The British take a lot of pride in their rock ‘n’ roll, boasting that they studied its roots better than its host country; rescued the form after the crooners rushed in to fill Elvis’ void; and, if you canvas the ’60s titans, only the Queen’s subjects showed any real longevity.

On that last part, the numbers sure are hard to ignore. Beyond those Rolling Stones – whose reputation now is more Barnum & Bailey than actual Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus – The Who, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin far outlasted the careers of The Band, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Velvet Underground, or Simon & Garfunkel. The lone holdout are The Grateful Dead, while you’d want to put duct tape over the more embarrassing permutations of The Beach Boys and Jefferson Airplane/Starship.

Death, of course, intervened indiscriminately, which has led more than a couple people to wonder what would have become of The Doors. The conversation was controversially steered into view when keyboardist (and native Chicagoan) Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger ignored the cries of drummer John Densmore and critics by asking The Cult’s Ian Astbury (and recently Hawkwind’s Dave Brock) to fill Jim Morrison’s role on their Doors Of Perception tours, beginning 2002.

The tone is far less circumspect this year, however, as Rhino and Eagle Rock – on behalf of the original label, Elektra – revisit The Doors’ swan song, L.A. Woman. Despite the broken – physical and mental – status of their frontman, L.A. Woman and its Morrison Hotel predecessor declared a band who’d reorganized and been revitalized. That Morrison was to move to France matters not – it was an indefinite hiatus before there were indefinate hiatuses. The trio of Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore would “complete” and release music they’d been working on at the time of Morrison’s death – music Morrison intended to complete.

Still, his ragged vocals on L.A. Woman and the collective decision to shelve touring before Morrison’s relocation to Paris suggest the set might have been an end forthcoming. In the new, authorized documentary Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story Of L.A. Woman, Manzarek himself reckons, “We had one last album to go, and we’re gonna make this album. In this zen moment in time, we didn’t discuss the future: the future’s uncertain. The end is always near.”

Call it a crafty editing job.

“That would be a good story, what people want,” he jeers to IE, “that when Jim left for Paris we knew it was the end. That would be a good story. Like we’re fucking psychic. We knew he was at his end. That his destiny had been completed.”

You knew with the court case that he’d been under a lot of pressure, and that his voice was pretty shot.

“Have you listened to L.A. Woman?”

Yes.

“And you think his voice is shot?”

On certain tracks, it sounds a little ragged.

“Hey, you know? It’d been five years of singing his ass off, sure. You’re getting a little bit of that whiskey voice. Oh! What a shame! That means he’s going to die? He’s getting a little older. [Referring to the DVD:] Is that exactly what I said? Or did I say, ‘It was our last recording contract with Elektra Records. Our last record on the contract of the seven.’ That’s what the last is. It’s not The Doors’ last record.”

This, of course, is discussion of the end of The Doors. Let’s start with Ray at his musical beginnings.

