Pause for the Cause benefit Saturday

Battle of the Bands #4 performers One Day and The Faded Truth are among several bands expected to play Saturday in a benefit for the brother of One Day singer Josh Herrin.

Larry Herrin Jr. is in the late stages of emphysema. Proceeds from the event will help pay some of his medical expenses.

The event is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at 300 State, a pizza parlor at 300 State Street in Alton, IL.

Also scheduled to perform is Divide the Empire, which includes the two members of Battle #2 performer Echo Trace.

If you cannot attend the event but would like to contribute, you can reach Josh Herrin through One Day's Facebook page.

One Day is among the six bands scheduled to perform in the Sun Valley Jams Battle of the Bands Finale on Sept. 6.

Countdown to the Finale: Slick Ice Blues

Slick Ice Blues started performing a few original tunes shortly before the band's second Sun Valley Jams appearance, in early July.

Now, armed with the $2000 cash prize from its win in Battle of the Bands #3, Slick Ice Blues is doing a little studio shopping.

Countdown to the Finale: Macrobliss

Macrobliss was a fairly new band in June when it was named co-winner of Battle of the Bands #2. But the trio of young prog virtuosos are solidifying as a unit with frequent appearances around the area.

Guitarist Josh Feeney, bassist Aaron Cheatham and drummer Tyler McDermott are becoming pretty familiar to the St. Louis music scene, hitting places such as Fubar and the Demo with some regularity. They will play Sept. 5 at Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Ave. in St. Louis, before their return to Sun Valley Jams the next day.

Countdown to the Finale: Les Gruff and the Billy Goat

Roots-rock band Les Gruff and the Billy Goat has been staying busy since winning the judges' vote at Battle of the Bands #2 in June.

The group used the $1000 cash prize it received as co-winner of Battle #2 to finish its second LP, Les Gruff and the Billy Goat, set for release Sept. 25. After frontman Billy Croghan took a timeout to get married, he and the band have been working feverishly to promote the new album.

Countdown to the Finale: Pogo Funk

Pogo Funk was starting work on its second CD a few weeks ago when the band found out it would be returning to Sun Valley Jams for the Battle of the Bands Finale.

The rap-metal group was a hit with the judges at Battle of the Bands #1 in May and was named runner-up to Lunar Levitation, which was booked to return to SVJ in September. But Lunar Levitation withdrew from the Finale a couple of weeks ago, and Pogo Funk eagerly answered our call to come back to Pevely. 

This is the second go for the Festus-based Pogo Funk. The band was formed in 1999 and spent a few years performing around the area before recording its debut album, Sound from the Underground, in 2003.

Divide the Empire sets CD-release party

Divide the Empire has set a release party for its new CD, Three Winters Vol. 1.

The four-piece band that includes Randy Shanks and Keith Thurnau of Echo Trace, which played Battle of the Bands #2 in June, will celebrate at Pop's Concert Venue in Sauget, IL, on Oct. 10. Divine Sorrow, Pirate Signal, Midnight Reveille and Apex Shrine will perform at the event.

Finale band One Day, others have weekend gigs

Battle #4 co-winner One Day is among four more Sun Valley Jams bands with performances scheduled this weekend.

One Day will travel to Bowling Green, about 100 miles north of Pevely on US 61, to play in the Pike County Payback Festival on Saturday. Nine acts are scheduled for the event, which will begin at 3 p.m.

Bucko Toby delivers

Bucko Toby today released the video we were promised on Monday. It's a clever three-minute promo of the band's Friday-night gig at the Heavy Anchor with the Langaleers.

The video is shot in the style of a silent movie serial. It stars members of the two bands and a few friends. It appeared on Bucko Toby's Facebook page about an hour ago.

Enjoy:

Bucko Toby/Langaleers Heavy Anchor Promo
Here's a short film we made with Bryan Basler and The Langaleers in anticipation of our show this Friday at The Heavy Anchor. Pass it along. Enjoy.
Posted by Bucko Toby on Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Langaleers and Bucko Toby staying busy

Bucko Toby and the Langaleers, who appeared in Battle of the Bands #3 in July, are playing together again this weekend.

