Say Something: “I Don’t Like Your Attitude”

Posted on December 4, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Today we are treating you all with the very first recording of the Springfield punk band Say Something. Say Something formed last year after the breakup of the hit Springfield ska-punk band Don’t Mess With Winkie. Now Say Something are busy recording in the studio and working with Luke McNeil (Hospital Job, The Copyrights) on their first hit album.

The song we are bringing you today is called “I Don’t Like Your Attitude” and it is just a demo. Stream the song below, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for an upcoming Say Something show at Black Sheep.

Our Lady: “Balancing Stone”

Posted on December 3, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

It looks like Springfield emo punkers and Springfield’s “Best Band Under 21,” Our Lady are at it again, this time with a brand new music video for their song “Balancing Stone.” The video features plenty of clips from the band’s most recent tour out to the west coast and back. The song “Balancing Stone” comes from the band’s most recent release, Dawning II, which you can stream in its entirety on the band’s bandcamp right here. Check out the video for the song below:

January 17th at Black Sheep: Looming, The Flips, Bookmobile, Meredosia, Bad Catman

Posted on December 3, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

We hope you all are ready for 2014 because it is going to be packed with shows and records. This show is going to happen on Friday, January 17th and it is going to rock. We have the Springfield super pop band Looming, who just played a show at Black Sheep the other night. This show will feature the five-piece indie rock band The Flips from Chicago. We have some of their music streaming on the player embedded below. Also on this show is a newer Champaign band called Bookmobile. What could they be about? Come find out at this show! If you are a fan of post-rock, come to this show because local post-rock band Meredosia will also be playing. We have new Champaign band Bookmobile playing this show, but we will also have an older and recently re-united Champaign band playing. Bad Catman will be making their first Black Sheep appearance since 2011! Bad Catman feature members of Dino Bravo, Orange Soda, Wolf Luv, Gnargoyle, The Diamond Stretch, Planet Farm, and probably a ton of other bands we are forgetting.

This show will start at 7:00 pm and admission is $5. You can find a facebook event for the show right here. Also be sure to check out our shows page to see what other great shows we have coming up in the new year at Black Sheep.

Some Things Can’t Be Ignored: Back of Dave Live

Posted on December 1, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Springfield music blog Some Things Can’t Be Ignored are at it again with yet another relic of Central Illinois music scenes of the past. This time they are unleashing a live recording from old Springfield band Back of Dave. The recording is from 1995 at The Red Herring in Urbana, Illinois. Here’s what Anthony of STCBI had to say:

You certainly don’t see live Back of Dave recordings pop up too often, so naturally I was extremely excited to get my hands on this one! Even though the recording lasts a good 45-50 minutes, there are only 8 complete songs on here. The reason why is because after they played “Digger”, a guitar amp pooped out on them. Good ‘ol Friday the 13th luck, eh? They tried to troubleshoot the problem, but eventually just ended up borrowing an amp from one of the other bands that performed that night, Spontane (which featured ex-Ostrich Syndrome members), and continued the set. During this lull, the tape continued to run, but was only dedicated to one side of a 90 minute tape, so this is all that exists.

Very cool! Check out the full post and stream the live recordings right here.

Tonight at Black Sheep: Captain Chaos, Kyle Hall, Looming, Lovecow

Posted on December 1, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Tonight is a show that we have been waiting for a long time to happen. And it’s December! How did that happen!? We have a great show to kick off December at Black Sheep tonight. It features Captain Chaos, which is the solo project of Chris Clavin of Plan-It-X-Records based out of Bloomington, Illinois. Chris is on tour with Kyle Hall from Chicago. You can check out some of Kyle Hall’s music below. As far as local band goes, we have the heavy-hitting and lovely Looming, this time in full-band form. We also have the acoustic folk-punk allstars, Lovecow.

The show tonight starts at 7:00 pm. Admission is $5. You can find a facebook event for the show right here. Don’t forget to also check out our shows page for a look at what else is coming up at Black Sheep this winter.

Today on Black Sheep Radio: Cory Yeager (Empire Board Shop)

Posted on November 29, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Today is Friday, so that means it is another episode of The Black Sheep Radio Show! If you were trying to tune in to our show last week but didn’t hear us, that is because we were having some technical difficulties. You can find last week’s show along with all of our other old shows up for download on our radio page. This week we might be playing clips from our last show, and we will also have Cory Yeager of Empire Board Shop in as our special guest. Cory will be telling us about Empire Board Shop just opening up in Springfield and also about their grand opening happening this Saturday (tomorrow).