Ray Manzarek: Everett grammar school. St. Rita High School. And DePaul University.
IE: Local history then was all about the folk revival at the Gate Of Horn, etc. Were you involved in that at all?
RM: No, the blues scene and the jazz scene.
IE: So the South Side and West Side clubs?
RM: South Side, yeah. I went to see Muddy Waters at 47th and Racine at whatever the heck the club was. So I saw Waters live. That was a most amazing evening.
IE: You were known for inserting nods to your heros in those keyboard lines.
RM: Oh, absolutely. A tip of the hat. With The Doors, we always credited John Coltrane; “My Favorite Things” and “Ole Coltrane” were the inspiration to play the solo in “Light My Fire.” Those two were in 3/4, but I’m basically playing it in 4/4. Gosh, Miles Davis – what an influence he was. We used to open our sets at the Whisky A Go-Go [in Los Angeles] at 9 o’clock – nobody’s in the club; no need for Jim to start singing – so John, Robby, and I would play “Milestones” and then “Kind Of Blue,” and then improvise like a jazz quartet. It was always a tip of the hat. I cut my eyeteeth on the piano players of rock ‘n’ roll. My deepest influence was the blues, South Side of Chicago. Al Benson I’d come home from school and he’d play blues [on WGES-AM]. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Richard, Magic Sam . . . holy Christ! Howlin’ Wolf, all of it. You hear those sounds as a young keyboard player, it’s mesmerizing. The depth of the emotion of those men singing their songs: absolutely profound.
IE: You’re in your late teens, early 20s . . .
RM: I was gone by 21.
IE: So before that, when you saw Muddy on Racine – was it easy to do that? Just any kid at school?
RM: Oh, yeah, but [my classmates] just weren’t hip to it. It was pre-Butterfield. And pre-Stones. So the Stones showed white kids what the blues was, and Paul Butterfield opened up Chicago and probably college students to listening to the blues. But there we were, the South Side of Chicago. The blues permeated the South Side. So it was no big deal. But I could never find anybody who was into the blues. Rock ‘n’ roll? Definitely. They were definitely into rock ‘n’ roll.
IE: Well, you grew up on Western. And the city was/is segregated.
RM: Oof! Wasn’t it ever! That was a totally white neighborhood. There were no black guys at St. Rita, not until much later. It’s pretty well mixed now, but at the time it was a totally white school. “We do not play the blues in St. Rita High School.” But they sure do now.
IE: But you could cross into the clubs on Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road without a problem?
RM: Absolutely. Things were pretty cool. I was there at Peppers Lounge, and Muddy Waters was playing, and we’re three white guys: me and two buddies from DePaul. Muddy thought it was so charming, that he introduced us. [Laughs.] “I’ve got my white fanclub here.” And we’re going, “Nooo!” “Stand up boys, and take a bow.” So we stood up, and people are applauding, and we sat back down. Talk about embarrassment. We tried to melt into the floor and be totally inconspicuous. But it was fine, like, “There’s some white guys. Hey, it’s cool! Come on, you kids!”
IE: Was everyone else listening to rock at that time?
RM: Yep. A couple guys I knew, one was a musician and the other was our buddy. We said, “You gotta go see this show.” “We’re gonna go where?” “47th and Racine, Peppers Lounge. Come on, man!” “O.K. That could be quite the adventure.” “It’s Muddy! Playing live!” They were reticent, but had the time of our lives. We came out of the club like, “Holy fuck, man.” It was a ritual, out of the transposed soul of Africa to America.
IE: When you moved to Los Angeles, what sort of musicians did you grip onto?
RM: The jazz musicians. It was also in Chicago. I went down to the Blue Note – I think it was called the Blue Note. What was great about it was, well because you had to be 21 to get into it, this was for under-21 and in the back they had a railing separating the kids area. They actually had a kids area. They weren’t 12-year-olds, but 18, 19, and 20-year-olds. And they would only serve Cokes. And man, I saw Duke Ellington, Count Basie’s Big Band with Joe Williams singing the blues.
IE: That was when West Coast jazz was just hitting its stride.
RM: Just getting started. Very rarely did you hear Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Mann, and those people.
IE: Whom do you hear in Robby? Obviously there’s blues overtones, but when you hear his jazz you don’t hear Wes Montgomery or George Benson.
RM: No.
IE: He sounds more like a sax player.
RM: Yeah. Well he’s fast now. Holy Christ, can he play fast. He was a rock ‘n’ roller when we first started. He played blues, with a bottle neck like country blues. That’s what he played, and he played flamenco. With The Doors, he didn’t play with a pick. So it was flamenco-style guitar in a rock ‘n’ roll band with blues influence. And that was Robby Krieger.
IE: Was that like most bands in L.A., like Love? Amalgams of different players? Today, rock bands are all weaned on rock.
RM: Psychedelic rock was too young. It had its Little Richard era. But the ’60s were a cross-cultural time in which white people and black people all embraced each other. Anybody who was psychedelic was a member of the tribe. The battle for supremacy was between the squares and the hip people. The heads and the straights – and the straights win.
IE: There was a book a couple years ago, called How The Beatles Destroyed Rock ‘N’ Roll, and the point was that snobbery didn’t exist among listeners until a certain point. You could listen to The Association and The Beach Boys as well as the Dead and Incredible String Band. There was no differentiation between what music was cool. Do you agree?
RM: Oh, yeah. I don’t know that The Beatles did that. And if you think of rock ‘n’ roll as ’50s music as Little Richard and Elvis Presley – that expanded from the original genre it was into almost world music. Hell, there was folk rock in Los Angeles that was very big, like The Byrds. Then into the mid-’70s like Jackson Browne, the Eagles, and Linda Ronstadt. Almost country rock. Jingle-jangle morning. Everything was going on.
IE: You didn’t happen to know [The Byrds'] Roger McGuinn back in Chicago, did you?
RM: No, I didn’t know anybody. That’s why I got out of there. I wasn’t going to stay around. I never played with any bands in Chicago – I played with my own band. There were no bands. There were little lounge gigs. I guess if there were bands, they were little folk-rock bands. And the only guys playing R&B and rock ‘n’ roll were black guys. With electric basses. Holy shit, the first time I ever heard that live!
IE: When you think about The Doors’ history – we can look at it now like the first one came out, the next one, L.A. Woman came out in ‘71. Does it seem like a blur, or can you see each as stages?
RM: The stages were pretty short, man. We were recording as fast as we could. The first album came out in January of ‘67, the second came out in October. We were moving. We were hauling ass. We were recording, playing, and the whole thing. It was just a rollercoaster ride.
IE: Today, four years is two albums. If that.
RM: It’s an album, two years of touring, and a year of recording the next album. People take their time. Jim’s got a great line: “In that year, we had a great visitation of energy” – that’s The Doors. That was a five-year year. It lasted January ‘67 to July 3rd, 1971, Jim’s death. But now, my God, it seems like 40 years.
IE: When you and Robby tour and do interviews, do you have conflicting memories?
RM: Oh, sure. It’s the reality plus 40 years of memory. But then we have memories that are identical. We are different people, different human beings. We were four people, now we’re three, and we all have our own version of it. I make my own stories. Robby and I can be sitting next to each other and talking about something and tell two different stories.
IE: Are there any specific instances where you can’t believe he doesn’t have the same memory as you?
RM: All the time, but there are no specifics that I can give you that would make an amusing point in your article. You’d have to be interviewing Robby and I at the exact same time.

