New Human Alert... Who's Bigger? Update from The Shams Band

Who's bigger, Mr. Biggins or Mr. Biggins baby?   Congrats to Donnie--frontman for Chi-Town's own Shams Band and his wife, Anna, on the birth of their daughter.  The Shams Band have been folk favs of ours for years.    

I still remember when our first kid was born and my husband and I looked at each other one of those early days and said, "Woa, we're somebody's PARENTS."   


Once you guys get over the sleep deprivation.....you can check out ChiIL Mama for all our happenin' family friendly entertainment, events, original interviews, show shots, live footage, reviews and loads of great give aways.   We know parents and kids rock and just 'cause you create a life, that doesn't mean you can't still have a life.   

So, all of you with rock tots, punk kin, little folk, and banger babies.....check in with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   You'll be glad you did.

Best news about the new birth...The Shams Band will be playing a bunch more Chicago gigs in the near future.

Here's the latest right from the band:

Good afternoon Friends & Family, 

With the recent arrival of Donnie's daughter (Maeve LeGault Biggins was born 8/24/2012. Anna & Baby are healthy and doing great!), we don't have the luxury of touring. So instead, we're touring Chicago and playing at some of the city's best venues. We'd love to see you at a show, a few shows, or all of them!

Upcoming Shows:

Friday, October 19th at Hard Rock Cafe

63 West Ontario, Chicago, Illinois 60610

All Ages | $10 | 11PM

Saturday, October 20th at Fitzgerald's 

6615 W. Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn, Illinois

21+ | $10 | 9pm w/ RICO 

Tickets: http://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/

Sunday, October 21st at The Empty Bottle

1035 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Music, Friendly, Food Trucks! - Block Party 

$5 Donation | 2PM | All Ages Tickets: http://www.emptybottle.com/show/3141544/

Friday, November 2nd at Beat Kitchen

2100 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL 

17+ | $7 | 9PM | w/ The Ben Miller Band

Tickets: Here

Vinyl Update:

We have heard the final vinyl and the order has been placed. We have 100 screen printed vinyl jackets that are made special for all of you. If you haven't reserved your copy yet, we recommend doing so. These are already selling fast from the preorder. Thank you to everyone so far for ordering them and being patient. T-Shirts: Our first run of shirts are almost sold out, and we will have these at the shows. We will be putting in another order next week. They are extra comfy and made of the softest cotton. If you've bought one, take a picture and post it to our Facebook page. You'll win a free ticket to an upcoming show!   Buy A Shirt:  Here

That's it for now. We hope to see you over the weekend. More exciting things are coming our way this winter and 2013! Thank you for always supporting our dream. 

Love, 

Donnie, Paul, Brian, Doug & Ben

Buy "COLD CITY" Here

Follow Us On Facebook

Tweet At Us - @theshamsband

The Shams Band LIVE at Schubas Ticket Winners, #live show footage

Monday marks the final day of The Shams Band's weekly July Schubas residency.   ChiIL Live Shows will be back shooting again.   Congrats to our 2 winners this week.   Sherry C. and Mary Z.   Each has a pair of tickets waiting at the door.


Here's the scoop:
Check out Schubas main site here to pre order tickets and for more info.

Monday, July 30, 2012 8:00 PM 21+ $6.00 ($15.00 - Four Show Residency Ticket Package)

• Practice Space presents:
• THE SHAMS BAND
• ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS
• YOUNG HINES
• DJ SETS BY: MR. GAC

Click Here To Reserve Your Copy of Cold City And A Ticket To The Show.

Click Here For A Four Show Residency Ticket Package

The Shams Band will be celebrating their second full length record, Cold Cityby hosting their own July residency at Schubas Tavern.

Music is supposed to be fun, exciting, thought provoking and daring. On every live performance, The Shams Band makes sure that their audience leaves each concert with a personal feeling of satisfaction. Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, singer/songwriters Biggins/Gulyas create distinct, personal songs. Once completed with unique four-part harmonies, the songs come to life, tell stories, and send audiences singing all the way home.

The Shams Band features music trapezing the line between blues, country, and pop music. They have opened for national acts Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.

The Shams Band is the epitome of a "do-it-yourself" group. They get every audience excited and dancing from their catchy hooks and rock 'n roll atmosphere. It's whiskey-driven. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo.

Tags | Practice Space | Follow | @theshamsband | @Schubas |

Practice Space presents:

• THE SHAMS BAND
• Special Guests

Cold City was released July 9th (the first show of the residency).

The Shams Band will be celebrating their second full length record, Cold City by hosting their own July residency at Schubas Tavern--playing 4 shows, every Monday this month.

Check out ordering and download details for Cold City here.

