the locals blog

Hello! We just want to thank everyone who came out to the release party at The Elbo Room on June 14th. We had a great time and hope you guys did as well (despite the A.C. being out at the club- holy crap it was like standing on the sun in there!). But you guys braved it out and, wow, we really gotta thank you for that!

I hope you’ll drop us a comment here to let us know what you think of the new disc! Also, swing on by Avantchicago and give them some love.. they put up a new review of the disc!

http://flowfeel.blogs.com/flowfeel/2008/06/the-locals-big.html

Tune into Q101’s “Local 101″ show on Sunday 6/8, as they will be playing a song from the new Locals CD, Big Picture. You can listen at Q101 101.1 FM or check out the Q101 Podcast

You can go to q101’s site right now and listen to Tidal Wave by following the link below. They are running a contest to select a local band for their Rock The Block show. Please check out the song and rate us highly to help our chances of landing this gig.

http://www. q101. com/localonline/View. aspx?ID=11420&R=10

Hope to see you at the CD release party at The Elbo Room (2871 N Lincoln) on 6/14.

By casting your vote, you can help us get a dream gig at Lollapalooza. There are many fine reasons to vote for us…and I hope you’ll click this link and do so (http://www.sonicbids.com/lollapalooza08/BandProfile.aspx?candidate_id=4937 ) , but if you are entirely sick of all the voting….(this is our Puerto Rico people and you are the super delegates)… if you need some convincing…

Let me tell you about 1991.

I’ve wanted to be a singer all my life. But the in the late 80’s and early 90’s was when I knew I wanted to be ROCK singer. What happened in 1991?…the death of Freddy Mercury, the birth of grunge, the birth of Lollapalooza, with it’s amazing almost freakish cross section of bands from Indigo Girls to the greasy, inked up “scary” bands like Janes Addition, ( and for me) the end of the galactic hair faze.

I swore as I threw away my last can of Aquanet hairspray that I would one day be on stage at Lollapalooza.

Fast forward to 2008. The Locals are getting ready to release our new disc “Big Picture”, we’re so busy with all of the work that goes into that the we missed the start of the “Last Band Standing” contest. A contest where YOU can vote for who gets to play Lollapalooza. So we’re a little behind, but that is where you come in. Vote today, help make the dreams of recovering 80’s permaholic, ex-fold and roller, now indie- rocker (with better hair.. I hope) come true.

I hope you’ll vote for The Locals to play Lollapalooza. Don’t make me get the Aquanet people, the earth has suffered enough.

Yvonne

http://www.sonicbids.com/lollapalooza08/BandProfile.aspx?candidate_id=4937

When I was looking for a killer poster design for the “Big Picture” cd release party I headed over to Gigposters.com. If you dig poster art check it out. There are some amazing designers posting their stuff there. You can find just about anything.

I was cruising through all the work and found “Field Of Gravity” (AKA Ryan Flemming) I instantly thought.. this is the guy! So I emailed him, and within a about week we had a new poster design, all done via the magic of the interweb. Ryan does his thing in Orlando, FL, but based on his description of himself- “a cross between a bear and Rob Zombie”, Danger Boy is already looking into flights to meet this guy in person.

Here is what Ryan has to say about himself:

“Based in Orlando, FL, Field Of Gravity (aka: Ryan S. Fleming) does a lot of screen printed concert posters for various venues across central Florida. He also does a lot of other stuff, too. He’s a music nerd, a design nerd, a, well, nerd in general. He looks like a cross between a bear and, some might say, Rick Rubin, while others say Rob Zombie… He can be found lurking around town, drinking beer, at various bars/venues, supporting music in all forms. He believes in Unicorns and never had the opportunity to slide down a rainbow. One day he just might be that lucky!

And check out his work:

http://www.myspace.com/fieldofgravity

http://www.fieldofgravity.com
http://www.gigposters.com/designers.php?designer=74115

There are a couple of really scary things that are happening in government that are seem to be putting artists smack dab in the cross-hairs. Now while I think you can’t just put a blanket statement out that the “evil government is killing culture and art”, I mean we are all responsible for how our society changes in time, but some of things that the powers that be are doing, well let’s just say they sure don’t help much.

I’m not going to pretend to fully understand all the legal mumbo jumbo in city ordinances and federal mandates etc.. so if YOU DO please drop some knowledge on all of us about this and leave a comment. And most of all if you are a concerned party- leave a comment as well. The more discussion about it, the better. We have to let our civic leaders know where we stand on this.

To that end I sent around an email asking for input from promoters, artists, entertainment attorneys etc, basically just asking them to comment on what they think the ordinance will mean for artists, what we should do to fight it etc.

