Dave Chamberlain

Lost in the garage-rock glut on the airwaves right now are the bands who've been doing it for years, playing small venues for more than a decade, two decades or even three decades. Formed in 1987 from the ashes of The Rats, the husband-and-wife team of Fred (who's been making records since the mid-sixties) and Toody Cole have never abided by any rock formula. Though you can call Dead Moon garage rock for simplicity's sake, in truth this power trio can crank out everything from grainy Blue Cheer-like thunder rock to borderline hardcore to Neil Young-infected roots-rawk in a matter of nine minutes. (Despite not belonging under the grunge umbrella, Dead Moon was featured in "Hype!," the documentary detailing the rise of Seattle's music scene in the late eighties.) The band's duration and ultra-energetic live show have secured a small but nearly obsessive base of fans. Small is key here, because for Dead Moon's first ten years it released a flock of vinyl-only albums on the Coles' Tombstone records, before bowing to technology and allowing Empty Records to start pressing their music onto CD. (For those into finding obscure records, Dead Moon's double LP, re-released on CD, "Live Evil," stands out as the band's defining moment.) Rock music has made a big-time comeback, and the fan-base has increased, but you have yet to see a rock band play until you've seen Dead Moon. And for more about openers the Baseball Furies, see Raw Material.

Dead Moon plays September 20 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600.

(2002-09-18)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

Tip of the Week
Anyone who caught the Queens show at the Metro during their secret, pre-record-release club tour this summer already knows that, in terms of the live show, it doesn't really get much better than this.
(2002-09-11)

Plugged in
"Wire is only good when it's culturally relevant. When it loses touch, when it doesn't relate with what's going on in the culture, it's less good." So explains Colin Newman, guitarist and founding member of Wire, speaking from his home studio in London.
(2002-09-11)

Raw Material
When you smother yourself in local music, it's hard to be caught off-guard by a local band, but when the record landed in my hands, the first questions that occurred to me were: Who are these guys, and how did they get on a major label?
(2002-09-11)

Raw Material
Although Earthlings? share the same Joshua Tree, California hometown as Queens of the Stone Age, the terrestrial band's output in no way resembles Josh Homme's crew.
(2002-09-04)

Raw Material
(2002-08-28)

Fire Starter
(2002-08-28)

Tip of the Week
(2002-08-21)

Raw Material
(2002-08-21)

Rock Tip of the Week
(2002-08-14)

Raw Material
(2002-08-14)

RAW MATERIAL
(2002-08-07)

TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-08-01)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment