Arts Devo

Chico playlist, part one If April showers bring May flowers, what do May, June, July, August and September droughts bring? A ton of new music by local artists! Apparently, Chico’s musicians have been busy during the hell months recording tunes in time for the fall semester. This week, there are four new releases. (Stay tuned for a second batch of tuneage from a couple of highly anticipated releases that Arts DEVO is stoked to share in next week’s column.) Shuffle away:

• Dunning vs. Kruger – Mark Zempel: This bedroom EP by the local musical chameleon shows off multi-instrumentalist Zempel’s many stylistic colors over the course of just six songs—everything from baroque pop and groovy rock to new wave and cheesy lounge, plus some winks to The Beatles and Bowie along the way. Zempel recorded everything and played most of the instruments, and Josh Garcia mixed and released the album on local HeartBurn Records. Go to markzempel.bandcamp.com to get the album, and go to stubblegum.com to get tickets to the album-release house party on Saturday, Sept. 29.

• Lo & Behold – Lo & Behold: The fresh-faced Chico funksters are dropping their debut—recorded by local guitar stud/Butte College recording-arts instructor Dave Elke—Friday, Sept. 28, during a release party at Argus Bar + Patio. The EP will be available via all the usual online streaming outlets as well. Visit facebook.com/loandbeholdmusic for more info.

• Palm Reader – Armed for Apocalypse: When you’re loaded up for the end times, changes in personnel and geography can hardly deter the onward march into the fray. These longtime Chico headbangers are now mostly Portland-based, but they have a new bassist and this new super-brutal ep dropping online (armedforapocalypse.bandcamp.com) on Sept. 28. A Western U.S. tour brings them back to Chico Oct. 14 for a show at The Maltese before they head back to Europe in November.

• Looking – Kirt Lind: Hey, Chico rocker, how many albums have you released in the 21st century? Not counting his work as a member of some of Chico’s best bands (see: The Yule Logs, Donald Beaman’s Spirit Molecules, French Reform and Squirrel vs. Bear), Lind has now recorded and released 11 solo albums since 2008. His latest is a bright and sunny bit of indie-pop polished with a bit of ’80s nostalgia and maybe some carefree yacht rock (though maybe that’s just the mustache) thrown in. Hot track: “Bring.” Download at kirtlind.bandcamp.com

Chico represent! Congrats to local artist Russell Schermer. His ceramic sculpture, “1058 Aston Martin,” took first place in the national 2018 InSights Art Competition, “an annual juried competition for artists of all ages who are blind or visually impaired.” The contest is sponsored by the American Printing House for the Blind, and according to a press release, Schermer’s piece will be on display Oct. 4-6, in Louisville, Ky., during the organization’s annual meeting.