Here are some links for you to check out:

• Chicago’s promoter’s ordinance: What the city wants, the city gets?
• Chicago Reader Blog
• Background reading on the promoter’s ordinance: The proposed law, and the Chicago Music Commission’s response to it
• Chicagoartistsresource.org: Facts you should know about planning events. This one is very informative and really give you the actual facts about the ordinance
• Madalyn Sklar of Gogirlsmusic.com Blog On the Chicago City Promoter Ordinance

Some email responses for you to consider:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Hi Yvonne-

I’ve attached a link to the actual guidelines of this possible new event promoters’ ordinance.

I’ve attached it so that people can get the facts. This was given to me by a “higher-up” in the City of Chicago Cultural Planning office. I work in the Cultural Planning office as a music researcher to the site this link is posted to, so I have been hearing both sides of this issue. Although the ordinance will burden responsible venue owners with fees, which is unfortunate, many of the blogs which have been floating around on this issue are grossly filled with the wrong information. I encourage everyone to read the facts at this link.

http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/music/node/14676

Personally, I don’t see what difference having these license fees will make. I think it’s a shame that responsible event promoters and club owners in Chicago are essentially being punished for what was an unfortunate, isolated event. I am of course referring to the E2 nightclub incident. The live music scene in Chicago is not a flourishing one, considering the size of the City. Targeting event promoters and club owners with fees is like trying to get blood from a turnip. If the City wants to charge fees, then those fees should go back into the for-profit music community in some way – not to pay for city infrastructure improvements or for free City concerts which take away much needed audiences from the for-profit music community. As far as the other logistical considerations on the ordinance (contracts, record keeping, etc.), I have no doubt that responsible club owners and event promoters already perform and manage these tasks. One would have to keep records at the very least for tax purposes. This is why I feel the ordinance is just a way for the City to tap into more funds.

In summary, I do not agree with the proposed ordinance, but it is important that people have the correct facts so they can intelligently dispute the issue. Many of the blogs paint a much grimmer picture than what is actually being proposed. The sky will not fall…..we’ll just all start non-profit orgs so we can get around this issue. Really, I can see www.martyrslive.org . Can’t you? Maybe then we will actually get some much deserved support, positive recognition and funding from the City!

Temple

Temple Schultz
Band Leader, Rhapsody Orchestra
Phone: (312) 924-5750
www.rhapsodyorchestra.com

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“I think it’s ridiculous for any public official to think they have the right to stop live music in any capacity. Most musicians crave an outlet for their music to be heard by a live audience whether it’s a large stadium, medium size club, small venue, the local coffee shop or even a house concert. On the flipside most people crave live music, which is why they spend their hard earned money on a show and will drive long distances to see their favorite performers. And let me tell you independent artists are NOT exempt from this. They have wonderful, crazy, rabid fans who will walk the ends of the earth to see them perform live. Who give anyone the right to take that away?

As an event promoter there is no way we could afford the ridiculous fees the City of Chicago wants to impose so that means sorry but NO GoGirls shows in Chicago. How sad to tell our members, “sorry but your city makes it impossible for us to produce a show here.” Would indie musicians resort to creating an “underground” music scene? You bet! But how ridiculous to have to hide this and worry about the legalities of these actions.

Hmm, I have to say that it makes me proud that I live in Texas where it would be considered a crime if someone tried to take our music away. After all, Austin is THE live music capital of the world.

Madalyn Sklar, Founder
GoGirlsMusic.com, “cuz chicks rock!”
The oldest & largest online community of indie women musicians!
*CELEBRATING 12 YEARS ON THE WEB!
http://www.gogirlsmusic.com“

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

And how about some more good news?

I was cruising around Live365’s (internet radio) MySpace page and found an article about some US gov ruling that will heavily impact internet radio. Here is an excerpt from their blog:

“A recent ruling by the United States Copyright Royalty Board threatens the future of internet radio, and the potential for artists like you to be discovered by listeners around the globe.

Last month 10,000 DJ’s spun over 100,000 different musical artists on their Live365 Internet Radio stations. 25 million hours of music streamed to 5 million music fans. Every one of the 150 million performances accounted for, and composition and sound recording royalties paid. Variety unheard of on am, fm, even satellite radio. And that’s just Live365!

Now Internet Radio has been singled out from all other radio, burdened with fees not paid by AM or FM stations, and at rates 3-4 times that paid by satellite and cable radio. The new regulations even include absurd minimums to penalize the smallest webcasters with the highest rates.

If these regulations stay as they are, Internet Radio is going to be reduced to few stations playing only limited number of mainstream acts over and over. Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to…” Here is a link to the full article:

Live365 Myspace Blog

Ever wondered if that is indeed Danger Boy’s real hair?

Ever wanted to see what’s “under the cape”?

Ever wandered which one of The Locals has “tingers”?

Well wonder no more, it’s all here in a recent interview we did with Gogirlsmusic.com

Gogirlsmusic.com Interview With The Locals

We want to thank Madalyn and the whole crew at Gogirlsmusic.com for their tireless support of indie music! You guys rock!

