Carte Blanche (DJ Mehdi + Riton) has released their new ep called Black Billionaires, and it features a dance floor ready track called “Do! Do! Do!” featuring Kid Sister.

Verma is the latest band to appear on Giant System. Verma will be performing with Moonrises and Killer Moon at Hideout on June 10th.

I can’t think of a better song to close out a relaxing Memorial Day than Joe Pug’s “Bury Me Far (from my uniform)”.

Joe will be returning to Chicago on July 1 through the 3rd for Fitzgerald’s American Music Festival.

Mike wrote "I Got Front" and had the idea of bringing his friend CP on the track. Took it to the studio and cranked it out in a couple hours. "I Got Front" is free thanks to Simple Behavior Ent. Mike Golden & Friends play at the Elbo Room on June 20th. MG&F have their debut EP Trees Pt. 1 on Itunes and Amazon as of 4/20. Check out the website for more info.

Produced by Curt Cameruci (Flosstradamus), the new ep from The Dirty Diamonds is a mixture of Passion Pit and The Jackson Five. This collection of musicians is bringing Motown to Chicago in a big way. Their ep is called Monster Ballads and it can be downloaded from UR Chicago for free.

Tonight is the night that 1773 celebrate the release of their latest mixtape “Mixed Signals Vol. 1”. The mixtape set for summer warmth and party ready. The mix is hosted by Donwill (of Tanya Morgan), and kicks of with a tribute to Chicago featuring Visual, Elevation, Free Will, and Love Jones. “Chicagoan” is right up there Psalm One’s recent tribute, and sets the stage for a classic slice of Chicago hip hop.

The release party is tonight at Division Street Bar (2525 W. Division St) (10pm-2am, FREE, 21+).

If you are looking for a dose of gritty bar room rock tonight then I would like suggest The Mutts. This trio just released a new ep called We Float. It is the second of three that they will be giving away for free this year. The ep contains five raucous tunes that stomp, stumble, and scream throughout. The band has only been together since July of 2009, and have had a slight line-up change, but still have put together a fine ep.

The Mutts will be playing at Mutiny (2428 N. Western Ave) tonight (May 28th) and there is no cover. The band will take the stage around 11:30pm.

This week we sent our photographer Shalimar Beekman to The Metro to photograph Local H.

Essex Channel announced yesterday that they will finally be releasing the video for their catchy summer pop tune “Skinny Dippin’” on June 19th. They have been working on this since the release of the album that the track appears on, “Love is Proximity” many months ago.

The video is something like you might imagine, but I don’t know the full scope or detail. The video follows Essex Chanel fans in different everyday life scenarios in the Windy City. Whether biking at Oak Street Beach, photocopying in the office or trying to unclog a ketchup bottle at Friar Tuck’s, each fan gets interrupted amidst their task and finds a message. They all drop what they are doing and follow the command of the message. The next thing you know, the fans and band members of Essex Chanel are stripping down, jump in the pool naked, synchronized swimming ensues and then the video takes a turn that nobody could have predicted.

The premiere takes place on June 19th at The Academy of Music & Dance. Tickets are $10 and include free drinks, DVD of Music Video, poster, and other goodies.

Tom Schraeder has always been ambitious, but in 2010 he plans to release three albums. On June 5th at Lincoln Hall he will celebrate the release of the first album, Once Lace, Now Cotton. We will have a full-review of that album next week, but in the meantime enjoy the above video for the song “Tomorrow We’ll Know Why” from the album. The video features Kenley Collins (yes, that Kenley of "Project Runway" fame) and was shot by Jimmy Giannapoulous (Pretty Good Dance Moves).

Coltrane Motion is releasing a brand new album on June 1st called Hello Ambition! This is their first release since Feb 2009’s single “The Year Without Summer”. The band is known for their energetic mixture of dance music, pop, and noise-based layers of sound. The album features ten tracks and not a dull moment. The song they are giving away (one of two) reminds me a little of Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah. It’s called “I Forgot There Was A War” and it should be on every summer play list.

Coltrane Motion is playing tonight at Darkroom with Moxie Motive and Blueheels.

Late last month Welcome to Ashley released their latest full length album Beyond The Pale. My favorite track from the album has to be “These Dreams of Mine”. It perfectly encapsulates the bands mixture of grit and pop. You can purchase the album through itunes.

Welcome to Ashley will be performing at an KEXP sponsored show at Darkroom on May 28th with Ladies & Gentlemen. The show starts at 9pm.