4 CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 13, 2006 | SECTION THREE

CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 13, 2006 | SECTION THREE 5

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ANTHRAX This venerable metal act has put out fivebest-of albums since 1998, so I’m beginning to suspectthese guys realize their main value now is historic;Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (1985-1991) (Island), releasedin September as both a DVD and a two-CD set, is thecurrent shameless repackaging of their most influentialperiod. It isn’t exactly what fans might be hoping for—thatwould be remasters of Anthrax’s back catalog—but it still(mostly) paints the band as visionary: the majority of hip-hop-metal fusions wound up doing a disservice to bothgenres, but Anthrax and Public Enemy were very wellmatched on “Bring tha Noize.” On this tour the “classic”lineup is pushing both the album and a campaign againstmandatory vaccinations in the military for guess what. GodForbid, Sworn Enemy, and Manntis open. a 7 PM, Houseof Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212,sold out. A —Monica Kendrick

EVEN IN BLACKOUTS This group was founded in2001 by founding Screeching Weasel guitarist John“Jughead” Pierson, who hoped to create what he called thefirst acoustic pop-punk band. Though the Violent Femmesmight want to have a word with him about that claim, theapproach Pierson’s come up with on the band’s two full-lengths doesn’t step on many toes—the Femmes neverthought to do acoustic covers of Operation Ivy (orScreeching Weasel, for that matter), and the 2004 discZeitgest’s Echo (Knock Knock) has a wry, literate richnessthat’s quite distinct from Gordon Gano’s wry, literatebitterness. This show is a release party for Pierson’s novel,Weasels in a Box, and a warm-up for the band’s upcomingEuropean tour. The Grackles and Mittens open. a 7 PM,Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, 773-281-4444, $6 inadvance, $8 at the door. A —Monica Kendrick

JUICEBOXXX Less than a year ago, this teenage DJprodigy and wacky hip-hop wizard was blogging aboutfinding a pink tie to go with his prom tux and waiting for hisdad to pick him up after a date with his one and only (“Imean it when I say she’s my sunshine”). Now he’s rappingabout his sacks of money and bragging about his sick rhymesover nimbus clouds of murderous gangsta beats and blasts ofhigh-energy Euro techno. Thankfully the fresh-faced boy inlove is still in there too: on his current CD, R U There God??Itz Me Juiceboxxx (Vicious Pop), there’s plenty of charminglyearnest old-school hip-hop, complete with rinky-dink drummachines and hooray-for-everybody lyrics, and even a bit oftone-deaf NKOTB-inspired crooning. Juiceboxxx knows howto kick out the party jamz 4 sure, but I can easily imagine thekid getting corrupted in the next year or so—take advantageof the chance to see him at this nutso apartment show beforesomebody offers him a real live sack of money and convinceshim he should go legit. Squidbots, Sik With Society, RottenMilk vs. Bubblegum Shitface, Insect Deli, and Carpet of Sexyopen. a 7 PM, Beauty Shop, donation requested—call 708-738-9656 or e-mail rottenmilk@lumpen.com for moredetails. A —Liz Armstrong

Even in Blackouts

Anthrax

TheTreatmentA day-by-day guide to our Critic’s Choices and other previews

arrangements recall Molina’s 2004acoustic disc Pyramid Electric Co. “Webasically set up two or three mikes and Iwas able to control the tape machinefrom the studio floor,” he says. “It was alldone live, no overdubs, no fancy mixing.But I managed to get some really terrify-ing, creepy sounds. It doesn’t have any ofthe Crazy Horse vibe that most of theMagnolia stuff has.”

The Magnolia LP, Nashville Moon,was tracked with Steve Albini atElectrical Audio, and later this monthMolina will head back to mix it.Returning to the tapes will be emotion-al for both men. Just as recording wasabout to begin back in July, wordreached the studio that local musiciansJohn Glick, Doug Meis, and MichaelDahlquist—the drummer for Silkwormand a close friend of Albini’s—had beenkilled in a car crash. For Albini and theElectrical Audio staff, the news was, asMolina puts it, “the very definition ofheartbreak.”

“I wasn’t personally close to any ofthose guys,” says Molina. “However,

everybody I knewwas extremelytight with them.As soon as wefound out, Iwanted to cancelthe session. I toldSteve, ‘Look, wecan do thisanother time.’But he andeveryone atElectrical insist-ed that we finishthe record—Ithink they feltlike they neededto, in a way. . . .

As a result the record has a reallyheavy atmosphere.” Bottomless Pit, anew four-piece with Silkworm’s TimMidgett and Andy Cohen, will openMolina’s February 6 Schubas show.

