The Congregation are constantly moving forward, I have nothing but admiration for Gina and co! From their ability to blast the media, to booking the hell out of themselves, to winning SXSW contests, these guys and gal have what it takes. Seriously, why do half the bands fail? Cause they give up and there is no giving up in the Congregation, I can see that from a distance. Keep on keeping on!!!
This Thursday (3/3/11) head to Reggies for the SXSW Sendoff/Fundraiser (aka Gas Ain’t Cheap, Help the Congregation out!), also pick up a copy of their EP NOT FOR SLEEPING, it sounds great, hell I recorded it!
Here’s a video of them performing at some no name studio. . .
December 4th, 2010 is a day that just might go down in party history, I had the great pleasure of hosting the Brew-B-Q II: Electric Brewgaloo / Sagittarians Unite throwdown. The day was part BBQ and part birthday celebration for myself. First guests arrived at 1:30PM on 12/4/10, last guests left at 5:00AM on 12/5/10.
Here’s what went down. . .
LOWDIVE made three 5 gallon kegs of amazing beer including a Belgian Chocolate Coffee Stout, a Chocolate Vanilla Stout, and a Rye Pale Ale. STONE came through with a keg of their Arrogant Bastard Ale. Also RIGHT GIN were in the house with batches of delicious cocktails! Kegs were flowing from 1PM til about 8PM
Won & Tooch supplied the taco bar! From what I understand they grilled up over 30 pounds of beef and 20 pounds of chicken. All of the food was gone by 7PM. That’s a ton of food!
DJ Intel rocked the 1′s & 2′s for like 8 hours straight! The tunes were slamming too, anything from deep Meters to Air, great job holding it down! Intel seriously was working the decks from 2 til damn near 10PM.
Ramsey Judson played upright bass while rapping along to beats, if you haven’t seen Ramsey’s sticker around town you obviously aren’t paying attention. PARTY FOUL ALERT: I was paying too much attention playing host instead of watching the board and didn’t get the line from his beat so it sounds kind of weird. Here’s a tune he performed regardless. . . Ramsey Judson by WestTownRecording
****** Around 9PM there was a natural reset in the party, those that came early left and a whole new batch came in. I took advantage of a 2 hour lull in drinking to catch up on water and coffee. The following takes place sometime between 11:00PM and 5:ooAM. I recorded everything, a ton more on the hard drive******
At the conclusion of our set, I received a very special treat by Ms Ava Fain singing me “Happy Birthday”!! Getting old has never felt sweeter. Happy Birthday – Ava Fain by WestTownRecording
An hour or so after The Congregation set, Ms Gina Bloom performed the following birthday song for me. My heart is still a pitter patter. . . Birthday Song – Gina Bloom by WestTownRecording
The night came to a close after the sensational performance by the hottest group to come out of WTR, Spanish Cafeteria! This band just showed up at the party around 3AM, apparently they are all related featuring Gina, Wes & Illy Cafeteria on vocals, Logan Cafeteria on drums, Chuck Cafeteria on keys, Roger Cafeteria on guitar and Mr Cafeteria on bass. . . Their rider only allowed me access to one track for the blog. Damn lawyers! World Keeps Turning – Spanish Cafeteria by WestTownRecording
I am also proud to announce the first official “Last Guy Standing” award to Mr Logan Schutts for being, well you guessed it, the last guy standing at the party! I have found myself in his shoes many a time and feel it only appropriate to say, yeah this dude can hang. Check out Logan playing drums with afrobeat/funk band Crystal Gravy this Saturday December 11th @ Nicks in Wicker Park.
So there ya have it folks, what started at 1PM ended at 5AM. I spent all day Sunday cleaning between naps. As of Monday the place is pretty damn close to being back to business as usual.
As always if you haven’t “liked” West Town Recording already, you can do so here. . . Also add me as a friend, I’m far from shy. Please keep in mind that all of this happened at my slanty shanty in Chicago’s Humboldt Park, kind of crazy that I’m still throwing house parties 18 years later. . .
Much love, thanks for one hell of a party! I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such talented people, don’t ever stop!
Its Tuesday so here are two versions of the same tune! I had the pleasure of recording The Congregation’s version, the Stooges never reached out. . . Bastards!
Super excited about The Congregation’s new EP “Not For Sleeping” to drop early December, here’s the first single “He’s Gone”. Full disclosure here, I recorded this EP and really like these guys so am biased, there ya have it. . .
Enjoy and be sure to check out the Not For Sleeping release party at Reggie’s December 11th, also on the bill Chicago’s own France Jean-Baptiste and Ohio’s Winslow.
Alright all underage golden shower jokes aside, I am a sucker for R Kelly. Do you know how much booty I’ve gotten while listening to Rob? And do you know how many of them were “OF” age? No really, I can’t remember…
Kidding aside, “When a Woman Loves” is awesome in a 50′s meets today kind of vibe. Yes I love me some dusties and it may be a little too contemporary R&B for your typical XRT audience, but give it a chance and maybe you’ll put it on repeat like I have. . .
WHAT: CHICAGO SOUL SHOWCASE, an evening of Windy City soul featuring The Jordan Years, The Congregation, The Sometimes Family and Keith and The Complications at Double Door. These four bands are teaming up to show that soul music is alive and well in the city that’s rhythm and blues legacy was built by the brothers Chess and cemented by innovators such as Curtis Mayfield.
The Jordan Years are very excited to be a part of the Chicago Soul Showcase at the legendary Wicker Park club Double Door! Mark your calendars, hire a baby sitter, call in sick the next day, whatever it is going to take, just be there! This will be the last TJY gig before locking in to the friendly confines of West Town Recording to work on the next batch of recordings, so no gigs for a minute folks!
Keith and the Complications (9-9:30PM) -From what I hear on the KnTC myspace page we are in for a night of up tempo soul/funk tunes that will keep your feet stomping and the crowd singing. There’s some Jamie Lidell influence as well as old Sam and Dave for sure. . .
The Sometimes Family (9:45-10:30PM) – Numerous friends have told me about The Sometimes Family and I never looked into them until now, shame on me! Great female pop/soul falling nicely between the likes of Dusty Springfield and Rachael Yamagata with maybe even some Cardigans flavor.
The Congregation (10:45-11:30PM) – I recently had the pleasure of recording Gina and co at WTR and am very excited to witness The Congregation live. Gina’s voice is a wonderful mix of Etta James and Janis Joplin with the band keeping it steady and soulful underneath.
The Jordan Years (11:45-12:30AM) – Of course this is the best band of the night, wait I am in this band so I am biased. Anyway TJY recently permi-borrowed the horn section of reggae/dub/hip hop group and TJY friends, Dubasaurus. We are using this night to test out some new horn flavor before hitting the studio to record our next record!!!! No gigs are being booked until the recording is done so please come see the last TJY show until Winter!
Wednesday September 29, 2010 Double Door
1572 N Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL
21+ / $7 / 9PM
The Jordan Years will be hitting the stage one last time before Summer turns to Autumn. Please come out and show your love, The Jordan Years have been working with a horn section and will be debuting the Bull Horns at this gig.
The Congregation are constantly moving forward, I have nothing but admiration for Gina and co! From their ability to blast the media, to booking the hell out of themselves, to winning SXSW contests, these guys and gal have what it takes. Seriously, why do half the bands fail? Cause they give up and there is no giving up in the Congregation, I can see that from a distance. Keep on keeping on!!!