Special thanks to Razor & Die at WLUW in Chicago. They have been playing songs from our new CD, Big Picture, over the last few weeks. Tune in on Thursdays from 11:00am until 2:00pm, both on 88.7fm in Chicago and streamcast at wluw.org. to check out Razor & Die in action.

What does life look like this second? Get out your cell phone and take a picture right now. And send it to me.

The Big Picture Project is a living mosaic. It’s all the things big and small that we visually digest each day- all strung together into one big-picture-paragraph. The mosaic is like taking our everyday lives and shooting it through a funky kaleidoscope… multiple vantage points, locations, perspectives all at the same time.

So take shots and send them. Stop, look, shoot anything that catches your eye, pisses you off, that you love, that you see each day, that you’ve just seen today… anything.. (well let’s keep it clean ok!)

Background:

About a year ago I did a photo project called “Sleepy Urbanite” (http://www.sleepyurbanite.com). It’s a photo gallery of pics taken on my cell phone of people sleeping on the el train in Chicago. It garnered a lot of media attention and both loved an hated by folks all around the US. I was nicknamed the “Nap Snapper” by NBC News Chicago, made an appearance on “The Today Show”, was featured on NBC 10pm news, was written up in several blogs including chicagoist.com and gapersblock.com and I even did a did a telephone interview on Newstalk radio (a national public radio station in Ireland) in which I was warned that I would totally get my ass kicked it I tried in in Ireland. Noted.

So, while I’m still putting up the sleepy pics (I have over 200 more photos to get uploaded) I’ve started the next cell phone photo project. “The Big Picture Project”. It’s based on a gallery on Sleepyurbanite.com called “Found in the City”. This gallery is about based around theme of collecting images of anything found on the daily trek to work and throughout my day. It’s about stopping, looking and getting low. It’s about mashing up images that mark what life looks like this second an mashing it into a living mosaic of time, places and things that we pass by every day., normally without a blink. It’s about creating art on the fly and in all of the spaces in between lucid life moments It’s about stopping and looking looking and seeing the beautiful uniqueness of the everyday.

But this time is a little different than the “sleepy pics”. This time, I want to collaborate with, well YOU. Everyone Anyone with a cell phone or digital camera is invited to take a picture of what you see right now..And text or email them to bigpicture@localsrock.com. The photos are virtually instantly added to a “ living mosaic” at ShowMeTheBigPicture.com. The big picture. The project coincides with the release of The Locals new CD release also titled “Big Picture”. The cd will be released on Sat, June 14th 2008. We’ll play a CD release party that evening at The Elbo Room (2871 N Lincoln, Chicago Il) at 10pm.

Both the music and the visual piece of The Big Picture project all follow the this same theme of looking at life things from a different angle in order to get an interesting take on the “Big Picture”.

So, how can you submit your pictures?

1) Take picture on your cellphone or camera

2) Send it to this email address- bigpicture(at)localsrock.com

3) Describe your shot in the email/txt message subject line. Put your location and a title for the image i.e. “My Friend Sue, Albany Park, Chicago”.

The living mosaic can be seen at www.showmethebigpicture.com

Finally a date! Big Picture, The Locals new cd will be released on June 14th at The Elbo Room, Chicago Il. We’ll keep you posted on what other bands are playing and give you more info on the night as soon as we’ve got it!

Sign up on our email list and we’ll shoot you a reminder about the show!

regimes will fall, rock will overcome

The International Pop Overthrow is coming to Chicago soon. The International Pop Overthrow(or IPO, as it has affectionately become known) is a pop music festival which has been held for the past eight years in Los Angeles, and more recently in Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia,Baltimore, Nashville, San Francisco, and Liverpool, England! The International Pop Overthrow just announced the addition of two new cities : Seattle and Vancouver, where they will hold shows in August and September! 2005 the International Pop Overthrow’s most successful year yet. The Locals are excited to be a part of the 2008 line up.

The Purpose of the International Pop Overthrow

“The purpose of International Pop Overthrow is two-fold: one aim is to give every worthy band who’d like to play their music in a festival atmosphere the chance to do so, and the other is to bring pop music the attention it so richly deserves. We have made great strides to that end, garnering press in several noteworthy papers in each city in which we hold the festival, and creating a very positive buzz about pop music within the inner circles of major labels. We’re looking forward to the very real possibility that a number of bands who have played IPO will grab the brass ring and receive major label deals.”Source: www.internationalpopoverthrow.com

The Locals would like to especially thank and recognize David Bash, the founder of IPO for his relentless and tireless support of indie music!

For more information about the International Pop Overthrow:
www.internationalpopoverthrow.com

For more information and the band schedule for the Chicago Interntional Pop Overthrow festival see:
International Pop Overthrow on Myspace.com