More On “Collision #2” Art Show This Saturday

Posted on May 8, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Hi all happy Tuesday! This weekend at Black Sheep we are gearing up for just one big event and that is another collaborative one with The Pharmacy Gallery in town- this time happening at our own space(s) in Southtown. That is “Collision #2” and tonight we are coming to you with a list of artists involved. The opening will begin at Black Sheep and also include art inside Skank Skates, and also Dumb Records at 3:00 pm. Live music will start at 5:00 pm and be ongoing, up until we wrap things up at 10:00 pm. Feel free to come out any time in there! Here is the list of participating artists and musicians:

Kristin Walker
Zach Dooley
Jeff Curtis Williams
Lizzy Brown
Diane DeLeonardo
Vincent Sgro
Diane DeLeonardo
Kenyon Deshasier
Mary Ellen Strack
Ross Dickie Pierro
Diane Schleyhahn
Vince Merriman
Delinda Chapman
Cory Niff
Will Redwood
N’Shell Patton
Samantha Cotner
Jim West

Also a public open call for art is still out there for anyone who wants to participate in showing art at Dumb Records for this! We are accepting 6″x6″ or 12″x12″ pieces of art (the same size as album artwork) to be on display inside the walls of Dumb Records during the show. Submissions are due on Saturday by noon!

Find a facebook event for the art show right here. More info on an aftershow featuring more music/bands at a house coming soon! Also check out our shows page for a look at what else is coming up at Black Sheep.

Dumb Fest 20-Song Mix CD Sampler Available for Free at Dumb Records

Posted on May 6, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Yes, that’s right. Each year we have put on Dumb Fest we have made mix CDs featuring 20 of the bands performing to hand out for free at shows leading up to the fest. This year we are making sure that CD is available at all times inside Dumb Records during operating hours (noon – 8pm every day). From now until the start of the fest (Friday, June 8th) if you walk into Dumb Records you get handed one of these CDs and also a schedule for Dumb Fest 6 happening June 8th, 9th, and 10th in six different locations throughout Springfield. Stop in and get yours today! Don’t forget to check our Dumb Fest 6 page which shows an updated schedule as well.

Dumb Fest 6 Announcement #4

Posted on May 4, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Good afternoon and welcome to the 4th and (probably not really final) wave of bands announced for Dumb Fest 6! Dumb Fest 6 is happening a little over a month away from now on June 8th, 9th, and 10th in six different locations around town. We now have a Dumb Fest 6 page setup that gives a breakdown of all of the shows. Here are your next ten bands announced:

MATRIX (Indiana)
REDUCED TO INSTINCT (Bloomington, IL)
RITALIN O.D. (Chicago, IL)
IT’S ME, ROSS (Columbia, MO)
GHOUL JR. (Champaign, IL)
NICE TRY (Bloomington, IN)
CYBER PINK (Chicago, IL)
CUERPO PUDRIDO (Chicago, IL)
GRAVESWITCHER (Springfield)
HOTLINE TNT (St. Louis/Minneapolis)

There you have it! There might be a handful of more bands announced, but probably not a full announcement of ten bands. Expect next to see a full and final beautiful flier with all of the bands playing and ticket preorders… nice. Go ahead and listen to the band Nice Try on the player below. Find a facebook event for Dumb Fest 6 right here.

Dumb Fest 6 Page

Posted on May 4, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

We finally got around to setting up a page for Dumb Fest 6 on our site! Now you can take a look at a breakdown of everything announced for the festival so far – including where we are at on the lineup for all six shows – happening six different locations with weekend of June 8th, 9th, and 10th – and all of the bands playing, along with clickable links to each band’s music. Check out that new page right here. You can also always find it by hovering over the “shows” tab. You can also find pages for past Dumb Fests by hovering over “Dumb Fest 6.”

You can also expect a new wave of ten bands to go up here at our site at 3:00 pm this afternoon! Lookout!

Tonight at Black Sheep: Richard Gilman-Opalsky “Against Capital” Book Release + Pryss

Posted on May 4, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

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You may remember a little over a year ago in January of 2017 we hosted our first ever book release and talk at Black Sheep by UIS professor Richard Gilman-Opalsky. The book was called “The Spectres of Revolt” and was accompanied by a band performance by the band Undone. Well that first book release was a success, and now we have another one happening tonight!

