You Say Party! We Say Die!‘s drummer Devon Clifford passed away this morning (April 18), after collapsing during the bands gig in Vancouver on Friday.

Clifford was 30. The band posted a brief note on their Twitter account, a foreshadowing of the grief that will most likely come from the Canadian music community in the following days:

DEVON CLIFFORD 1979 – 2010 R.I.P.

Though I never paid much attention to the group, it always seemed like I never had to go out of my way to notice them. When they first burst onto the American music scene, it seemed as though I couldn’t read a music blog without hearing their name, or walk around my college radio station without noticing a You Say Party! We Say Die! poster plastered somewhere. Rather than there simply being an excess of PR goodies readily available, they managed to capture something in the air at the time that made people take notice and want to talk about the band. And Clifford’s drumming, delivered on record with machine-like precision and plenty of punk-rock gusto, really drove the group’s sound.

[youtubevid id="-IQKsrXDHrg"]

It’s a cute concept, but you’ve got to wonder why they decided to only use the “Os” from Lollapalooza and not any As, Ls or Zs. Unless, that is, they decide to add them later…

From the looks of it, it does appear that rumored headliners Soundgarden, Green Day and Lady Gaga fit into the mix pretty well, as do higher-tier supporting acts The Arcade Fire, The Strokes and Phoenix. The rest will hopefully be found out later this week.

Lollapalooza will be held August 6-8 at Grant Park. Tickets are on sale now and expensive.

Some Kind of Merchandiser from Leor Galil on Vimeo.

“Merchandise, it keeps us alive,” Fugazi proclaimed on their song “Merchandise.” Though the D.C. punk act saw merch as a distraction, many Do It Yourself punk acts use money from selling records and clothing to survive as a band.

When Philadelphia’s Algernon Cadwallader played Strangelight – a new Chicago DIY venue – on Friday, Feb. 5, singer/bassist Peter Helmis took some time to discuss the process of creating and selling merchandise. Peter highlighted an important attribute of creating one’s own records and merchandise that many artists are beginning to take advantage of in the digital era:

It’s really helpful, if you’re a band that’s playing lots of shows, to have a bunch of your records. If someone else puts it out, they’ll give you a bunch of free ones to start out with, then you have to buy them from the label whenever you need them. If you put it out yourself, it’s more money up front, but you have like 1,000 records at your disposal whenever you want. You don’t have to buy them again, you just sell them, have them whenever you go out.

As the band saves money by putting out its own records (Algernon’s DIY label is called Be Happy Records) and bringing their merch on tour, fans have the chance of saving money as well. Buying a record at a concert is usually cheaper than ordering it online or through a mail order, and often some of the merchandise isn’t available online. Three items onsale at the concert – the 75:24 tape, the Fun 7″ record and the tour T-shirt – are either sold out online or not available elsewhere. The group’s CD – Some Kind of Cadwallader – cost $6 at the concert and costs upwards of $8 online (plus shipping and handling).

Like a lot of DIY punk bands, Algernon Cadwallader isn’t getting rich and famous from its merchandise or playing concerts. As Peter said:

It’s anything but full-time, but it’s definitely a full-time hobby. It’s our passion.

To get a glimpse of Algernon Cadwallader’s Friday night performance, take a look at the video below:

Algernon Cadwallader – “Some Kind of Cadwallader” from Leor Galil on Vimeo.

Sound quality is one of the most important components of a live show. Bad sound can ruin a perfectly good performance. As such, the sound-men and women play a pivotal role during concerts.

On Jan. 17, Cincinatti’s Pomegranates played a special in-store show at Reckless Records in Wicker Park. In-stores at Reckless can occur as frequently as a few times a week or once a month and are free to the public. The week of Jan. 17, the Reckless locations in Wicker Park and Lakeview saw a flurry of in-store performances by bands that came to Chicago as part of Schubas‘ annual Tomorrow Never Knows festival.

Reckless employee Jim Magas set up the P.A. for the gig, and allowed me to observe his concert-time duties. The slideshow above details the experience. Enjoy.

Photo by Leor Galil

Chicago’s Lincoln Hall has been open for a bit, but that didn’t stop Ted Leo & The Pharmacists from bringing the club to life. On October 25, Leo et al played the slightly-belated Grand Opening as they do any other show: with a fistful of punk fun. The quartet seemed poised for action, with Leo and guitarist James Canty practically hopping on air while furiously trashing out licks to “Heart Problems” and “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” within the first handful of songs. The group moved swiftly through songs from their lengthy discography, soon to be a little bit larger with a new set of tunes that were sprinkled throughout the set. The new tracks are strong enough to keep the crowd engaged and are a bit of a heavier affair than Leo & Co.’s recent output: “Where Was my Brain?” in particular has a thick, old school punk feel along the lines of The Damned that is sure to keep punk purists peppy.

The set wasn’t perfect – drummer Chris Wilson’s kick drum suddenly died in the middle of a new song that sent the rest of the band into a five-minute side jam, but one that displayed the group’s ardent pleasure of performing under the oddest of pressures. Fortunately, the dead kick drum was a rare bad splotch in a thoroughly enjoyable set. Throughout it all, the now-mohawked Leo peppered the show with oft-awkward conversation and entertaining anecdotes of experiences with an ex’s parents, providing a down-to-earth feel that the fairly intimate space that is Lincoln Hall appears to foster.

The intimacy of the evening was rounded out with the encore, during which Leo performed a couple of cover songs solo, including an (in Leo’s own words) “emo” cover of The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues” that was as heartfelt as any original song the man performed last evening. As The Pharmacists rejoined Leo for a stirring rendition of “Little Dawn,” it certainly felt like Lincoln Hall will be a welcome part of the Chicago music community – especially if bands as great as Ted Leo/RX are on the bill.

Photo by Leor Galil

Photo by Leor Galil

Photo by Leor Galil

Photo by Leor Galil

Photo by Leor Galil

House show flyer

House shows are the creme of the crop in underground punk… it’s where garage rock, hardcore, post-hardcore, emo, grunge… so many great genres came to fruition. And with Oh! Pioneers headlining, it should be a great one. Donate to support those who open their doors to those seeking down-to-earth musical experiences!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r76WeTXuLs]

Kal Penn?! What? You mean the guy from Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle? As a major part of the opening weekend festivities for the historical inauguration of Barack Obama?!

This guy:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuBCDNynfzA]

Don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of the first Harold and Kumar, and I do enjoy watching House from time to time. But this might have been the tipping point for the celebritification of this historical event. Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks might be different – they each have an important role in popular culture and American history. But Steve Carell? Jack Black? Really? What important work on the Obama campaign did these actors contribute? (I realize, as an aside, Penn proved his worth campaigning for Obama and many a progressive cause, but his presence was a bit on the odd side.) To think that the Obama campaign was propelled by the small time donors and the active role of the every day individual and that certain slightly popular celebrities took the spotlight for a not necessarily-discernible reason felt a little cheap. But, considering they won’t be delivering the Inauguration speech and aren’t the main source of celebration, that’s ok with me (sorry Reagan, you take the cake for celebrity-as-politician in this case).

…And possibly the only interesting few seconds of the second Harold and Kumar:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7-VlGSx5ag]