The Handcuffs, The Wanton Looks, Swimsuit Addition, Summer Girlfriends, Pillow Talk, DJ Matt McVader

The Handcuffs
The Handcuffs embody the spirit of rock music's uninhibited, sexy and overbearing appeal. A perfect blend of style and energy. They do not sound like anyone else, but at the same time they seem very familiar. They are influenced by everything good that sells and anything good that doesn't. Chloe F. Orwell, the designated blonde, is the lead singer whose stage presence and vocal stylings ooze sex and scorch and rock and roll. She can slide from a corduroy growl to a shimmering silky sigh in a Detroit second. Brad Elvis is a black-haired, four-handed drummer whose manic-panic style paints a 747 jet rhythm to every song. Brad is also the chief songwriter, although Chloe is known to have a song or two stashed in her boots. The Chicago-based pair originally teamed up several years ago when Brad recruited Chloe as lead vocalist and contributing songwriter for his band Big Hello, which released three critically acclaimed CDs and played hundreds of shows. Their potent creative chemistry quickly earned the duo a worldwide fan base plus accolades in mainstream and alternative publications throughout the world, including the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Columbus Dispatch, The Big Takeover, Punk Planet, Amplifier, Sound Affects (Sweden), Jem (Japan), Mojo (U.K), Bucketfull of Brains (U.K.) and countless others. The Handcuffs evolved from Brad and Chloe's desire to explore a broader sonic territory, while still believing in the power of a great radio hook. Their influences range from Sparks to Bowie, Eno to Beck, PJ Harvey to Iggy Pop, Zeppelin to Queens of the Stone Age, with some Blur, Blondie and Bacharach tossed in for good measure. Their songs are fresh yet timeless; edgy yet accessible, skillfully crafted yet easily memorable. The duo started out making boombox demos with Chloe on guitar or bass and Brad often singing the lead vocals and keeping time on a cardboard box or whatever was handy. Proper studio sessions, with the help of additional guest instrumentalists, followed and The Handcuffs recorded dozens of songs with engineer/producer Mike Hagler (Neko Case, Wilco, the Pulsars, the Mekons). Then came song placement in hit television shows and films, followed by the self-produced music video that aired on FUSE TV, all of which seemed to help get the buzz in motion. With plans to release their debut CD, they finally decided to put a live band together. To complete their line-up, Brad and Chloe have recently welcomed three powerhouse musicians to help them deliver the rock. Enter bassist Emily Togni, a Tennessee-by-way-of-Arkansas native; and hometown boy Ellis Clark on guitar and keys. Both contribute to the mix with spot on backing vocals (and a musical open-mindedness that is vital to The Handcuffs' sound and vision). The Handcuffs' have released two CDs: the debut "Model for a Revolution" in 2006 and "Electroluv" in December 2008. Their songs have received airplay on college, commercial, satellite and internet radio throughout the world, including the legendary KROQ radio station in Los Angeles. Dozens of their songs have been placed in films and television shows, including the CW's "Gossip Girl," MTV's "The Hills," "Next," "Parental Control," "Laguna Beach" and more and shows on A&E, E!, Fuel, the CW, PBS and more. The Handcuffs' music is also featured on the soundtrack of the Sundance and SXSW award winning documentary The Education of Shelby Knox, which spent a few weeks airing on PBS's prestigious P.O.V. series. The Handcuffs' goals for the future: keep writing, keep recording, keep evolving..

The Wanton Looks
The Wanton Looks are four women who deliver the goods. The group was conceived by Traci Trouble (Paper Bullets, Thee Invaders, HotLips Messiah) and Meg Thomas (Reptoids, OD TAPO IMI). After countless auditions of guitarists, Inga Olson (The Closet Squatters,The Howl) joined the band followed a year later by southern sweetie Susie Q (Slutter,The Howl). They will break your face and your heart. Stay tuned for their debut album which is going to blow your mind. Bad-girl harmonies (think Shangri-La’s) meet fuzzed-up guitar and relentless tempos. Sure it’s been done countless times before, but when it’s done well – with fizzy hooks and towering sing-along choruses – who can complain? “Electromagnetic Force” is aptly named, “Demons” stomps like Motorhead, the first chord on “Worst Side of Me” sounds like a bomb detonating. -Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune For the sake of argument, let’s try to imagine a world where everything even indirectly related to rock ’n’ roll is as insufferably uncool as your gouty aunt’s country-club bridge game. While it’s a safe bet that rock would lose 99.9 percent of its fans to other modes of conspicuous consumption, you can be sure that local rocker Traci Trouble (formerly of Hotlips Messiah and the Paper Bullets) would still be doing everything she’s doing now. I’ve met very few people as passionately dedicated to “the rock” as Trouble, and for her new band, the Wanton Looks, she’s found three other women who share her devotion. Songs like “Worst Side of Me” (on an upcoming seven-inch comp from Kalamazoo’s UFO Dictator Records) and “Demons” combine the snarly, cocksure aggression of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts with Buzzcocks-a-riffic guitar solos and a surplus of well-placed vocal hooks. —Brian Costello, Chicago Reader The Wanton Looks: Though they have only about eight songs written, this Chicago quartet shows enough promise to make me hope they stick around long enough to write a bunch more. They specialize in massive choruses over heavy, fuzz-tone guitars. Nothing chintzy or undernourished about this sound. Bassist Traci Trouble, drummer Meg Thomas and guitarists Inga Olson and Susie Q simply bring the rock. - Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Swimsuit Addition
swimsuit addition began as an all-girl three-piece full of high-spirited spit and vinegar. within a year of forming, they played a string of successful shows, including opening for poppy-noise punk gods melt-banana, the ever-energetic davila 666, and the breakout retro pop group from brooklyn, friends. they’ve since reconstructed their line-up a few times and amplified their misbehavior with new members, genders, and handfuls of colorful song titles. their first EP, "kittyhawk," which the chicago reader called "the catchiest thing to hit this town since the spanish flu in 1918," came out in february 2012 and they are currently working on their full-length record, "wretched pin-ups."

Summer Girlfriends
Summer Girlfriends is a band that started during the most crippling of Chicago winters-dedicated only to making fun music, eating pizza, and being good friends.

Pillow Talk
Pillow Talk is a band that will forever live up to its name. Comforting, sometimes sweet, kinky, and always a good time! If you like to dance, if you like rocking new and old tunes, if you like standing in the back with your arms crossed, check out Pillow Talk! You wont be disappointed!

DJ Matt McVader