It’s the final First Friday of 2020, one of the most unkind years on record for the majority of the world. Musicians have had it particularly hard this year — but thanks to Bandcamp for their Bandcamp Fridays program, many artists have had an opportunity to receive a greater part of the revenue on the sale of their music and merch. Chris thanks everyone who has supported him and his fellow artists via this program.
In case you missed it, Chris created a number of Bandcamp-only releases this year:
And today comes A Many Acted Play, which includes unreleased demos from The Ultimate Seaside Companion, Blonde Exodus, The Episodes, and more. (Note: some of these tracks used to be available in the Downloads section of an earlier iteration of this website but have been unavailable for over 5 years.) You can stream the tracks on Bandcamp (and support, if you wish) now!
Furthermore, did you know that Chris and Mark Gemini Thwaite (MGT) released a single this year? Check out “How Long”, a cover of the 1975 Ace soul classic and learn more about this collaboration.
Meanwhile, Chris has been busy speaking with the world about his latest full album, Graveyard Sex, releases earlier this year, and about the year that was 2020… (sorry we’re a bit late posting some of these — you know, 2020 and all that)
On Monday, March 5 at 2 PM, Chris will appear on NPR’s The Afternoon Shift with Steve Edwards and other guests, discussing Chicago music in the 80s. (Listen)
There’s more talk of Chicago music in the 80s on Tuesday, March 6 at 6 PM, when Chris will appear with DJ Frankie Knuckles and Santiago Durango at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the Chicago Sounds in the 80s program, hosted by Jim Derogatos and Greg Kot.
Later on Tuesday night, at 10 PM on WXRT, Chris will be speaking with Jon Langford and playing selections from Artificial Madness and various Ministry/Cocks tracks, as well as some old Scottish post punk classics. (Listen)
Show up or tune in to find out what Chris has to say!
Chris and his band put on a fabulous show at The Hideout last week. More footage will be coming, but check out this video of Classically Wounded or this photo gallery. If you have any footage of the show, post a link here or on Facebook!
The music press and Connelly fans alike are loving Artificial Madness! Check out these album reviews — and if you’ve posted a review anywhere, let us know in the comments!
If you haven’t picked up Artificial Madness yet and want a chance to win a copy, join Chris on the social web — like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter! Once Chris gets to 3,000 Facebook likes and 1,000 Twitter followers, we’ll be randomly awarding fans and followers copies of the new album or Chris’s first work of fiction, Ed Royal. Tell your friends and let’s get those numbers up!
On Friday, July 8, Chris and Paul Barker will be guests on Sound Opinions as they look back on the legacy of WaxTrax Records. Check the web site to find out when the show airs in your region. The show will also be online to listen to on the 11th!
Cynthia Reeser of Prick of the Spindle reviews Ed Royal:
“But what were the eighties, if not disjointed, and further, as Connelly shows us, the eighties with drugs and young love and hotheaded mothers sprinkled into the mix. Ed Royal ultimately captures this scene, this time of life in particular for the young main character, in all his youthful, desperate hunger in a youthful, desperate age.”
allmusic has a great review of ‘The Episodes’ by Thom Jurek. He gives the album 4 1/2 stars! Some of the moods he uses to describe the album are ‘uncompromising’, ‘spooky’, ‘sprawling’, and ‘dramatic’.