Violet Palms, badcandy

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Kelsi Fryman

Violet Palms on stage.

Violet Palms

media release: 2025 is almost over but a new year is just around the corner. We’ll rock the house and dance the night away.Join us for an amazing night with Violet Palms, and special guests: badcandy.

"My songs are just little letters to me.”

Ani DiFranco’s words have long shaped lead singer Alex Subak’s songwriting, along with other strong female voices like Fiona Apple & Regina Spektor. 

As a survivor of intimate partner violence (IPV), Alex’s experience and healing process influence her songwriting, using her lyrics as a platform to process her pain, break the silence, and help spread knowledge about IPV. 

She channels a lot of anger and aggression through her band badcandy, both artistically and through activism. Her voice in the music community raises awareness that this could happen to anyone, and shows other survivors they are not alone. 

badcandy is the post-garage-rock maelstrom borne out of the visceral and personal songwriting of guitarist/vocalist Alex Subak. After a decade performing in solo acoustic, duo, and band projects, badcandy is a fitting culmination of her work. Rounded out by music industry veterans drummer Todd Gutner (The J Davis Trio), bassist/guitarist  Matt Walters (MT Walls), and guitarist Mike Vinopal (Local Motive), the band’s ace in the hole is the blend of the wide range of influences: channeling a cohesive blend of modern post-rock sharpness and more traditional garage-rock, while featuring the rougher emotional edges of pure blues and classic soul. You also hear so many direct influences in the band’s work, from the undertones and raw intensity of Nirvana to the unfiltered lyricism of Ani Difranco, by way of the intensely emotional work of Fiona Apple. 

The band is extremely proud to showcase all aspects of Alex’s unique songwriting through the band’s incredible performances on debut album "Regret", available worldwide on digital platforms via acclaimed Chicago indie rock label Spade Kitty Records. The songs were recorded and mixed at the late Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studios by veteran engineer Greg Norman (Guided by Voices, The Breeders). “Regret” was produced by Norman and the band, mastered at Chicago Mastering with Bob Weston (Shellac, Mission of Burma), and now available on both digital and vinyl release as of 2024 (via local press Smashed Plastic). An entirely Chicago work of art, “Regret” represents an entirely localized process the band was thrilled to embrace.

Then, we’ll bring Violet Palms on stage for our final acts and wrap up in early 2025.

Violet Palms combines early 2000s nostalgia and modern influences to create tight, direct rock music that is honest, occasionally goofy, and - because they can't help themselves - funky.

Birthed from late night songwriting sessions between two longtime friends, the power of the dimly-lit kitchen table inspired Marcus Truschinski and Ben Feiner to share their music with friends, who were naturally added to complement the sound. Long time local music maker and engineer, Michael Mertens hopped back on the kit after years of playing guitar and Tim Gittings, actor and advocate, brought the funk on bass. Craig Benzine, Driftless Pony Club singer/guitarist, YouTube star and Marcus’s best friend from elementary school completed the band by playing off of Ben’s chugging guitar work to create a synchronized and dueling attack. Violet Palms took the stage for the first time in early 2022, enjoying immediate success in the local scene.

We’ll start our show with badcandy. The local Chicago “post-garage-rock” band have been slowly releasing track after track, each containing the same vitriol as someone who is fed up with having their heart broken. As both vocalist and guitarist for the band, Alex Subak has achieved a high level of raw emotion in her lyrics that any person who has experienced a bad relationship could relate to. Their single “Dare You” released in February of 2020, captures just that.

Pay what you choose. We’ll encourage $5-10 at the door to support the musicians.