This project is partially supported by a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=43236
Being in a rock band seems so glamorous. Being on the road, touring? Not so much. This disparity has been a frequent subject of documentaries and even mockumentaries. Now it’s the focus of an unusual art project that opens tonight in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.
NOTE: The show opens tonight and continues through August 7 at [...]

photo by Dylan Gordon
What’s up:
my name is Loto Ball
Where are you from:
i’m a california kid
Where are you now:
chicago
How long have you been at it:
i’ve been an ordained minister since 91 or 92 i think
What got you started:
i had friends in bands and i wanted to get involved and offered to be their manager
What else do [...]

Loto Ball returns to Europe for the first time since his last tour with the Phantom Limbs in 2004. He will be performing solo, using live electronics, programmed sequences and beats.
Additional act on the tour will be aerial acrobat Elena Brocade

Elena Brocade is an aerialist based out of Chicago, presenting passionate performances through emotive choreography, awesome strength [...]

Flesh Hungry Dog Show

The Loto Ball Show is not one single band or anything that can be summed up by a band name. They need a unique symbol like Prince to get their sound and spirit across. I picture a pit bull standing on two legs with a receding hairline, a tuxedo and four arms: two for guitar, [...]

In the early days of the 00s, I had the good fortune of checking out a show in which I witnessed one of the most insane, visceral, and intense performances I can remember, from Oakland’s Phantom Limbs. They were sort of like the unloved bastard child of LA punk bands like The Screamers or The [...]

Their sound stood out, sure, but their live spectacle was an integral piece of the Phantom Limbs experience. Singer Loto Ball (nee Ryan Hopeless) was something of a punk rock Artaud, encouraging involuntary audience participation by handcuffing himself to show-goers, hocking fake gold watches, or just covering himself in greasepaint that inevitably rubbed off on [...]

Chicago’s Loto Ball Show is the brainchild of its namesake and lead singer, former Phantom Limbs vocalist Loto Ball. Fusing doomsday dissonance with stellar musicianship and raw energy, Loto Ball Show captures the disorientation of today’s youth in its dizzying post-punk compositions. Ball’s atonal, Ian Curtis-esque vocals play off the band’s steely, cold synths and [...]