Did you know that Springfield long-running punk band, The Timmys recently released a new 4-track EP? The EP is entitled Dude, Girl and it was featured in review on the popular punk music website, punknews.org earlier this week. The review gives the EP three and a half out of five stars, and goes into depth analyzing each song. From the review:

The Timmys’ latest EP, Dude, Girl, is a nine—minute exercise in pessimistic pop punk —— it comes off as uplifting despite some heavy subject matter crammed into its four segments. The quintet from Springfield, IL masterfully balance catchy rhythms and clean—cut harmonies with harsh lyrics that chronicle the uselessness of love, the ignorance of violence and the difference between dudes and girls.

You can find the full review for Dude, Girl right here. Punknews.org is also streaming all four songs from the release right here on The Timmys’ Punk News page. The band will be playing their next show in Springfield at Donnie’s Homespun on October 31st as a part of NIL8’s Hobgoblinspookadelic.

Springfield hit band Looming recently had their five-song EP reviewed by online blog Nighty Night Media. From the review:

After a short intro track that sets the mood just right with big guitar chords and melodies that twist and turn, the EP really gets going with “Definition of Home.” Jessica Knight’s unique and versatile vocals immediately grab your attention and give Looming a sound that is completely their own. Musically, Looming’s sound leans a little more on the pop punk side, that mixes power chord blissfulness with punchy rhythms.

You can check out the full review right here. You can also head over to the Nighty Night site to find more reviews, videos, and articles on some neat films and bands. Looming will be playing at Black Sheep next on Sunday, April 27th along with Ghost Mice, Nephrons, and Wilt Candy.

Thanks to Black Sheep friend and photographer Priten Vora, Black Sheep has recently been featured in an online magazine called Sensory Addiction. Priten did a nice write up on us as a venue which includes of Priten’s photos. From the article:

I’ve been to a lot of shows at the Black Sheep Café by now, and it’s been amazing to me to see just how receptive the crowds are to the large variety of musicians who come through the venue. They seem to care more than anything about seeing musicians do what they love, and it has been very refreshing to witness a community that values passion in musicians above all else. Even touring artists can feel the difference – I’ve spoken to many bands after shows who were blown away by how welcome they felt despite having never played there before.

You can find the full article along with the full issue of Sensory Addiction right here. You can also check out some of Priten Vora’s photos of Dumb Fest last year right here on our Dumb Fest flickr group.

Of of the people behind the Tuuwa “Midwest Collective” were kind enough to send us some photos and a short little write-up of a recent show at Black Sheep which happened on Friday, March 14th. The show featured a wide range of artists including more of the hip-hop genre.

T.I.E Affair’s first show was over whelming for the local crowd. This hip hop duo stuck out. While others were plugging in ipods and streaming popular instrumentals from youtube. These small town natives bring their own producer to jock for them playing original production. As a viewer and a listener, you could instantly tell these two were comfy on the stage. You could tell they probably work all the time to be this comfortable. If they don’t, they sure have tricked me. K_Khid (in Heat hat) & BirBen were easy to hear even though an older, broken in punk/metal P.A. system. G-Head kept the tasteful flow of beats. There was no stoping or cutting off of tracks at any time. The crowd was digging what these two were spitting. It’s so nice to see genuine talent with a smile on their face. They were just happy to be there.

I was lucky to have chatted with them after. All tracks that night were so new they haven’t even been recorded yet. Keep your head up for these two.

Very cool stuff. The next hip-hop and rap show will be happening at Black Sheep on Saturday, April 5th. That one will feature Cooshit, Habilis Riccardo, Pytch Wyte, and more.

Check out the Tuuwa facebook page right here. You can find a few more photos from the show below, or on our Black Sheep flickr page. If you are interested in also sending us show photos or reviews of any Springfield show, shoot us an email to blacksheepspringfield@gmail.com.

It looks like Champaign-based freeform radio station and music site Pizza FM have published a review of a show at Black Sheep that recently happened on Friday, the 13th. The show featured Soap Scum, Bad Side, Ruz, and Mother Leopard, and there was also a surprise set from a band called The Tyrants. The show review was done by Pizza FM staff writer Mario Cannamela and you can check out some of it below.

While the punks of the C-U area truly have all they could ever hope for with their vast and thriving local scene, sometimes it can be well worth it to set foot outside one scene’s confines to catch a taste of another. For those of you punk rockers who were looking to get your slam on last night, this hardcore punk show at the Black Sheep Café in Springfield was not a show to miss. If you ever get a chance to attend a wild show like this at the Black Sheep, you will certainly tell your friends, and if not, your mother.

The Tyrants

These are the knuckleheads I rode into town with. After arriving fashionably late due to a Po’ Boy incident at Popeye’s, The Tyrants, who were not originally on the show’s lineup, took the stage. All but one of the band members donnen plush purple capes, golden crowns, and terrific yellow socks. Their vocalist, Sam, was clearly a non-conformist; he instead had on goofy shades and a periwinkle blazer, and brought with him a promise of “turning your brains to sh*t.”

Before the synth-punk quintet could even sneak a note in, the crowd was already full of life, and that didn’t change once the start of their set came. This was the first time in over a full year that the Chicago/Champaign/Springfield band of U of I alums had played together, mainly because of activity with related projects – the band shares members with Need, Easter, Soap Scum, Kowabunga! Kid – and due to drummer Kyle Lang’s recent triumph over cancer. They certainly made up for lost time. Their quirky show antics and upbeat slam tunes kept a smile on the crowd’s faces for the entirety of their brief set. If you aren’t convinced, catch them as their world tour stops in Bloomington Saturday night, but you’ll have to ask a punk for the address.

Check out the rest of the review right here. For more Central Illinois music reviews (mostly Champaign) and other music-related things, check out pizzafm.org.

We recently let you all know that Hospital Job‘s new LP Downer Downer Downer was (and still is) streaming on the popular music website Punknews.org. Today we bring you news that the album Downer Downer Downer was reviewed on the site and received a rating of three and a half of five stars. From the review:

Springfield, Ill.’s Hospital Job includes members of the Copyrights, the Nephrons and Horrible Things, which add to the hype of Downer, Downer, Downer a lot. Needless to say, with the eyes focused firmly on how these sounds would influence the collective effort of Hospital Job, there’s a sense of contentment with the record delivered. I personally had a bit more expectation from it but while it fell just short of my personal bar, it still works well enough.