All Entries in the "Columns" Category
Hello, My Name Is Melissa
Q&A with Melissa Auf Der Maur
IE: So after a long absence, you’re back in a big way, with a three-part conceptual piece Out Of Our Minds, an album, comic book, and 28-minute film directed by Tony Stone. But where in the hell have you been for the past six years?
File: March 2010
Cloudy With A Chance Of Emo
Though beloved, The Dismemberment Plan’s breakup several years ago was greeted with joy by headline writers who had a field day with “self-fulfilling prophecy” jibes. With Wilmette’s Fall Out Boy on the brink, it’s open season again. (Given bassist Pete Wentz’s online logorrhea, credit the folks who waded through his [...]
Around Hear: March 2010
Local Band Reviews
Hailing from Chicago, blues trio The Black Oil Brothers‘ sound is 100-percent pure Mississippi. The band’s debut, Long Way From The Delta, actually sounds like it was recorded right in the heart of it, with soul-stirring blues from start to finish.
Media: March 2010
Chicago’s Very Own: CHIRP Radio & ‘JBTV’
photo by Cara Jepsen
Two of the nation’s coolest indie-rock outlets originate right here in Chicago. Both “JBTV” and CHIRP radio are staffed by volunteers who are more passionate about music than money. And both have launched 24-hour Internet stations.
Caught In A Mosh: March 2010
Bow To Your Kreator
All the talk nowadays is about the big boys. Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, and Exodus are all touring together in some way, shape, or form, and rumors of a Big Four package (Dave Mustaine told Decibel magazine that Megadeth received an offer) continue to swirl. It’s easy, then, to get swept up in [...]
Sweet Home: March 2010
Gospel Woman Blues
Although she didn’t hear secular music until she was a teen, Valencia Bey always knew she wanted to be a blues/rock diva. She grew up in Chicago but her musical chops were formed in the Mississippi Delta, where she’d spend summers with her grandparents. There, she absorbed the intricacies of gospel music that [...]
Digital Divide: March 2010
The Informant!
Warner Bros.
The hip thing to do these days is to take all your anger and frustration about the stagnate economy, aim it at big business, and let the bile fly. All the cool kids are doing it, and rightfully so. Insurance companies make record profits only to jack up premiums to ungodly heights, and [...]
Gear: March 2010
Tascam
DP-008 8-Track Recorder
Old-timers will remember Tascam invented the home-recording studio with the original cassette Portastudio 4-track recorders back in the 1970s. Their new DP-008 takes the ease-of-use of those classic songwriting cassette recorders and aims to add the same portability and ease of use for new musicians. Unlike the lo-fi qualities of cassette machines of [...]
File: February 2010
Fallen: Can’t Get Up
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when old age becomes a source of amusement, but the thrash-metal community caught quite a jolt when the frontman of its charter member, Slayer, had to cancel a megatour because of back problems. (If only it had been a hip.) If it had been one of Dave [...]
Hello, My Name Is Don
Q&A With Don Jamieson
IE: “That Metal Show” – how did you get dragged into it?
Don Jamieson: They didn’t have to drag me! I’ve been trying to get on TV for 13 years. Basically, Jim [Florentine], Eddie [Trunk], and I are best buddies.
Appearing: Friday, February 10th to 12th at Zanie’s (1548 N. Wells) in Chicago.
Around Hear: February 2010
Local Band Reviews
“Break Little Branches,” one of the five tracks on Arboreal by the Chicago/Austin, Texas-based band Box Of Baby Birds, sounds like one of the more introspective and meandering songs by Red Red Meat. The folk-rock offerings, penned by Gary Calhoun James, are delicate compositions that rely on hushed vocals augmented by guitar, keys, [...]
Caught In A Mosh: February 2010
The First Great Album Of 2010
It’s become an unspoken rule that we, music writers and critics, must crown such an album within the first 59 days of the new year. You can squeeze one in before the new year? Fantastic! I’m fairly sure scribes who cover any of the arts are guilty as well, but [...]
Sweet Home: February 2010
At The Threshold
There was a time when Grammy-winning, blues harp master Sugar Blue believed there were only certain types of music appropriate for a blues musician to play. He came up listening to and being molded by icons like Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Junior Wells. By the time he was in his [...]
Media: February 2010
Satellite Of Love
Late last year I got fed up with mechanics and bought my first-ever new car. It came with satellite radio, and in no time I was hooked — even though it didn’t get Howard Stern.
Digital Divide: February 2010
Hey, look! The column’s called something different now. Why? Well, we decided it was time to begin a serious relationship with the 21st century, thanks for asking.