(Here is where the chat turned to the misunderstanding on the DVD at the beginning of the article.)

IE: You may have been joking or being sarcastic.
RM: Hey, [people] love that shit. “We thought the end was coming, and we were making our last album together.” Even greater, if all three of us, if after Jim died, we’d committed suicide. That’s four brothers, a great rock ‘n’ roll story! But the fact is, we were making our music and playing away, and Jim was going to Paris to take a break. Jim never said anything about Paris until the album was virtually completed. All the recording was done, all the vocals were done, we were mixing, we had three/four more to go, and Jim said, “I’m leaving for Paris next week.” It was like, “What?” “I’m going to Paris.” “Good idea, man.” The contract was up. We’ve completed our contractual obligation. We are now free to break up and never play together again; sign with a new record company; or take a break and sign with another record company in six months or a year. “Go! Jesus Christ! You’ve been drinking too much, man. You’ve got too many groupies and too many bad friends. Perfect. Go to Paris, become Jim Morrison poet again in Paris.” An American In Paris. Hemingway. Fitzgerald. Who wrote Tropic Of Cancer/Tropic Of Capricorn? Henry Miller.

So, anyway, that was Jim Morrison. The next American in Paris. “Get your shit together: write.” Of course, he only lasted four months. And who knows what his thoughts were? “He was breaking up the band. He had quit.” People know that? If he had, in his mind, quit, and went to Paris without telling me? Then he broke the magic circle. If he’d said to me, “Ray! That’s it, buddy. We had a great run. We put this band together out of nothing, graduated out of UCLA, didn’t see each other for two months, didn’t see each other until July 1965, right on the beach and we started the band, we dreamed the dream but I’ve had it. That’s it. The dream is now over.” I would have said, “My friend, go to Paris. Send me a poem or two every once in a while, and I’ll see you.” That would have been fine.

IE: The music you were working on when he left, Full Circle . . .
RM: Full Circle would have been great had Jim been there.

IE: Was it normal for you guys to just jam, the three of you?
RM: Jim would be on a midnight creep for a week and a half, and then he’d come back. We’d have rehearsals every Tues-day/Thursday, Monday/Wednesday/Fri-day depending how ambitious we felt, how close we were, how exicted we were in the recording studio. And we’d work on songs. Jim would be there, not be there, Robby would have songs, when Jim left John and I started writing songs. We had plenty of material to work on, and we were just rehearsing as we usually did, and waiting for Jim to come back.

He said to John, he called John, and asked how L.A. Woman was doing, and [John] said fine. “It’s the Doors’ comeback.” And Jim said, “That’s great. Sure was fun making that record.” And John said, “We were talking about going on the road with Jerry Scheff [Elvis Presley's bassist, who played on the album] and Mark Benno on rhythm guitar, so instead of four there’d be six of us on stage and we’d do the album just like we recorded it.” And Morrison said, “What a great idea! Sounds fabulous! Let’s do that as soon as I get back.” John said, “Cool. When are you coming back?” “I don’t know.”
IE: When you guys were working on what would have become the album after L.A. Woman, would Morrison have been writing melodies as well as lyrics?
RM: Never.
IE: Never?
RM: Jim was the word-man. If he initiated the song, he would sing the melody. Well, he could add words to Robby’s stuff. That was Jim’s words to Robby’s melody. His songs, he sings the melody, that’s his melody. And he had a good sense of bars and phrases, and when to lay out and when to come back in. He was a very musical guy.

And the British very certainly couldn’t call this one their own.

– Steve Forstneger

Just because Martha Berner’s finally closed a six-year gap between full-length studio outings, it doesn’t mean the singer/songwriter was inactive. In fact, she’s used the half decade and change to practically start from scratch, reinventing her already alluring folk flavorings under the umbrella of insurgent country, good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, and Stax soul. Much of the evolution comes from slogging it out on the local circuit and beyond, but another key element was the cementing of her supporting band, The Significant Others, with whom Berner shares co-billing throughout the new Fool’s Fantasy (Poprock).

