Chicago IN Seattle: Matt Ryd / Xoe Wise / Katrina Charles @ Egan’s

September 27, 2011 By Matt 1 Comment

My guy-love for old friend Matt Ryd is well known to longtime MidByNorthwest followers. I’ve interviewed him, I’ve reviewed his album, and now thanks to his first tour I get to preview his Seattle debut! Ryd is hitting the road with another acclaimed Chicago singer/songwriter Xoe Wise. That many hours in the car together is sure to produce some stunning collaborations – accenting both Ryd’s endearing guitar-pop and Wise’s dreamy vocal compositions. It’s a unique experience to see two separate artists come together for their first tour – braving the… Read More…

Seattle IN Chicago: Shenandoah Davis

April 14, 2011 By Matt Leave a Comment

It’s a long-ass way from Seattle to Chicago with not a whole lot of major cities in between. So it can be tough for independent musicians to brave the long drives that come with branching out from the West Coast into the mighty Midwest. We should support and celebrate them thoroughly when they take the plunge. This weekend, one of Seattle’s busiest artists – Shenandoah Davis – will be gracing Chicago with her presence. Davis is a beautiful singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a prolific collaborator (see Grand Hallway, Seattle Rock Orchestra,… Read More…

Cobalt & the Hired Guns “Of Summer” Video

February 17, 2011 By Matt 3 Comments

cobalt and the hired guns of summer video

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you snow, you make snowballs. When life gives you ThunderSnow, you invite a bunch of people over the next day to shoot a snowball fight / snow frolicking music video! For those who don’t know, Cobalt & the Hired Guns is the band I played in from it’s origin in 2003 (2002 if you count Tom and I collaborating) until I moved to Seattle this past May. I watched this video with sheer joy this morning, missing them a… Read More…

Guest Post: MXNW Chicago Correspondent Lily Hansen Interviews REGO

January 4, 2011 By Lily Hansen Leave a Comment

Now that I live in Seattle it’s understandable that the Chicago part of this blog has been tough to maintain. I’ve really enjoyed reviewing the new releases of my friends and contemporaries back in Chicago but interviews and live reviews are much more difficult. Luckily, a few weeks ago I met Lily Hansen – a Chicago freelance writer and music lover – through a work client. In a classic win-win scenario, we’ve worked out a fun “Chicago Correspondent” relationship for her and her good writing. Basically, I send her a… Read More…

CD Review: HOW FAR to AUSTIN – Goodnight Madison

December 2, 2010 By Matt Leave a Comment

Goodnight Madison marks an exciting turning point for one of Chicago’s hardest working bands. HOW FAR to AUSTIN (HFTA) has been a well-respected name in the Chicago music community for several years thanks to a tireless touring schedule and a uniquely entertaining “Rock n’ Soul” style. Working and playing alongside them the past couple years, I watched HFTA find success building its audience via classic but uncommon means. Unlike most indie acts, HFTA tours regionally as a full 7-piece band or simply a trio (guitarist/songwriter Tate Troelstrup with lead singers… Read More…

My All-Chicago Mix, vol. 1

November 26, 2010 By Matt 4 Comments

Convergence. Sometime earlier this year I started creating a couple fun new iTunes playlists: “Music By People I Know” and “Chicago Music.” Upon moving to Seattle I stayed with my friend Phil who is famous in his social circles for his mix CDs (he calls them “comps”). The mix playlist below, which I made for Phil back in June, is a direct result of these two events. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and feeling very thankful for the community of great musicians I’m connected to in both Chicago and now… Read More…

CD Review: Diana & the Dishes – Take a Picture

October 28, 2010 By Matt 2 Comments

Diana & the Dishes’ debut album Take a Picture plays like the soundtrack for a hot new Broadway musical in absolutely the best way a modern record could. It’s not just the veritable pit orchestra playing behind front woman Diana Lawrence, nor simply the classic and effortlessly jazzy chord changes. It comes down to songwriting and lyrics – so strong and rich that they nearly become visual. Writing original, memorable, and non-cheesy music and lyrics for musical theater may be the most difficult task any songwriter could attempt. In a… Read More…

CD Review: Matt Ryd – Looking for Home

October 8, 2010 By Matt 1 Comment

The Long-Awaited-Debut-Album is a completely unique brand of record. Take Matt Ryd, for instance. In addition to interviewing him for this blog, I’ve seen Ryd play in various formats around Chicago for about three years – so I’ve already heard most of the songs that appear on his new Long-Awaited-Debut-Album called Looking for Home. I’ve seen the songs live, I’ve watched them on his active YouTube channel, I’ve seen them solo, I’ve seen them with a band. So as I listen to this CD for the first time, the questions… Read More…

CD Review: The Shams Band – Champagne

September 15, 2010 By Matt 1 Comment

The Shams Band is not trying to reinvent the wheel with their boisterous Americana blues rock. Like other contemporary bands reinterpreting classic American genres (see The Avett Brothers, Eli Paperboy Reed), The Shams Band creates something fresh using older sounds but with a youthful, modern twist. In their case, the twist is Americana with a wink… and a drink. Their first full length album Champagne showcases winks, drinks, and the great energy of their live show. The whole record sounds fantastic with a nice balance of super-tight arrangements and genre-appropriate… Read More…

It’s CD Release Season! 3 Reviews Coming

September 9, 2010 By Matt 1 Comment

Everyone and their Mom is releasing a new album right now! Okay, maybe not everyone’s Mom, but a lot of people – especially my peeps in Chicago. That means 3 new CD reviews coming at you in the next couple weeks: Matt Ryd Looking For Home CD Release show TOMORROW (9/10/10) at Schuba’s with Mike Mentzer and Little Light. The Shams Band Champagne CD Release show September 18 at Fitzgerald’s Diana & the Dishes Take a Picture CD was released at Martyrs’ in August