News: September, 2009

We are saddened to announce that The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir was in a serious auto accident today. They are in hospitals receiving medical attention; most of them being treated for minor injuries. We will post more information as we can. Our thoughts are with them.

UPDATE (9/25): Ethan, Jay and Alison were treated and released from the hospital.

UPDATE (9/25): To offset medical and equipment expenses, a PayPal donation account has been set up in the band's name:

Bloodshot Records 15th Anniversary Fan Appreciation Beer-B-Q in Brooklyn
Saturday September 26th
The Bell House - 149 7th St, Brooklyn, NY -(718) 643-6510
Sponsored by Rolling Rock
$5 measly admission (buy tix, it may sell out)!
FREE awesome food provided to first 100 fans by our old friends at The Good Fork!
Sidewalk patio!
doors open 4pm
show time 5pm

5-5:45 - Rosie Flores
6-6:45 - The Silos
7-7:45 - The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
8-8:45 - Ben Weaver
9-9:45 - Dex Romweber Duo
10-10:45 - Exene Cervenka 
11-11:45 - Cordero
mid-1 - Bobby Bare Jr

To Bell House:

F, G or R TRAIN:
9th St & 4th Ave stop. Walk down one block down to 3rd Ave and turn right. Walk 2 blocks to 7th St and turn left. We are down the block on the right side.

BUS LINES:
B37 stops on 6th St and 3rd Ave
B77 and B75 stop on the corner of 9th St and 3rd Ave
B71 stops on the corner of 3rd St and 3rd Ave

Wow!

The 15th Anniversary party at the Hideout this past weekend exceeded all our expectations.  The weather was perfect, the sound tremendous (thanks Gary), all the bands were on time and played really well and were thrilled to do so in front of such a large, enthusiastic audience (almost 4000 of you, and, just based on advance ticket sales, there were people from at least 22 states and 3 countries), and them BBQ pork sammiches sure were tasty!

It was truly a humbling day.  We saw so many friends from over the years---going all the way back to the planning stage days at Delilah's;  regulars at our DJ night, people who have come to shows, musicians, artists and general Chicago music lovers.  Sorry we didn't have a chance to chat more, it was a crazy day but know that we so appreciate the support and your attendance that day (and all the other days).  Most everyone was pretty well behaved too, except that douchebag who jumped the barrier and broke the tent over the monitors and cost us another $200....)

Looking out over the crowd during Alejandro's brilliant set, I really began to choke up, to think that this looney idea we had so long ago has brought so much fun to so many over the years AND allowed us to work with such a high caliber of talent so closely.  And to think that you all have allowed to keep doing this.  If we weren't busting our asses that day, we'd have been down in the crowd with you;  we remain inveterate music fans.

And finally, we'd like to thank all the volunteers and Hideout staff.  without them, there is NO WAY we could have pulled off that event. 

AND (I've said this a hundred times before and I staunchly stand behind it), no city can TOUCH Chicago for its organic, home supported music scene.  Those of us who live here should never take that for granted.

The evening ended for me, 17 hours after i got there, with someone buying me a long awaited margarita.  I fell asleep with it in my hand on one of benches outside the Hideout.  Such is the glamor........

Rob, Nan and all at Bloodshot

As we gird ourselves for the brisket and margaritas that await us in Austin for our Yard Dog anniversary tomorrow (hey, someone's gotta do it), here's a few tidbits to knosh on that may brighten your day.  Or not.  Who knows?

• Check out this story on a Detroit filmmaker using a 3D process and capturing some of the city's finest music, including our own Detroit Cobras!

• In anticipation of her new solo album (goes on pre-sale this Tuesday) Exene Cervenka gives a lengthy interview on art, music, poetry and what a good dancer Eddie Vedder is in the LA Record.

• In addition to be a crack bookkeeper and legal eagle, our own office guy Anthony is a fab photographer.  Check out his flickr page with all the action at the Hideout block party. Pay no attention to the photo of Bloodshot Rob lying in the street at the end.  He's tired.  Sssssh.  Don't wake him.

• Finally, speaking of Rob, read his latest essay at Knowthemusicbiz.com.  It's all about how disposable music has become.  Insightful philosophical musing or the rantings of a crank?  YOU be the judge!

