Quick update here with some new Chicago Farmer dates sent to me today, if you haven’t read it already check out the review I did of his most recent Chambana show, and then go take a look at his site. Also you should all give Alan Vasquez a listen, too. I caught one of his sets before a Groovatron show I think it was, and he also does some insane stuff on an acoustic. You can download some free tracks both at his website and at his MySpace.

01/13 - Alan Vasquez, Chicago Farmer - The Store, Chicago, IL - 10pm Free

01/21 - Backyard Tire Fire, Chicago Farmer - The Castle Theater, Bloomington, IL - 10pm $8

DJ ?UESTLOVE of The Roots will be playing a 3-hour DJ set at The Highdive on Friday, January 20th.

Cover: $10
Starts: 9pm
Guests: DJ Delayney and Highdive resident-DJ Tim Williams.

Well I tried to hold out, but alas, I did it. With a wink of the eye and a tip of the hat to LiveMusicBlog.com, who is now featured on MySpace, BurningOak.com has it’s very own MySpace account, which you can check out and befriend at www.myspace.com/burningoakcom, or click the button below.

On that note, I’d also like to direct you all to MySpaceIsGay.com, where you can decipher your stalker’s picture meanings.

Also feel free to leave a link to your MySpace page here in the comments, or head over to LiveMusicBlog.com and do the same in the comments field at the bottom.

First off, tickets for the 6th annual Summer Camp ARE ON SALE! From now until February 28th tickets are $85 for the full Three Day Pass. That’s a steal, considering the music they present every year. Click here to go to Etix and purchase your tickets. Please, as a favor to me, go through anyone but TicketMaster to get your tickets. I hate those godawful jerks. Concert Profiteering is far worse than War Profiteering as far as I’m concerned, and while I’m sure Etix is just as bad, at least it’s competition. This ticket price includes camping for Fri-Sun, camping for Thursday will be available for an additional charge later on.

Also I apparently linked to their “new site” which no longer responds when loaded, so check out http://www.jaytv.com/summercamp2006/ instead until they get their act together and get that other site working.

No, I’m not referring to sampler tracks, I’m referring to the laid-back melodies of The Samples, a five-piece group mostly from Vermont who have been around since at least the early 90s, and have a catalog of 18+ releases. They tend to stick with very melodic tracks, and the strings come out clearly, blending well with the Neil Young-esque vocals, as indicated by their choice of covers. I’ve picked up a few freebie tracks from their website, including a cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” The Grateful Dead’s “Birdsong,” and a cover of their song “Nature” by Dave Matthews (though I had some trouble loading it). They’ll be touring this month and the next in support of their November 29, 2005 release Rehearsing For Life.

The Samples - “Walking Through The Snow” (Acoustic)

The Samples - “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” (Neil Young cover)

The Samples - “Empty Angels” off of Black and White

Sean Kelly(Lead Guitar and Vocals) and Tom Askin - “Feel Us Shaking” off of Seventeen

Sadly the next two tracks I have not gotten to work, but the link will remain up in case it’s just a problem with my computer.

The Samples - “Birdsong” (The Grateful Dead cover)

Dave Matthews Band - “Nature” (The Samples cover)

2006 Illinois-Area Tour Dates (full tour schedule here):

01/26 - Birdy’s, Indianapolis, IN
01/27 - Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI
01/28 - The Annex, Madison, WI