3:39PM: There’s a LOT of Slayer shirts at Riot Fest today. We’re ready for their final Chicago show.
4:17PM: Supergroup The Damned Things is rocking the Rebel Stage in the blinding sun. It’s a feast of talent featuring Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman (guitar) and Andy Hurley (drums), Anthrax’s Scott Ian (guitar), Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley (vocals), and Alkaline Trio’s Dan Andriano (bass).
4:46PM: Gwar and Riot Fest are synonymous at this point, so it’s always a treat to see them up close and personal in the press area. Guitarist Bålsåc the Jaws ‘O Death looks fierce—and I’m not just talking about the beastly balls dangling beneath his exposed ass. But then he takes a swig of his Bon & Viv spiked seltzer and I can’t help but laugh.
5:19PM: I have a quick chat with JP of Surfer Blood to remind him that he once crashed at my apartment the night before the band’s 2010 Pitchfork Fest set. That was fun—and so was their set earlier in the day.
5:34PM: My wife and I are playing one of our favorite games: “What Drug Is That Person On?” We’ve determined that the dude standing before us is on a combination of several, and while we can’t confirm his particular cocktail we can, in fact, confirm that it took him 3 minutes and 36 seconds to light his cigarette. The struggle is real.
6:04PM: The Struts are serving us some glam rock perfection. Lead singer Luke Spiller sounds like Freddie and moves like Mick.
6:26PM: There are lots of gems at the silent auction tent for the Coalition for the Homeless. Signed guitars and drum kits, posters and art from Riot Fest alums past and present. I hope a lot of money was raised.
The man behind the album covers: He didn’t paint the Mona Lisa. But Robert “Bob” Heimall’s unique artwork – and its context in pop culture – is sure to endure, like all great art, for many years to come, or as long as rock music exists as part of our cultural landscape. Heimall pioneered, mastered and enhanced the art of record album design during the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. But his career, ultimately spanning six decades, ended up being much more than that. And his new book, “Cover Stories,” chronicles the circuitous route he took through the world of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” to find a different god, the God of Christianity. “I’m a Christian now and this is a spiritual book,” said the man who had partied with the likes of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Heimall’s book, self-published and available at Amazon, starts out with the stories behind the art – stories of how Heimall got to know many of the rock legends of the time, even became friends with some of them, while designing their album covers. But, whether intended or not, it quickly turns into 
Valuable Vinyl: Caring for Your Prized Classical LPs: Tonight’s selection is determined as much by the caress of the finger across the spines as the music itself. The choice is slid from the collection into the waiting hand of the enthusiast. It is cradled gingerly in the arm as the other hand slides off the glossy jacket and then the sleeve to reveal multiple glistening shades of black reflecting off the vinyl. The disc is reverently placed on the turntable, and the tone arm is raised in anticipation of the full-frequency stereophonic sound immersion. The multi-sensory, ritualistic experience of listening to a vinyl record transcends any digital playlist. Whether new or vintage, you’ll want to make sure that your prized classical albums are 
Bangkok, TH | What it takes to run a vinyl shop in Bangkok, according to the owners of Fatblack Records: Vinyl has been through its ups and downs, but in recent years the medium has found some stability in the market. In fact, after slumps brought on by CD sales and eventually steaming platforms, vinyl records have quietly bounced back in a big way. Global vinyl sales have increased by between 12-13-percent over the past two years thanks to collectors looking to deck out their music rooms and hunt for vintage record finds. Bangkok has it’s own budding vinyl scene hunting for 
Margate, UK | Margate arts and record venue Elsewhere celebrates first birthday with packed weekend event: Margate arts’ bar and record store Elsewhere has announced a packed weekend of live music and DJs to mark its first birthday this month. In keeping with the spirit of last year’s opening weekend, the venue’s birthday celebrations will play host to a cast of local musicians and DJs including Self Esteem, Tunng, Babii, Iglooghost (DJ set) Night Works, JAKL, Charlie Hannah, Jack Goldstein, Vanishing Twin (DJ set) and many more across the nights of Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28. Speaking of The Centre based venue’s inaugural year, Elsewhere’s head programmer Sammy Clarke said: “It’s been an action packed year of triumphs and learning curves at Elsewhere. Despite a few naysayers and doubters early on, we have managed to persevere with the help of an incredible team who go the extra mile every day and a community of musicians, artists and gig-goers who have a seemingly insatiable appetite for night time antics and 
