Sat, Jun 23 - 8pm - $15

 RALPH “SOUL” JACKSONrecord release show for ‘The Alabama Love Man’ withADAM FITZ performing his debut 'Between the Incident & the Event' in its entirety and AL SCORCH & THE COUNTRY SOUL ENSEMBLEwith live analog dub by King Tony of The Drastics and East of Edens Soul Express DJs

The Rabbit Factory is dedicated to preserving relevant roots music whether it’s the reissue of lost sounds from the golden age of soul, compelling current recordings that would otherwise be lost as well as the recognition and revitalization of the performers and writers that helped shape popular American music.

Legends from the golden age of soul music haven’t always achieved their status through gold records, flamboyant lifestyles, or appearances on cable television. Many cut one or two 45s for small, independent record labels with little to no distribution and only regional radio play. But they still became popular to an international audience when England’s Northern soul DJs sought out obscure American soul records to keep their dance floors full. These tracks, relatively unknown in the United States, gained traction in foreign markets, where buyers considered demand for esoteric soul proof of their music savvy. Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson, with six rare Southern soul 45s, is no exception to this anomaly.Forty years ago, Jackson got a call from Rick Hall at FAME Studios who wanted to record Ralph’s ‘Don’t Tear Yourself Down’ with Hank William’s’ ‘Jambalaya’ and leased the single to AMY/BELL Records. It was this soul-drenched first session in Muscle Shoals that led Hall to give Ralph the moniker he uses to this day. Hall chose to use the Hank Williams’ song as the A-side and tried to market the single to an unreceptive Black audience. During these sessions Jackson befriended A-list songwriter and session man Spooner Oldham who wanted to record Ralph singing Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ backed with a Penn/Oldham number ‘Cause I Love You’. Atlantic Records released the single in 1967 but it quickly faded while competing with Otis and Aretha for promotional support.In the early 70s local DJ Eddie “Dr. Jive” Mendell brought Ralph to Birmingham, Alabama, to play his songs for producer Neal Hemphill. They paired Ralph with Oldham again in Muscle Shoals and cut a driving version of Carl Perkins’ ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Let Your Sweet Love Surround Me’ for Hemphill’s legendary Sound of Birmingham label. Once again, poor radio and distribution drove the single into obscurity. After two poor experiences with the industry, Jackson walked away from music.In 1975 Ralph came to Neal’s new Hemphill Studios and wrote, played all instruments, and sang the soon-to-be Northern soul classic ‘Set Me Free’ backed with “Take Me Back’ for Hemphill’s Black Kat Records. The record, along with others from the label, suffered from a poorly structured, crooked distribution deal.While Jackson was performing on a circuit of U.S. Air Force bases he stopped off in Nashville in 1980 to record three modern soul rarities over two 45s for his own RAJAC label. These highly sought after records had no distribution or radio play and all sales were made during the military base shows.Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson is a native of Southern Alabama where he still lives and has never stopped writing, performing, and recording music, whether it’s in his home studio, as the music minister in his church, or at his cousin Jo Jo Benson’s club. Ralph has appeared on the Ponderosa Stomp two times, the Chicago Bluest Festival, the Taste of Chicago and one of Jelly NYC’s McCarren Pool Parties.

Adam Fitz' soulful hollerin' and amped-up pop-rock quartet have been working rooms in Chicago since the 2005 release of Fitz's debut, "Between the Incident and the Event." Singer, folk storyteller, country crunk rocker and melodic screamer, Adam puts every inch of his pain and joy into his music. His voice is powerful and poignant; backed by the Drastics' rhythm section and 'rock scientist' Eddie Dixon, they come manic and hard, slink into steady grooves, and stretch out on melodramatic ballads heavy in themes of family, desire, and loss. Frequenting the windy city's most reputable rooms, such as Schubas and the Hideout, these boys occasionally work as the backing band for Ralph 'Soul' Jackson, and have shared bills with soul legends such as Syl Johnson, Clarence Reid, Sharon Jones (Dap-Kings), Roscoe Robinson, and Herman Hitson.Adam Fitz and his band have worked up a reputation locally with their strong live shows consisting of Fitz originals as well as energized interpretations of cover songs ranging from Leonard Cohen to M Ward. In June of '07 they recorded an in studio live album at Wall to Wall recording to be released July 2009 as "spazz ballads & friendly fire". Production has also begun on the full length follow-up to "Incident" at the Drastic's own Dirty North Studio, to be released in the near future on Rabbit Factory Inc.