Our boy Justin walked home with some hardware last night at the Americana Music Festival.  He won New & Emerging Artist of the Year. Check out some photos of Justin (in his Where's Waldo cum 1950's accountant attire) and read about all the other winners here.

As part of our 15th Anniversary shenanigans, we've put together something to give a tip of the proverbial hat to a couple of our seminal releases:

OLD 97S:  "Wreck Your Life and Then Some: The Complete Bloodshot Recordings" Like the title says, it's everything they ever recorded for us.  "Wreck Your Life", "Early Tracks," long out of print singles and compilation tracks.

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO: "A Man Under the Influence: Deluxe Bourbonitis Edition" Includes the entire A Man Under the Influence album, the best of Bourbonitis Blues and the best of his Bloodshot compilation tracks.

Both these releases are DOUBLE LPS in FANCY PANTS GATEFOLD SLEEVES, and were specially re-mastered for vinyl.

Both contain the digital version of the album.

Both are limited editions of 1000

RELEASE DATE:  NOVEMBER 17TH

Our pals at the super cool blog/zine Brooklyn Vegan have put together a nice preview of the Brooklyn anniversary show coming up on September 26th at the Bell House.  (Advance tix are now available.)

Check it out, it got lots of video links of performances from previous shows.

See you there.  Bring us pastrami!

A nice long interview in Americana UK with the Rockets' Brian Henneman.  Here he talks about life on the road, staying around for 15 years and why can't they just be called a ROCK band, dammit?

The Can I Sit Down Yet? edition:

• Well, our flagship 15th Anniversary Beer-B-Q at The Hideout has come and gone, and it was a rousing success. Nearly 4,000 people came to watch a full day's worth of music, participate in a Drunken Spelling Bee that went 24 rounds (yes, someone consumed 24 shots of vodka and lived to spell about it), eat pulled pork from Honky Tonk BBQ, send souped-up belt sanders down a race track and raise money for two organizations: 826 Chicago and Rock for Kids. It was a beautiful day. Highlights of the day have been captured by Time Out Chicago,The Chicago Tribune and Underground Bee, so you can re-live the splendor of the day when it's cold, snowy and dark three months from now. And if you've got pictures from the event, be sure to add them to our Bloodshot Flickr pool.

• Listen to Alejandro Escovedo's face-melting set from the Hideout Block Party! You can it download from Live Music Archive, or listen below:

• Moving onward! We have our Austin, TX Beer-B-Q at Yard Dog Gallery in Austin, TX THIS Saturday, and the Brooklyn soiree the following Saturday, on September 26. Tix are to the Brooklyn BBQ are on sale now! The Austin BBQ is free -- just show up!

• Finally, in memory of poet, writer, NYC scenester, and punk-rocker Jim Carroll -- who died over the weekend -- we offer up this rendition of one of his most famous poem-songs, "People Who Died," as covered by Porter Hall TN and found on our 10-year anniversary compilation, For A Decade of Sin. Listen to it here.

   

OF COURSE you are!  The 15th anniversary street fair in our hometown has generated a veritable frenzy of press coverage.  So, if you want to read the rantings of the two problem children at the helm of the Good Ship Bloodshot, look no further.

• First up, Greg Kot's Chicago Tribune interview wherein Rob and Nan speak of the vicissitudes of the music racket and why they get out of bed in the morning to stay in it.

• Next, Time Out Chicago's article is full of stories and memories from Rhett Miller, Jon Langford, Alejandro Escovedo, Exene Cervenka and a salty tale involving Kelly Hogan, Rob's butt and a tube of cortisone.  Yow!
• And we get called geeks by the Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis (in a good way) here.
• Even the suburbs chime in with this nice preview in the Daily Herald
• The Beachwood Reporter chimes in with an interview with Rick Sherry (Devil in a Woodpile) and some disjointed stories from Rob including displeased bikers in California, rioting bouncers in Edinburgh, among other fond memories

• Finally, irrespective of nothing other than the oddness of it being picked, Esquire named the Unholy Trio's version of Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" from the compilation Down to the Promised Land as one of the best covers EVER!