The two Festus-based bands will be at the Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave. in St. Louis, on Friday. They'll share the stage with Dead Mockingbirds, a Dallas band wrapping up a three-week tour.

In the meantime, Bucko Toby has a video in the works, according to the band's Facebook page in a post that included the photo at left. And singer-guitarist Josh Friederich appeared last week on the Tokcast podcast with host Matt Basler.

Catching up with Les Gruff and Macrobliss

Les Gruff and the Billy Goat has dropped another preview of its upcoming album onto Soundcloud. This time, it's a track called Walking Home Alone.

The band finished recording its self-titled second album shortly after being named the co-winner of Sun Valley Jams' Battle of the Bands #2 in June. It plans a CD-release party Sept. 26 at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave. in St. Louis. Les Gruff and the Billy Goat will share the stage with the Cara Louise Band, Benjamin Sturdevant and Marie and the Americans.

Guitar-embossed denim jacket

Things You Never Knew Existed... has this guitar denim jacket ready for fall.

The jacket is 100% cotton. It comes in S, M, L and XL for $79.98 and 2XL and 3XL for $89.98.

Things You Never Knew Existed... is a novelty catalog and mail-order retailer owned by Johnson Smith Co., which has been in business in the United States for more than a century. It also owns Betty's Attic, which we visited earlier.

Rob Zombie limited-edition guitar/LPs bundle

PopMarket, which we visited earlier for the Dig That Underground Sound! CD, is offering up this package of a limited-edition Rob Zombie-autographed guitar and a pair of vinyl LPs.

The guitar is made by Artist Series Guitar, which also made the Walking Dead Zombie-Burst guitar we featured earlier.

PopMarket plans a limited run of only 50 of these pieces -- each hand-numbered and signed by Zombie. It features a basswood body, ASG Arsenal humbuckers, an inlaid fingerboard and full-body binding. Each guitar will be shipped with a certificate of authenticity.

Shipped separately will be vinyl copies of Zombie's fifth solo album, Venemous Rat Regeneration Vendor, and the two-disc Mondo Sex Head, a collection of EDM remixes of 13 Zombie tracks.

Price for the package: $649.99. Shipping is free.

Looking backward and forward with One Day, L84dnr

Two more bands deserve thanks for helping make Battle #4 a nice success. Gentlemen, we couldn't have done it without you. You were the best, according to ticket buyers and judges.

Thanks to One Day, including guitarist Marino Topal, wherever the heck he wandered off to:



And thanks to L84dnr, who graced us with some Alex Chilton by way of Joe Cocker:

Happy birthday to Randy Shanks

Happy birthday, Shanks -- Mister getting-ready-to-release-a-Divide the Empire-CD-as-well-as-an-Echo Trace-one.

Did you know that Echo Trace has the most views on our Battle of the Bands #2 playlist?

Pogo Funk set for Battle of the Bands Finale

Battle #1 runner-up Pogo Funk has been booked to fill the slot in the Battle of the Bands Finale vacated by Lunar Levitation.

Lunar Levitation was named the winner of Battle #1 in May and had accepted an invitation to play in the Finale. But a band member's scheduling conflict arose a couple of days ago, forcing a cancellation.

Pogo Funk will join Battle #2 co-winners Macrobliss and Les Gruff and the Billy Goat, Battle #3 winner Slick Ice Blues and Battle #4 co-winners L84dnr and One Day in the Finale on Sept. 6.

Battle #4: Thanks to Who Killed Kenny, Alternate Route and Jam Central Station

Special thanks go out to these three cover bands from Saturday's Battle of the Bands #4.

Thanks to Who Killed Kenny, who came to our rescue late in the game to fill an opening:

Huge thanks to Alternate Route, a band put together by drummer Michael Chedester when his scheduled band had to drop out at the last minute:

Battle of the Bands Finale: Lunar Levitation drops out

Battle #1 winner Lunar Levitation has dropped out of the lineup for the Finale. Lyn is working on scheduling another Battle #1 band to fill the slot. We'll let you know if and when we get a commitment.