Appearing: Friday, February 4th at Lincoln Hall with Andrew Fraker and Raised On Zenith.

“I never expected it to be six years since I put out my last full-length, and I actually had plans to make the next one shortly after [debut album] . . . this side of yesterday!” exclaims the troubadour by phone from her Windy City home. “In the end, what probably took an additional three years [more than I wanted] was just a shift in who I was working with and really wanting to differ this record from the others. [It's] not that one way was right and the other was wrong, but [I preferred] just to have a very cohesive and intimate band feel with musicians who knew the songs for awhile and experienced them live for a long time before going into the studio. Basically the timing isn’t always what we think it’s going to be as artists, and even though I’m kicking myself a little bit, I feel really great having it come out now and I’m excited for where the band is at.”

Berner’s idea for The Significant Others began with a call to longtime friend and collaborator Scott Fritz, who produced Fool’s Fantasy, played a slew of instruments (from guitar on down), and helped recruit the other musicians. Keyboardist Will Sprawls and drummer Tyson Ellert round out the group, contributing to the comparatively thicker, full-band feel and extra aggression.

“The new music has a little bit more grit and edge that my other albums didn’t have, and it’s a little more rock ‘n’ roll,” confirms Berner. “I wrote all the songs, but the guys wrote their own parts and we all sort of co-produced it together. It’s still billed as Martha Berner & The Significant Others, but it definitely is a band effort. I see them as the special sauce, and I couldn’t achieve this sound without them.”

As for those specific sounds on Fool’s Fantasy, they range from the 10,000 Maniacs-styled title track to the smoky soul of “Some Stay A While” and the alternative country grit of “Cry.” On the other hand, “Where Does The Day Go” could easily fit alongside the easygoing indie pop of Feist, while “Irene” and “Burning Candles” recall recent collaborations of Robert Plant with Alison Krauss. (Because this collection features four-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen, perhaps that last comparison is no coincidence.)

“I met Gavin through a good friend and fellow artist Erika Rose, and I flew out to L.A. [to work with him],” she explains. “It was super fun sitting there seeing his Grammys, and it was a real honor to watch whatever it is that he does. He seemed to really hang on to the textures, warmth, and depth, and not lose it in the compression process.”

Another area of depth comes on the songwriting side of the coin, which Berner culls from a composite of everyone from Leonard Cohen to Sinead O’Connor, The Sundays, Wilco, Bon Iver, and Rogue Wave. Lyrically, many of her tunes take a storytelling approach, and even though they’re coming from the perspective of a burgeoning artist hoping to make a mark on the world at large, Berner makes a point to relate to listeners from any walk of life.

“‘Fool’s Fantasy’ as a song and the record as a whole are my examination of life, not just for me, but people in general on a journey to achieve what they want in life,” she says. “It’s the song that kind of questions how do you know when to draw the line in your pursuit, whether that be a music career or relationships. How do you know when you should work harder or just walk away? [In my case], whether I’m foolish or not, I’ll carry on this [musical] path.”

Even if Berner’s yet to become a household name, she’s been making a push through multiple appearances at Austin’s gem-uncovering South By Southwest conference and Milwaukee Summerfest, plus an aggressive campaign to be heard on television programs, most notably MTV’s “The Real World.” Add in some WXRT radio airplay, mounds of positive press, plus a continual presence on the road, and the tunesmith is certainly popping up in all the right places.

“I think there’s a natural desire to push [my career] forward, even with the state of the music industry right now,” she considers. “There’s some great stuff going on and some tougher stuff, too, but I just want to strike a balance between being very driven and also really wanting to preserve my love for it. I always have something I’m working on, and at the end of the day, I want to love performing and writing and being in a band. It all ebbs and flows as it would for anyone, especially in today’s economy, but I’m going to keep on doing it.”

Despite having to weather the music industry’s uncertainty, Berner’s thankful for Chicago’s support over the past eight years she’s lived here, which follows a provincial Wisconsin upbringing, through spending time in cosmopolitan San Francisco, and more exotic locales like the Virgin Islands and Thailand. She attributes the frequent moves to wanderlust, though one has to question the tendency away from paradise and toward the wintry Great Lakes.

“Chicago is a very inviting and warm city and I love the Midwest strategy of picking yourself up by your bootstraps and cracking a good joke while you’re doing it,” she explains. “I love the drive and humor and, music-wise, I just continue to have great relationships with musicians in the city. Chicago has the big city opportunity, sophistication, and talent, but still the small-town hospitality. We back each other up, we’re all in this together and we have a good time above all.”

It’s all part of her fantasy.

– Andy Argyrakis

Chicago hip-hop artists who make and perform music full-time are too few and far between – that is, artists who actually still reside in the area. But while it becomes even tougher for local rappers to ditch their day jobs, 20-year-old Chicagoan Rockie Fresh is among a select few who are already on their way to stardom before ever having to step inside a cubicle.

