Cap'n Jazz - Basil’s Kite

I have talked about the genre Midwest Emo quite a few times over the years, and if there is one band that helped codify what Midest Emo is all about, it is Cap'n Jazz from Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The band consisted of a collection of high school friends making energetic and haphazard punk music that always sounded like it was on the verge of falling apart. Tim Kinsella’s vocal style was a combination of amateurish singing, shouting, and talking, expressing a surrealistic stream-of-conscious wordplay. Instrumentally, Cap'n Jazz was a combination of jangly and melodic guitar lines, occasionally punctuated by a rapid tempo change or a burst of guitar virtuosity, with the rhythm section just barely holding it all together. The band only released a single full length album, the ridiculously titled Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We’ve Slipped on and Egg Shells We’ve Tippy-Toed Over (often referred to as Schmap’n Schmazz), before breaking up in 1995 during their first tour due to drug issues with their guitarist, Victor Villarreal. Despite the band’s short existence, they were the template for what has become Midwest Emo. A remastered version of Schmap’n Schmazz was just released in 2025 to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, and the band is getting back together to play a few shows in June and July of 2025.

Conan - Hawk as Weapon

When imagining a band name suitable for a fantasy-themed doom metal band, it is hard to beat “Conan”. Conan the Cimmerian, the barbarian from Robert E. Howard’s short stories and a hallmark of sword and sorcery stories, is the perfect imagery to associate with a heavily down-tuned doom/sludge metal band. The band Conan is a three piece doom metal band founded in 2006 by Jon Davis, and their monstrously heavy music fit the name perfectly. As a band, they shirk the notion of guitar solos. No, Conan are a band that thrive on slow, plodding riffs, both the guitar and the bass flowing in monolithic unison. This is music to be played loudly, where you can feel each chord rumble. Jon Davis’ vocal style sounds almost as if he is shouting across a canyon, fitting perfectly with the reverberating riffs.