On Earth day (April 22nd) The Giving Tree Band, known as "Greenest band in the land," according to Mother Earth News, will put their previous two album on “Fire Sale” and donate 50% of the proceeds to Global Green USA. The band is also performing at University of Chicago’s Earth Day Festival on the 23rd. Here is how the fire sale will work, on the 22nd the albums Unified Folk Theory (2007) will sell for $4.99, and Great Possessions (2009) for $3.99, or both for $6.99 (51 tracks total) exclusively via the band’s website. Currently you can download two tracks for free from their site to hear what the band sounds like if you aren’t familiar with their down-home bluegrass sound.

The Vindits have a new ep called Shots, which they will be releasing on April 22nd at Beat Kitchen. This is the bands third ep and follows their 2009 ep Overactive Sundays. The bands plays dark and gritty rock music and is sure to entertain. The band will also be appearing on 89.5, Vocalo.org on April 16th from 2-3pm.

The new release from the haze-pop group Shalloboi, All Hope Is Blind, is a slow motion leap forward for the band. The almost overpowering fuzzy drone of past releases has subsided giving way to stark and beautiful melodies. There are still several layers to their sound but much more emphasis is placed on melody and the vocals. There is a quite richness about this album and it is partially due to the addition of Billy Speer on cello, Chris Gagnon on viola, and Katelyn Eldridge on violin.

The album is available for free download, but if you purchase it directly from Shalloboi is comes packaged inside a very cool zine. The package also includes a green vinyl release and disc.

Shalloboi will be performing live at Mortville on May 17th.

The latest edition of Small Chicago is live and feature the punk-pop band The Saps. Check out their performance of "Bother You" and then visit Small Chicago for two more videos and loads of pictures from the session. The Saps performed last night at The Bottom Lounge, but you can catch them on May 29th at The House Cafe in DeKalb, IL.

Rockie Fresh is the next big thing to come out of Chicago and his brand new video with YP and Big Homie Doe for the track “Fly Like This” proves it. There are some great shots of the city here. The video was produced by Davy Greenberg.

Although their latest album, Bummer Palace, will not be released until next month Caw! Caw! will be celebrating the release on April 13th at The Abbey Pub with YAWN and Tender. The band has been working on this album since last July, and it is their first full-length album since 2006 and Eine Kleine Todesmusik. It is also their first album to feature Dan Rico on bass. After the show they will be heading out on a two month nationwide tour.

Bummer Palace is an exciting album filled hard-hitting rock, but is also dripping with the heavenly falsetto of Tim Tsurutani. That mixture of high-pitched vocals and aggressive instrumentation is yet another transformation for this trio that has been together since 2001. Over the years the band has morphed from a punk outfit to cosmic pop to their combination of sounds. My favorite track on the album is the atmospheric adventure “My Starship” with begins gentle with the words “Sunlight on my bike”. The song is filled with chaos at about the minute mark, but Tsurutani remains constant. It’s a fun track containing several surprises.

For those of you not up for a weekend chock-full of free tunes, live music, and decent (ahem) “pretty good” dance moves, stop reading. This post is not for you. Those still with us are in luck. The Chicago-based (by way of New York) group, Pretty Good Dance Moves (Jimmy Giannapoulos and Aaron Allietta) has your impending social calendar mapped out for you.

It’s no secret the boys of PGDM share an appreciation for token female vocalists (the pair has worked with Company of Thieves’ Genevieve Schatz as well as Angelina Lucero). This time around, the duo has tapped into songstress (and former model) Lissy Trullie, to help provide that sultry jena se qua to their latest track, “Bad Habits.” You can download and stream the track below or head to Beauty Bar tonight (4/9), where PGDM are the evening’s featured DJs.

PGDM will also be dropping by Saturday’s CHIRP Record Fair, where they perform at 3pm (alongside DJ sets by Mannequin Men and the Disappears). The Fair, which spans the weekend, also features local vendors including Bloodshot Records, Grape Juice Records, and Goose Island Beer Co. Visit the Record Fair website for details. – Neph Basedow

Are you ready for the 8th annual CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights, to be held on April 10-11, 2010 at the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union at 1340 West Washington Boulevard. The CHIRP Record Fair is the only record fair in Chicago proper, offering a gathering place for music and art enthusiasts to browse more than 80 tables of vinyl, CDs, posters, ‘zines, artwork and crafts. CHIRP welcomes new dealers as well as returning favorites to this year’s Record Fair. Dealers come from all over the country and range from genre specialists with rare records to generalists with something for everyone’s tastes. In addition to vinyl, dealers will also offer 8-tracks, cassettes, DVDs and other forms of media. An eclectic selection of arts and crafters, ‘zine writers and poster artists round out the vendor lineup, while food and alcohol will be available from local favorites like Chicago’s Goose Island Brewery.

Special guest DJs and live bands such as Judson Claiborne and The Loneliest Monk will perform throughout the weekend. A complete lineup is available here.

This week Coach House Sounds posted three new sessions with Chicago bands. It just so happens that each band will also be playing in Chicago this month. The sessions are with Hollow (pictured above), April 15th @ Reggie’s, Lawrence Peters Outfit, April 18th @ the Whistler, and L’Orchestre Super Vitesse, April 21 @ the Whistler.

Drag City recently announced that they will be releasing the latest EP from Cave next month. Titled Pure Moods, the album is set to hit stores on May 18, 2010.

Cave will be celebrating the release of Pure Moods at Hideout on June 4th. The band will also be playing Pitchfork music festival in July.

On April 1st we sent our photographer, Daniel Bartel, to The Bottom Lounge to photograph the bands This is Versailles and Light Pollution. For more pictures from the show visit Daniel’s This is Versailles page and his Light Pollution page.

Well, Chicago currently holds 5% of the overall 122 bands announced for Lollapalooza 2010. However, four of the six Chicago acts are not main stage acts, but a part of the “Spinning At Perry” section of the line-up. Head over to Lolla for the full line-up and feel free to post you complaints about how Soundgarden, Green Day, and The Strokes are no longer relevant.

The Chicago bands at Lolla 2010 are Company of Thieves, Skybox, Felix Da Housecat, BBU, Flosstradamus, and Only Children.