Tragedy also followed Molina intothe studio this fall, when he was work-ing with Lowery on their collaborativealbum. They’d met early in 2005, afterCamper Van Beethoven’s gear wasstolen on tour—when the band passedthrough Indianapolis Molina offered toloan them some of Magnolia’s equip-ment. (CVB is playing the Abbey thisThursday; see the Treatment.) The twobecame friends, and in NovemberMolina went to Lowery’s Sound ofMusic studio in Richmond, Virginia,with some of his new songs. “It wasreally exciting,” says Molina. “I mean, Iused to buy those Camper Van

Beethoven records growing up.” Partway through the session,

though, Molina learned that his moth-er had suffered a massive stroke. “Shejust dropped at work. They called meand told me she wasn’t going to make itthrough the night,” says Molina.

Unable to get a flight back to Ohioright away, Molina decided to finish the session before he went home. “We really came up with some strong, high-impact emotional stuff,” he says. “Iknow I’m very fortunate in that I’mable to deal with really difficult situa-tions by making music. I’ve kindaalways been that way, ever since I wasa little kid.” He and Lowery gotthrough eight tracks, and in lateFebruary Molina will return toRichmond to complete the record,titled The Black Ram. His mother sur-vived her stroke but has been in acoma and intermittently on life sup-port ever since.

Even with three projects already inthe pipeline, Molina is eager to launchmore: his work with Lowery, as well aswith Will Oldham and Alasdair Roberts(as the Amalgamated Sons of Rest), hasopened his eyes to the possibilities ofcollaboration, and he’s talked withlocals like Jeff Tweedy, Sally Timms,and Andrew Bird about recordingtogether. “I always think it’s good tostart at home,” he says. “There’s such atremendous pool of talent in Chicago.”

In March Magnolia Electric Co. willplay Hurricane Katrina makeup datesin Tennessee and Texas, then hit Southby Southwest. Later that month theband will kick off a two-week tour withDestroyer.

Molina is already looking past themixing of Nashville Moon to the nextMagnolia album. “When I walk out ofElectrical Audio, the first second myfeet hit the pavement, I gotta startwriting the next record. I like to writeas much as possible. Of course, it doesn’t mean that I don’t edit,” he says,laughing. “Another year from now I’llprobably be throwing out a bunch ofwhat I’m working on now.”

PostscriptSince last week’s story on local musi-cian and soundman Gary Schepers,several readers have written in to askhow they can make direct contribu-tions to help defray his medical bills.Benefit organizers have established aGary Schepers Trust, and donations canbe made in person at any National Citybank or mailed to the branch at 1520N. Damen, Chicago, IL 60622. v

The Meter

By Bob Mehr

themeter@chicagoreader.comwww.chicagoreader.com/TheMeter

Jason Molina

JIM

NEW

BERR

Y

Power SurgeJason Molina and Magnolia Electric Co. are on a roll.

M ost people who make NewYear’s resolutions promise todo something like get in shape

or quit smoking, but Jason Molina’sannual ritual is a bit different. “EveryNew Year I throw out songs,” he says. “Ijust threw out probably 20 tapes full ofdemos and I didn’t even listen tothem. . . . Getting rid of all that old stuffreally forces you to write new material.”

For Molina, songwriting is like anaddiction, though it’s hard to arguethat it’s been unhealthy for him. Overthe past decade he’s released nearly 20albums and EPs of moody 70s-styleroots rock and stripped-down indiefolk under a variety of names—mostnotably Songs: Ohia and MagnoliaElectric Co.—and earned widespreadcritical acclaim.

Raised in West Virginia and Ohio,Molina came to Chicago in the late90s, then in late 2001 moved to south-ern Indiana, where his backing bandlives. “It was so much cheaper inIndiana, particularly if you wanted tohave a practice space and an apart-ment,” he says. “But if I’d had mychoice I would’ve never left Chicago.”This summer Molina’s wife wasoffered a teaching job in town, and inSeptember the couple settled inAndersonville. “The way the bandworks now, we don’t need to rehearsea lot because we tour so much,”Molina says. “Me being here won’thinder anything.”

On Sunday Magnolia Electric Co.plays Schubas, and Molina will returnto the club for a solo set every Mondayin February. “It’ll give me time to workout some of the newer songs that Ihaven’t really had a chance to run bythe band yet,” he says, “and a lot of theolder material that isn’t really con-ducive to the group format.”

Last year was Molina’s most pro-ductive yet: Magnolia Electric Co.released a live album, a studio full-length, and an EP and toured Europe,the U.S., and Canada. In the monthsto come the Indiana label SecretlyCanadian plans to release anotherMagnolia LP, a Molina solo disc, andan album-length collaborationbetween Molina and Camper VanBeethoven front man David Lowery.“By the middle of last year I had avision to release these three distinctalbums,” Molina says. “As I wouldwrite a song, I would see where eachone fell.”

The solo album, provisionally titled“Let Me Go,” was recorded in Indianalast February and will be the first to seerelease. Its sparse piano-and-guitar

Magnolia Electric Co.,Palliard,Smallwire,DeathsWHEN Sun 1/15, 9 PMWHERE Schubas, 3159 N. SouthportPRICE $12INFO 773-525-2508,18+MORE This show is part of TomorrowNever Knows; for a full schedule see page 34

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