Dive Bar Honky Tonkers Sparkle Carcass Reflect On Past Mistakes & Heartaches On New Single 'Rainy Day Head'
DIVE BAR HONKY TONKERS SPARKLE CARCASS REFLECT ON PAST MISTAKES & HEARTACHES ON NEW SINGLE 'RAINY DAY HEAD' AHEAD OF UPCOMING ALBUM ‘MARASCHINO CHEVY’
CHICAGO, IL. – Sometimes a simple, straight ahead message hits best. That’s often what quality country music hangs its hat on, and that’s what honky tonk rock n’ rollers Sparkle Carcass continues to do on their brand new single, “Rainy Day Head.”
Kicking things off with a damp acoustic guitar, the song soon lights up with a Skynyrd-meets-Stones electric guitar riff along with a honky tonk shuffle, setting the tone for this barroom jukebox number. With a little “Dead Flowers”-type energy, the track is a bonafide sing-along, and harnesses that sticky quality that doesn’t leave your head.
The accentuating steel guitar helps whisk the listener away to a land of longing to fix past mistakes, and a nostalgia for less complicated times. “Been livin’ on water and bread / It’s a rainy day / It’s a rainy day in my head,” lead singer and songwriter Cody Palmer sings with conviction.
Reflecting back on his early days as a wide-eyed and eager new resident of The Windy City certain life was going to fall right into place, Palmer soon got a healthy gut punch of reality – it’s a god damn rat race out there.
Palmer would find a gig DJing weddings on Thursdays to Sundays, and since Mondays were dedicated to errands and adulting, he spent Tuesdays and Wednesdays daydreaming and writing songs. “Not many folks were looking to hang out on those days, so I’d often lay on the floor, stare up at the ceiling, and listen to records or write and just kill time until the next gig,” he states.
“‘Rainy Day Head’ got written on one of those Tuesdays or Wednesdays when naturally it was downpouring outside, and I was probably bummed out about some bad date I’d been on. And having just enough money to get by, but living in this weird nightlife music world that was so far removed from what most people would call ‘normal,’ and just struggling to connect with people that didn’t live in that world with me. It was a weird time, but it ended up producing some songs that I really love playing to this day, so it seems like it worked out in the end.”
What gives Sparkle Carcass an extra shine, is that Palmer’s wife – Reilly Downes – is also a member of the band, and a notable solo artist in her own right. Together, the pair share a honky tonk love story ripe for making music from the heart.
“Rainy Day Head” is the band’s second single leading up to the release of their upcoming sophomore album, Maraschino Chevy (private listening link), due out October 17th, 2025. The band has their album release show November 14th at The Hideout in Chicago.
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About Sparkle Carcass:
Sparkle Carcass formed in 2017 around songwriter Cody Palmer following the dissolution of his previous efforts with power pop trio Tuff Slang. Palmer’s songwriting pulls from all the best music to come out of Texas, Southern California, and the Midwest to give you drinkin’ songs, dancin’ songs, and songs that make you wanna stay a while. Most importantly, each song delivers on the honest storytelling that makes country music worth listening to. No matter the venue, a Sparkle Carcass show is a quality night out: exciting, surprising, and a damn good time.
And how about a little honky tonk love story? Palmer would meet his wife, Reilly Downes – who is a notable solo artist and songwriter in Chicago on her own accord – and the two’s love for traditional country rock n’ roll music (and for each other) led them to create the Sparkle Carcass sound you hear today, along with Justin Frederick (bass) and Aaron Vincel (drums).
It’s hard not to admire the band name, too. Palmer used to keep a small note pad in his jacket pocket, and would often write down turns of phrase or little snippets of conversations he’d hear on the street to harvest for songs later. One day, he was standing in line at a donut shop in the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago trying to get a cup of coffee, and there was this young mother crouching down and goo-goo talking to her baby in a stroller. He didn't know what he heard exactly, but he pulled out his notebook and wrote “Sparkle Carcass and the Acid Cowboys.” The rest was history, with Palmer keeping “Sparkle Carcass” and Downes using “The Acid Cowboys” for her backing band, which also includes Palmer and Vincel. Unbeknownst to her, this mother in a donut shop spawned not one, but two band names.
Sparkle Carcass has graced stages at festivals like SXSW, American Music Festival, Hogchute Opry, and others. They've been supporting acts for adjacent artists like Jaime Wyatt, Silverada, Kashus Kulpepper, and many others. Their debut self-titled album came out in 2023.
Upcoming Shows:
10/2 | Hillsider's | Kansas City, KS
10/4 | Poodie's Roadhouse | Spicewood, TX
10/7 | Horni Tonk Tuesday w/ Christopher Seymore | Houston, TX
10/8 | Dan Electro's w/ William Wright & Lily Unless & The If Onlys | Houston, TX
10/9 | Lonesome Rose | San Antonio, TX
10/10 | Sagebrush | Austin, TX
10/11 | The Colony w/ Joey Frendo | Tulsa, OK
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