“It’s definitely become my life,” says Fresh of his music. “I’ve been able to make an earning off of it and take care of things that I need to take care of – get the things that I need and I want. I wanna do this forever, so it keeps me on track and focused.”

If Fresh were a label-manufactured act, his ascension wouldn’t be so surprising. To his credit, though, this MC with the slow flow has been able to garner a decent amount of downloads and book a whole lot of shows independently. Yes, some of this was done with the aid of a management and public-relations team, but before he had any publicist, he was still able to fill Reggies Rock Club in 2009 for the release party of his debut mixtape, Rockie’s Modern Life. This was also his first live show ever.

“I was kind spoiled because that was the crowd that was all of my fans and they knew the words and were super happy to see me,” he reflects about his debut.

And so 2010 was the true test of Fresh’s abilities when he hit the road rocking shows along with fests like South By Southwest and CMJ in front of largely unfamiliar audiences. He accepted the challenge and embraced the positive response from new fans. In fact, he says it was certain Chicagoans at that time who began to have a problem with his growing popularity – something he addresses openly throughout his second mixtape, 2010’s The Otherside.

On the synthy, smoked-out “They Don’t Understand Why” he raps, “Anytime you gettin’ money then you bound to get respect/but you gonna find a problem when you find success/the ones that used to hate you feel like they know you the best.”

Without calling out anyone specifically, Fresh explains that “people on the Internet and people outside of Chicago, they were definitely showing a lot of love for the music, but I kind of expected more from people at home. And in turn, I realized that the way Chicago people treated me as an artist really made me a lot tougher and it gave me a lot of strength that a lot of artists don’t get in other cities. So it was cool in the long run.”

It makes sense why Fresh has been compared to Drake – a pair of meditative MCs who can show their self-consciousness about their haters but ultimately aren’t afraid fire back or boast about their achievements – whether they be within hip-hop or with women.

One can pluck just about any line from his tracks for proof, but especially as he raps on “Otherside,” “All my life I’ve been picked on, slept on, stared at/however, I refuse to be stepped on.”

He’s less than three years into his career, but Fresh, the Prairie State College dropout, is already easing into his own style. What sets him apart from Drake or other acts to whom he’s been compared is his alt-rock edge. Yes, he can do straight-up braggadocio rap as heard on “Sofa King Cole” or his collaboration with West Coast act Casey Veggies (“Duckin N Dodgin”), but his rock tendencies are just as prevalent. They’re the creations of his production team The Cartoonz and others, who are often adding guitar riffs into his beats or to a greater extent by doing collaborations with his rock influences like Good Charlotte.

While he now lives in the city, as a teen attending Homewood-Flossmoor High School, it wasn’t beats and rhymes all day.

“Growing up in the suburbs and being introduced to alternative rock and different types of music outside of rap, like punk, it made me really get into that type of stuff,” he explains. “Fall Out Boy was a band that I really appreciated and same with Good Charlotte. John Mayer is one of my favorite artists of all time. So for me, there were certain things that I wanted to do to make myself different from everybody else. I never really saw anybody add that dark element of rap to music and be consistent with it and so that was something that I wanted to be my thing and I just ran with it.”

That dark element is something Fresh is no doubt still building upon within his reflective raps. The first single off his new mixtape, Driving 88, is called “No Fear” and rife with moody backup vocals, downtempo drums, and lyrical meditations. It’s not exactly happy-go-lucky material when he kicks off by rhyming, “Reporting live from Chicago/where they tell me I’m the future/but I’m not promised tomorrow.”

Fresh is a live-in-the-moment type of person, whether gloomy or grandiose at the moment. When he performed a homecoming show of sorts at the Metro last November with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, it was hard to tell how the crowd full of the headliner’s fans would react to the young rapper, even if Fresh had already toured coast-to-coast with Stump. But he didn’t appear worried when he hit the stage. Ripping through “Sofa King Cole,” calling himself “so fucking cold,” the crowd was visually lifted.

“This is the most love I’ve gotten, I swear to God,” he told the Metro between songs.

As Fresh continues to develop his sonics, his fanbase expands as well. During our interview he talks with equal enthusiasm about his work with NYC rhymer Action Bronson and SoCal rockers Good Charlotte.

“I do realize that my fans range from all different types,” he says. “Some of ‘em appreciate rap music, some of ‘em like urban rap, some of ‘em like when I sing so it’s just really trying to get people all of those things and all of the different types of music that I appreciate.”

It’s all a balancing act that this full-time rhymer thus far has proven possible – hard times or not.

Rockie Fresh released the Driving 88 mixtape at the end of January. Download for free at rockiefresh.com.

