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Aktar Aktar is four young men from Chicago who are exploring the boundaries of danceable rock music. They first released a self-titled album which pushed them out of the dingy dive bars where they found their original following. With a core group of high energy fans they had the privilege to play some of the greatest venues Chicago has to offer. Touring all throughout the Midwest at a feverish pace, recently headlining Chicago's legendary Metro last November, Aktar Aktar now brings their unique sound and high-energy stage show to Reggie’s Rock Club this Friday night, January 28^th as the band battles for a spot in SXSW. In the meantime, they are also working on their next EP with high hopes of grabbing the attention of a manager/booking agent that will push their careers into deeper waters.

Having recently enjoyed the band’s music for the first time, I contacted bassist, Bradley Haptas, to find out more about the band.

Buzz - What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Bradley - I would say indie rock, but it’s really hard to try to categorize the music with one name. Every one of our songs has a life of its own and sometimes that means moving outside one genre and into another. We all have our own “loves” when it comes to influences; I would say right now that Motown is quickly stealing my heart.

Buzz - What can fans take home with them from your live show?

Bradley - Hopefully they buy a CD! You can really see our personalities come through in our live performance so people will get to know us a little better. You might wake up sore from all the dancing that goes on at our shows.  We just want everyone to have a good time. We really enjoy bringing people together.

Buzz - When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

Bradley - Aktar Aktar started about 3 years ago as a 2 piece with Jake Swearson and Jake hoefnagel. They were playing a lot of house parties and smaller bars when they started getting larger and larger crowds every show. I remember Swearson saying he wanted to have a fuller sound, that’s when Tim and I joined. We recently we got a new drummer, Mr. Wes Kosakowski, after Jake H’s departure. We all had the same idea of what we wanted to do musically and the more we did together and the better we became as musicians it just felt right. Now there’s no turning back.

Buzz - Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

Bradley - We have played all over in Chicago from the Metro to Elbo Room. We did Summerfest in Milwaukee last summer, which was one hell of a time.  I don’t know if I have a favorite or least favorite venue. They are just buildings with stages inside to me, what makes the show is the people and magic that happens inside. We are playing at Reggies Rock Club on Jan 28th, it’s a battle of the bands to get into SXSW. After that all we have lined up is time in the studio and hopefully we will be heading to Austin in March.

Buzz - Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

Bradley - Jake and Wes have been building chord progressions and the basic outline of songs and then we all get together to finish them. I would say, if anything, freedom. Its so open ended we can really develop ideas from it. I’m sure it will change over time.

Buzz - How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

Bradley - We are coming up with better concepts and ideas for our songs. When you have really good ideas you can really push yourself to see what’s behind all the doors. Every door you hit is a challenge you need to overcome, and by confronting these challenges, you evolve as musicians.

Buzz - How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

Bradley - We have a Myspace, a Facebook, and our older music is on ITunes.

Buzz - Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

Bradley - We would love some financial support! We would thank the shit out of 'em. All our families rule. They are always at our shows doing whatever they can to help. It’s really nice to have people around you that know your dream and will do anything it takes to achieve that dream.
  

Buzz - Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

Bradley - We do not have a record label or any musical affiliations. We have had companies offer us some things but nothing that we felt would be beneficial at the time. We are going to be pushing to build a team once we finish this new record.

The band is:

Jacob Swearson – guitar/vocals

Timmy Maguire – lead guitar/vocals

Bradley Haptas – bass

Jake Hoefnagel – drums

To find out more about Aktar Aktar visit www.myspace.com/aktaraktar or look for them on Facebook.

When I told my boyfriend that I was going to be reviewing Powerman 5000 at the Cubby Bear, he thought I was joking. How can a Glee loving, pop music enthusiast possibly enjoy the hard rock of Powerman 5000? Simple; the music is the perfect blend of pulse racing, head pounding, pure rock. Their angry anthems rocked the walls of the Cubby Bear on November 17^th, and amidst the black-leather- wearing groupies were girls. Yes, girls listen to Powerman 5000. The music is not going to be found on a typical iPod mix of the North Shore girl, but Powerman does have a subconscious appeal that pulls in fans from all walks of life, even the Ugg wearing Wrigleyvillettes. Take “When Worlds Collide,” off their album “Tonight the Stars Revolt!” The song epitomizes the energy and the anger that Powerman 5000 injects into all of their songs:

What is it really that motivates you
The need to fly or this fear to stop
I'll go along for the ride but surprise
When we get there I say 9 of 10 drop
Now who's the light and who is the devil
You can't decide so I'll be your guide
And one by one they will be hand chosen
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide

Powerman embodies a sense of controlled chaos. It’s the kind of music that matches your anger and frustration after a tough day at work; the music that pumps you up before a big match. Sure it isn’t for everyone, but just give it a try after a long day and see if it doesn’t channel all of that negative energy out of you – because let’s be honest, some days yoga and meditation simply does not cut it.

