Wicker Park Fest - July 25th, 2009 and July 26th, 2009
Get ready Chicago! Over the past decade, millions have flocked to all over Chicago to countless outdoor festivals... not only to witness the music, but also to contribute and take part in some of the magic created by the Windy City's culture. This year will be no exception; and, for the 6th consecutive year, music lovers will have a multi-day opportunity to bring the good vibes that surround Silver Wrapper shows to the Chicago summer festival circuit.

The Wicker Park Fest is a two-day, all-day event featuring music presented by Silver Wrapper. It is a free event, and all of us here at Silver Wrapper have been working hard all year to make this another one to remember, and to introduce some new, fresh music. As a result, the musical line-up is stacked. Silver Wrapper is proud to announce the line-up for the 2009 Wicker Park Fest South Stage, to take place outdoors, July 25th and July 26th, on N. Milwaukee Ave., just South of the famous six-way intersection of Milwaukee, North and Damen.

 Jamie Lidell LATE NIGHT
 The New Deal
 Junior Boys
 Future Rock
 Tortured Soul LATE NIGHT
 The Omega Moos LATE NIGHT
 Big Sam's Funky Nation
 Heavyweight Dub Champion
 Mickey Factz
 Company of Thieves
 Van Ghost
 Backyard Tire Fire
 Two Fresh
 The Wonderful World of Bald Eagle
 Glossary
 Autobody featuring Felix Moreno of Future Rock
 B.S. Brass Band

Festival Schedule

Artist Information

Jamie Lidell LATE NIGHT
Jamie Lidell is a modern soul innovator and future funk upsetter who has travelled the road from electronic beat scientist to one-man-Motown-band-meets-beatbox/madman. He may sound like one of your favourite 70's soul singers but his songs and show are truly original. No easy feat to follow up 2005's "Multiply", which garnered many fans and an astounding collection of superlatives still ringing across the world. That album, Jamie's second solo, caught most of us off-guard. After a decade of electronic experimentation that had brought him from underground techno to the science-funk of Super_Collider (with Cristian Vogel), and into his blistering live show, few people expected Jamie to make a couple of honest-to-goodness soul and funk records. Jamie had let those classic influences fuse with his own deeply felt songwriting, meticulous production skills, and most of all, that flipping voice. Hard to believe that the bespectacled self-confessed music nerd who'd grown up fetishising samplers and boxes that went squelch, could belt it out like a Berry Gordy discovery circa 1961. And if you'd seen him live there was another glimpse of the old Jekyll-Hyde routine. Slyly self-deprecating gent becomes relentless sonic showman. The audience were there to dance, and now the man wrapped in gold lame is crooning, spluttering, laughing, transforming words into sounds, noise into signal, a body-rocking beat conjured out of nowhere, and then over that, a rousing harmony. On the edge between control and chaos, Jamie turned music inside out - and it is an exhilarating experience. 2005's "Multiply", by contrast, was steeped in the sincere effort of its creator to write ten great songs. While the influences that infused "Multiply" are still present and correct on his latest album, "Jim", it's a bolder, more promiscuously diverse album, with Jamie restlessly shifting across gospel, disco and even folk, and that chunk of ‘hillbilly funk' thrown in for good measure.
learn more about Jamie Lidell | myspace

The New Deal
At the vanguard of a new progressive style, the New Deal has become a live touring phenomenon. They have appeared at Bonnaroo, Langerado, Jazz Fest New Orleans, the Coachella Festival, Street Scene in San Diego, Berkfest, Gathering of the Vibes, Camp Bisco, and the Detroit Electronic Music Festival to name just a few. They have headlined over 400 shows in the past 4 years. the New Deal inspires audiences of all kinds, from packed dance clubs across North America, to spellbound receptions during opening tours with Herbie Hancock and Page McConnell from Phish. the New Deal, a pioneer of the "livetronica" sound and a mainstay in both the Electronic and Jamband scenes for close to eight years, was recently faced with the possibility of having to cancel their 2007 California tour due to Dan Kurtz's increasingly busy schedule with his new pop project Dragonette. To counter the nebulous months to come, drummer Darren Shearer and keyboard player Jamie Shields have developed The JOIN- a musical unit that will host a revolving door of musicians depending on what area of the world they're in as well as what show setting they find themselves a part of. The May west coast tour marks the first set of shows for The JOIN. The New Deal's music, rooted in improvisation, is based on creating and developing actual songs and themes in the moment. This new project will allow them to spread their wings and share this creative ethic with other musicians from many disciplines and backgrounds.
learn more about The New Deal | myspace

