Past Concerts


Keith Karns Big Band
Saturday, May 5th, 2012  •  7pm  •  $5

The Keith Karns Big Band is an up and coming force on the music scene in the Midwest. A student of the music of Stan Kenton, Jim McNeely, and Maria Schneider, Keith's original compositions represent the bleeding edge of the contemporary while maintaining a firm grasp on the legacy of his predecessors.

Keith Karns2

Keith's band features many prominent young Twin Cities jazz musicians. More than master instrumentalists, each member of Keith's band is possessed of a totally individual creative voice, and by working together is able to express a truly awesome musical identity.

Keith has been recognized as a trumpeter and composer as a finalist in the 2007 National Trumpet Competition, 2010 OWL Studios Emerging Jazz Artist Competition, and the 2012 First Music Competition.

http://keithkarnsmusic.com

Eau Claire Jazz LogoSponsored by: Volume One, State Theatre, and Eau Claire Jazz.

 

 

John Raymond
& the John Raymond Project
Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2011 • 7:30pm • $5

John Raymond returns from New York City for a special night of jazz featuring an all-star, UW-Eau Claire alumni-filled band with: John Raymond on Trumpet, Vinnie Rose on guitar, Scott Currier on piano, Jeremy Boettcher on bass, and Miguel Hurtado on drums.

Drawing primarily from the jazz tradition, the JRP infuses both pop and rock influences to create a sound that is both relevant and highly emotionally engaging. The group has performed to sold-out audiences at Smalls Jazz Club in NYC, as well as the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, and they've performed at festivals and venues throughout the country. This event is a CD pre-release party for Raymond's new album, "Strength & Song" — you won't want to miss it.

$5 cover — but for only $5 more you'll receive a free digital download copy of the album — release only to you four months before the official release!

johnraymondmusic.net

Eau Claire Jazz LogoSponsored by: Volume One, State Theatre, and Eau Claire Jazz.

John Raymond Project

James Solberg
Monday, September 26th, 2011  •  7pm  •  $12

"...James is the real thing, you just know it instinctively when you hear his music. His raw, gutsy voice bleeds over the razor sharp guitar licks and pinpoint tight rhythms. True blue all the way." ‐ Songwriter's Monthly

jamessolberg.com

Performing with Solberg in the band will be the formidable Charlie Bingham, guitarist for the Hoopsnakes.

 

 

Halloween, Alaska + The Heart Pills
Thursday, September 8th, 2011  •  7pm  •  $7

Halloween, Alaska, the Mpls-based supergroup made of members of some of the town's most important current and historic bands, is releasing their fourth album on Amble Down Records at this event.

"You won't find Halloween, Alaska, anywhere on a map. Instead, this Minnesota band inhabits a sensual, weightless world of sweetly brooding electronic pop." ‐ SPIN

 

The Heart Pills

"This rag-tag band exploded onto the scene this spring, quickly sharing the stage (and sometimes living room) with some of the best-respected Eau Claire acts, including Laarks, The Gentle Guest, and Farms. The Heart Pills' music lingers somewhere between Tom Waits, Black Crowes, and Slayer, which leaves a lot up to imagination. The group seamlessly weaves their way between country ballads and raucous rock riffs." ‐ Volume One Magazine

theheartpills.wordpress.com

 2010/2011 Season 

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THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011, 7pm

EverGreen Grass Band

"Armed with lightning fast, laser accurate bluegrass instruments, the EverGreen Grass Band takes stage loaded for bear and delivers a show that takes no prisoners. Their expert chops, homespun original tunes and sparkling vocal harmonies conquer the summits of musical elevations that many bands attempt, yet so few achieve. Do not miss this show" - Martha Galep, Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association

evergreengrassband.com
myspace.com/evergreengrassband
EverGreen Grass Band Facebook Page

 

Beacon James

Beacon James is a Chippewa Falls-based 5-piece, dramatic folk/alt-country with three female singers, great vocal harmonies, and with acoustic guitar, bass, keys and drums.

myspace.com/beaconjames

 

 
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FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 7pm

No Loving Place (acoustic)

Influenced from the likes of Godflesh, Tool, Deftones, Metallica, and many more, No Loving Place has been creating an unstoppable buzz in the Midwest. NLP performs to sold-out crowds and leaves them wanting more of their powerful, cut-throat, heavy metal sound. Formed in 1999, No Loving Place has performed with several national acts such as Sevendust, American Head Charge, Everlast, 30 Seconds to Mars, Drowning Pool, Adema, and In this Moment.

