Making songs about city life can be messy. For the members of Chicago-based indie band Bound Stems, the task involved a lot of mixed sound recordings and voice narratives. With their albums The Logic of Building the Body Plan and particularly in Appreciation Night, the band compiles songs using sound clips of Chicago — from sounds of the CTA train to the laughter and dialogue of intimate conversations — to make tracks that would parallel the chaos of exploring city streets. Naming some of their influences as the Eagles and Paul Simon, band members Bobby Gallivan, Dan Fluery and Dan Radzicki met while playing basketball in high school and later added former Harvey Danger members Evan Sult and Janie Porche to the mix. And while Bound Stems mix different layers of rhythmic patterns with random tape recordings (from street walks to a recitation of a Thax Douglas poem), their sound turns out experimentally colorful, emotional and choppy — just as any narration about a city should sound. (Appearing with Dirty on Purpose and All Smiles as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival at Schubas on Jan. 14) --text: Jackie Bernardo--photo: Chris Strong

Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose is a very appropriately named band: they create some of the best make-out music ever. While they take few risks and sound like almost every other indie band to become popular these days, they also happen to be really fucking good. Their most recent release Hallelujah Sirens (North Street Records) is through and through a solid rock record, with nary a bad tune to be found. They focus on melody-driven guitar pop while injecting the music with a darker edge, at times approaching the brooding intensity of Radiohead. It's all propelled by a powerful wall of guitars that is well versed in The Edge's finest licks, albeit with a bit of East Village attitude. They occasionally take it a step up with some loud melodic moments, but it’s the slower songs with layers of falsetto vocals and hazy guitars that are literally breathtaking. (Appearing with Bound Stems and All Smiles as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival at Schubas on Jan. 14) --text: Sharyn Goldyn--photo: Gregory Wilson

Chicagoans are lucky to live in a city with not one, not two, but three punk rock marching bands. For a while there was only Environmental Encroachment and Black Bear Combo but a couple years back, Mucca Pazza formed and took the city by storm. Where Environmental Encroachment uses South American, African, and Asian rhythms in a griot funk style and Black Bear Combo's sound comes more from Eastern European gypsy music, Mucca Pazza hails straight from the tradition of American high school marching bands. With over 20 costumed members (including, but not limited to, two accordions, four trumpets, four saxes, seven percussionists, four cheerleaders and a sousaphone) — all dressed like they’ve defected from both sides of the American Civil War to jam with the circus — the band has been known to overwhelm the stages at little venues like Reversible Eye and the Hideout. They are supporting their first EP Mucca Pazza: A Little Marching Band, which allows one to really absorb the craft of their funky, moody circus tunes while separating them from the spectacle. (Appearing with Office, Tigercity and the God Damn Doo Wop Band as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival at Schubas on Jan. 13) --text: ELR

In the beloved Jack Black vehicle School of Rock, youngsters learn how to play classic rock music. Fortunately, there is such a school in real life — and now in Chicago as well. Founded in 1998 in Philadelphia by Paul Green, the school’s mantra is: "The love of rock music in all its myriad forms has the power to transform young lives." The school aims to bring out the talent of kids ages 7 to 18 and teach them showmanship. Branches exist in all major cities across the U.S, including Chicago, which just opened in September. The curriculum is comprised of private lessons on the student’s instrument of choice, group rehearsals, and a final concert in front of hundreds of people. The excellent 2005 documentary Rock School explored Green’s teachings and followed his students as they struggled and eventually triumphed. Schubas will host the newly-opened school’s first concert on Pink Floyd. Prepare to marvel at some prodigious future rock stars. (Appearing as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival during the daytime at Schubas on Jan. 13 & 14) --text: Garin Pirnia

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