Battle #4: Thanks to Revence, King James and The Faded Truth

Battle #4 might have been the best one yet. We had beautiful skies, some great music both original and familiar once again -- and most of all, we had our best crowd so far.

And once again, we got some great feedback from everyone. The paying customers had a great day, with several making a point of telling us how much fun they had. And the musicians keep telling us they love this venue and can't wait to come back.

Pulp Fiction, a Minimalist Movie print

Imagekind, an online art gallery featuring the works of independent artists, has a cool collection called Minimalist Movie.

Twenty-three artists have contributed more than 400 works to this collection of prints that present stark, simple, subtle interpretations of key scenes or concepts in classic, well-known movies.

One of my favorites is Pulp Fiction, by Mihir Desai, a Singapore screenwriter and producer who moonlights as a design artist.

Desai's print is a perfect statement for a fan of the 1994 Quentin Tarantino masterpiece: Behind all the madness and mayhem everyone remembers from this movie, there was a causative factor that led us only to speculation.

Desai displays several prints at Imagekind in a personal collection, MinimalistPosters. Among his other inspirations are Speed, Gladiator and Batman Begins.

Pulp Fiction can be purchased as a 6-by-10-inch paper print for $19. Imagekind also offers larger prints and framing options.

Battle #4: One Day and L84dnr are co-winners

One Day

L84dnr

The last two bands on stage Saturday night for Battle #4 -- One Day and L84dnr -- turned out to be the day's best.

Battle #4 is under way

Battle of the Bands #4 is under way. The third band of the day, The Faded Truth, just finished up.

There's still plenty of time to catch some good music at Sun Valley Jams. We have five bands still to perform, and the weather is great. So head on out.

Dig That Underground Sound! CD collection

Dig That Underground Sound! is a 3-CD collection of 45 garage-rock and psychedelic tracks from the 1960s and 1970s sold exclusively at PopMarket.

If you're familiar with the Nuggets series of releases by Elektra Records and Rhino Records, you have a good idea what you'll get in this set. The tracks on this collection, which sells for $25.99, were mined from the vaults of Elektra, Warner Bros. Records and Atlantic Records.

A lot of these songs have appeared in Nuggets and other similar compilations. But Dig That Underground Sound! does have a handful of rarities -- Vamp's "Floatin'" and The Waphphle's "I Want You (To Be My One and Only Girl)" among them.

Higher-profile bands represented here include Love, Flamin' Groovies and the Beau Brummels. You can find a complete track list on the set's product page.

PopMarket is an online retailer specializing in rare music products such as vinyl box sets and limited-edition guitars. It offers deep-discount deals through a daily email newsletter. Shipping of most items is free.

Here's a taste of Dig That Underground Sound!, from a 1964 episode of American Bandstand:

Les Gruff and the Billy Goat album preview

Battle #2 co-winner Les Gruff and the Billy Goat has posted the first track from its upcoming self-titled album.

"River Road" will be on Soundcloud for a few days before it's replaced by another new track from the album, the band announced on Facebook.

Les Gruff and the Billy Goat is scheduled for release Sept. 25. The band plans a release party the following day at Off Broadway Music Venue in St. Louis.

The Goats are scheduled to appear at Sun Valley Jams on Sept. 6 for the season's Battle of the Bands Finale. They will be joined by other previous winners Lunar Levitation, Macrobliss and Slick Ice Blues. An invitation will be extended to the band that wins the Battle #4 competition Saturday.

Countdown to Battle #4: Alternate Route

The Chets will take the stage for Battle of the Bands #4 after all.

Brothers Stephen and Michael Chedester -- the bass player and drummer, respectively, for Jimmy and the Chets -- will appear Saturday with their new band, Alternate Route. The Chedesters formed the band in the past couple of days with a couple of friends they have jammed with in the past.

Jimmy and the Chets dropped out of the Battle a few days ago when singer and lead guitarist Jimmy Rohlfing learned he wouldn't be able to appear. Michael Chedester told us about 24 hours later that he and his brother could step up and appear with their quickly assembled new outfit.

