records, throwing down a mix of honky tonk, bluegrass, outlaw, string band, countrypolitan, rockabilly… Favorites plus obscure regional artists. This is the real deal; none of that Nashville pop! Roger Miller, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Martin, George Jones, Ray Price, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, Melba Montgomery, Stanley Brothers, Hank Williams Senior, and Junior, Wade Mainer, Johnny Paycheck, Warner Mack, Merle Haggard… Fresh goods on the 3rd Sunday of every month!

Lionlimb is two sun-soaked southerners bent on beating the windy-city winter with late-night reverie, dreams of spoiled shores and crooked cops and every antique shop stop on I-65. But don’t think too much into it. It’s just rock and roll, no plans to go.

Music for 5 Year Olds has no rules. The musical influences of its three members are vast and the sound of the band is an amalgamation of all these things. The band was conceived by Chicago producer/multi-instrumentalist Anthony Gravino and has evolved to become a unique sounding trio featuring musical virtuoso’s Michael Caskey and Ian Shepherd exploring many different moods and sounds to tell stories of all life, love and death. The band’s music is catchy, sometimes sarcastic and bitter sweet as well as being quite dynamic. Most important of all, IT IS FUN. Music for 5 Year Olds is currently working on their first record at their studio in Chicago and will be playing select shows throughout the Midwest this fall.

“Now this, James Murphy, is how you hit a high note: take a frazzled crossbreed of jazz and space-rock, add some smoky licks cool as Bryan Ferry’s white suit, set every song on a pollution-free beach, and instruct all participant to go snorkeling with Peter Fonda. That’s what it feels Chicago trio the DOZENS have done with their debut EP, which comes across as part Doors, part diving bell, and part divers breathing in laughing gas in its mix of rock-sea hypnosis… “ —Coke Machine Glow

ANGIE MATTSON is an American singer/songwriter often described as Alternative Americana. Her voice is as dusty and mesmerizing as it gets and her lyrics are dark and imagistic. Mattson grew up in an industrial town on Lake Michigan, before one day deciding to skip town for warmer temperatures. She taught herself to play guitar on a sailboat bound for South America. Since then her songs have been on FOX, ABC, LOGO and IFC and she has toured nationally and opened for the likes of Suzanne Vega, Uh Huh Her, Shawn Mullins, and more. Her new LP Skeleton Arm (2010) is gritty and angelic with sharp lyrics and haunting, unique production. Angie currently resides in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles.

Broken By Design is the debut EP from Clip Art, the musical vehicle of Chicago-based songwriter Andy Rosenstein. In the fall of 2008, the one-time public radio producer was underwhelmed by his career and looking for alternatives. He started to spend his nights recording at a friend’s studio space, and he applied to a graduate program in editing at a film school in Los Angeles. In June 2009 the EP was nearly done, when he received his acceptance letter. With only a month until orientation, he had to make a decision: move to LA and devote himself to becoming an editor, or finish his EP and pursue music.

“Fans of pop music rejoice. Chicago’s Clip Art are here to pull that dirtiest of dirty words out of the trash heap of history and restore it to its rightful place.” —Loud Loop Press

“The crowning jewel of the five-song EP is the first track, an upbeat rocker called “Dead Letter” with an effortlessly wonderful chorus that grabs you almost instantly. Deeper in, “I Was Gone,” “Better” and the title track are exercises in heartfelt soul-pop calling to mind greats such as Elvis Costello, Squeeze and Aimee Mann… “Dead Letter” alone would make Broken by Design highly recommended summer listening for any fan of indie pop or power pop. The fact that there are four other excellent tunes on the EP is just icing on the cake.” —Chicago Examiner