Ma Nugent Remembered
Ted Nugent Comes To Town For Ma
At a special ceremony on August 1st at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, Ted Nugent will appear to help commemorate his late mother, Marion “Ma” Nugent.
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Cover Story: The Shins
The Shins
When You Wince Upon A Star
When Shins frontman James Mercer tells you he has taken up gardening, you wait for a chuckle that never comes while repressing a laugh of your own. It’s not that Mercer doesn’t have the right to garden, could be poorly equipped, or might be making a euphemism about cultivating hydroponic weed. It’s just, you know, funny in a really dumb way.
Appearing: September 2nd at Charter One Pavilion in Chicago.
Beatallica (They’re So Heavy)
Not many people have realized the headbanging possibilities in The Beatles catalog, but a few clever fellas from Milwaukee did.
Against Me! interview
Against Me!
The Thankless Existence
Every time Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel releases an album, he’s in the unique position of having to rebuild his fanbase. Every time.
Appearing: August 3rd at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
The Polyphonic Spree interview
The Polyphonic Spree
Trouble In Paradise
Darting out of a youth orchestra performance at the Louisiana Children’s Museum on a Tuesday afternoon to speak with IE, Julie Doyle gives off the air of any other mom taking her kids (four to be exact, ranging from 6-months to 8-years-old) on a summer vacation outing. Except, of course, Doyle’s job dictates anything but the role of the average maternal figure. As co-leader of the Dallas-based collective known as The Polyphonic Spree, along with husband and frontman Tim DeLaughter, Doyle plays den mother to the band’s other 21 members.
Appearing: August 4th at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Rufus Wainwright interview
Rufus Wainwright
Out And Kraut
The sleeve photographs certainly tell the Teutonic tale. The kitschy gnome-peopled toy Futterhaus that beckons “Willkomen.” The closeup details of the Pergamon Altar from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. And lastly, candid snapshots of the artist himself — cabaret-cool crooner Rufus Wainwright — decked out in traditional “RW”-embroidered lederhosen and matching kneesocks. It didn’t start out this way, the artist swears, but his latest songbook for Geffen, Release The Stars, wound up feeling as German as a steaming-hot plate of sauerbraten. With a few steinfuls of Spaten on the side.
Appearing: August 25th at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.
Airiel interview
Airiel
The 10-Year Itch
“I think it’s a great home for bands, because, it’s a very livable city, like you can actually work a job and be in a band and not go broke, y’know? You’re not paying a million dollars a month for rent like you would in New York; we don’t have to necessarily play the the industry game like you would in L.A. So, it’s a lot better I think than a lot of other cities — it’s big enough to where there’s a scene, and you go to shows still, and there’s a lot of good clubs to play at, lot of good recording facilities.”
Appearing: August 29th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Tomahawk interview
Tomahawk
The Living Past
Rock ‘n’ roll has never treated the past very kindly. In 1965 The Who looked at their elders and snarked, “I hope I die before I get old.” Sex Pistols took the sentiment one step further. In 1977 they cried, “No future for me,” and quickly got what they wanted. By the time Def Leppard released Pyromania in 1983, echoing, “It’s better to burn out than fade away,” we had gotten the message, loud and clear: Rock ‘n’ roll is revolution! Rock ‘n’ roll is white men in tight jeans!
Hello, My Name Is Bob
Hello, My Name Is Bob
Q&A with the Old Town School Of Folk Music’s Bob Medich.
IE: Old Town School Of Folk Music Songbook Volume Two & Three’s liner notes credit you as the executive producer — so what does that mean?
Bob Medich: I’m not the . . . I’m definitely not the producer. John [Abbey] is the music guy. I’m sort of like the cheerleader or the field marshal. I keep things moving. John plays me everything, and I listen to the stuff and go “this could be a little weirder here” or “the solo is too long” — stuff like that. They didn’t hire me at the school for my musical abilities, but I have opinions and enough experience where I know what I like. I sequence the albums and work on the designs and do all the marketing, and I guess I run the label [Old Town School Recordings — manufactured and distributed by Bloodshot].
File: August 2007
Can We Still Call Him Maurice?
He may have been born in Milwaukee, but Steve Miller is a Chicago boy at heart. Though the leader of the eponymously titled band moved around a lot as a little one and even had some guitar training from his father’s pal Les Paul, the hopeful found the firmest footing in the Windy City blues scene circa the mid 1960s. Given his longstanding connection to the area, it was only fitting the latest Steve Miller Band concert DVD be recorded July 14th at a local venue (Highland Park’s lush and spacious Ravinia), while centering the set list around the axe grinders (local and otherwise) he emulated growing up.
DVD Zone: August 2007
Factory Girl
The Weinstein Company
Call her the prototype. Call her the mold from which today’s crop of celebutards — your Hiltons, Ritchies, et al — sprung. Call her the first person famous for just being famous. Just remember, she did have a ringside seat and a heavy hand in the most revolutionary movement of 20th century art.
Local CD Reviews
On his 10th studio album, East Side Soul, it’s obvious Phil Angotti has logged an awful lot of hours writing, recording, and playing folk music.
Around Hear Page 2
The four guys in Feature Presentation seem destined to do their small town of Manteno proud. The 10 tracks on their sparkingly produced debut CD, To You The Past, And The Questions Left Unanswered, bristle with energetic, ultra-tight pop power-punk. They separate themselves from the Fall Out Boy aesthetic with more technical guitar skills among blistering tempo changes (especially on “Matt’s Song” and “Sleepless Nights”). Every track is urgent and convincingly high octane, and then “Change Of Pace” comes on and positively shreds. (www.myspace.com/featurepresentation)
– Jason Scales
Around Hear Page 3
O’Neill And Wean are so syrupy with their acoustic, barstool wisdom, but they’re also tricky, convoluted popsters. The You Are Beautiful EP plunges through the sweet of the heart while mining for bile. “I Found Out” spits deranged eulogies for the still-breathing: “We’ll be dead,” cries lead singer Billy O’Neill (oh my god) before “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)” takes over. The minor-chorded “Breakdown” is more resigned than the lot. With depressed vocals free of contrary elation, O’Neill is a ringer for early Elliott Smith. (www.oneillandwean.com)
– Mike Meyer
Sing With The Band
DigiTech
Vocalist Live 2
DigiTech’s Vocalist Live 2 harmonizer aims to make “chipmunk” harmonies a thing of the past by employing musIQ technology, which reproduces multi-part harmony by analyzing guitar chords.