So there you have it. Battle of the Bands #4 is set. Eight bands, eight hours, great weather, great scenery ... it's going to be a great Saturday. Gates open at 2 p.m., and the music will start at 3 p.m.

We'll see you there.

Countdown to Battle #4: The cover bands

The music of three of the bands scheduled for Battle of the Bands #4 on Saturday will be familiar to you even if their faces are not. Come on out to Sun Valley Jams from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and you're bound to hear a rendition of one of your favorite songs.

Making their second Battle of the Bands appearance will be Jam Central Station, seen here a few years ago knocking out the 1970 Sugarloaf standard "Green-Eyed Lady:"

Jimmy and the Chets cancels Battle #4 appearance

Blues-rock cover band Jimmy and the Chets had a change in plans Wednesday evening and cancelled their Saturday appearance at Sun Valley Jams.

Lyn is trying to find another band to fill that slot in Battle of the Bands #4. We'll update here and on our Facebook page as soon as we find a replacement.

Countdown to Battle #4: The alternative bands

The eight bands sharing the stage Saturday for Sun Valley Jams' Battle of the Bands #4 can be divided into two distinct categories: Four of them can be grouped generally as alternative-rock bands who perform mostly original material, and four of them are predominantly cover bands.

Here's a sampling of the four alternative bands. We'll complete the roundup in a day or two with a post featuring the four cover bands.

Here's The Faded Truth with a cut from its EP, This is My Life, released in February:

Cassette tape belt buckle

Before digital downloads came along, before anyone knew what a CD was, back when we needed something portable that was more rugged and sounded better than an eight-track cartridge, we had cassette tapes.

That was a long time ago. If you were around in the day, you can now wear your heritage proud with this cassette-shaped belt buckle.

This buckle is about 4 inches by 2 inches and sells for $14.95 at The Belt Buckle Shop. Like most of the 700 belt buckles sold by the Texas-based Internet retailer, this one is made of pewter and won't rust or tarnish.

The Belt Buckle Shop has a tool on its website that allows you to customize a belt buckle with your own photo or text.

The retailer does offer quantity discounts. Shipping is free for orders of more than $50.

Countdown to Battle #4: Who Killed Kenny

Who Killed Kenny, a cover band out of Fenton, is a late addition to the Battle #4 lineup.

The band is named after a recurring gag in the long-running Comedy Central cartoon South Park. Members include rhythm guitarist Tim Boze, keyboard player Mandy Densmore, bass player Dan O'Connell, lead guitarist Steve Poelker and drummer Mick Harris.

Beau Diamond releases album preview

Beau Diamond, who performed last month at Sun Valley Jams' Battle of the Bands #3, has released the first track from his upcoming album.

The High Ridge singer-songwriter has posted "The Blushing Horizon" at Bandcamp with open pricing. The track is a preview of Diamond's upcoming album, Keepin' Busy, which should be out in a few days.

Diamond also has dropped the three-track Live @ Picasso's, recorded at an open-mic appearance a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the new track:

Mackie Thump Series powered speakers

Cascio Interstate Music is offering mail-in rebates this month on the Mackie Thump Series of powered loudspeakers.

The Mackie Thump Series is commonly used in stage and studio setups. These speakers deliver powerful sound in a compact, portable design.

Rebates offered:

* $100 on the Thump Series TH-18S 18-inch subwoofer, which retails for $699.99.


* $50 on the Thump Series TH-15 15-inch speaker, which sells for $349.99.

* $25 on the TH-12 12-inch, which goes for $299.99.

The prices of these speakers appear to be tightly controlled, so there isn't much variance from one retailer to the next. The mail-in rebates represent the best value you're going to find for these.

Cascio has been a landmark music retailer and wholesaler in Milwaukee for nearly 70 years. It expanded into mail-order retailing in 1970 and has been selling gear online since 2000. Interstatemusic.com offers live chat in case you have any questions. Cascio does take phone orders. Shipping for most items ordered online -- including the Mackie Thump speakers -- is free.