Cool Illinois Video

Illinois are a cool Philadelphia band who've had national recognition for a few years now. I first came across them in about 2003/04 going to see my friend's band in this short-lived monthly arts-music revue above an old city club. I forget the name, but I remember the band. They stuck out among other good acts with a clever use of banjo in a indie rock setting, good singing, and infectious hooks. They were the reason I joined myspace: so I could listen to their songs and see their photos. (Unlike me, they still keep up their site: www.myspace.com/illinois.) I've kept an eye on them ever since, only catching them live once or twice, most recently at a great show at the World Cafe earlier in the month. They've been on Lollapalooza, MTV, and all over the place really. This is a cool long-playing video used to promote their last album, The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe, which they released as a series of EPs monthly until early this year.

The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe, Illinois (the band)

Philly Acoustic Reviews

I’ve been going to shows, buying albums, and playing on the fringes of the Philadelphia folk/ acoustic/ singer-songwriter music scene for about a decade. (I use these categories loosely: many of the acts use electric instruments [they all use amplifiers or PAs], most are not folk in any strict sense of the word, and many have more than one singer or songwriter. My love is for soulful, fairly low-key, original music.) I’m continually impressed by the number of extremely talented musicians and songwriters there are out there. This site is intended to be a humble attempt to promote, discuss, and review select artists, shows, and albums, and to comment on topics of interest to the Philadelphia acoustic music scene. I go to about one folk-y type show a month, and buy a few albums by local artists each year, so the number of posts will likely be limited. Probably I’ll do a bunch at first then it’ll peter out. So it is.

Off the top of my head, here are a few of the quality local acts I’ve seen, with links to their myspace sites (i know: facebook is where it’s at but not yet for music):

Adrien Reju (www.myspace.com/adrienreju)
Birdie Busch (www.myspace.com/birdiebusch)
Bruce Langfeld [1967-2007] (www.myspace.com/brucelangfeld)
Carsie Blanton (www.myspace.com/carsieblanton)
Chris Kasper (www.myspace.com/chriskasper)
Christine Havrilla (www.myspace.com/christinehavrilla)
Cowmuddy (www.myspace.com/cowmuddy)
the Great Unknown (www.myspace.com/thegreatunknownband)
Hoots & Hellmouth (www.myspace.com/hootshellmouth)
Illinois (www.myspace.com/illinois)
Joshua Park (www.myspace.com/joshuaparkmusic)
Karen Gross (www.myspace.com/karengross)
Kate Gaffney (www.myspace.com/kategaffney)
Langhorne Slim (www.myspace.com/langhorneslim)
the Lowlands (www.myspace.com/thelowlandsband)
Papertrees (www.myspace.com/papertreesmusic)
Peasant (www.myspace.com/peasant)
the Philadelphia Bluegrass Band (www.myspace.com/thephiladelphiabluegrassband)
Rachel Andes (www.myspace.com/rachelandes)
Sara Judge (www.myspace.com/sarajudge)
Sexcop (www.myspace.com/sexcop)
Sisters 3 (www.myspace.com/sisters3)
the Writing Birds (www.myspace.com/thewritingbirds)