Countdown to Battle #4: Jam Central Station

Battle of the Bands #4 will mark the second appearance on the Sun Valley Jams stage for Jam Central Station, following its Battle #1 appearance in May.

The band specializes in covering classic rock songs and consists of guitarist David Bohannan, keyboard player David Dodson and drummer Ron Baechle, with either Vic Hoffmeister or Stu Massey playing bass.

Here is a video from 2012:

Music note photo collage on canvas

What to do with 130 of your favorite photos? You could have Canvas Champ turn them into a collage in the shape of a music note.

Canvas Champ produces this customized canvas print in a range of sizes. The smallest, at 24 inches by 24 inches, goes for $61.58. You can increase the size in 1-inch increments up to 54 inches by 54 inches, for $287.37.

At the time of this posting, Canvas Champ is offering a 15% discount with coupon code ILOVECOLLAGE.

The process is pretty simple if a little time-consuming. After you create an account at Canvas Champ and navigate to the product page, you upload the photos you want to use in your collage. Canvas Champ promises to email you a proof within 24 hours, allowing you to make any changes you want.

Your collage will be printed and shipped within 48 hours after you sign off on your proof. Standard shipping is free for an order of more than $150.

Countdown to Battle #4: One Day

One Day is a hard-rock outfit out of Granite City, IL, consisting of singer Josh Herrin, lead guitarist Marino Topal, bassist Eddie Morgan and drummer Brad Murphy.

The band has been playing around the area for several years, having been formed in 2007. One Day released an album titled Therapy in 2008 and an EP, Believing is Everything, in 2011.

Countdown to Battle #4: L84dnr

Guitarist Gabe Corcoran and his friends in L84dnr are "a collection of happy idiots struggling for the legal tender," mostly by hitting open mic nights around North County.

They are also a quintet of old friends who decided to form a band in 2013 to have some fun while working on their classic-rock chops.

Jazz-metal bassist Ryan Garner, classically trained pianist Terry Kasper and Latin drummer Miguel Squires join Corcoran and Ken DeClue, "a couple guitarists off the Campire Circuit," in Corcoran's words.

The Transformation of Saint Lou

Lou Reed's classic New York hipster glare has been a favorite subject of artists from the first time Andy Warhol committed that stark, blank expression to film and silkscreen reproduction.

A half-century later and nearly two years after Reed's death, Oklahoma City artist Todd Bane has produced The Transformation of Saint Lou, a striking pencil-and-digital portrait of the man in his last few, frail months.

"I saw a great photo of Lou Reed shortly after he passed away in 2013, and it screamed at me to draw it," Banes wrote in his description of the piece. "This is a simple two-color painting, but the shadows and highlights make it look like more.

"The best way to experience this painting is to put on Lou's album Metal Machine Music at a deafening volume and just stare until the blackout happens. And it will," Banes says.

The drawing is part of Bane's CelebrityPortraits collection at Imagekind, an Internet gallery that features works of independent artists. Among his subjects are Joe Cocker, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and other musicians and celebrities.

The Transformation of Saint Lou is available as an unframed print for $14. Imagekind does offer a variety of framing options to suit your needs.

The Beatles American Tour 1964 jacket

You can feel like you were there 51 years ago when the Beatles first conquered America.

Betty's Attic, a catalog and Internet retailer specializing in nostalgia collectibles, offers this black varsity-style jacket with the itinerary of the Fab Four's first American tour embroidered on the back.

The wool-blend jacket is a limited edition of 1964 pieces, according to the Betty's Attic product description, and sells for $160. It features knit cuffs, collar and hem, a front zipper and snap closures, a quilted nylon lining and side slash pockets and comes in M, L, XL and 2XL.

The lettering on the back is embroidered, as is the familiar The Beatles logo on the front.

You can find the jacket on the Beatles category page in the Icons & Brands menu. It's among several items, including the Where's Ringo? picture book ($18), the All You Need is Love and Let it Be wind chimes ($59), a few T-shirts and other items.

The Walking Dead Zombie-Burst guitar

What to buy for your favorite guitar player who has everything?

Here's something: The Walking Dead Zombie-Burst by Artist Series Guitar.

The Walking Dead Official Store is taking orders for this solid-mahogany axe, which will be issued next month in what is being called a Comic-Con exclusive limited edition.

The guitar features a maple top, a rosewood fingerboard, a set mahogany neck, chrome tuners and ASG Arsenal dual-coil humbucking pickups, according to ASG.

Each piece will be individually numbered and will be shipped with a certificate of authenticity.

Price tag: $499.99.

Obviously, this piece isn't available for review. But if anyone is familiar with ASG guitars, please drop a review in the comments section below this post.

Countdown to Battle #4: Revence

Vocalist Nathan Howard and lead guitarist Bryan Parmenter have been treating area venues to Revence's hard-driving alternative rock for close to five years.

The band has made several live appearances on local TV and radio over the years. One of Revence's songs was featured in a promotional video for World Wide Technology's Geek Day conference in 2012.

Countdown to Battle #4: Jimmy and the Chets

Jimmy and the Chets is a blues-rock trio formed a couple years ago by guitarist Jimmy Rohlfing and twin brothers Stephen and Michael Chedester.

The Chets have become familiar to music fans in the St. Charles area.

Rohlfing has been performing for about 25 years as a solo act and as a member of several bands.

Video library added to our website

I have collected all the videos we shot in the first three Battle of the Bands events and put them on one page on our website.

All our videos are on our YouTube channel, collected into playlists for each of the events. I have embedded each of the playlists on our Videos page, giving you easy access to everything in our library.