No Loving Place - Something Behind You

myspace.com/nolovingplace
No Loving Place Facebook Page

 

Brian Bethke Band

In 2010 Brian self-released his newest creation "The River" digging deeper into his life to tug at the listener's heart strings. The title track of the album was written for his Mother who had terminal breast cancer. This record caught the eye of Promotion Music Records who quickly signed Brian to re-release his original albums and also release a new seven song EP, "The Silence." Even before the release of this EP the song "The Silence" was making waves throughout the internet by winning a songwriting contest for a new movie starring Dwight Yoakam titled, "The Last Rites Of Ransom Pride."

Brian Bethke - Auberdeen

Brian Bethke Website
myspace.com/brianbethkemusic

 

 
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011, 7pm

Laarks

Based out of Eau Claire, WI, Laarks is a band that features current and former members of Amateur Love, DeYarmond Edison, Land of Talk, Peter Wolf Crier, The Softrocks, and Sic Transit Gloria. Their debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, was released on Absolutely Kosher Records on November 3, 2009.

An Exaltation of Laarks listed at No. 18 on Amazon's Outstanding '09 Albums You Might Have Missed list. "These songs have great energy...with a fizz and punch that's clearly their own." - Pitchfork

"From the great state of Wisconsin comes Laarks, a four man pop machine bursting with hooks and harmonies aplenty. Their debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, mixes energetic indie rock and hyperactive electronics to form a truly kinetic and addictive sound. Just this side of epic, Laarks are both sophisticated and spontaneous, kicking their live shows into high gear like they were simply flipping a switch." Noise Pop

myspace.com/laarks
twitter.com/laarks
facebook.com/laarks

 

Zoo Animal

Zoo Animal's influences include the likes of The Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo, Talking Heads, Nirvana, Broken Social Scene, The Cranberries, Low, The Kinks, Radiohead, The Beach Boys, The Breeders, and more.

'Zoo Animal,' the Minneapolis buzz band's self-titled second record, reveals itself to uphold such a maxim with a sharp yet subdued sound that is informed by equal measures of classical minimalism and '90s grunge.

This contrast is just one of many as Zoo Animal's stark, articulate pop music vacillates between gentle and aggressive, volatile and peaceful, light and dark. It's graceful, hushed, soul-stirring music, yet it rests atop traditional rock instrumentation ‐ simply guitar, drums, bass ‐ that can turn visceral at the drop of a drumstick. (adapted from RestandNoise.com)

 

myspace.com/zooanimalsound

 

 
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010, 7pm, $10

S.Carey (of Bon Iver)

"Using only a piano, guitar, and drums, Carey creates a sound that is simultaneously austere and lush, pitting each instrument against the others." - Pitchfork

"This is intimacy on a purely aural level, the ultimate headphones album. The intimacy doesn't come from quietness, but from reactive, well-built and emotive arrangements." - BBC Music

scarey.org
myspace.com/scareymusic

 

Peter Wolf Crier

"Pisano sings in a rangy falsetto. His songwriting is ragged, understated, and striking above all else. Moen's textural contributions are just as subtle. Though Inter-Be sounds roughly hewn at times, it's an album woven together with great care and a sharp ear for detail" - Pitchfork

"Pisano and Moen present a collection of songs that forcibly combine acoustic intimacy with distortion-addled detachment; it's a paradox of sound that nods to country blues in arrangement, but sidesteps stereotypical sentiments for deeply personal expressions" - Paste Magazine

peterwolfcrier.tumblr.com/
myspace.com/peterwolfcrier