Aurora's Empty Can Band' release party Feb. 25

Aurora's own Empty Can Band will debut their new album, "Beautiful Man" at a live performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 W. Broadway, Aurora.

The record release party will be hosted by Hambone, radio DJ and host of Hambone's Blues Party on WDCB 90.9 FM. The band also will perform songs from the new album live on Hambone's Blues Party from 10 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Feb. 23 on WDCB 90.9 FM.

The new album, "Beautiful Man" features nine tracks and covers a wide range of styles tied together by the tight-knit group. The strong songwriting abilities of band leader Dave Glynn and the album's producer and lead guitar player Johnny "Mack" Mackniskas are featured on eight of the nine tracks. Songs about losing loves, marriage for money, a runaway singer, schizophrenia, a tribute to a lost friend and having fun making music take the listener on sound journey. Styles range from folk to blues to swing to country to rock 'n' roll, and ebb and flow nicely over the length of the album.

The first full studio album by the band features the talents of Glynn on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Johnny "Mack" Mackniskas on lead vocals and lead guitar, Rich Van Ham on harmonica, Ray Rehberg on guitar and mandolin, James "Chevy" Chevalier on bass, and the late Paul Wegman on drums. Also featured on percussion and vocals is the band's new drummer, Todd Moffett.

Among the standout tracks are "Taking this Pain," a pop ballad about enduring pain for love; "The Ocean," a fast-moving ballad about a runaway girl; and "The Studio Song," the opening track about the fun a band has recording in the studio. The album features new versions of "The Bitter End" and "New Country Woman," songs that appeared on Volume One of the "Made In Aurora" album series. The final track "Beautiful Man" is a tribute to the Wegman, the only drummer featured on the album.

"We had a lot of fun making this record and it's a great tribute to our best friend and bandmate, Paul Wegman. We think our fans will enjoy the offering and look forward to some new fans as a result of the new songs and our performances around the record. We hope everyone will come out to the Roundhouse to support their local band," Glynn said.

The album was recorded at ComfortZone Audio in Oswego and was produced and engineered by Johnny "Mack" Mackniskas.

In addition to performing the new album and songs from their previous record, "Still Alive," the band also will play some crowd-pleasing covers including songs by Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, John Hiatt, Counting Crows and Big Head Todd and the Monsters among others.

The CD, "Beautiful Man" will be available for purchase at the Two Brothers Roundhouse show. Following the show, the album will be available at Kiss the Sky records in Geneva. For more information, visit the band's website at EmptyCanBand.com. You can also follow the band on Facebook, just search "EmptyCanBand." There is no cover at the Two Brothers Roundhouse Saturday night. You can contact the Roundhouse directly at (630) 264-2739 and at TwoBrothersRoundhouse.com.