Goats are a strange business. On the Galapagos Islands they are a dangerously invasive species, hunted from helicopters with big-ass telescopic rifles to thin their numbers. In Western Africa however, they are a sound business investment. Having a goat there can literally mean the difference between success and starvation.

In a perfect world, we could fix this imbalance simply by transplanting our hairy friends from the South Pacific to Africa by airlift or long-distance catapult. Until the Singlularity arrives or the Flying Spaghetti Monster descends among us however, we will do our small part with the most powerful tools at our disposal: rock & roll.

On Friday 10/22, Empire State Express and Markit 8 will rock for goats at LaSalle Power Company (500 N LaSalle Drive). It’s a free show and all band profits (based on draw) will be donated to Hands of Hope, a local 100% organization that provides goats (chickens and drinking wells too) to impoverished African villages. You read that right: all you have to do is show up and rock out with us and you’ll be helping to give African families a big, hairy, omnivorous jump start in life. Bring some friends and you’ll be doing that much more to help the cause.

Even better, the venue and the promotion company have been so inspired by the positive reaction we’ve gotten so far that they have agreed to host a happy hour special before the show and a give a portion of their own proceeds to Hands of Hope as well.

From 6 – 8PM, purchase of a $20 wristband gets you unlimited draft and well drinks at the bar downstairs. After 8:00PM, just walking upstairs to the venue gets you a few hours of the groovingest rock & roll in Chicago, and what is shaping up to be a glorious party. Drink, dance, throw your fists in the air–whatever. It all supports a great cause.

Thanks for all your positivity and support so far. We’re looking forward to rocking out with you tonight.

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UPDATE: thanks to your support and readiness to rock, The Men Who Rock for Goats drew over 200 dancing, whooping, and generally sexy rock fans to LaSalle Power Company. Together with Markit 8 we raised a herd of goats (a dozen to be exact) for Hands of Hope. Thank you to everyone who made this possible and rocked out with us, especially Paul at Shoeshine Boy Productions, Chris at Wingman Promotions, and Matt and Amber from Hands of Hope. We’re honored to have played our small part in this great cause.

UPDATE: “Train Sign” won by popular demand, closely followed by “Ink Blot.” Handsome American Apparel-style fashion tees featuring this design are currently available at an ESE show near you. Thanks for your vote!

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Check out the options below (you may need to open this post first), then scroll all the way down to vote for our very first t-shirt design! All designs by Christopher Magruder (a.k.a. UneekGrafix). Although Chicago style is to “vote early and vote often,” please limit yourself to just one selection. Voting will close at 10PM Sunday, October 10th (Eastern Time, natch).

Thank you for voting! Also, a special thanks to those of you who submitted design ideas. We hope you like what you see.

Option #1: “Cursive Logo”

Design by UneekGrafix

Option #2: “Train Sign”

Design by UneekGrafix

Option #3: “Butterfly Excerpt”

Design by UneekGrafix

Option #4: “Ink Blot”

Design by UneekGrafix

Option #5: “Butterfly Lyrics”

Design by UneekGrafix

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SUPER-OFFICIAL ESE T-SHIRT DESIGN BALLOT

October rocks. The best beer, the best food and the least obnoxious celebrations all land this month. If that alone doesn’t get you over the end of summer, Empire State Express has a few tricks for you to look forward to this month (we’ll leave the treats to the twee crowd).

On 10/8, we’ll be playing a headlining set at The Red Line Tap in Roger’s Park. Our last show at RLT was for the International Pop Overthrow Festival, where we rocked the pants off a room full of Roger’s Park hipsters and a couple of very confused Leninist punks. For one night only we’ll be joined onstage by Jack Burr, who will be filling in for Tim while he guest lectures at a national summit of high-energy particle bassists.

But this will just be a teaser before we play our biggest show yet, on 10/22 at LaSalle Power Company in Chicago. Along with our good friends in Markit 8 we will be throwing a kick-ass rock show while helping to raise money and awareness for Hands of Hope, a local charity that helps women, children and schools in Africa. Both bands will be donating their profits from the evening to buy goats for impoverished families. Personal donations will also be accepted at the event, but all you need to do to make a difference is show up and rock out with us. There will be no cover charge.

If for any reason you can’t make the show but would still like to make a donation to this great cause, please click here to send the gift of a chicken, goat or drinking well to a family or school in Africa.

Throughout October we will also be taking votes on our first ever band t-shirt, designed by UneekGrafix, rolling out some new live video, and embarking on our very first music video shoot with our good friend and video auteur Christian Doll. If you’d like to get in on these happenings and haven’t yet joined our mailing list or followed us on Facebook or Twitter, we highly recommend clicking here and joining the conversation.