Junior Boys
A Hamilton, Ontario-based electronic pop group, Junior Boys began as a duo with its duties split between Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. Influenced by a number of music sectors -- including arty synth pop, minimal techno, U.K. garage, and contemporary hip-hop -- the two made a demo with no positive results. Dark opted to leave the group (he would go on to release solo material and form one half of the duo Stereo Image), but former Warp employee Nick Kilroy heard the songs and became interested enough to start the KIN label with Junior Boys as its first artist. Engineer Matt Didemus joined Greenspan, and together they recorded enough material for a full-length. Prior to the 2004 release of the resulting album, titled Last Exit, a pair of 12" singles were released -- one included a remix from Fennesz, while the other featured a remix from Manitoba. Three months after Last Exit's initial U.K. release, Domino picked up the album for distribution in the U.S. The Domino version added a bonus disc with B-sides and remixes from the 12" releases. The relatively slick So This Is Goodbye followed in 2006. Two years later, they provided the sixth volume of the Get Physical label's Body Language mix series, and Begone Dull Care -- inspired by illustrator and director Norman McLaren and jazz pianist Oscar Peterson's collaboration of the same name -- followed in 2009.
learn more about Junior Boys | myspace

Future Rock
Future Rock is electronic sensory overload. The trio has steadily been touring the US, electrifying audiences and developing a dedicated following during their journey. Their legendary late night performances at festivals and after-parties have quickly confirmed their status at the top of the live electronic scene. Coupled with an explosive light show, FR certifies an unparalleled multi-sense experience. The Chicago-based trio exhibits an uncommon grasp of minimalist, yet visceral, rock. Skillfully manipulating live loops, synthesizers, filters and an electronic drum kit, the trio succeeds in creating a larger-than-life sound that sends crowds into frenzies. Describing the live show as explosive, "part-IDM" and part improv, Timeout Chicago proclaims Future Rock as having carved a unique niche for themselves. The Daily Herald declares, "For those who like dance music but find something weird about watching a DJ, Chicago's Future Rock concoct driving progressive house anthems with instruments, real-time samples and live loop manipulation. This isn't your average electronic show."
learn more about Future Rock | myspace

Tortured Soul LATE NIGHT
Rose and violet lights fall on three musicians decked out sleekly in skinny ties, pressed slacks, and starched white shirts. The mass of bodies gathered before them pulsates with a unified enthusiasm. Sweet soulful vocals rise from the man in the middle, an effect rendered all the more captivating by the fact that he is concurrently beating out an unrelenting backbeat on the drums. Flanking him on either side are a bassist who jumps up and down to the rhythm as he generates the throbbing low-end, and a keyboardist whose cool composure belies the fire in his fingers. This is Tortured Soul. Born of the simple yet adventurous belief that modern dance music can be performed completely live, Brooklyn's Tortured Soul packs dance floors with their unique live performances, while their recorded oeuvre pushes the genre boundaries of soul, dance, and pop. Combining elements of old soul and funk with a modern dancefloor sensibility, Tortured Soul's style is both an echo of the past and a challenge to the future. This blend of sounds has won them praise from palettes as diverse as Lenny Kravitz and Barry Manilow, and made them a fave pick of DJ's across many genres. Their tracks have received remix treatment from such luminaries as Osunlade, DJ Spinna, Alix Alvarez, Quentin Harris and Dimitri from Paris among others, and have appeared on over 25 compilations by the most prominent dance labels, from Hed Kandi to Defected - a testament in and of itself to the impact they've had on current dance music.
learn more about Tortured Soul | myspace

The Omega Moos LATE NIGHT
Collaborations are a tricky thing. Especially when the participating players are fans of one another’s music. The Omega Moos are not an exception to this rule. Both The New Deal and Umphrey’s McGee have followed each other’s careers with much interest, but not until this fall did anyone suspect such a mash-up of genres, corralled into the highly volatile ring of improvised music. But it happened. And what was created was a perfect marriage of the fundamental sensibilities present in each band: Proficient melodic wankery and rump-shaking bombastic simplicity. Put together, it makes an amazing layering of approaches and dynamics. Kind of like a prog-rock remix, or possibly what Genesis would sound like if produced by DJ Tiesto. It takes the sounds of Jamie Shields and Darren Shearer and elevates it’s rock-ness, while adding a ruckus, breakbeat feel to the signature sounds of Brendan Bayliss and Ryan Stasik. Needless to say, all frequencies are covered, and there ain’t no one in the room standing still.
learn more about The Omega Moos | myspace

