The killer shows just keep coming like we’ve got some sort of musical assembly line operating here in tha Zoo.  The twenty-seventh promises to be no exception, with one of our finest basements to host a smorgasbord of rock n’ radness.  I don’t know why you guys let me write this stuff.

DELAY http://delayoh.bandcamp.com/

Earnest to goodness powerpop from Columbus, OH.  I had the immense pleasure of catching Delay at Plan-It-X fest earlier this summer, and this band is awesome, I swear it’s true.

ALL DOGS

All right, I’m told this group contains members of Delay, but that’s all the information I’m capable of scraping together, so let’s just assume they’re totally rad. How could they not be?

Plus, CITYCOP http://citycop.bandcamp.com/ noodly, mathematical and poetic, I’ve been dying to have this band back here in Kalamazoo.

Oh, did I mention THE REPTILIAN?!? Playing for the first time since Russ’s bicycle decided to exact revenge upon the forearm of the undeserving guitarist. http://thereptilianband.bandcamp.com/

Further support will come in the form of BIKE TUFF and NATURAL DISASTERS, with whom we should be very familiar indeed, and this post is far too long already.  Basically, there’s no good reason to miss this show, it’s gonna be a fabulous friday at Fat Guy, for real.

Show at NINE PM. Bring some dollars for the helmet or blender or whatever and try to find a way to clap with a beer in your hand.  Respect everything!

Are you looking to see some Midwest Americana and simultaneously support one beloved cat named “Beige Presents Matt Wood the Cat”? Then head down to the Walnut house tonight at 8 p.m.

All five groups are composed of staples from the Kalamazoo Roots scene, featuring old and new folk faces. Walnut House resident and show organizer, Jeremy Quentin says that the line-up is, “definitely a bunch of old strutt kids getting together,” referring to the Stutt’s formerly vibrant bluegrass scene.

Gitis Baggs fills venues with his haunting noise samples, relaxed minor guitar chords, and  smooth, lazy vocals explaining dark weirdness, like in “Sales Convention”. Mostly Midwest caught Gitis Baggs’ “Song of Innocence” at the Keweenaw peninsula Folk Festival, Farmblock 2011. See below:

Gitis Baggs : Farm Block Session from Mostly Midwest on Vimeo.

Apart of the Double Phelix recording collective, Birdfingers is vocalist Bennett Young’s brainchild. Young’s voice, lower than most, is a deep and constant paddle stroke in his band’s ever-changing lineup. However, the ascetic of Birdfingers‘ 2011 self-titled debut pulls together a common thread, of 50s-reminiscent-jingly-beach-pop, throughout the album.

In Andy Catlin’s project, Lasso, we find a soundtrack to a low-fi, indie, horror, sci-fi spagetti western. In 2011 Lasso’d, the romantification of the Final and American Frontier are not dead,  but are instead combined and thriving in Kalamazoo. In The Return of the Lasso, nasal and dissonant vocal harmonies are smoothed over by effect filters. Lasso is also a member of Double Phelix.

Small Houses is Jeremy Quentin’s project. His songs include technical acoustic guitar, a little piano, and intensely tender vocal delivery about the human condition, all set in Michigan. “When it’s Morning” from Our Dusking Sound could slow down any Sunday Afternoon.

Also apart of the Kalamazoo Folk scene, Adam Danis has appeared on Fiona Dickinson’s “My Lovely Friend” and at local open mic nights.

Matt Wood (the cat), for short, is a community owned pet, residing at The Walnut House. He’s named after a Kalamazoo sound engineer. According to Quentin, all of the musicians playing tonight have lived with Matt Wood (the cat) at some point.

Quentin says that Matt Wood (the cat) is not feeling well and needs more than just a regular check-up at the vet. He says, ” I’m excited to get Matt well and get him the medicine he needs.”

Quentin is also excited about an upcoming show on August 2, at the Walnut House. It will feature a claw and hammer banjo player from Wisconsin called Kalispell along with The Hill and Wood, a six-piece pop band from Charlottesville, VA. Quentin, of Small Houses,  says, “I’ve played around a hundred shows this year. These are the two best acts I’ve seen this year.”

Check it.

