Event Detail

Commander Cody w/ Trina Hamlin

All Ages
at SPACE
1245 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60202
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Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were equally adept at stripped-down basic rock & roll, R&B, and gritty country-rock. Commander Cody's country-rock rocked harder than the Eagles or Poco -- essentially, the group was a bar band. Much like English pub rock bands like Brinsley Schwarz and Ducks Deluxe, Commander Cody resisted the overblown and bombastic trends of early-'70s rock, preferring a basic no-frills approach. Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen never had the impact of the British pub rockers, yet their straightforward energy gave their records a distinguishing drive; they could play country, Western swing, rockabilly, and R&B, and it all sounded convincing. The group originally formed in 1967 in Ann Arbor, MI. The original lineup included Commander Cody himself (born George Frayne IV; piano), John Tichy (lead guitar), Steve Schwartz (guitar), Steve Davis (aka the West Virginia Creeper; bass), Don Bolton (pedal steel guitar), and Ralph Mallory (drums). When the group relocated to San Francisco the following year, only Frayne, Bolton, and Tichy made the move; the group's membership had been bolstered to include Billy C. Farlow (vocals, harp), Andy Stein (fiddle, saxophone), guitarist Billy Kirchen, bassist "Buffalo" Bruce Barlow, and drummer Lance Dickerson for their 1971 debut album, Lost in the Ozone. The following year the group scored a fluke Top Ten hit with "Hot Rod Lincoln," taken from their first album, Lost in the Ozone. Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were never able to capitalize on the single's success, partially because their albums never completely captured their live energy. They continued to release albums until Tichy left the band in 1976. Commander Cody released his first solo album, Midnight Man, in 1977, then he re-formed the group as the Commander Cody Band. The group recorded three albums between 1977 and 1980. In 2009, after a 23-year hiatus, Commander Cody returned to the studio for Dopers, Drunks and Everyday Losers, a collection of new songs and classics from the Cody catalog. Trina Hamlin combines gentle understanding with raw emotion in a way that is, quite simply, captivating from the first note. With a rich, powerful voice, Hamlin reveals a rare confluence of Midwestern innocence, contemplative focus, and raw passion while adding a disarmingly sharp wit in her stage banter. She seamlessly moves from guitar to piano with self accompaniment on harmonica leaving many who have seen her wondering what she can't do. Regarded as one of the best harmonica players around, she presents a driving, sensuous rhythm in her performance reawakening audiences to the art of the instrument. In the current climate of "sounds like" artists and "heard it before" lyrics, Trina offers an intelligent and refreshing musical experience. Her unique combination of ballads, folk-rock and blues has earned her a steady national following. Trina tours full-time throughout the US and Europe. Additionally, she is a much sought after harmonica player and percussionist, accompanying numerous nationally recognized singer/songwriters in the studio and live on stage. Having earned a degree in professional music from Berklee College in Boston, she graduated to the club scene in New York City with the band Blue Leaves, and has gone on to write and co-produce five albums of her own. Trina was chosen as one of the "most wanted new artists" at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and has performed to a sold out crowd at the Newport Folk Festival in the company of Ani Di Franco, Dar Williams, and The Indigo Girls. She's performed on The Late Show with Conan O'Brien, has had her music chosen as a backdrop for the CBS TV movie Friends at Last, as well as the WB's series Dawson's Creek. Her songs have also been featured on Bravo's "Tale Lights", Lifetime's "The Things We Do For Love", MTV's "Real World",. as well as ABC Family's "Beautiful People." In addition, Trina has shared the stage with Taj Majal, Charlie Musslewhite, John Hiatt and Ricki Lee Jones, to name a few.. With unapologetic emotional freedom, Trina's songs have the unique power to mirror and evoke the obvious and unspoken realities of life and being in love.
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