You can tune in to our radio show from 4:00 to 6:00 pm today on 88.3 WQNA fm. You can also stream the show online at the same time at wqna.org.

Tonight at Legacy Theater: Filmage

Posted on November 29, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Tonight, the Legacy Theater in Springfield is going to be screening this awesome documentary called Filmage! This has been screening all over the country and now is our chance to see it! The footage it holds tails the band Descendents, one of the pop-punk pillars of the world as we know it. This documentary is sure to do an awesome job filling us in on their story, their influence on the punk world we all know and love so well as well as some background on the genres of punk and pop-punk. It’s super rad that the Legacy is hosting this, so check it out! It’s going to be tonight at 7:30 pm and general admission will be $10. If you’re unsure of where the legacy theatre is, click here to see the map and address. Check out the teaser trailer of this documentary below .

Holiday Shows at The Poon Lagoon + The Radon Lounge

Posted on November 28, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

This Thanksgiving we are thankful for our sister house venues in Springfield who will be doing it big this holiday season. Two of them will be doing it big on the same night- Saturday, December 14th. There is no show going on at Black Sheep that night, but you have no excuse to stay at home with these cool house shows going on.

The first is happening at The Radon Lounge (flier pictured above). This is the Radon Lounge’s Christmas Explosion, which is also a celebration of The Radon Lounge’s two years of being a house venue in Springfield. Congrats to them! We have been promised that this show/party will be filled with tons of surprises including bands, a potluck,
bingo, a Christmas sweater contest, free arcade, and a special Radon gift??? Let’s get to the bands. The show will feature Von Strantz from Indiana and also Aaron Lee Martin from Wichita, Kansas. We might also see a surprise appearance from Springfield folk-punk bandits Lovecow? You can see the full post about the Christmas Explosion on the Radon site right here. Oh, and the show starts at 6:00 pm and if you don’t know the address you will have to email radonlounge@gmail.com.

The other house show is happening at The Poon Lagoon and it is being called The Poon Lagoon Winter Fiasco! This show will feature Bloomington IL band Werepire Day, who have played Black Sheep a few times in recent years. There will also be a couple of rad local bands. This includes video game influenced Like… With Jetpacks, and Rochester powerpop band The Science Of. You can find a facebook event for that show right here. That show starts at 7:00 pm and for the address you will have to ask a punk.

Error Records and Radon Lounge on Dumb Records

Posted on November 28, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

This thanksgiving we at Black Sheep are thankful for our supportive friends and music community. We are extra thankful for our sister venues Error Records (Champaign) and The Radon Lounge, who have had some great things to say about our Dumb Records announcement that we made earlier this month. You can check out the Error Records post on Dumb Records right here. The Radon Lounge had some great things to say, which we’ve included below.

Although what you may know about the Black Sheep Cafe, plus the logo design, may lead you think think this will be a good place for drug deals, you would be dumb. We at the Radon Lounge are excited about this as it will be a different take on the record store approach that currently exists in Springfield, IL. There are a couple places other than thrift stores where you can buy vinyl records in this town, but this will be the first one to be entirely devoted to the local scene. And by scene, we’re talking about a cool and safe place for the kids to hang. A place where you can find records (vinyl, CD, cassette, 8track?) from local bands, bands who have toured Springfield, and classics to add to your collection.

There will be music available for just about every preference and we believe this place exists for the love of music, love of the community, and not just to make some money. Plus this should be viewed as a genuine effort to revitalize a neglected part of town. It will be located near 11th and South Grand, just around the corner from Black Sheep and will be opening sometime early next year.

Wow thanks Jeff! The Radon Lounge are also gearing up for their two-year anniversary celebration as a house venue in Springfield and their Christmas Explosion, which you can find more about right here.

Error Records: Community Not Commodity

Posted on November 27, 2013 by blacksheepspringfield

Today we are bringing you a neat little mini-documentary done on Champaign record store/all-ages venue and our friends Error Records. The documentary five minutes long and talks about DIY music and what Error Records is all about. You can check out the documentary right here.

The Black Sheep recently announced that we will be collaborating with Error Records to bring Dumb Records to Southtown Springfield sometime in early 2014. Be on the lookout for more news on that soon. Until then, remember “community NOT commodity.”