Feeling nostalgic? Longing for those summer drives? Well, Big Blue House is hosting a trio of raucous bands with a hearty love of the Mid-West this Tuesday for your sonic sentimental delight.

Rodeo Ruby Love, claiming origin from the south—Bloomington, IN, is a pop-punk group all about illuminating the simple stories of the Mid-West. Driving cars through wispy corn-fields at dusk, easing into the city after a long-ride on the highway, or burrowing into an apartment that is as cluttered as the streets outside it— RRL plays songs about cities, suburbia, the spaces in the between, and the love-struck individuals who inhabit them. With a power-pop layout, playing a bubbly guitar medley one moment and tap-dancing away on key-board or horn the next, RRL has a lot of fun on their tracks and on stage—I last saw them tour where they boarded the stage with huge grins to the theme music of Legend Of Zelda. If that wasn’t enough, they are veterans of Daytrotter and have toured with Pentimento label-mates Streetlight Manifesto and Lionize. They are bundles of fun with plenty of kick left over to make dancing a must.

Jake Simmons (and his Little Ghosts), compared sometimes to the styling of Elvis Costello, has the sound and feel of a good-ole rock band. Simmons released his reeling and rolling debut album late winter of last year, showcasing bristling drum-beats and twanging, Americana-styled guitar rhythms, a performance similar a to a rev of a ’57 Chevy that just had its oil changed. Smooth but grizzled.

Tim Tapper and the Terribles, the alliterating trio of alt-grunge performers that sounds straight out of your favorite basement, put on a show that wavers in and out of controlled, paced, rhythms by bassist Rory Svekric and drummer Jared Selner, to a mania driven by lead Tapper’s grained guitar playing. Good for when you are feeling sinister, with a touch of twitching smiles. Like mommy’s little helper without the nice side effects.

Show starts at 9 p.m.—bring some cash for the touring troupe.

It’s my birthday and all I wanna do is throw a rock show with my friends. Yr all invited! Let’s eat pizza and drink fancy soda.

Here’s the plan:
Wednesday July 18 @ Corner Record Shop (1710 West Main)
8pm hang outs. 9pm music.

Performances by:

SEAN HARTMAN & FRIENDS

Myself, Benji ‘WearWolf’ Myers and Tim Tapper will be joining forces for the first time in  YEARS to bring you a drummless improv noise set. Expect plenty of fuzzy guitar and synth tones. Drifting toward ecstasy.

THE ALL STAR SEMI PRO BRASS BAND

If you were around for the end of the most excellent Hullabazoo event a few months back, then you know what is in store. The Saxsquatch is assembling a variety of brass horn players to officially tear the roof off the sucka. Pure soul.

THE SNIFFLES –

Do you like grunge music but always wished it was easier to dance to? Then yr in luck!

THE SKIN CELLS –

Crossing genre lines between Modest Mouse style indie rock, power pop and post hardcore. These dudes skip the bullshit and simply make music that sounds GOOD. Bring tha thunda.

Hope to see y’all there! Gonna be a real cool time. Don’t forget to bring some money for the touring bands. Sorry, no drugs / alcohol (record shop rules). If ya wanna be super generous and help spread the word, here’s a link: http://www.facebook.com/events/248483748588054/

Respect the Shop. Respect the bands. Respect yrself.

I’m sure a lot of you have been pretty overwhelmed by the amount of awesome shows going on in Kalamazoo this week but its only going to keep getting better! In my time spent playing in bands, Milwaukee has always had some of the dopest of bands and people. This Saturday, two of the dopest are coming to Kalamazoo, Alta and Arizona Wilder. I’ve heard nothing but great things about these two and Justin from Alta is one of the nicest, most helpful people I’ve ever met. Both bands have that great midwest post hardcore sound and I’m very excited to finally see both.

Local bands will be Lost In Translation who play some very chilled out math rock much like Sharks Keep Moving or Don Cabellero. The other local will be Anybody But The Cops, think of a jazzy Fugazi. Show starts at 8 PM. Respect the house and donate to the touring bands!

Alta: http://alta.bandcamp.com/(Their new record, Places, is the jam)

Arizona Wilder: http://arizonawilder.bandcamp.com/

Lost In Translation: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lost-in-Translation/292699587455727

Anybody But The Cops

FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/events/284646178297995/

Cleveland, OH-based Signals Midwest kick off a month-long, national tour at Kalamazoo’s own Fat Guy House tomorrow. Cain Marko, Bike Tuff, Living Room, and Protected Left will also play.

