Continuing the tradition they started with last year's sold-out holiday show, Scott Lucas & the Married Men are aiming to emulate "A Prairie Home Companion" with the evening's set and will structure the night as an old tyme radio variety show. Surprise guests will join the band for some songs.

Lucas, who is best known as the singer/guitarist for the two-man, Chicago rock band Local H, promises plenty of Christmas classics, like "Feliz Navidad," Mr. Grinch" and "Christmas" from the Who's Tommy. Lucas and his six-piece backing band, the Married Men -- a collective which includes violin, organ and accordion -- will also perform original songs from their forthcoming second album, tentatively titled Blood Half Moon, and Married Men staples, drawn from their first two releases: George Lassos the Moon and The Absolute Beginners EP. The show will be recorded and broadcast from the band's website www.scottlucasandthemarriedmen.com around Christmas.

"Christmas songs are awesome, and I don't feel even slightly embarrassed or cornball about that statement," says Lucas. "Most of them are flat out hilarious. This is our second go at this, and we want to keep doing it every year. We're hoping to make this as much of a Christmas tradition as arguing with your uncle about politics."

'For anyone remotely in-the-know of Chicago's music scene, Local H is a band name that surely rolls off your tongue. But during the rock duo's downtime, frontman Scott Lucas doesn't exactly kick his feet up. For the past few years, the singer/songwriter/guitarist has spread his musical aptitude to Chicago electronica group, the Prairie Cartel. Most recently, Lucas has crafted yet another new project—the Married Men... In his newest musical outfit, Lucas proves himself a rock and roll chameleon, shedding his tough Local H exterior and evoking a tamer sound and stage persona. The sextet, which has just wrapped up work on its forthcoming debut, George Lassos the Moon, set the stage for the Disciplines. Their lineup alone (violin, accordion, guitars, drums) proved not only would they sound nothing like Local H, but chances are they wouldn't sound much like most contemporary indie bands.
The majority of the band's set consisted of subtle gems, like "What Fools Allow," a tender and honest reflection of love-lost, complimented by a woeful violin part.......... But Lucas showed he hasn't quite lost his hard-rock edge, as proven in the full-band breakdown of "Extra Special Bitter," or in "Stolen Umbrellas," as he croons, "I'll take this communion 'til things turn black / A glass of Robitussin with a whiskey back / And still I can't make the world disappear." The band dedicated its set to nonstop music, offering little between-song banter, as they pumped out 'George' tracks, including "Weatherman", and a pleasantly surprising closing cover of David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners."

It was refreshing to witness a Chicago rock staple take the bold step out of the alt-rock confines and into an artistically progressive musical genre, free of the distortion pedal. It's always interesting when artists reach into another realm in their side-projects—but balancing alt-rock, electronica, and art-rock—that's just plain intriguing. Look for Scott Lucas & the Married Men's official debut, George Lassos the Moon.'
-- Neph Basedow, www.thedelimagazine.com