In concert, Powerman 5000 is a little difficult to appreciate. While the Cubby Bear is a great bar, the acoustics aren’t that of a concert hall, so while the music permeates the room the lyrics end up falling just shy of screaming, leaving your ears ringing and wanting a soft ballad. Powerman 5000, at least for beginners, is best listened to in your car, the bass turned up.

As an ardent, obsessive fan of Pink Floyd, you can imagine how excited I was sitting on my stiff, metal stadium seat, gazing out into the vast space of the United Center arena, where the beginning constructions of a wall stood on either side of the stage, waiting for those explosive opening chords of "In the Flesh?" to blast through the speakers and for Mr. Roger Waters to grace us with his presence. My ticket read "8 PM, PROMPT" for the show's starting time. Since my friend and I had arrived a few hours early -- just to have a beer, and to check out the $45 t-shirts (which we each bought, thank you very much) -- we hoped it would start promptly at 8. We didn't want to wait a minute longer.

Well, we did have to wait a minute longer. Twenty minutes longer, in fact. And all the seats in the stadium had just about filled up. I thought I might slip off the edge of my seat and off the balcony into the crowd below in my jittery excitement. The lights went out. Camera flashes and the blue glow of cell phones were the only things illuminating the pitch black arena. The room screamed and cheered. The very air was bristling with energy. Oh my god. This was it. It was happening.

A blue spotlight revealed a lone sax player in the middle of the stage, solemnly warbling out the slow, sad opening tune -- the same melody that ends the show -- as we yelled our elation into the stadium and waited with tingling limbs for what was to come. The audience would grow quiet, then scream again, then quiet again, then scream once more. We didn't know when it was coming, when the sorrowful melody would be bombarded with heavy guitar chords out of the blue, thus truly starting the show. There suddenly was a lull in the music, we all yelled and screamed, and then BA-NUM! BA-NUM! DUN, DUN DUN DUN! The stage was a blinding flash of fire and light and the room erupted. It was already a climactic moment of the show and it had only just started. My friend and I sang along to all the guitar parts until Roger Waters, in all his Roger Waters glory, (because there is glory in simply being Roger Waters), took his place center stage to welcome us with his opening lyrics: "So you thought you might like to go to the show?" Screams. Applause. Whistles. Yes, Roger. We did indeed think that we'd like to go to the show. We did, indeed.

And what a show it was.

Although keeping to the traditions of the original Wall tour from 1980, with the wall being built across the stage as the show progressed, with enormous moving puppets of the school teacher, the mother, and the wife creepily lurking and, seemingly, peering at the audience from the sides of the stage, and with the final tearing down of the wall before the very last song of the show, there was much modernization. The wall itself served as a screen for projecting elaborate, ever-changing images, animations, and quotes, as well as the signature Pink Floyd circular screen that hung behind the stage. These technological advances helped to drive home a message that is deeply relevant to our time.

The anti-war theme of the album was brought to life with such clarity throughout the show; for instance, at the end of "Vera," a clip was shown on the wall of a little girl sitting in a classroom when she gets a look of surprise on her face, then disbelief, then an overwhelming flood of emotion and tears as she sees her dad, a soldier who has come home, walking through the door as she runs to embrace him. I was teary-eyed at this, and even more so when the pulsing drumrolls, triumphant horn section, and Roger Waters's pleading vocals burst into the air for "Bring the Boys Back Home."

There were also messages to be wary of the government and large corporations. During "Run Like Hell," logos of gas companies and car companies washed over the wall amidst the words "You Better Run!", and these same logos were being dropped by military planes during the animation on "Goodbye Blue Sky." Other corporations were attacked as well, one of the most obvious being Apple, with mock iPod ads being projected onto the wall alongside phrases like "iBelieve", "iFollow", "iProfit", "iLose". However, the most prominent and most blunt theme was clear as glass: The lyric "Mother, should I trust the government?" was met with "boo!"s all around, and then euphoric cheers and applause when the projection on the wall answered the question itself with the words "No Fucking Way."

