I Breathe the Underground

Punk in the City #2: The Broadways

Punk in the City is a biweekly feature introducing influential Chicago punk, hardcore, post-hardcore, pop-punk, indie, and rock bands that have had a big impact on my personal musical evolution (and the Chicago scene in general).

If you're a hardcore Lawrence Arms fan like me, you've probably heard of the group's predecessor, the illustrious, short-lived Broadways.

Think: Jawbreaker with a heavy socio-political lyrical stance, tighter, less predictable riffs, and that certain vocal and songwriting charm that only Brendan Kelly can bring to the table. These guys were fast and hard-hitting -- on par with TLA's A Guided Tour of Chicago. Their music embodied that exact Chicago working class penchant that has always been part of the tone for the city's punk rock scene. At times, the lyrics bordered on socialist tendencies (using "bordered on" loosely here), but they were always intelligent and artistic in their political implications.

The Broadways rose from the ashes of ska-punk outfit Slapstick and pop-punkers Tricky Dick, bringing together Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan (who would later form the Lawrence Arms). Interestingly enough, the Broadways played their final show at Record Breakers, an old mom-and-pop music store out in Hoffman Estates (in the waaaaaaaaaaay northwest suburbs) I used to frequent, which subsequently moved to the city and opened Reggie's Rock Club and Reggie's Music Joint. Score one for the burbs.

The Broadways only released one full-length album (Broken Star) and a collection of the rest of their recordings (Broken Van) on Asian Man Records, but what they lacked in longevity, they more than made up for in pure awesomeness. Much like their songs, the Broadways were a short, intense, and unpredictable burst into the Chicago music scene, but one I'm extremely grateful for.

As previously mentioned, Brendan and Chris went on to form the Lawrence Arms. Former Broadways members Dan Hanaway and Rob DePaola eventually formed the Honor System (a group that included Rise Against's Tim McIlrath for a short period of time -- yes, the Chicago scene is extremely incestuous). Keep your eyes open for a blog about the Honor System in the near future.

Check out a few songs from Broken Star below.

Download 01 15 Minutes

Download 08 We'll Have A Party

Download 10 I Hear Things Are Just As Bad Down In Lake Erie

"Let's go shopping today / drive our fancy cars to the fancy malls and for lunch we'll have big macs."
- The Broadways, "15 Minutes"

Buy No Evil, Hear No Evil

Tomorrow, the long awaited Presidents of the United States of America release, These are the Good Times People, will hit stores. Dr. Manhattan's self-titled Victory Records debut comes out. Saosin's Come Close will be purchased in mass consumption. Hell, even Snoop Dogg is dropping a new record.

But sometimes the past comes back to haunt and triumph, and part of my paltry paycheck will be going towards the re-release of Alkaline Trio's timeless freshman full-length, Goddamnit.

Goddamnit Redux is exactly what I don't need right now as I go about my daily task of sifting through the good and the bad of new music. It's not because I recently posted about Alkaline Trio. It's not because I've heard the album more times than I've over-drafted my bank account. It's because I'm going to grab the album tomorrow, and I'm going to spend the majority of the next month listening to it over and over again when I should be keeping myself plugged into what's new in the scene.

You can listen to an album so many times that you won't even think about it for four months. I've done it before on numerous occasions. But you can't kill the beast that is Goddamnit. The album has it's own friggin' Myspace page, for shit's sake.

As I listen to the album tomorrow, I'll think about the days when dual vocals dominated Alkaline Trio's sound, when Matt Skiba's vocals screeched on high notes and Dan Andriano was actually sad about love. When Dan Andriano hoped he bought you roses. He hoped he bought you roses.

Back in those days, Matt Skiba could sing you to sleep, a sleep you'd never wake from. Matt Skiba would sing you to coma, so to speak.

Even without the release of Redux, I've lately found myself enjoying the raw production of Alk3's classic, the emotional prowess that conducts the lyrics to the tip of the listener's tongue, the often out-of-tune guitars (which, really, amplify the effects of the music). Now, it'll be interesting to see if our advanced technology will be able to suck the charm out of the album.

Poppycock. I don't know if it will be better, but there's certainly nothing you can do to take the classic out of Goddamnit.

If you hit a music store tomorrow (independent, of course), make sure to bring a credit card. You might go to pick up the new PUSA and Dr. Manhattan albums; you might glance at the Saosin album and scoff, wondering what you were thinking; hell, you might even grab Snoop Dogg and put it below the other two albums so no one sees that you have it. But the only album I can guarantee without-a-doubt to be your best buy is Alkaline Trio's Goddamnit Redux.

I think Alkaline Trio should pay me for plugging them so shamelessly. Oh yeah, there's also some sweet live footage thrown into the package.

"I'll sing you to sleep, a sleep you'll never wake from / sing you to coma, so to speak."
- Matt Skiba, "My Little Needles"

An Asian Man, A Lawrence Arm, and A Breakfast Fit for a Cowboy

Mike Park has always been associated with the veritable punk rock genius of the late 90's and early 00's (and, almost more importantly, has broken a few Chicago legends). So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Mike is touring with one of a handful of solo projects that consistently spin on my iTunes playlists.

Europe, grab a beer to cry into and get cozy next to that significant hemp-donning other. Mike Park is coming your way and he's not coming alone; Chris McCaughan's (of Broadways and Lawrence Arms fame) solo project, Sundowner, will be with him, crooning of peace, love and, yeah - there's certain to be a slew of songs about drinking. And they're coming as the Beans and Toast tour.

And why shouldn't the two be friends? Sure, one is very Asian and the other is very white. One typically resides in California and the other is from Chicago. But they're both outspoken politically. And Mike Park's label, Asian Man Records, was instrumental in breaking McCaughan into the seedy underground of melodic punk.

McCaughan was originally with the Broadways - along with current band-mate Brendan Kelly - a socially- and politically-charged explosion of fleeting flavor. Kelly is cited as saying the band broke-up because of "all of us growing out of where we were in our lives when we started the band." The growth must have been incredible, as Dan Hanaway and Rob DePaola formed the darker, mellower Honor System and Kelly and McCaughan created the more successful, party-over-business Lawrence Arms. That's what you call a 'fork in the road.' And all of the above bands had first releases on Asian Man.

Now, McCaughan tends to be mellower than band-mate Kelly (who lives in the infamy of wild drunken antics), so it was only a matter of time before he took some time purifying his emo leanings (let's not downplay McCaughan's own love of the bottle). Sundowner's freshman release, Four One Five Two, delivers on what it promises: an alcohol-soaked journey through the ravings of a poetic madman. Alright, so that's not exactly original, but the music ain't half bad either.

Park's own solo journey followed stints with the Chinkees, Skankin' Pickle and the Bruce Lee Band, bands that failed to make a splash (even signed to his own label). Still, the guy is one of the most influential people in contemporary punk-rock, so let's give him some credit here. His solo project has been something he's done on the side for years and has generally been pretty decent, even not-half-bad on occasions. But I wouldn't listen to his album unless you're entirely ready for a case of the warm fuzzies. Well, as warm and fuzzy as protest songs can be.

Europe, please enjoy this tour. Represent.

*PS Don't get the flu*