Tonight at Black Sheep: Ghost Mice, Bad Banshee, Pat The Bunny, SAP

Posted on April 3, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

It’s Friday night and we have only one show happening this weekend at Black Sheep and that is tonight! Tonight marks the return of the legendary two-piece Bloomington, Indiana folk punk band Ghost Mice to the Black Sheep stage. Ghost Mice last played at Black Sheep last spring with the Macedonian punk band Bernay’s Propaganda. Stream some of Ghost Mice’s music on the player embedded below. This will be the second stop on their marathon 12 cities in 10 days tour with Pat The Bunny. Pat The Bunny is a folk solo project related to Ramshackle Glory, who played at Black Sheep last in the summer of 2012. Providing local support are the architects of nightmare ska Bad Banshee and grungy power trio SAP.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and admission is $5. You can find a facebook event for the show HERE. Also be sure to check out our shows page for a look at everything coming up at Black Sheep in the coming months.

Dumb Fest 3-D Announcement #5

Posted on April 2, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

The fifth and final Dumb Fest 3-D announcement is finally here, which brings us to the full announced lineup! Today we are coming at you with eight more bands being announced- coming from Philadelphia to California and other places in between to play in our corner of the world. Dumb Fest 3 is happening June 12th and 13th at Black Sheep, Skank Skates, South Town Studio, and Dumb Records. Ready for the bands? Here we go:

TOYS THAT KILL from San Pedro, California

LOOMING from Springfield

STUCK LUCKY from Nashville, Tennessee

MIMISIKU from Denton, Texas

THE DRIP from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PREGNANCY TEST from Columbia, Missouri

PIGEON from Carbondale, Illinois

LAVENDAR from Central Illinois

There you have it! That brings us to a total of 40 bands playing the two days of the festival. You can take a look at the full Dumb Fest 3-D lineup and see which bands are playing what day on our Dumb Fest 3 page. Also check out the Dumb Fest 3-D facebook page right here. Stay tuned for more info on ticket info and prices, and start times.

Midwest Punk Fest 7 in Bloomington, IL

Posted on April 2, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

Our friends and neighbors over in “BloNo” are putting on the 7th Annual Midwest Punk Fest this May. Covering two days with 24 bands (including Springfield’s own fudgy-core pioneers Diaper Rash and perennial teen idols The Timmy’s); this is set to be another great weekend Fest!!!

CONFIRMED BANDS: Subject to Change

FRIDAY:
THE BISTRO – Downtown Bloomington
7PM – Diaper Rash
7:45PM – Up N at ‘Em
8:30PM – Bookmobile
9:15PM – Ska’s The Limit
10PM – The Linden Method
11PM – Soy City Stranglers…
12AM – As The Crow Flies
1AM – The Timmys

SATURDAY:
THE BISTRO – Downtown Bloomington
12PM – Beer Wave
12:45PM – Cactus Kid
1:30PM – TBA
2:15PM – Must Build Jacuzzi
3PM – The Kreutzer Sonata
3:45PM – Unamused Dave
4:30PM – The MisFetts

FIREHOUSE PIZZA AND PUB – Uptown Normal
6PM – Back Alley Riot
6:45PM – The Run Around
7:30PM – Kobanes Official
8:15PM – Nard Voris
9:15PM – Dirty Rotten Revenge
10:15PM – Killshakes
11:15PM – Roberta Sparrow
12:15AM – The Slow Death
1AM – TBA

*Shows at The Bistro are All Ages with parent or legal guardian.
**Shows at the Firehouse are All Ages.

Stay up to date with all things Midwest Punk Fest by joining the Facebook event here.

Brandon Carnes And Brian Galecki Plan Foosball Match To Determine Next Black Sheep Owner

Posted on April 1, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

With Kevin Bradford’s recent announcement that he will be leaving Black Sheep later this spring to pursue a career in professional basketball, a lot of questions have been raised about our venue’s future. Many of you are wondering who will be stepping up as the new owner of Black Sheep- and it is looking like either Brandon Carnes or Brian Galecki are likely candidates. The two have decided to take things to the foosball court to decide who the real owner of The Black Sheep Cafe will be after Kevin steps down- and there can only be one. Brian and Brandon are currently both undefeated on the foosball table which usually sits inside Dumb Records. The two have decided to hold the ultimate match tonight on the stage of Black Sheep. They are also welcoming any other challengers to compete for the Black Sheep throne.

The big match to determine the next owner of Black Sheep will be tonight on the stage at 8:00 pm. Admission is free to the public.

Kevin Bradford Announces Plans To Pursue Career In Professional Basketball After Stepping Down From Black Sheep

Posted on April 1, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

Many of you have been wondering what will come next for Black Sheep owner Kevin Bradford, who announced last month that he will be stepping down from Black Sheep later this spring. Kevin has been saying that there are big things that lie ahead for him, and it has finally been revealed that Kevin plans to pursue a career in professional basketball, something he has always dreamed of doing. From a recent interview with NPR:

Sports has always been a true passion of mine. My love for sports has always been at the core of Black Sheep from the very start. Now I plan on taking my love for sports one step further- I will be leaving Black Sheep to join the NBA and pursue a career in professional basketball. I will continue to try and show my support for Southtown and Black Sheep while out on the court.