Win 2 Free Pairs of Tickets to The Shams Band This Monday and Next at Schubas #giveaway

Thanks to Schubas for kicking us 2 pairs of tickets to give away.   Enter right here for your chance to win! 

*Wait for Rafflecopter to load up (if you've gone through RSS feed or are scrolling down the blog and don't see it, click on the actual page title and it should pop right up).  Entries accepted nationwide.   Enter like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   Winning rocks!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to anyone 21+.   First 2 winners will be announced 7/22 at noon.     

*Check out our photo filled recap of last Monday.
 

Click here to purchase current Schubas Shams Band tickets.   

• Practice Space presents:
• The Shams Band
• Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes
• Young Jesus
• DJ Sets By: Mr. Gac

• MONDAY 07/23/2012 8:00 PM | 21+ | $6.00 ($15.00 - FOUR SHOW RESIDENCY TICKET PACKAGE)

Click Here To Reserve Your Copy of Cold City And A Ticket To The Show.

Click Here For A Four Show Residency Ticket Package

The Shams Band will be celebrating their second full length record, Cold City by hosting their own July residency at Schubas Tavern.

Music is supposed to be fun, exciting, thought provoking and daring. On every live performance, The Shams Band makes sure that their audience leaves each concert with a personal feeling of satisfaction. Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, singer/songwriters Biggins/Gulyas create distinct, personal songs. Once completed with unique four-part harmonies, the songs come to life, tell stories, and send audiences singing all the way home.

The Shams Band features music trapezing the line between blues, country, and pop music. They have opened for national acts Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.

The Shams Band is the epitome of a "do-it-yourself" group. They get every audience excited and dancing from their catchy hooks and rock 'n roll atmosphere. It's whiskey-driven. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo.

The Shams Band features music trapezing the line between blues, country, and pop music. They have opened for national acts Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.
 

The Shams Band is the epitome of a "do-it-yourself" group. They get every audience excited and dancing from their catchy hooks and rock 'n roll atmosphere. It's whiskey-driven. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo.

Sham Wow! The Shams Band and Derek Nelson Rock The Residency at Schubas Monday #Live Show Photos

The Shams Band & Derek Nelson were awesome in the second night of The Shams Band's month long residency!   Schubas is 21+ unless otherwise noted, but these shows make a great parents' night out.   In fact, Shams Band singer/lead guitar player, Donnie Biggins, is about to be a first time dad in September!


Here is their set list and ChiIL Live Shows' original stills from Schubas Tavern Monday night: 

In The Sun 
Breadwinner
Trunk Whiskey 
We've Never Met
Zan Wit That Lean (Soulja Boy)
Cold City
Love You The Most
The Des Plaines River
Travel By Sea
Pour Me A Drink
Handle With Care (The Traveling Wilburys)
Virgin Mary
You Will Never Know
Wake Up
I'm Not Sorry


Catch them every Monday in July with different openers.  They're rockin' their new album, Cold City, and breakin' out old favorites as well.  We've been enjoying The Shams Band for the past 3 years and have shot stills and video of their shows from Chicago Blue Grass & Blues Fest 2012, Lincoln Hall, and even intimate Logan Square Bars like Coles and The Whistler.


Blast from the past:   ChiIL Live Shows video-The Whistler
The Shams Band cover Maggie's Farm 3-13-11


  
The Shams-Maggie's Farm 3-13-11 from ChiIL Mama on Vimeo.



ChiIL Live Shows will be back to shoot again at Schubas on the 30th and we're discussing vid interview possibilities.   We'll also have a full review of Cold City up soon.   In the past, we've given away several copies of their prior CD, Champagne, and show tickets, too, so we'll see what we can do for our readers, moving forward.


We're still editing HD video and will have clips up on YouTube soon, if the band's cool with it, so check back like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often. 


I feel like we've watched these guys grow up, physically and musically, over the past 3 years.    Check out our Shams Band shots from Do Division 2011 Here and an even earlier show 1-27-11 at Lincoln Hall here.


Click here to purchase current Schubas Shams Band tickets.   

• Practice Space presents:
• The Shams Band
• Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes
• Young Jesus
• DJ Sets By: Mr. Gac

• MONDAY 07/23/2012 8:00 PM | 21+ | $6.00 ($15.00 - FOUR SHOW RESIDENCY TICKET PACKAGE)

Click Here To Reserve Your Copy of Cold City And A Ticket To The Show.

Click Here For A Four Show Residency Ticket Package

The Shams Band will be celebrating their second full length record, Cold City by hosting their own July residency at Schubas Tavern.

Music is supposed to be fun, exciting, thought provoking and daring. On every live performance, The Shams Band makes sure that their audience leaves each concert with a personal feeling of satisfaction. Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, singer/songwriters Biggins/Gulyas create distinct, personal songs. Once completed with unique four-part harmonies, the songs come to life, tell stories, and send audiences singing all the way home.

