Remembering 2011

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What a topsy-turvy year. 2011 was the best year for Slushy so far, but not in a way that I would have anticipated. Here are some highlights:

  • January. We started off the year strong. We went to Strobe Studios to record a single and an LP of our material. Three days of recording, plus a couple evenings of overdubs, plus some mixing. Nick Broste behind the boards. It was sounding pretty good, but we knew it needed a little something more to get there. “We’ll come back to it,” we said.
  • February. Played our last show with Ben, Brent switched to guitar and Jason joined on drums. Trying to work out schedules to finish recording.
  • March In a freak storm, Strobe Studios is hit by lightning, and one hard drive worth of material is essentially wiped out: the Slushy sessions are lost. But we also played some great shows. Opening for Ty Segall at a sold out Empty Bottle show. With Jack Oblivian at Reggies. And with Colleen Green at Hollowed Ground. And I shaved my beard off.
  • April. Chris and Brent played their first show as a two-piece on Easter, because the other guys are busy, with Brent switching between drums and guitar. We also played White Mystery‘s “Blood and Venom” release show on 4/20.
  • May. Jason is out, Elliott is in. We found a new practice space. We played a fun party. Max also (very briefly) revives his old band Boshus.
  • June. We made our debut at Subterranean. It was really windy.
  • July. No shows, and I have no idea what we were doing. Probably not even practicing. The band is really losing momentum here. Just a caterpillar disintegrating in a cocoon.
  • August. We played our last show with Max and Elliott at the Whistler. A sad occasion, the moment of rebirth for Slushy.
  • September. The two-piece era of Slushy begins. We ended up playing more shows in the last 4 months of the year than the first 8. We played our first show out of Chicago at Frank’s Power Plant in Milwaukee. We also play the first of two shows with Rich Crook on drums, because he’s an awesome guy.
  • October. Another show with Rich! Thanks Rich! Brent goes on vacation to Oakland, so Chris plays two one-off shows with other people and they’re really fun.
  • November. Brent comes back from Oakland hours before our show with Mark Sultan. No time to practice. The first song bombs, but then we get it right and do fine. We also played a weird party because those are the best.
  • December. Things are really picking up. Four shows, and it seems like we’re actually drawing a crowd for the first time instead of just playing for the people who happen to be there. We played with Question Mark and the Mysterians! We played another weird house party! We played Cole’s and Daniel shot off the fire extinguisher! Not bad.

So, a real rollercoaster of a year. I hope you were able to embrace your emotions as you relived those highs and lows. No, no one will ever hear the Strobe recordings beside the few people who already did.

So what’s up in 2012? Well, we’re planning on recording again early in the year. Maybe filling out the band again with a real drummer and other real musicians. Probably playing lots of shows in and out of Chicago. Hopefully releasing music that we record. But I would have said the same thing at this point last year, so your guess is as good as mine.


Howl-O-Whine

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Halloween is coming and Slushy is playing two or three very special shows.

First, a one time only lineup of Chris and some special guests are playing a house party on Saturday October 29! Covers! Guitar solos! Ebriation! Covers!

Then Monday October 31 Slushy and Chicago’s own Uh Bones are playing a feedback-drenched set of songs from the first two Velvet Underground albums at The Exit, Chicago’s oldest punk bar.

And speaking of playing sets as the Velvet Underground, we may just crash the Halloween show at Crown Tap Room and do a second set there. Only time can tell.

Update: We did the Mash


Sultans of Swing

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Few people write them like they used to, but one man who does is Mark Sultan. Mark’s probably best known for being half of the King Khan and BBQ show, but his solo stuff is equally as great. The best of 60s soul, pop and garage smartly packed together and played Dick van Dyke one man band style.

So I’m really excited that Slushy gets to play with Mark Sultan tonight. Like Babe Ruth we’re gonna swing for the fences and like Dire Straights we’re just gonna be neon outlines of ourselves. Tonight! Ultra Lounge! Chicago! Be there!