Grafting literate, character-driven song craft and Mid-American roots with a post-punk DIY attitude, Chicago-based songwriter, performer and instrumentalist Al Scorch charts a new musical topography with a five-string banjo.In his new full-length CD release, Tired Ghostly Town, Scorch delivers jubilant anthems and poignant reflections in 10 songs populated with a cast of vibrant characters. The protagonist wishing for a pair of gold cuff links to accompany his beau to her daddy’s funeral; the deserting Civil War soldier headed across destroyed cotton fields beckoning to “Miss Rosie”; or a hearse driver bound for the cemetery accompanied by a sonorous clarinet. Scorch doesn’t just introduce these denizens, he inhabits them.“It’s all composites – myself and people I see on the street,” he professes. “As I watch people walk by, I can stare at each of them and come up with a story of who they are, where they’re going, why their jacket is that color, why the stain is on the front of it, why they’re holding that stack of papers in front of the retirement home. I think my characters come from creating this feeling I want to get across when I write songs.”Both solo and with a close family of musicians, Al Scorch is very much a live performer at clubs, festivals, and other venues, He embraces the independence of house concerts –a loose circuit that extends from New Orleans to Portland; Missoula to San Francisco and all points in between. “Flyers go up, phone calls get made, a Facebook page appears and everyone brings their own beer. But beyond that, it’s not promoted in newspapers because to have music in your house and pass the hat is illegal! I’ve been touring this scene for eight years and it is expanding with more and more houses and spaces: store fronts, radical bookstores and lofts.”Self-described as a “fourth generation Chicagoan, born and bred,” Al recalls that his Missouri-born mother played banjo and had one in the house, while his dad played piano and guitar. “My dad showed me a few things on guitar,” says Al. “When I heard Dolly Parton and Pete Seeger’s records, I thought the banjo was pretty cool.” The sounds of his hometown began with the Irish and Eastern European music transported to the new world. “The WLS Barn Dance was a radio show that predated the Opry,” he notes. “Chicago has music from Appalachian immigrants and jazz musicians from New Orleans and Memphis. A legacy exists, so if you want to take lessons from a 68 year old jazz drummer who played with Ella Fitzgerald you can.”Creating songs for Tired Ghostly Town, Al woodshedded in a Georgia farmhouse, jogging in the morning, drinking copious cups of coffee and working for up to eight hours a day. “Songs and ideas float in the air past your mental eye until you’re struck with a feeling that is summed up in one phrase,” he says of his writing process. “It’s been said before, but sometimes a song can write itself in 20 minutes.”As a student of musical history, Al Scorch appreciates tradition, but he is not bound by it. “Sitting in on an old time session, the musicianship is incredible, but it’s almost like there’s no mystery to it. I don’t want to know, that’s what gives me chills and makes the eyes well up –It sounds like an Irish ghost on a gypsy pirate ship drinking beer with a cowboy – what the hell is it? Where is it coming from?”The same might be said of Al Scorch and a traditional instrument brought to these shores by African slaves. With sepia glimpses of the recent past, the high definition immediacy of the present and kaleidoscopic visions for the future, Tired Ghostly Town reveals a young man with an old soul and something new to say.

King Tony from The Drastics will be entertaining with live analog dub.  Also known as Anthony Abbinanti aka Nantee, the drummer from the Drastics.

East of Edens Soul Express DJs merged out of a common interest in the connection of Southern soul and the Black music scene in Chicago during the 60s and 70s. .. James grew up in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood buying records like Bill Coday's "I'm Back to Collect" when they were being played on the radio for the first time and picking up that curious looking Swamp Dogg LP in the cut-out bin. Having a deep love for punk, rockabilly, and country as well as the blues and soul he grew up on, Porter identified with the mishmash of styles that stemmed from Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Nashville.John grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and was raised on the Allman Brothers, Little Feat, and the Band. After being enlightened by mixing a broken heart with Al Green's 'Gets Next to You' and Isaac Hayes' 'Hot Buttered Soul', he was on a search to connect his musical past with these spine-tingling soulful finds. Ciba stumbled upon copies of Peter Guralnick's 'Sweet Soul Music' and Barney Hoskyns 'Say it One Time for The Broken Hearted' and the worlds of Muscle Shoals, Jackson, and beyond were opened to him. Thousands of LPs and 45s later he hasn't quite found the tingle again but loves sharing the deepest and funkiest cuts with anybody that will listen... After brushing shoulders on a Southern Soul message board, seeing each other at shows and record stores, and having plenty of common friends, the guys decided to start playing some records together.East of Edens Soul Express have a monthly DJ night at the Hideout Inn, Chicago. The venue is a perfect fit, it's the closest to a Southern juke joint this side of, well, the Edens Expressway! The boys have opened for the Beastie Boys, Senator Obama, Wilco, Hermon Hitson, Ronnie Spector, Bettye Lavette, Clarence Reid, Roscoe Robinson, Mooney Suzuki, Ralph 'Soul' Jackson, Wiley & the Checkmates, Eli Reed & True Loves, Harvey Scales and Taylor Hicks to name a handful and were the first DJs to play the Chicago Blues Fest in 2009.John and James are happy to lay it down for parties and weddings large and small -- they have gear and will travel -- and will always pack a dance floor by playing soul music with one rule: the grittier the better!