The videos in each playlist are sorted according to popularity. The YouTube player will autoplay all the videos on succession. Or you can click the down arrow in the top left corner of the player to browse the list and jump to the video you want to see.

Enjoy. Spend some time and go through them all. You'll find some great music in there, top to bottom. Go ahead if you like, play your favorite video over and over and get it moved up the list.

Countdown to Battle #4: King James and the Killer Bee

King James and the Killer Bee appeared three years ago as a folk duo consisting of guitarist Stephen Sciaroni and drummer Kevin Payne.

For whatever reason, the pair weren't satisfied with the concept. They spent more than a year shuffling the deck. They added musicians. They subtracted musicians. The band experimented with instrumentation. It went fully electric.

Countdown to Battle #4: The Faded Truth

Singer John French and guitarist Nick Maas formed The Faded Truth in 2007 with an idea to explore rock in all its different styles.

Bassist Terry Moses, guitarist Dustin Moses and drummer Joe Britt rounded out the band, which started becoming familiar to fans around the area. Jack Rogers replaced Moses after about a year, but TFT was building up steam.

The band got into the studio with producer James Whitlock to record an 11-track album in 2010. But just about the time that project was finished, things fell apart. The Faded Truth dissolved in 2011, before the album could get released.

Countdown to Battle #4: An early preview

We still have a little bit of time to prepare for Battle #4, which will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. As always, you can contact one of the members of your favorite band to purchase tickets. Or you can use PayPal to buy directly from us by going to this page.

While I'm pulling stuff together to start getting you previews on the Battle #4 bands, I thought I'd take the time to drop a few audio samples on you.

At least three of the eight bands on the bill do have some music for sale at Bandcamp and elsewhere. If you're not familiar with Bandcamp, you can purchase albums or single tracks for digital download directly from the bands. In many cases, the bands allow you to pay whatever you think is fair.

Congrats to Billy Croghan and Paije Davidson

Our congratulations to Billy Croghan of Battle #2 co-winner Les Gruff and the Billy Goat on his marriage Saturday to Paije Davidson. The couple exchanged their vows at the Franklin Room in St. Louis.

We expect the Croghans to be back from their honeymoon in time for the Battle of the Bands finale on Sept. 6. Les Gruff and the Billy Goat are on the bill that also includes Battle #2 co-winner Macrobliss, Battle #1 winner Lunar Levitation and Battle #3 winner Slick Ice Blues. The final slot for that event will be filled after the conclusion of Battle #4 on Aug. 8.

We just published an Android app

Hey, everyone. A quick note to let everyone know that earlier today, we got our Android app published on Google Play. Download it here and install it on your phone or tablet. It gives you direct access to this blog, our Facebook event listings, our YouTube channel, ticket purchases and more.

We'll be adding things to it and improving it as time goes by. To start, it'll give you everything you need to know about Sun Valley Jams and our events in one easily accessible place.

As of this minute, it doesn't turn up yet in the Play Store search. It will soon. But this link will get you directly to it.

And while you're at it, sign up for our newsletter and get these blog updates delivered directly to your email inbox. Come winter, we plan to start offering up some exclusive content to our subscribers on occasion. So don't miss out on anything important. Click here to sign up.

Battle #3 recap: The young rockers

I keep hearing it over and over from all corners that rock is dead. But from what I've seen and heard in the weeks I've been involved in Sun Valley Jams, I am thrilled to say that rock is still alive and well and should be around for quite awhile longer.

Have a look at these three bands who performed at Battle of the Bands #3 on Sunday. All three are talented, hard-working and inspired. All three are young, and all three have a center that takes songwriting and performing very seriously.

Battle #3 Recap: A cover band and a tribute

One thing we're not short of at Sun Valley Jams is a diversity of acts playing in our Battle of the Bands series. You want the blues? We got it. Country? Check. Garage rock? Yep.

And it's always tied together by the veteran, professional musicians who know how to entertain the hell out of us with a solid set of covers.

Sunday, we had two of those acts.

Recap of Battle #3: Country music and the blues

You already know by now that Slick Ice Blues was the winner in the band's encore performance at Sun Valley Jams' Battle of the Bands. The blues quartet from Caseyville, IL, improved on a third-place finish in Battle #1 to take the Battle #3 prize.

On their heels were the day's two country-music acts in a tie for second place.

Divide the Empire has a new video

Our friend Randy Shanks of Echo Trace, who played at Battle #2 in June, also is in a band called Divide the Empire. Shanks has been bombing his various Facebook pages the past couple of days with a new Divide the Empire video for the single "Weight."

"Weight" will be on DTE's album Three Winters Vol. 1, which should start circulating soon. Shanks also has been at work on a new Echo Trace album.

Here's the video for "Weight":

Battle #3 is complete: Slick Ice Blues wins

Slick Ice Blues returned Sunday to the Sun Valley Jams stage and was named the winner of Battle of the Bands #3.

The quartet of Will "Slick" Garner, Dave "Ice" Collins, Markus Pfile and Bill Wolf was a late addition to the lineup for Battle #3. But the band came on strong, introducing a handful of original tunes that mesmerized the judges and the appreciative audience.

Countdown to Battle #3: The bands

Happy holiday weekend, everybody. We have some time before the first band hits the stage at Battle of the Bands #3, a perfect opportunity to sample the bands that will be performing Sunday afternoon into the evening.

The weather gods have smiled on us. We're going to be rain-free the entire weekend. Go see the fireworks show of your choice Friday and Saturday nights. Then come out to Sun Valley Sports Complex on Sunday and enjoy some great music under some wonderful partly sunny skies. It all starts at 1 p.m.