This might come as a pretty big twist to a lot of you- but Kevin will not be going far! Kevin will be back to visit during the off-season, something which he has promised will be easy to do with his new 14-passenger plane. Kevin would also like to thank his new sponsors- Dumb Records and Diet Coke™.

Panzys: “Panzys”

Posted on March 31, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

Today we are bringing you a stream of the brand new 10-track self-titled release of Springfield “grosscore” punk band, Panzys. The album was recorded earlier this year in South Town Studio by Brandon Carnes. Stream the songs on the player embedded below. You can look out for a physical release soon. Enjoy!

Panzys also released Half Dark Heart last year. They also do not currently have any shows lined up at Black Sheep, but keep an eye out!

New Arrivals This Week At Dumb Records

Posted on March 31, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

This week is another week at Southtown Springfield record store, Dumb Records (1107 South Grand East). This week you can find a few new and used LPs on our shelves. The countdown is also continuing for Record Store Day happening on Saturday, April 18th, which is coming up fast. Let’s take a look at Dumb Records’s operating hours for the week before we get into the new arrivals:

Tuesday (today): 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Wednesday: 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday: 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Friday (show): 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday: 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm

New LPs
Panda Bear – Meets The Grim Reaper
St. Vincent – St. Vincent

Used LPs
Bob Dylan – Street Legal
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
Cat Stevens – Buddha And The Chocolate Box
Cat Stevens – Greatest Hits
Elvis – That’s The Way It Is
Head East – Live!
Jackson Browne – For Everyman
Jouney – Infinity
Ken Hensley – Eager To Please
Neil Young – Decade
Olivia Newton-John – Have You Never Been Mellow
Shaun Cassidy – Born Late
T. Rex – Electric Warrior
Van Morrison – Veedon Fleece
(Various) – The Best Of The Dukes Of Dixieland
(Various) – The Rock Album

Some Things Can’t Be Ignored: The Treez “Tag! You’re It!”

Posted on March 30, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

Springfield music blog Some Things Can’t Be Ignored are at it again!!! This time they dig deep into the early 90s archives (1993 or 1994) to bring us “Tag! You’re It!” by Springfield power trio The Treez. From Some Things Can’t Be Ignored:

The Treez were a three piece band featuring Phil Seabrook on Bass and Vocals, Howard Freitag on Guitar, and Johnny Blazis (RIP) on Drums. These fellas played ALL OVER Springfield and surrounding areas during the early 1990’s and had a sound that (in my opinion) perfectly envelops Springfield rock during this time.

You can head over to Some Things Can’t Be Ignored to read the full article and stream or download the full demo. Also stream the demo from The Treez below.

Record Store Day April 18th at Dumb Records

Posted on March 29, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

Looks like there are some pretty great things cooking up in Southtown for Record Store Day 2015, which will be happening this year on Saturday, April 18th! This year Dumb Records is an official Record Store Day store, and you can check out our official page on the Record Store Day site right here! This means that Dumb Records will be getting in a number of exclusive titles and releases for this special day. We can not say at this point what any of them are going to be, but you can look at this (very long) list of exclusive titles on the RSD website (which we won’t be getting close to all of). In addition to the RSD releases, everything non-RSD in the store (including new and used items) will be 10% off.

On top of all of that fun stuff, there will also be a four-band show happening inside Black Sheep at 3:00 pm to go along with Record Store Day. For that we have the long-awaited return of Central Illinois pop punkers, Horrible Things. Stream some of their music below. We also have three-piece Springfield/Bloomington/Champaign emo project Wir Können. We also have Slam Dinner and a newer Bloomington/Normal band called Unhappy Gilmore. Admission for the show is $5.

Find a facebook event for that whole she-bang right here. Also be sure to check out our shows page for a look at everything coming up in Southtown in the coming months.

Calling Bands for Battle of the Bands: July 11th

Posted on March 28, 2015 by blacksheepspringfield

It’s that time of the year again, we’re looking for some new talent to showcase from the central Illinois area. And if last year’s Battle of the Bands is any indication of what to expect, it won’t be something to miss out on. We are starting to look for bands a little early this year. This year the show will be on Saturday, July 11th. If you have a band that is interested in playing or know of any, here is what we’re looking for:

– bands that have high school, middle school, or even college-aged members.
– bands that have not yet played Black Sheep, or have only played once or twice.
– new bands that have formed within the last year

Bands entering into the battle do NOT have to pay any sort of entrance fee or audition in any way. So if any of that applies to you, or if you know of any bands that will fit the bill, listen up! Everyone that enters will get a chance to win one of two sweet prizes: 4-song demo recorded right up in South Town Studios by Brandon Carnes (going to the winner of judge voting) OR a spot on Black Sheep Fest 2015 (to the winner of crowd voting). Get a hold of us at blacksheepspringfield@gmail.com to sign up. Show us what you’ve got!