– Max Herman

Veilside’s sophomore effort, This Time . . ., mixes Godsmack riffs with Sevendust grooves. It’s six-songs of modern rock with huge power chords, multi-layered vocal harmonies, and well-thought out guitar leads. Otherwise radio-friendly with a melodic, hard-rock edge, an odd cover of Kansas’ “Dust In The Wind” – with dual lead guitars swapped for the original’s violin arrangement – adds a galloping, Southern-rock flavor. Veilside possesses a true rockstar mentality and This Time is solidly hard-driving with attitude and spirit. (veilsideband.com)
– Kelley Simms

Just because Abstract Giants is billed as a hip-hop act doesn’t mean all its beats are based on DJ samples, loops, or programming. In fact, its self-titled long player is a full-band affair (think The Roots) that makes ample use of bass and drums, but also more unconventional instruments in the genre, like violins, banjos, and even a pedal steel, allowing these eight versatile players to stand out from the overly auto-tuned pack. (abstractgiants.com)
– Andy Argyrakis

The Assembly’s eight-track The Future Has Been Sold is worth getting together for. The veteran alt-rock band’s latest effort is slightly more pop-centric than past efforts without sacrificing the Cure/Psychedelic Furs pedigree. The guitar-driven songs are tight, an average of 3:30 in length, with just enough synth highlights, as on the catchy “Matters” and the bouncy rhythm of “Who Do You Need Now,” the latter made complete with chorus-like backing vocals. (theassemblyband.net)
– Jason Scales

Think of the last time – I mean the only time – you heard “I Gave My Love A Cherry.” Well, with this there is no guitar for Belushi to smash, because Andrew Calhoun sings it a cappella on his 19-track Grapevine. The solo artist has lovingly recorded his devotion to folk standards. His slightly gravelly crooning and acoustic-guitar picking are a warm throwback to days of yore: he sings the original four verses of “O Susanna” and ably tells the tales of “John Henry” and “Fifteen Years On The Erie Canal” in authentic busker fashion. (waterbug.com)
– Jason Scales

The title You’ll Not Take Us Alive is no idle boast. The Fisticuffs‘ 14 tracks bristle with high-energy punk delivered and traditional Irish folk instrumentation. These South Siders unabashedly embody the fighting Irish spirit, in tight instrumentation and lyrical content, proving they can hold their own against genre stalwarts like Dropkick Murphys. Whether it’s railing against discrimination, as on “Paddys Need Not Apply,” or telling an inspirational tale, as on “Young Ned Of The Hill,” it’s always rollicking and full of Celtic pride. (thefisticuffs.com)
– Jason Scales

Singer/songwriter Jennifer Hall revels in genre hopping, and there definitely is a lot to take in on her new full-length, In This. “Green And Blue” and “Oceans” are bona fide torch songs while “When We Were Good” offers a soulful rock approach that recalls Amy Winehouse and Duffy. Luckily, Hall possesses the pipes to pull this off, even when she’s raising the roof on the big production of “Like I Lie To You.” (jenniferhall.bandcamp.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Singer/guitarist Jeremy Keen’s engaging vocals can convey complex emotions as well as soar on Lock & Key, the latest effort from Jeremy Keen & The False Starts. The more energetic songs work best, particularly “Barnburner,” a prime example of Midwestern rock in the tradition of The BoDeans and Fire Town. “Brother” is the best of the slower tracks, thanks to Keen’s authentic portrayal of hard times and guest musician Bryan Meier’s pedal-steel guitar. (www. jeremykeen.com)
– Terrence Flamm

While Tsikago may not be a universally appealing flavor, it’s a true taste of world music. On the 15-song platter, Lamajamal provides original Balkan- and Middle Eastern-influenced melodies along with updated renditions of traditional tunes. Tracks such as “Oud Taxim” and “Jasmin Tea” aren’t overly distinctive, but all feature instruments like the santour and tambur in addition to familiar Western beats. In the end, it’s an accomplished but not terribly interesting or innovative effort. (lamajamal.com)
– Jeff Berkwits

Mission Man, a.k.a. Gary Milholland, conveys positive vibes through quick rhymes and jazz-influenced beats on his latest CD, liberty island. The better tracks, like “Starting Over” and “Living To The Rhythm,” paint a compelling picture of struggling to get by, but their message is diminished by Mission Man’s use of the same laid-back delivery throughout his music. He’ll need to light a fire under his vocals and vary his approach if he wants to succeed. (missionman.net)
– Terrence Flamm

Falling somewhere between folk and blues revival, Overman’s The Future Is Gonna Be Great practically has “WXRT” written all over it, so it’s no wonder the Plainfield-dwelling players have already earned airtime on “Local Anesthetic.” With equal shades of The Decemberists as The Black Keys, the four-piece band are poised to breakout of the burbs and become a key player in the future of carefully crafted indie rock. (overman.info)
– Andy Argyrakis

