* The other day as I wandered the cavernous hallways of my palatial estate, the Woolworth Gardens, I asked aloud, “What, indeed, has happened to the glorious split 12-inch LP?” But the format is far from dead, as local synth-punk mainstay Digital Leather are ushering in an exalted reinvigoration of the shared vinyl album. The band, headed by singer/guitarist Shawn Foree, is teaming up with two-piece Wisconsin garage-pop act the Hussy and each will offer up a half-dozen or so songs on a Southpaw Records release due out May 6th. The Hussy premiered “WWDLD?” on BrooklynVegan.com in late January. Now what would Digital Leather do in light of this news, I wonder?
* Detroit garage act Tyvek have seemingly lurked just beyond the indie-rock fringes, as they’re more likely to play DIY spaces and house shows than rock clubs and music convention mixers. They’ll continue that trend Tuesday, February 11th when they play the Sweatshop Gallery, 2727 North 62nd St. with locals No Thanks, Skeleton Man and Hossflesh. But on Sunday, February 16th, they return again opening for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks at the Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St. I’ll certainly be checking out Tyvek in both environments, seeing how their taut, punk-thrash attack sound in both spaces. It’s the sort of sound that record clerks dream up — “What if Devo and Wire were both Los Angeles hardcore bands?” Man, they might just sound a little like Tyvek. This is a band that’s recorded both for garage stalwart label In the Red Records and the noise/experimental label Siltbreeze. That’s some weird line to straddle but Tyvek makes sense in both those worlds.
* Local musicians will celebrate a screening of local filmmaker Nik Fackler’s documentary Sick Birds Die Easy, with a post-showing concert Tuesday, February 11th at the Slowdown, 729 North 14th St. The movie will screen at 7 p.m. that evening at the nearby Film Streams at the Ruth Sokoloff Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey St. Performers include Fackler’s band InDreama, Greg Elsasser, Dave Matysiak and Sam Martin, who is also featured in Fackler’s documentary.