CHAIN & THE GANG (K)

Event information

We are delighted to announce the Manchester debut performance of Ian Svenonius' mighty CHAIN & THE GANG



Everyone on Earth might own a personal listening device, or a state of the art Hi-Fi listening unit. They might have compiled a home library of records, compact discs, ticket stubs or concert set lists … but Chain & The Gang might not be included in all of them. Their delightful racket isn't for everyone. Is it for anyone? Possibly. But maybe those people live in a galaxy far, far away. In fact, rumour has it that Chain & The Gang's new long-player Music's Not For Everyone [KLP220] is the sound on everyone's Hi-Fi 2,000,000 light years away from here. It's played at pool parties, proms and pizzerias. These beings or entities dig the hard-edged dance groove of "Livin' Rough." They think it sounds real "earthy." They love "Detroit Music" (but they think it refers to a particular kind of space cake). They've chosen "Not Good Enough" to be the anthem for their Football Team when it competes in inter-stellar tournaments. It really psyches out the competition. And they know that "Youth is Wasted on the Young" expresses a sentiment that we are only beginning to understand here.

But that's a more advanced society of course. It's a place where people have good taste and a sense of humor and like music that's exciting, simple and full of vitality. On Earth? Some don’t even know what they’re listening to. To them music is a sense of security, and nothing more. They like it because it means they don’t have to interact. They might say, “Hey! It’s my friend’s birthday; we wanna hear some rap!”

Chain & the Gang knows they have a long way to go before they're accepted back here on on Earth. But they have a strategy: maybe if someone heard their music, they would like it.

So they're sending out promotional "previews" for DJs and reviewers with a little written explanation, which reads: "Chain & The Gang is a group with a new record on K records which features Ian Svenonius (from Nation of Ulysses, the Make Up, Weird War etc) who is also the host of the internet chat show “Soft Focus” (vbs.tv) and authored the book The Psychic Soviet (Drag City Records and Books). Music's Not For Everyone is their new album, following their 2009 opus Down With Liberty ... Up With Chains! [KLP203]. This Music is pithy and succinct. It features roaring organ solos, shredding guitar, and plomping percussion by an all star cast (Fred Thomas, Arrington de Dionyso, Brian Weber) complete with call and response vocals by fabulous back-up singers such as Veronica Ortuño, (The Carrots and Finally Punk), Sara Pedal (Seahorse Liberation Army) and Tara Jane ONeil." That just might do the trick. Or, it'll prove that music isn't for everyone.

Ian Svenonius (MAKE UP, NATION OF ULYSSES, WEIRD WAR) is a singer in rock 'n' roll groups but also a published author (THE PSYCHIC SOVIET, Drag City Books) and a chat show host (SOFT FOCUS, vbs.tv). His new group CHAIN & THE GANG is the splendid culmination of all these pursuits, combining the vulgarian style of the rock 'n' roll performance with the compulsory repartee of the television host and the polemic. It's almost too much for one stage to hold but somehow Svenonius pulls it off. How? With the the call and response form, learned from work songs, go-go music, and gospel spirituals. He has been called by more than a few: "The most dynamic performer treading the boards today." Chain and the Gang are the perfect antidote to the boring over-hyped and formalistic drivel coming out the underground music scene, with their energy, their wit, and their genuine engagement of the audience. Get them before you can't.