The Shams Band features music trapezing the line between blues, country, and pop music. They have opened for national acts Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.

The Shams Band is the epitome of a "do-it-yourself" group. They get every audience excited and dancing from their catchy hooks and rock 'n roll atmosphere. It's whiskey-driven. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo.

Play Locally-Hot Happenings for the Weekend-6 CORNERS BBQ FEST & STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG

6 Corners BBQ Fest

Family Friendly Fun, Meaty Goodness, Film Festival, Great Tunes including Voodoo Kings at 6pm.....and More.   Click here for the FULL FEST SCHEDULE.

Chicago Filmmakers is proud to screen a selection of digital shorts and 16mm films on Saturday, June 16, at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave., during BBQ Fest.  First up at Noon is a collection of films created by youth in our Summer Digital Moviemaking Camps. Following at  2 p.m., we will screen films from our collection by Chicago’s own Tom Palazzolo including ‘At Maxwell Street’, ‘Jerry’s', and ‘Ricky and Rocky’.  Join us to learn more about our summer youth classes, film classes for adults, and other ways to get involved. For additional information visit us at www.chicagofilmmakers.org

Bands

For the 6 Corners BBQ Fest, we strive to give you original talent, and we feature as many local bands as we can. This year, we booked a band called Old Irving. How much more local can you get?

Saturday, June 16: Main Stage (on Milwaukee at Irving)

Waco Brothers: Saturday’s headliner

12:30: The Shams Band (We've given away their CD's to our readers, and shots stills and video of The Shams Band for years, and they're one of our local favs!    Search The Shams Band in our blog side bar for our past photo filled features, then get out and see them live TODAY!)

2:30 Four Star Brassband

4:30 Future Laureates (We've given away their CD's to our readers as well.   Future Laureates rock.)

6:30 Voodoo Kings (Highly recommended!  Check 'em out.   *Our freaky bit of family Voodoo from this week "AKA:  pix disappeared, but we got the tee shirt!"--Dug is on a shoot down in New Orleans and took a phone photo at Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo and sent it to us.    It didn't go through.   The same day, Du-Jay and I moved boxes around in the basement to make room for a new water meter and found a t-shirt on the floor under one from...you guessed it Maria Laveau's House of Voodoo.   It had been buried there for over TEN YEARS!   I pulled it out, washed it, and wore it.   When Dug called to ask how we like the picture we said "What picture?!"   Imagine our surprise when we finally saw the photo a day later!)

8:30 Waco Brothers

North Stage (On Milwaukee at Belle Plaine)

7:30 p.m. Polkaholics

(Another of our local favs.   Dare you not to dance.   Polkaholics are good time for all ages!)

Sunday, June 17: Main Stage (on Milwaukee at Irving)

A hometown band opening on Sunday

1:00 Old Irving
3:00 Andrew Diehl and the Nightmen
5:00 Magic Box
7:00 Brighton, MA

North Stage (On Milwaukee at Belle Plaine)

6: 00 Charlie Baran & The Groupo Gringo 

STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG

7:30pm at Bank of America Theatre

Yay!   Puppets behaving badly....one of my favorite genres.  This is one for the big kids AKA:  adults & 17+.   I've got my ticket, do YOU?    They're only in town through Sunday so get your act together and go already.    Stuffed and Unstrung is part of the TBS Just for Laughs Chicago comedy festival and also presented by Broadway in Chicago.    

If anyone needs to get out and see an R rated puppet show, it's parents of young children.    Sure, the childless and the hipsters can come too.....   But parents REALLY need a good old raunchy remedy for all the saccharine sweet, PC pablum we put up with in the name of entertaining our littles.   So book a sitter and come on out for laugh.   YOU deserve it.

Check out our full prior write up on Stuffed and Unstrung, including a video clip, by clicking right here.

Shows On Our Radar-Empty Bottle Monday & Tuesday

Hit The Empty Bottle this Monday &/or Tuesday.

Monday
Free Show
We haven't seen The Mutt's live but we've been loving their tunes on line!   Check out their main site here and give them a listen.   Some of the best things in life are free........and you can use all that cash you saved for beer and generous tips.   

MON. 1/23/12 (9:00pm, Free)
Wally Dogger
Pinto & The Bean
Mutts
Otter Petter

Here's our prior coverage of Wally Dogger's CD release party last year at Beat Kitchen.   In that signature synchronicity way things have of cropping up, they played out with The Noses, renowned LA play write, Brett Neveu's band.  That week we had just reviewed opening night of Bretts amazing show, Odradeck, at The House Theatre.   And we were just about to check out another of Brett's works, The Earl, at A Red Orchid Theatre.   A year has past and guess what we just saw at A Red Orchid Theatre Friday?!   You guessed it, another Brett Neveu play, Megacosm. 