Big Sam's Funky Nation
In New Orleans, a city indisputably overflowing with funk, the high honor for Best Funk Group of 2008 was recently awarded to Big Sam's Funky Nation at the Big Easy Music Awards. For the past few years, Big Sam's Funky Nation has been a driving force of urban funk. The band is led by trombone powerhouse, Big Sam Williams, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who the San Francisco Chronicle calls "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz." Presiding over his Funky Nation, Big Sam is a big man with an impeccable urban fashion sense, who blows the funk out of his trombone and refuses to let the audience sit still. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style. An extremely talented group of musicians makes up the Funky Nation, bringing with them a rock sensibility, the improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of big band funk. The energy level is high voltage when this band takes the stage, as Eric Podolsky of Jambase notes, "Big Sam's Funky Nation... pulls no punches when it comes to bringing a straight raw party." Big Sam's Funky Nation has undeniable personality, as well as masterful chops.
learn more about Big Sam's Funky Nation | myspace

Heavyweight Dub Champion
Founded in a log cabin at 9,000 feet in the mountains of Colorado, and now based in San Francisco, California, Heavyweight Dub Champion is a movement of interdimensional warriors representing the Army of the Last Champion. Firmly rooted in hip hop, dancehall, dub and electronic music, and performed on more than 50 channels of vintage analog and digital gear, the band has gained much notoriety and a growing following from its high-intensity and visually captivating live performances. Founder and Last Champion Manifesto author Resurrector transcends space and time wielding an arsenal of deep revolutionary audio with support from a revolving crew of co-conspirators that include Totter Todd, Dr. Israel, A.P.O.S.T.L.E, Jillian Ann, MC Azeem and Stero-Lion. At the collective's core is the universal intention of inspiration, mind expansion and transformation through creative expression - all of which manifests in their collective artistic performance known as The Liberation Process. Rise of the Champion Nation is the highly anticipated, genre-bending new album from Heavyweight Dub Champion. Produced by Resurrector and Patch and recorded over the span of five years on multiple continents, Rise features collaborations with some of contemporary music's most revolutionary-minded vocalists, including the legendary KRS ONE and Killah Priest.
learn more about Heavyweight Dub Champion | myspace

Mickey Factz
Rapper Mickey Factz started his music career just two years ago, but he's accomplished plenty in that short amount of time. After leaving New York University law school to focus on music full-time, the 23-year-old Bronx-bred MC began releasing mixtapes online in 2006. First came "In Search of the N.E.R.D.," on which Factz laid lyrics over beats made by Pharrell Williams' group. A year later he released "Flashback," followed by the critically acclaimed "Heaven's Fallout." Thanks to tracks like the sneaker-inspired "Supras," the latter mixtape quickly became a fan favorite. At the beginning of 2008, Factz began releasing a new track every week as part of a series appropriately titled "The Leak." On "The Leak Vol. 1" and "The Leak Vol. 2," Factz released tracks like "Automatic"; "I'm Sean," dedicated to Sean Bell, who was shot to death by New York police in 2006; "Incredible"; and "Rockin' N Rollin'." The last of those, featuring the Cool Kids, was recently added to rotation on MTV. "When we leaked the first song, we probably only got like 100 downloads," he says, "and the last song we put out got about 9,000 or 10,000." Factz has gone on to co-found his own marketing, branding and styling business and label, GFC New York (clientele includes Devin the Dude and Nipsey Hustles). He is preparing his debut album, "The Leak Vol. 3: The Achievement," scheduled for release early next year. In-house producer Precise and Illphonics (LL Cool J, the Clipse) contribute production. "I plan on having a bunch of eclectic artists and I'm going to be touching on a lot of different subject matters like police brutality, relationships and just life—things that normal people go through," Factz says. "People want to feel like they're connected to an artist and a lifestyle and a culture, and I feel like I'm the person who's going to bring that forward."
learn more about Mickey Factz | myspace