Richard Gilman-Opalsky – UIS professor and philosphopher will now be releasing another book – “Against Capital” and leading a talk and discussion tonight at Black Sheep. All are welcome to join and it is a free event! We have the chairs pulled from out of the basement. The night will begin with a full band performance by the band Pryss. Here’s a description of the book:

“Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century makes a formidable-and highly original-contribution to the literature. The central themes and arguments advanced in the volume, which are always stimulating and provocative, enjoy a direct relevance for many central and increasingly urgent interdisciplinary debates across the social sciences. Empowering and liberating in equal measure, a particular strength is the richness, nuance, and impressive depth of insight and analysis, driven by an uncompromised intent to move society beyond the entrenched and intersectional crises faced at this time. Finally, the choice of intellectuals, all recognized as leading scholars in their own fields-both past and present-with which to capture and animate the book’s content, serves to further strengthen its excellent quality and relevance. In short, I hope that it will be read widely, and repeatedly.”
—Richard J. White, Reader in Human Geography, Sheffield Hallam University

Find a facebook event for Friday right here. Also be sure to check out our shows page for a look at what else is coming up at Black Sheep this spring and summer.

Black Sheep + The Pharmacy Gallery Present “Collision Art Show #2” in Southtown May 12th

Posted on May 3, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Us at Black Sheep teaming up with The Pharmacy Gallery back in early January for “Collision” ended up being a huge success. The event was set up with the idea that we would also team up for another art show later on at The Black Sheep. Well, here we are and Collision #2 is happening in a little over a week with a showing from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Saturday, May 12th! Art will be on display inside Black Sheep, but also inside Dumb Records and Skank Skates as well.

There is also an open call for art to be submitted to be on display inside Dumb Records – paintings the same size as album artwork (12″x12″) or (7″x7″) to be on the walls of the record store.

The event will be happening from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm, with live music at some point during the opening. You can find a facebook event for the art show right here. Also be sure to check out our shows page for a look at what else is coming up at Black Sheep in the near future.

Imaginary Colours: “Dream WAV.”

Posted on May 3, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

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New Springfield synth / electronic solo project Imaginary Colours has released a second collection of songs under the title Dream WAV. The project is the newest of Michael LaFrance, formerly of The Suction Cups and Ragna Rye. Check out the newest three-song Imaginary Colours EP on the player below. Also head over to the Imaginary Colours bandcamp page where you can purchase to download the EP.

Imaginary Colours performed for the first time live at Record Store Day at Dumb Records. There are no live performances lined up right now that we know of.

May 5th (Saturday) at Black Sheep: Prowess, Prevalence, Oversleeping

Posted on May 2, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Let’s take a look at what else we got coming up this weekend! This one is this upcoming Saturday, May 5th at Black Sheep. It looks like a short and sweet three band punk show. For this one we have Springfield fast punk/hardcore band Prowess on the bill. They are the only locals on the bill actually. Then we have St. Louis-based alternative punk band “Oversleeping“. Check out their music on the player embedded below. The third and final act lined up is the two-piece project “Prevalence” from Champaign/Urbana.

This show starts at 7:00 pm and admission is $5. Find a facebook event for this one right here. Also be sure to check out our shows page for a good look at what else is coming up at Black Sheep in the near future.

New Arrivals This Week at Dumb Records

Posted on May 2, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

Let’s keep things rolling with another look at what’s new at Dumb Records this week! The records haven’t stopped flying on the shelves still since Record Store Day is over. The store has had a good chunk of used LPs and some used cassettes still coming in. Let’s take a look at the store’s operating hours (1107 South Grand Ave East) and then look at the new arrivals:

