Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Ready to go amp to amp in an epic battle? You'll want to sign up for Brookfield's Battle of the Bands for a chance to rock out and win a recording session!
Getting a chance to play in front of a live audience and record a professional demo are the things young bands dream about. Looking for an opportunity? You'll want to sign up for Brookfield's Battle of the Bands, held on May 20 at Kwanis Park in Brookfield. The winner of this sonic battle royal receives an opportunity to record a professional demo at VMR studios in Brookfield, will play at Brookfield's Independence Day Celebration concert and will be in the running to play the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The top three bands are entered into a chance to play at Brookfield Zoo events. Applications and a $25 application fee are due by March 30. You can pick up an application at Brookfield's Department of Recreation, A Sound …
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Dave Downer talks about holding together a big band in the shrinking world of retro rock.
Dave Downer doesn't mind if you call The Rhythm Rockets a dictatorship. If you ask him, that's just what it takes to preserve the old-school stylings of big band and swing in one group for 14 years running. Downer, the band leader and guitarist, organized The Rhythm Rockets back in 1996 with a specific mission in mind. In its current form, the band features Nicole Kestler as the sultry lead vocalist; Mark Fornek on drums; Jeff Snyder, Mike Bielecki and Ron Dulin rounding out the horn section with their saxophones and Michael Quiroz on bass. Keeping seven musicians all on the same page can be tough, but having a vision is helpful. "From day one, I had a path I wanted to take with the band and kept on that path," Downer said. When the band …
41.825204
-87.871499
Memorial Park
132 E Oak Ave, La Grange Park, IL
/articles/jazz-fest-preview-the-rhythm-rockets-bring-old-school-music-to-new-school-crowds
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Friday, July 23, 2010
The La Grange singer and musician describes what the blues is really about: rising above life's trying moments.
Take the rock and psychedelia of 1960s Philadelphia, mix in the working-class country music influences of Cleveland, top it off with good old-fashioned Chicago blues and you'll get Harry Garner. Oh, and don't forget to sprinkle in some hard times throughout. "I want to mix psychedelic, country and blues, a little bit of rock and put it all together and make it just something newer," Garner, who lives in La Grange, said in a recent interview. "You have to make each song your own." The leader of The Harry Garner Band, one of the three headliners at the first annual La Grange Park Jazz and Blues Festival on July 24 at Memorial Park in La Grange Park, brings his classic Seydel harmonica and powerful vocals to the table, but it's never been all…
41.825204
-87.871499
Memorial Park
132 E Oak Ave, La Grange Park, IL
/articles/harry-garner-knows-the-blues-in-philly-cleaveland-and-la-grange
1256742
/locations/1539311