Punch Cabbie pound their way through the five-song Human Intrusion with macho/aggro vocals, calculated breakdowns, big hooks, crushing drums, and melodic leads and riffs. “Sin Eater” opens with down-tuned, fuzzy, guitar distortion and a big low-end rumble from punchy, thunderous drums. The band’s hardcore roots are displayed on “Bite Back,” including shouted gang vocals, while metalcore elements are present on “Big Oaks.” Punch Cabbie’s screamo/metalcore/post-hardcore cycle gets repetitive, but it’s dangerous with a dirty street sound. I can only imagine the pit rages at their shows. (facebook.com/punchcabbieband)
– Kelley Simms

Psychedelic/blues/rock trio Rosetta West play fuzzy and distorted riffs with heavy basslines on Racoon. It’s a short disc at 33 minutes for 12 tracks, and its recording technique gives it a ’60s-’70s vibe. Similarities to Grand Funk Railroad, The Guess Who (“I Don’t Care”), Simon & Garfunkel (“River Of Days”), BLS Zakk Wylde-ish vocals, and Robin Trower-ish songs “Bridge Of Sighs” and “Jack And Jill” (“The Temple”) are present here. The distinctive, hippy-like crooning of Joe Demagore gives Rosetta West its unique character. His raspy vocals are the perfect complement to the old-school space-rock jams. (myspace.com/rosettawest)
– Kelley Simms

Just when the first few moments of The Escapist lead one to expect a full CD of string-enhanced acoustic/trad folk guitar music, the Jason Seed Stringtet takes a serious and not surprising classical turn, seeing as its members hail from various local symphonies. Clearly, all are proficient players and guitarist/ringleader Jason Seed’s mostly original compositions successfully navigate the shoreline where classical laps teasingly into rock/folk/jazz. In this impressive sampling of the Stringtet’s breadth and scope, one is reminded of fellow traveler string quartet Ethel, yet thankfully Seed’s group is far less obsessed with classical music’s avant garde/experimental edges. (jasonseedmusic.com)
– David C. Eldredge

Symphonic-metal band Shield Of Wings play a mix of black metal and classical arrangements interwoven with metal elements on their self-produced, self-released EP, Solarium. The six songs consist of melody-based, keyboard-driven pieces that complement Grace Meridan’s elegant, operatic vocals and James Gregor’s aggressive growls. The “Beauty And The Beast” singing technique works without overwhelming or sacrificing the music’s heaviness. Nightwish, Epica, Delain, as well as Dimmu Borgir and Therion influences pop up, mostly because of the orchestral tones. Solarium’s dark, yet insightful lyrics go hand-in-hand with the music, mood, and atmosphere that the band create. (www. myspace.com/shieldofwingsrock)
– Kelley Simms

Terata’s Red Means Go, a three-track collection neatly marketed on a rubber bracelet USB device, is upbeat and peppy party rock. “I Made It All Up” and “You Are” each build to a relationship-gone-wrong chorus punctuated by crashing cymbals and power chords. The vocals, delivered Liz Phair-like, are mixed far too loudly, which is less of a problem with “Someday” due to its ballad style. (teratamusic.com)
– Jason Scales

When he keeps it simple (just him and his acoustic) and stays in the lower end of his vocal range on his seven-cut EP, Carol Streamer Troy Leif Thompson serves up his Americana originals most convincingly. Otherwise, Angels In The Attic’s not really pushing any musical boundaries and Thompson’s originals, while serviceable enough vehicles for him this time out, aren’t anything any other artist will jump to cover. (myspace.com/troyleifthompson)
– David C. Eldredge

Promising MC/producer Tizone may have titled his new album The Interpretation, but the tracks aren’t quite so committed to a single view. After an intro cut and opener where he establishes himself back in the game, Tizone switches course into playa/loverman mode for several tunes, and then weaves in and out of personalities for the remainder. It makes for a schizophrenic listen through the 18 songs, and ultimately bears the energetic, wanna-freak-ya side out. (tizoneonline.com)
– Steve Forstneger

Vapor Eyes has mastered the rapid-fire, hard-hitting rhymes fans expect from rap, but on his ambitious new CD, It’s Moving So Fast It’s Standing Still, he also incorporates elements of jazz, ambient, and gospel music. “Terra Incognita” sounds the alarm on global warming while “New Proof Material” delves into street crime. Space-age keyboards and sound bites add to the sense of intrigue on “Hypermart” and “Int3rlood,” while “Caressed By Sin” is smooth and seductive. (vaporeyesdj.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Chuck Maurer’s What Rebel began as a cover band in a west-suburban basement that eventually felt confident to move into originals. Tracks like “Rise Up” and “Time Is Running Out” force commonplace riffs and chord changes through a cardboard amplifier, which competes in the clasutrophobic mix with click-track vocal performances and A/B (sometimes just A/A) rhyme schemes. Clearly this is an act in its infancy – or maybe it’s several weeks premature. (reverbnation.com/WhatRebel)
– Steve Forstneger

