The Blacks (band)
Encyclopedia
The Blacks were and insurgent country band from Chicago, IL. They released two albums through Bloodshot Records
.
two years later and released their first album, Dolly Horrorshow, in 1998. After one more album, Just Like Home in 2000, the group disbanded.
In 2006, the band reunited for a concert at the "Taste of Randolph" in Chicago.
In 2010, the band reunited to record the 6-song In Sickness and Health digital download EP.
Bloodshot Records
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois which specializes in roots-inflected indie rock, punk blues, and a Chicago brand of outlaw country...
.
Career
The group formed when Danny Black (then called Danny McDonough) met Gina Black. Danny had previously played with a psychedelic hard rock band called 'Cornmother'. The band made its first live performance in 1995. They signed to Bloodshot RecordsBloodshot Records
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois which specializes in roots-inflected indie rock, punk blues, and a Chicago brand of outlaw country...
two years later and released their first album, Dolly Horrorshow, in 1998. After one more album, Just Like Home in 2000, the group disbanded.
In 2006, the band reunited for a concert at the "Taste of Randolph" in Chicago.
In 2010, the band reunited to record the 6-song In Sickness and Health digital download EP.
Albums
- Dolly Horrorshow (1998, Bloodshot RecordsBloodshot RecordsBloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois which specializes in roots-inflected indie rock, punk blues, and a Chicago brand of outlaw country...
) - Just Like Home (2000, Bloodshot)
Compilation appearances
- "The New World" on Poor Little Knitter on the Road
- "Why Drunky?" on Down to the Promised Land
Reception
- "Talk about first impressions. The Blacks grab the audience's attention just by walking onstage -- part hillbilly punk band, part cabaret troupe from Berlin's red-light district. With her false eyelashes, form-fitting party dress and pair of nymphs painted on the body of her upright bass, the statuesque Gina Black alone would be enough to stop traffic on Lake Shore Drive." (Greg KotGreg KotGreg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, 1999) - "These are the Blacks, and they are one of the finest rock & roll bands you'll hear this year." (Steve Pick, Riverfront TimesRiverfront TimesThe Riverfront Times is a weekly newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri that consists of local politics, music, arts and dining news in the print edition and daily updates to blogs and photo galleries on its website...
, 1999) - "The Blacks, a Chicago trio with a penchant for fabulously queasy love songs, know how to make an entrance. Once the statuesque Gina Black took the stage at a local club in a dominatrix get-up. Leashed to her was bandmate Danny Black, dressed as a dog-collared Madison Avenue executive. It was arguably the most elaborate of the Blacks' sartorial pranks, but one that probably won't be soon repeated." (Greg Kot, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, 2000) - "While making two albums for Bloodshot Records — "Dolly Horrorshow" (1998) and " Just Like Home" (2000) — the quartet created a sound and put on a show like nobody else, a cocktail of hillbilly punk, garage rock, red-light-district blues and cabaret, a dash of glam swagger and sensuality, and killer harmonies." (Greg Kot, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, 2010)
Members
- Danny Black (Danny McDonough) - vocals, guitar, trumpet
- Gina Black - standup bass, vocals, harmonica
- Nora O'ConnorNora O'ConnorNora O'Connor is an American musician. She sings and plays guitar with numerous bands and individuals from the U.S. and Canada, her primary involvements being Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire and the Blacks...
- guitar, vocals - James Emmenegger - drums