Posts by Zach Johnson

Continuing our spotlight on Dax Riggs this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re taking a look at his first real foray into the relatively more pedestrian realm of indie-rock, which came courtesy of his Deadboy & the Elephantmen days.  Granted, this wasn’t Dax’s first band after the demise of Acid Bath in 1997. Indeed, he […]

Rounding out our tribute to the late great Marc Bolan, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, we’re keeping the spotlight on his peculiarly psychedelic pre-glam days with Steve Cook when his band was officially titled “Tyrannosaurus Rex”. In this super rare footage, we find Bolan and Took delivering a stripped-down performance of “Pewter Suitor” on the street […]

Continuing our salute to the late great Marc Bolan, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re throwing it all the way back to the very beginning of his career with this remarkable footage of him performing with Steve Took from 1967. At the time, the band was essentially a psychedelic folk outfit and went by the name […]

As a bit of a belated birthday tribute to the late great Marc Bolan (who would have turned 78 years old this past September 30th), this week we’ll be spotlighting some prime cuts from his legendary career. For today’s Manic Monday offering, we’re showcasing this sizzling performance of “Buick Mackane” live from 1973 when he […]

For over four decades, experimental noise-rock titans Swans have been crafting their distinctively uncompromising and mind-melting brand of all-consuming sonic cacophony, consistently delivering compelling results. And as impressive as the band’s highly expansive and varied discography (which currently stands at 17 studio albums and counting) has been over the years, witnessing the remarkable intensity of […]

Rounding out our tribute to Down’s classic debut album NOLA for its 30th birthday, today we’re spotlighting their markedly mellower side with the trippily transcendental “Jail”. An eerily haunting shamanistic acoustic piece, it possesses a certain mournful spiritual energy that truly makes it a uniquely consuming listening experience. It’s meant to be heard in a […]

Continuing our salute to Down’s classic NOLA album (that turned an astounding 30 years old this month), after yesterday’s slamming Manic Monday selection, today we’re spotlighting their more melodic side with the Skynyrd-flavored “Stone the Crow”. While probably their most radio-friendly song off the album, it still nonetheless hits hard, not so much from a […]

September marks the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest metal records of the 90s (and in this writer’s opinion, one of the best metal albums of all-time period): Down’s 1995 debut album NOLA. A stone-cold classic particularly in sludge/stoner-metal circles, NOLA captured a certain ferociously gritty and smoldering intensity that emphatically added up to […]

Rounding out our weekly tribute to the late great Roky Erikson, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, it only seems fitting to keep the spotlight on the 13th Floor Elevators, especially considering they truly were one of the first psych-rock bands of all time. It’s all right there in the title of their debut album after all, […]

Keeping with our spotlight on Roky Erickson this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re throwing it all the way back to his original band, the pioneering 13th Floor Elevators. In this remarkable footage from 1966, we find Erikson and company kicking it poolside and jamming their seminal hit “You’re Gonna Miss Me”. Musically inspired by […]

After an action-packed Saturday that featured occasional light rain showers, moderately muggy and warm conditions greeted the masses returning to Douglas Park for the final day of Riot Fest. With a few classic East Bay punk bands scheduled to take the stage, Sunday felt like a mini-Gilman Street reunion for many, promising to make the […]

Riot Fest – Day 2 After a markedly warm day 1 of Riot Fest that featured a heavy dose of oddball bands and general weirdness, day 2 proved to be the perfect antidote. Not only was the weather slightly cooler (though still quite balmy), with occasional rain showers (that felt more refreshing than pesky most […]

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Riot Fest founders Mike Petryshyn and Sean McKeough (R.I.P.) first organized a group of their favorite punk bands to play at the famed Congress Theater in Chicago way back in 2005. They may have only had modest ambitions at the time, but little did they know […]

One of the great things about Riot Fest is its distinctive sense of humor that feels so pervasive around Douglas Park each year. Whether it’s slapping tongue-in-cheek nametags on porta potties (like “Turdstile”, “Clogging Molly”, etc.), a giant “butter” statue of John Stamos (rumor has it he may actually show up this year), you name […]

Continuing our Riot Fest preview this week, while the bold-font headliners often garner the most attention at first glance, as many veteran Riot Festers can attest, it’s those pleasantly surprising midday sets that can end up being the most rewarding. And there’s certainly no shortage of those smaller font gems on the docket at this […]

With Riot Fest slated to kick off its 20th iteration in Chicago later this week, a preview of the notoriously eclectic and distinctly entertaining festival seems in order. And while this year’s lineup might seem a little heavy on the pop-punk/accessible tip, there are at least a few crushingly heavy bands peppered into the mix […]

As mentioned on yesterday’s Manic Monday, the late great Frank Zappa was no doubt a man of many talents, but perhaps chief among them all was his remarkable intellect. Which of course is really saying something, considering his insanely creative, prolific, and trailblazing contributions to the world of music over the years. That said, there’s a […]

After kicking off September on a decidedly avant-garde note last week, it only feels natural to continue in that spirit this week by spotlighting another classic artist from the “Weirdo Wednesday” hall-of-fame, the late great Frank Zappa. But of course, lazily slapping a generic “weird” label on Mr. Zappa simply does not do justice to […]

Rounding out our salute to the late great Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) this week, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday finale, there was obviously no shortage of options that would fit the Beefheart bill. But this final interview on Letterman from 1983 is remarkable, given that he would soon retire altogether from making music to […]

Continuing our spotlight on the late great Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re throwing it back to the very beginning of his eccentric career with this remarkable footage of him and his “magic” band performing live on the beach in Cannes, France, from 1968. The song being performed […]