NEW RELEASE PICKS: Telepathic Band, Electric Telepathy Vol. 1 (577) The third album from this exceptional five-member NYC group is also the first half of what promises to be an absolute knockout. The Telepathic Band features Daniel Carter on saxophones, clarinet and trumpet, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboard, Hilliard Greene on bass, and Federico Ughi on drums, and for this LP they took an improvised earlier recording session back into the studio and created a new thing in collaboration with producer Stelios Mihas, who also contributes guitar. While the four tracks on side two tangle with the finer side of ’70s fusion and robust astral jazz, it’s side one’s 19-minute dive into psychedelia that’s the real grabber here. The Telepathic Band and 577 Records are boundary breakers. A
Joel Paterson, Let It Be Guitar! Joel Patterson Plays The Beatles (Bloodshot) This one unabashedly throws back to an era when technically sharp instrumentalists could carve a livelihood by putting an adept and distinct stamp on their chosen material. To sharpen the description, Chicagoan Paterson’s influences include Les Paul and Chet Adkins as he blends jazz, exotica, blues, rockabilly, western swing and C&W with ease. That’s mucho range, and he’s not about showing off but instead making the right sounds. While the LP’s sleeve enhances the retro angle, the music hits just right (in fact more consistently than some of his influences), and only partly due to the solidity of the source material. Paterson tackles a few later Beatles tunes but seems to prefer the early stuff, and that’s fine with me. A-
somesurprises, S/T (Drawing Room) Seattle’s somesurprises began as the solo project of singer-songwriter Natasha El-Sergany but is now a full-on band. Although there are some cassettes in the discography, this is designated as the debut album, and it establishes El-Sergany as being substantially impacted by the sound of shoegaze. This is cool, and especially because the work transcends expectations (mine, anyway) for this sorta thing. To elaborate, a whole lot of recent shoegaze (neo-shoegaze, if you will), even when it’s (very) good, can be assessed as somewhat or largely formulaic. Not this record, the opening track of which doesn’t even gaze at any shoes at all. Instead, it offers a celestial retro futurist vibe that bookends nicely with the extended closing motorik burner “Cherry Sunshine.” A-
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICK: Kristin Hersh, Crooked (Fire) Released in 2010, this was Hersh’s eighth full-length, making its vinyl debut here with a new sleeve design. There was a CD issued in ’10 (Fire has a CD out with fresh cover, as well), but Crooked was notably first issued as a book with digital download that included ample extra material; that stuff ain’t here, but that’s alright, as the core is represented, though interestingly with a new track sequence. “Mississippi Kite” opened matters in 2010, but now it’s the fourth track and side one’s closer. This is also alright. Hersh is a writer, and writers are prone to the need to revise. What hasn’t changed is the intensity of her work; I like her stuff in Throwing Muses but tend to love her in solo mode, where the power kick only increases. She’s weathered, but not beaten. A-
New York, NY | Bushwick’s Daptone Records Will Host a Stoop Sale Friday With Free Beer: Vinyl collectors, fans of soulful Daptone Records, and beer-drinkers will have a field day at this Friday’s Daptone Super Soul Stoop Sale. The record label is credited with the soul and funk revival of the last decade and a half. One of the label’s first major successes was recording the backing music to Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” as the Dap-Kings. You may also remember the Dap-Kings as Sharon Jones’s permanent backing band, recording seven full-length albums with her before Jones’ untimely death in November of last year. The recording studio is nestled into an unassuming converted house at 115 Troutman St., making it possibly the most unlikely hub for world-class soul and funk out there. This Friday, June 30 between 4 and 8 p.m. come down to the studio for $10 LPs, a 5 for $20 deal on Daptone 45s, and a deal on a limited Sharon Jones Record Store Day recording. Plus, there will be 
Anthony Bourdain’s Chef’s Knife, Records & Other Belongings to Be Auctioned: Over 200 items will be on the block this October. Nearly 200 items personally accrued by the late Anthony Bourdain will go to auction next month including a custom chef’s knife, some of his 