Despite their more complex and guitar-noodlin’ ballads, Signals Midwest stays true to their pop-punk roots with catchy hooks and solid punk harmonies. See “The Quiet Persuader” from Latitudes and Longitudes (2011).

Signals Midwest – The Quiet Persuader from Aaron Freeder on Vimeo.

Their sophomore album, Latitudes and Longitudes was released on Tiny Engines, a label that has seen the likes of Tigers Jaw, CSTVT, and Restorations.

Grand Rapid’s Cain Marko returns to Kalamazoo to play well known punk songs. The quartet is comprised of childhood friends Chris Lidstone and Jay VanVeen, high school friend Jeremy Verwys, and recent friend Joel Otte.

They formed Cain Marko at the end of 2008, “after surviving fifty-eight combined winters in the harsh Midwest.” Their influences include, “their home state, literature, comic books, alcohol, fellow Michigander punk stalwarts Bear vs. Shark and Small Brown Bike, as well as the Floridian legends Hot Water Music.”

The show starts at 8 p.m. Bring your donations.

Sunday night is going to be ridiculous. The Milhouse will be hosting what will likely go down as my favorite Kalamazoo show of the year.

I met the guys in Duck. Little Brother, Duck! after a 14-hour drive from Idaho Falls to Portland this past winter. Upon our arrival, these fine fellows showed us the kind of hospitality in their hometown that made the hours and gas money spent all so worth it. These are the kind of folks that will help someone from 2000+ miles away with a show to play, pack out an entire anarchist bookstore to well beyond fire-code, inexhaustibly show you around their entire city, and get their parents to feed you healthy Portlandia food the whole time you’re there.

Also, their band makes amazing music.

It’s angular, adventurous, and defies structure – yet with all the energy of the most shoutable post-hardcore bands. Their newest release, Don’t Take Our Filth Away, is coming out this month on Topshelf Records and can be heard now on the label’s bandcamp page (which has been taking up a tab on my web browser for the last three weeks because it’s the kind of album you find yourself listening to daily).

They’ll be meeting up with Octaves from Baltimore, MD, while they’re on this side of the country. Octaves is stylistically quite different; darker. They play a metally version of hardcore that is fast and aggressive but knows when to let a song breathe and expand and do the kind of interesting things that set this band apart from others in the hardcore/screamo realm.

Also on tour for this show will be William Bonney, the Northern Indiana heavyweights who will be touring behind the brand new vinyl release of their album Good Vibes. This fierce five-piece, if you’re not already familiar, was a critical part of the new Midwest screamo movement before members decided to move to other parts of the country. Though not always active nowadays, they’ve been working towards their vinyl release for some time now and are in the midst of a lengthy US tour.

Local bands Ackley Kid (always a hometown favorite) and Seventeen Again (the brand new band featuring members of Ackley Kid/The Reptilian/William Bonney) will be joining this stellar lineup of touring bands for the evening. It’s going to be a frenzied show from start to finish with nothing but exciting talent.

The show will be starting early due to having so many bands on the lineup. None are to be missed and, as always, please help these touring bands out by being as generous as possible with donation money!

Facebook event

THE VILLAGE CASTLE DOES IT ONCE AGAIN.

A spectacular mash up of genres that promises to be a good time.

Ackley Kid~Village Street Buddies that bring a furious brand of hardcore punk.  Their new songs sound spectacular and they never fail to bring the thunder.

Lost in Translation~Kalamazoo Math Rockers who play blisteringly complex melodies that will make your head spin.

In addition to the star studded Kalamazoo line up the Village Castle will be playing host to two touring acts from Dekalb, IL.

The Stockyards~Self proclaimed slop/grunge punk.  The Stockyards also play a big role in setting up shows at Dekalb’s premier DIY venue “The 7th Street Space“.

Davey Dynamite~Dekalb’s legendary Folk Punk god.  Davey sings lots of songs inspired by music from Plan-it-X! Records.

Please bring donations for the touring bands and don’t destroy the house.  See you there!