J. Bannon, lead singer of Converge, is going on the Lambs for Lions tour with his band through April. He also has a solo album on the way, and is about to release an experimental recording, “The Blood of Thine Enemies,” a minimalist, emotional, six-minute dirge very different from his work in Converge. He has plans for a new website showcasing his artwork and also recently formed a band (Irons) with visual artist Stephen Kasner and Integrity vocalist Dwid Hellion.
Music
Finally: A Ceramic Playstation
For some reason, the Playstation 3 has been made available in ceramic, maybe so wives of gamers won’t mind the shiny ceramic box sitting on their living room floor, but more likely to prepare young boys every where for an adulthood of shopping at Crate and Barrel. The biggest pluses to the ceramic Playstation are that it resists finger prints and resembles your toilet.
Stars On At Least Five Continents: Tour Dates
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Montreal’s Stars are on tour to support their new album, Set Yourself on Fire.
TONIGHT! Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa Performs in Colorado
Tom Hagerman, violinist in DeVotchKa and Denver Gentleman, is playing two shows in Colorado this month with his band the Orquesta Obrera. The opener will be Pee Pee, a band that sounds like James Taylor and Pavement but with more strings and horns and that has the best name ever.
TONIGHT! Eastern Blok, Lamajamal at Double Door Chicago
Don’t miss the party: Eastern Blok and Lamajamal play Chicago’s Double Door tonight at 9 pm. Eastern Blok, a four-piece ensemble that recently released Folk Tales, fuses jazz standards with Balkan melodies. Lamajamal combine Gypsy sounds with surf-rock sensibilities.
Qui queues up for new album release
Though Qui has been a band for seven years, chances are, to some, they’ll be perceived as a brand new project. Since its inception, guitarist/vocalist Matt Cronk and drummer/vocalist Paul Christensen have been slugging it out as a two-piece, releasing their previous full-length, Baby Kisses, in 2003.
Kid Koala on Board for the Hard Sell Tour
Joining forces with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist on the Hard Sell Tour is none other than fellow turntable virtuoso Kid Koala.
OM’s Coast to Coast Pilgrimage
Cali rockers OM are hitting the road. The duo is scheduled for a handful of dates on both the east and west coasts.
BANG! BANG!/La Scala, Empty Bottle 1/19
Despite Saturday night’s frigid cold, a sizeable crowd gathered at the Empty Bottle in Chicago to see local glam-punk favorites BANG! BANG! and hear the newest tunes by La Scala, celebrating the release of their newest EP, The Harlequin, on Chicago’s Highwheel Records.