The pungent smell of marijuana hung heavy in the air during "Comfortably Numb," and I would have had it no other way. We stood up in our seats and swayed side to side as we sang along, and I never wanted that guitar solo to end. After "The Trial," in which it is decided that the wall must be torn down, the room chanted louder and louder "TEAR DOWN THE WALL!!" as the music built. The music then died away and the first few tiers of white bricks fell forward and onto the stage floor accompanied by booming sounds of explosions and falling rubble. We screamed and screamed as row upon row collapsed until only the sides of the wall remained standing. A light illuminated the front of the stage and the band was revealed, with Roger Waters joining them amongst the debris.

After a long while of cheering and applause, the noise of the crowd abated somewhat and Roger went into the last song, repeating the final line twice, "After all, it's not easy banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall." The room erupted once more and this time we wouldn't stop until the house lights came on and forced us to leave. Over the shouting and clapping and screaming, Roger addressed the crowd, saying, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! You've been a fantastic audience!" My friend and I proceeded to repeatedly bow with oustretched arms yelling "Roger! Roger! Roger!" We were still ecstatic, but also bereft, now that it was over. We had waited for this our whole lives; Pink Floyd is in our blood! It runs in our very veins! We didn't want this to be the end. After Roger waved and walked offstage and the house lights went on, everyone made a scramble for the nearest exit as the two of us remained in our seats yelling "Dark Side! Do Dark Side!" at the stage.

All in all, ticket prices may have been steep, but if you like this music and you're going to spend money on anything extraneous, like at a fancy restaurant or on $11 movie tickets or to buy food for your kids, do yourself a favor and spend it on a ticket to Roger Waters instead. He may not be in Chicago anymore, but he's around, and this is your last chance to see him before the wall comes down forever. All in all, it's all so much more than just a brick in the wall.

The Casualties rocked the Metro on the 24th to two stories of skinny jean wearing, eyeliner drenched, spiky haired Chicago youths. From the beginning of their hour long set to their final number, the band seamlessly transitioned from song to song, giving an eardrum shattering, head banging performance.

During their final number, lead singer Jorge Herrera took off his sweat covered shirt revealing a Che Guevara cutoff and holding a scarf above his head. Herrera launched the scarf into the mosh-pit where hundreds of fans wrestled for ten minutes after the band had left the stage, battling screaming girlfriends, rowdy entourages, and even muscled bouncers, for one young man to hold the frayed and tattered trophy above his head and scream out “Yea! Casualties!” Talk about a loyal following.

The Casualties' music is a mix of angry anthems, hardcore punk rock, with just a touch of “I-hate-my-parents”; just the type of music 16-year-old, pre-pubescent, angry, disenchanted youths could relate to. While it's generally not the genre I would plug into my IPod, I have to give the band credit for their nonstop energy, powerful vocals, and incredible stage presence. With ‘Meggers’(Mark Eggers) on the drums, Rick and Jake on bass and guitar (respectfully), and Jorge at the mic, these four men played with an intensity and a wildness  that even an argyle-sweater wearing concert goer such as myself could appreciate.

The Swellers opened at the Metro, energizing the restless crowd, and Less Than Jake rocked as the headliner, but as the stage crew set up for The Casualties, it was clear who the audience wanted to see. The Casualties immediately began playing as soon as they took the stage, and didn’t come up for air, or to rest their hands, until their final number. This band definitely eats their Wheaties.  

As one fan with spiked orange hair (one of Jorge’s old looks as I am told) informed me, “The Casualties are old school, hardcore punk.” Hardcore? Yes. Old School? Beats me. What I can say is that amidst the extraordinarily fast drum beats, finger-crippling guitar chords, speaker-breaking bass, and vein popping vocals, this band screams (literally and figuratively) that they are a force to be reckoned with on the hardcore punk scene. They have an incredibly loyal Chicago-based following, so expect the next time they roll into Chicago to be just as rocking as this time around.

Fans of punk will appreciate this band’s style and power. For the rest of us, if you’re having a really bad day and need one song to verbalize what you are feeling, check out The Causalities’ new CD “We are All We Have” available in stores now. Songs like “Carry on the Flag,” and “Depression-Unemployment Lines,” will definitely help you get all your aggression out. For more information on this band and to upcoming tour dates check out www.myspace.com/thecasualties.

The Fleet Foxes have changed. Last summer they were good live, but they were timid and withdrawn. Saturday night at the Metro was a different band playing the same songs and a few more. A year on the road has taught the Foxes how to have confidence, and that folk songs can rock.

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