JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND

About Me

"Beat of Our Own Drum" is now available!

Buy the vinyl at Dusty Groove

JC Brooks is determined to become the next in a long line of classic Chicago Soul singers; Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Syl Johnson - JC has learned from them all, and he's got no illusions about what it takes to become a classic. Armed with The Uptown Sound, one of the most ferocious bands to ever crawl up out of the windy city, JC's live shows are all-out assaults on the audience, employing everything from raw punk to heart-wrenching R&B. Guaranteed to make you dance by any means necessary, JC Brooks is the new sound of Chicago.

Reach out and touch someone, direct!
theuptownsound at yahoo dot com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 31/03/2007
Band Members: JC Brooks sings, with Billy Bungeroth on guitar, Ben Taylor on fender bass, Kevin Marks behind the drums.

Special guests: Chris Neal (tenor sax), Kevin Tague (trumpet), Andrew Zelm (trombone) AKA the Lowdown Brass, Alex Hall (organ)
Influences: Stax DefJam Motown Dischord Atlantic SST Chess Factory Brunswick Trojan Hi RECORDS / James Brown, the Clash, Iggy & the Stooges, Funkadelic, Lenny Bruce, Donny Hathaway, Bad Brains, Wax Poetics, Fela, Hunter S. Thompson, Nina Simone, Marvin Tate, Band of Gypsies, the Numero Group
Sounds Like: ...the good guys are winning for once.

Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

UTS T-Shirts: get them while you can!

we've got exactly FOUR JCB/UTS shirts left (2 small, 2 XL), so better style yourself up before they're all gone.Limited edition black cotton, comfy!Only $15 via PayPal, includes shipping!Here's the de...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:39:00 GMT

Chicago Tribune says "Uptown Sound is the real deal"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-0529-j c-uptown-soundmay29,0,1985973.storyLocal Sounds ...
Posted by on Fri, 29 May 2009 13:43:00 GMT

JC Brooks @ WFMU - listen here!

the always fantastic Free Music Archive has posted our live session with WFMU's Joe Belock, check it out!http://freemusicarchive.org/music/JC_Brooks__The_Uptown_ Sound/Live_at_WFMU_on_The_Three_Chord_M...
Posted by on Tue, 19 May 2009 22:28:00 GMT

Eccentric Soul Revue pics

the first reports of last weekend's Eccentric Soul Revue are starting to trickle in, with the accompanying Youtube videoshttp://burlesquedesign.com/2009/04/06/eccentric-soul-r evue-pt-2/
Posted by on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:57:00 GMT

New Centerstage Interview

thanks to Jeff Min over at Chicago Centerstage for this great interview with Billy B.http://centerstagechicago.com/music/articles/jcbrooks.html JC Brooks and the Uptown SoundChicago's newest soul reviv...
Posted by on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:37:00 GMT

New York Times on JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

The paper of record name-dropped us and quoted "Baltimore is the New Brooklyn" to make a point about gentrification in the boroughs!http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/realestate/keymag azine/15keyHSbroo...
Posted by on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:57:00 GMT

Spanish Review of "Beat of Our Own Drum"

The fine fine people over at ModGeneration (Rhythm Soul & Mod-ness!) posted a great review of the new album:http://modgeneration.blogspot.com/2009/03/jc-brooks-be at-of-our-own-drum.htmlwith some roug...
Posted by on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:14:00 GMT

Spring has sprung?

Maybe this little burst of 60 degree weather is only a tease and well soon return to sub-freezing temps for another 2 months, but its just the boost we need as we head into our Eccentric Soul Revue ...
Posted by on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:37:00 GMT

New Gapers Block Interview!

http://gapersblock.com/transmission/2009/02/19/getting_down_ with_jc_brooks_th/Getting Down with JC Brooks & The Uptown SoundIn addition to being the sharpest-dressed band in Chicago, JC Brooks & the U...
Posted by on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:45:00 GMT

"BEAT OF OUR OWN DRUM"

LATE-BREAKING UPDATE! "Beat of Our Own Drum" is now on sale through iTunes and CD Baby!http://cdbaby.com/cd/jcbrookstus******************after many long months of working and waiting, tossing and tur...
Posted by on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:56:00 GMT