Pinto & The Bean were part of our Ginormous Holiday Gift Guide & Give Aways.   One of our lucky readers won their CD along with 5 more.   We still have a couple more to give away so check back in like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.

6 CDs:    Soul-R&B-Blues-Rock including,  Fitz and The Tantrums,  How Far To Austin,  The Shams Band, Zach Heckendorf, Pinto & The Bean & The Future Laureates (over $70)

*We have loads of live videos, pit photos, band video interviews and CD reviews.   Check out the archives at the bottom of the page or use the search bar to the right.   We post upcoming shows, introduce new music, and give you breaking music news for alt-rock-metal-punk-funk-blues/bluegrass-and more, including bands for adults & kids.   All are posted at ChiIL Mama.com and archived at our sister site, ChiIL Live Shows.com.

• Fitz and The Tantrums--2 video interviews/live footage)
• How Far to Austin-video interview & live show stills from HOB & Mayne Stage
• The Shams Band-live show stills from Lincoln Hall, The Whistler & Do Division Fest.

In fact, you can check out two more of these bands at weekend 2 of The Chicago Blue Grass & Blues Festival this Saturday at The Congress Theater.    In fact, we just saw Donnie Biggins of The Shams Band back stage at CBB Fest at The Auditorium Theatre last night!   We'll have some sweet photos up very soon.    


Tuesday
This one'll cost ya, but only $15, and they're world renowned musicians and well worth it.  We're hoping to set up a video interview soon with Jeff Parker and his partner who have a baby boy.   She's a filmmaker and college professor out in California.   Jeff also has an older, elementary age daughter we've known since Sagezilla was in a playgroup with her at age 2!   

The son of the drummer for Tortoise was also in playgroup with our girls, along with a virtual whose who of chicago theatre and music peeps progeny.   We'd love to interview Jeff and Johnny Herndon and their partners, for our ongoing series on how creatives parent and how parents create.   Check out our Pinterest Board of that name, How Do Creatives Parent and How Do Parents Create, to find most of the interviews together.   We have the rest of the interviews in our Vimeo links in the sidebar at ChiIL Mama.   Pinterest doesn't see Vimeo for some odd reason.   The interviews include Brett Neveu and various Noses, mentioned above, as well as touring musicians from metal band Red Fang, Fitz & The Tantrums, Keller Williams, Danbert Nobacon (Chumbawamba), various CEOs, and a number of theatre personalities.

TUE. 1/24/12 (9:30pm, $15 buy)
Tortoise
Dent-de-Lion
DJ Ryan Weinstein

For loads of music news, free downloads, upcoming Chi-town shows, and original stills, videos, reviews, and video interviews, check out our brand new Facebook Page for ChiIL Live Shows.  You can "like" us and/or follow the feed. 

Shams Band-Tonight at 8:30pm Streaming at AudioTree & Free CD & Tickets

What we're playing at ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows...

Tonight, The Shams Band will be performing live across the world at 8:30pm (central)! You can stream the show from AudioTree - http://www.audiotreemusic.com/audiotree_music_archive.html  
Audio Tree is similar to Daytrotter.   They will be performing all brand new material for you to hear :)

Another great announcement - The Shams Band will be opening for Drive-By Truckers at the 2012 Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival!  They will perform on January 28th, 2012 from the balcony stage at Congress Theater. Their set is in between Dawes and Drive-By Truckers!

**ChiIL Mama's giving away a pair of tickets to the 2012 Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival Congress Shows in the very near future, so check back like we vote in Chicago...early & often for details on how to win!**   You can also get your tickets for a discount through The Shams Band for $35.   

The Shams Band say:   Happy Holidays to everyone from across the world! We love you and thank you for your support! 

http://www.theshamsband.com
http://www.facebook.com/theshamsband
http://www.facebook.com/theshamsband
 
The Shams Band is one of our favorite Chi-Town bands here at ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows.    We still have loads more unreleased, live, concert footage from their show at The Whistler, Logan Square's intimate venue, from earlier in the year.   Check out their version of Maggie's Farm right here.

We also have a bunch of pit photos we shot at their summer fest appearance at Do Division. 

and our pit photos from their January show at Lincoln Hall.

Remember to enter here for your chance to win their CD, Champagne (with 5 other rockin' CDs too!  Soul-R&B-Blues-Rock including, Fitz and The Tantrums, How Far To Austin, The Shams Band, Zach Heckendorf, Pinto & The Bean & The Future Laureates)   

This give away is just one of many you can enter to win through 12/14!   Check out ChiIL Mama's Ginormous Holidaze Gift Give Away below.