Wednesday: noon – 8:00 pm
Thursday: noon – 8:00 pm
Friday: noon – 8:00 pm
Saturday (show): 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Monday: noon – 8:00 pm
Tuesday: noon – 8:00 pm
Used LPs
Al Morgan – At The Dunes
Andre Previn – Sound Stage!
Anita Darian – East of the Sun
Be-Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim
Billie Holiday – A Rare Live Recording Of Billie Holiday
Bob Sharples – Pass In Review
Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi
Boz Scaggs – Boz Scaggs
Brook Benton – The Boll Weevil Song And 11 Other Great Hits
Buddy Cole – Organ Moods In Hi-Fi
B.W. Stevenson – My Maria
Charlie Ventura – East of Suez
Curtis Mayfield – Curtis
Dan Hartman – Instant Replay
Duke Ellington – Dance to Duke!
Isaac Hayes – The Isaac Hayes Movement
James Brown – Ain’t It Funky
James Brown – The James Brown Show
Jean Shepard – Your Forevers Don’t Last Very Long
Jefferson Starship – Modern Times
Joe Bushkin – Skylight Rhapsody
Johnnie Taylor – Super Taylor
The Karate Kid Part II – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Kay Lande – For Sleepyheads Only
The Last Poets – This Is Madness
Leonard Bernstein – Scheherazade
The Magic Organ – Organ Magic
Mantovani – Mantovani In Concert
The Merrill Staton Voices – Meredith Willson’s Here’s Love
Michael Legrand And His Orchestra – Strings On Fire
Michael Stanley Band – MSB
Mystic Moods – Erogenous
New Dave Mason – So High
No Strings Sextet – No Strings
The Norman Luboff Choir – But Beautiful
Ray Anthony – Plays Worried Mind
The Ray Conniff Singers – It’s The Talk Of The Town
Ray Conniff – Hollywood In Rhythm
Rick James – Bustin’ Out of L Seven
Rick James – Fire It Up
Roger Williams – Always
Sad Café – Misplaced Ideals
Seals & Crofts – Collection: The Collection of Their Original Hits
Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Stephen Stills – Stills
Stonewall Jackson – Greatest Hits
Strawberry Alarm Clock – The World In A Sea Shell
Tanya Tucker – Live
Tyrone Davis – I Had It All The Time
Various – The Happy Days of Rock N’ Roll
Various – The Sound of Genius Vol. 2
Various – Sounds In Space
W.A.S.P. – Inside The Electric Circus
Werner Muller – Percussion In The Sky
Yes – Classic Yes

New Cassettes
The Dry Look – Arid Stare EP

Used Cassettes
Amy Grant – House of Love
Billy Joel – River Of Dreams
The Bodyguard – Original Soundtrack Album
Bryan Adams – Waking Up The Neighbours
Celine Dion – All The Way… A Decade of Song
Daryl Hall John Oates – Ooh Yeah!
Elton John – The One
Kenny G – Breathless
Janet Jackson – Design of a Decade 1986/1996
Jon Secada – Jon Secada
Mariah Carey – Always Be My Baby
Michael Bolton – Timeless: The Classics
Paula Abdul – Spellbound
Phil Collins – Both Sides
Vanessa Williams – The Sweetest Days

NPR Illinois / Rachel Otwell Record Store Day at Dumb Records Audio Postcard

Posted on May 1, 2018 by blacksheepspringfield

NPR Illinois reporter and friend Rachel Otwell was kind enough to do a short write-up and minute long “audio postcard” for Record Store Day now a little over one week ago at Dumb Records. The day ended up being the store’s biggest day in sales ever, and we were also featured on News Channel 20. You can check out Rachel’s audio-postcard where she talks to store volunteer Johari Idusuyi right here. From the NPR Illinois site:

At both Recycled Records and Dumb Records in Springfield, collectors lined up at the door in the early morning hours, in hopes of attaining the special releases they were after. At Dumb Records, I scored a live album from last year’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest winners, Tank and the Bangas. Over at Recycled Records, I found a limited re-release of works by keyboard/synthesizer legend Bernie Worrell, founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and sometimes member of Talking Heads (just to name a couple of projects he worked on.)

Dumb Records ordered in everything from Taylor Swift to Common to their usual punk/alternative/indie specialties like Courtney Barnett, Ben Kweller and Elvis Costello. (It should be noted, the store truly has a bit of everything even though its punk reputation precedes it.)