Company of Thieves
Company of Thieves is on the tip of your tongue for a few key reasons: Chicago’s Union Station, moody Mondays, and an urgent energy meant to spread the sound of organic rock music. Guitarist, Marc Walloch, and vocalist, Genevieve Schatz, met by chance in Union Station through passing mutual friends. They formed a fast friendship over their love for the Beatles and their loathing of moody Monday nights in the city, starting a weekly Monday Music Night with fellow artists/musicians at Marc’s studio apartment for a fix. Dorian Duffy, a coast dweller from Rhode Island who came to Chicago on a gamble hoping to expand his musical horizons was often in attendance, clad with a an open mind and smooth, down-home style of bass playing. Marc and Genevieve spent an entire summer writing the foundations for what is now Company of Thieves’ first full length album, Ordinary Riches, knowing Dorian would provide the bass soon after.
learn more about Company of Thieves | myspace

Van Ghost
For nearly a decade Michael Harrison Berg of Van Ghost was a behind the scenes type of guy. Having poured his energy into his ventures as a concert promoter and band manager, little was left over for personal creative endeavors. That all changed in 2007 when Berg's close friends encouraged him to revisit the acoustic guitar he put down in his younger days and asked him to perform a song at their wedding. Melding the inspiration from the many talented bands he has worked with and his own passion for music, the singer returned to his roots. He began writing songs, drawing from his life experiences, creating a heartfelt and staggeringly honest perspective. After building up a solid repertoire of folk ballads, gritty alt country tunes and classic rock laced jams, Berg assembled an all-star cast of musicians and named the project Van Ghost .
learn more about Van Ghost | myspace

Backyard Tire Fire
Backyard Tire Fire return with their new studio album, The Places We Lived, on August 26. It's the first long-player by the Bloomington, Illinois-based band to be released on independent label Hyena Records. Distinguished by a rare combination of workingman authenticity and indie-rock eccentricity, The Places We Lived is defiantly contemporary in the face of its deep Midwestern roots. It's an approach that led Daytrotter.com to recently rave: "Backyard Tire Fire are the choice we make when the extremes always sound too extreme, the bright lights feel too foreign, the money's not important, the beer's on ice and the clothes we like most are the ones that we've had on our bodies for decades and we know what made all of the holes and rough patches in them." The Places We Lived follows Backyard Tire Fire's 2007 studio effort, Vagabonds and Hooligans, a breakthrough release that found the group popping up on numerous tastemaker blogs and year-end "best of" lists. They'd go on to play over 200 dates last year, including opening slots and co-bills with Jason Isbell, Clutch, Lynyrd Skynyrd and William Elliott Whitmore among others. Consequently, their fan-base swelled, resulting in sold-out, headline dates all over the Midwest. Seizing on the momentum, Backyard Tire Fire came off the road and went straight into the studio to record The Places We Lived. Cut over two weeks at co-producer Tony Sanfilippo's analog-only Oxide Lounge Studios in Bloomington, IL, it's unquestionably the band's most focused collection of songs to date.
learn more about Backyard Tire Fire | myspace

Two Fresh
Two Fresh consists of twin brothers Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls and is accompanied live by drummer Colby Buckler. Colby started playing drums when he was 3 years old, learning jazz, funk, rock and punk rock, slowly evolving into fast break beats and hip-hop grooves. His drumming has a very unique style which adds a very energetic and lively feel to the Two Fresh sound. The twins have been making beats and playing music together since their freshman year of high school. In August of 2008, they began playing live house parties and shows across the south. In early December they added on Colby, which had been a friend of theirs since sophomore year of high school, also growing up in the Nashville area. Together they bust out some of the freshest tracks, wowing people from all over the spectrum. Packing out venues, they keep the whole place moving with a raw, cutting edge sound that is a combination of hip-hop and jazz that takes electronic music to a whole new level. No matter what your into, Two Fresh will bring you music that is guaranteed to keep you moving.
learn more about Two Fresh | myspace

The Wonderful World of Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle, aka Chris Baronner, is in high demand for his high-energy and cohesive DJ sets, tailored to the specifics of the venue, but always with telltale flourishes. "I think I have a really good base of songs," Baronner admits, and then chuckles at an edit of a Boston track that "really gets people going." An impressive resume - including a present residency at Smart Bar and co-founder of the twice-monthly Life During Wartime dance parties - helped land him a coveted Lollapalooza set. What does Chris have to say about Wicker Park Fest: "It will be bonkers," promises Baronner, detailing plans for stage design and special guests. "I don't take myself super seriously. I just want to enjoy it as it's happening."
learn more about Bald Eagle | myspace

Glossary
Ten years into their career, Murfreesboro, TN rock denizens Glossary have learned a few things. The band’s latest offering of bleeding heart defiance and optimism, The Better Angels of Our Nature, represents those attributes in both exhibition and execution. Rather than suffer the trappings of the record industry’s broken business model, the latest chapter in Glossary’s long legacy is available directly from the band completely free of charge. No strings attached, no cut corners, no hassle – just a band enthusiastic about what they’re doing. From the opening lilt of “Only Tell Will Tell” to the matter-of-fact declaration of “I’m still holding on to rock ‘n roll” on album closer “Blood On the Knobs,” there’s plenty on Better Angels about which to be excited. Having crashed the Glossary website the day of release due to the sheer volume of downloads, the band’s fifth full-length finds the septet ascending even higher above their simple Southern roots — exploring the beauty, nuance, conflict and contradictions of life in Dixie. The vitality found in these songs transcends whatever medium through which they might be presented, putting Glossary in a position of utmost importance during a cross-section in music’s history. The Better Angels of Our Nature will also be made available on CD on Oct 23, pressed in a series of short runs featuring artwork courtesy of local Middle Tennessee artists and designers, with a vinyl release to follow in early 2008.
learn more about Glossary | myspace

Autobody
Fostering an atmosphere that relies on fist pumping and a large sonic palette, Autobody creates a fusion of live electronics and French pop. The effect is that of a distinctly modern sound, providing musical clues to our modern landscape. Autobody is DJ Thibault on the 1's & 2's, and Felix Moreno of Future Rock on synthesizer.
learn more about Autobody | myspace

B.S. Brass Band
BS Brass Band plays everything from traditional Dixieland to James Brown funky grooves, and anything in between. The B.S. Brass Band was formed in 2000 by Mike Hogg (sousaphone/leader) and Jason Thor (trombonist with the Brian Setzer Orchestra). After attending a brass band show in Chicago, they realized that this town is ripe for forming a group capable of producing a big, tight horn sound with that infectious New Orleans second-line groove. Rooting themselves in the Dixieland tradition, they began playing venues big and small for audiences hungry to hear everything from Jellyroll Morton to James Brown.
learn more about B.S. Brass Band | myspace

Schedule
Saturday, July 25th
South Stage
8:45pm > The New Deal
7:00pm > Future Rock
5:45pm > Heavyweight Dub Champion
4:45pm > Mickey Factz
3:30pm > Two Fresh
2:30pm > The Wonderful World of Bald Eagle
1:30pm > Autobody

North Stage
9:00pm > Grand Duchy
7:55pm > The Night Marchers
6:45pm > Retribution Gospel Choir
5:40pm > Bloodiest
4:35pm > Vampire Hands
3:30pm > Poison Arrows
2:25pm > Or So It Goes

Center Stage
8:00pm > Treaty of Paris
7:00pm > DJ Matt Roan
6:00pm > The Glamour (Live Set)
5:15pm > Monepenny (Rocktapussy DJs)
4:30pm > Cavashawn
3:30pm > Scott Lucas & The Married Men
3:00pm > SR-71
2:00pm > Scott Miller
1:00pm > DJ PR3-Frosh

Sunday, July 26th
South Stage
9:00pm > Junior Boys
7:30pm > Big Sam's Funky Nation
6:25pm > Company of Thieves
5:15pm > Van Ghost
4:10pm > Backyard Tire Fire
3:10pm > Glossary
2:10pm > B.S. Brass Band

North Stage
9:00pm > Elvis Perkins In Dearland
7:55pm > Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s
6:45pm > William Elliott Whitmore
5:40pm > U.S. Royalty
4:35pm > Rock Plaza Central
3:30pm > The Modern Skirts
2:25pm > Empires

Center Stage
8:00pm > Smoking Popes
7:00pm > DJ Zebo
6:00pm > Ebony Bones
5:00pm > The Hood Internet (DJ Set)
4:00pm > The Elms
3:00pm > Kid Color
2:00pm > Silverghost
1:00pm > DJ Papa G