With so many aged pop stars performing the Great American Songbook, it’s easy to dismiss Sometimes I’m Happy as yet another effort to rejuvenate hoary harmonies. Yet newcomer Amy Yassinger does something few old hands have accomplished: delivering genuinely fresh interpretations of classic tunes. “Slow Boat To China” and “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon” are standouts, but almost all of the 11 melodies are delightful. This is one artist who proves that what’s old truly can be new again. (amydoesjazz.com)
– Jeff Berkwits

In mid December, Metallica – drunk on the euphoria building for their 30th-anniversary celebrations, or scampering to mitigate the damage caused by Lulu – made the unusual decision to sell some demos on iTunes.

As the Garage Days releases have shown, the band aren’t afraid to show warts, but the decision to release (which also arrived on CD in January) the Beyond Magnetic EP was a curious one. First, the four leftovers – from 2008’s Death Magnetic – were originally given to fanclub members, which was on par with Metallica’s relationship with its official supporters. Each was then played on separate nights of the San Francisco-rooted anniversary showcase – an event populated entirely by fanclub members.

Delivering them to general music consumers, however, is a change in course. Over the years, Metallica have jealously guarded sketches and outtakes of songs that were eventually intended for release (note their conspicuous absence from the world of expanded reissues and boxsets), a tactic in keeping with their highly manicured and rigid image maintenance from no videos, to the iconic one, to the “Black Album,” explosion, Load-era. You could argue that it all fell apart with the Some Kind Of Monster debacle, and they’d prefer you averted your eyes from their personal failures to their musical ones.

*The announcement of guitarist Tony Iommi’s battle with lymphoma strikes a number of chords – mostly saddening, given the proximity to Ronnie James Dio’s death from stomach cancer. On business terms, it’s a blow to the planned Black Sabbath reunion, which was fought for tooth-and-nail by Sharon Osbourne as she struggles to boost Ozzy’s image post-Heaven And Hell’s success. It also renders Iommi’s own, recently published autobiography, Iron Man (Da Capo), pretty incomplete. Though not quite symbolic of Sabbath’s vengeful outcast, the phrase “iron man” typically denotes someone with superhuman endurance. Struggling to contain several dozen (not always chronological, sometimes repetitive) “chapters,” each about four to five pages long, Iommi’s memoir instead recalls someone who runs distance events by sprinting and stopping every couple-hundred feet. Short on narrative but long on uncanny detail, Iron Man (subtitled: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath) will satisfy Sab fans looking for a coffeetable book, but frustrate people seeking a more thoughtful, historical counterpoint to the frenzied I Am Ozzy. Iommi has stories to spare – he’s dealt with abusive parents, disfigurement, marital strife, severe addiction, and, of course, Mr. Osbourne – but his dry, anecdotal approach is better suited to snippets than 416 pages.

*No sooner did we coax Trevor de Brauw into submitting for “Caught In A Mosh”’s collection of best-of-2011 top-fives, do Pelican announce a new EP and tour. The jaunt will mostly canvas Europe, but Ataraxia/Taraxis (Southern Lord, April 10th) breaks a two-year recording gap. The four-song set was also tracked in a quartet of different studios, and they stuck to Chicago-band protocol by doing some of the work with Sanford Parker.

*Supergroups are de rigeur in our incestuous, local circles, and Beak are no exception. Consisting of former Timeout Drawer members Chris Eichenseer and Jason Goldberg as well as Engine Studios co-founder Andy Bosnak and frontman Jon Slusher (who’s also sat in Timeout), the quartet had no trouble deciding where to record their debut. Though Beak demur when being categorized as metal, it’s difficult to fathom lumping Eyrie (Someoddpilot, April 3rd) anywhere else. True, elements of post rock, hardcore, and prog intermingle (and hello Micromoog bass!), but the opening minute of “Angry Mother Of Bones” pushes a pretty fierce interpretation of black metal. They open for Anvil on the 23rd at Reggies.

*On the 28th, Corrosion Of Conformity’s Animosity-era lineup drops a self-titled album via Candlelight. For those of us who met C.O.C. in Pepper Keenan’s Sabbath-drenched ’90s heyday and later learned they were a hardcore punk band when they started, 1985’s Animosity was a girder-solid melding of the two, and its masterful balance has been faithfully replicated on the new album. They hit Double Door on March 7th with Torche, Valient Thorr, and A Storm Of Light.

*As we lead up to the Republican nomination, all this chatter about when life actually begins and the dominos of court cases that led to Roe v Wade got us thinking: when’s Dying Fetus playing again? Not for nearly two months: March 26th at Mojoes. The Marlboro-bred death titans proclaim a “return to roots” for the upcoming Reign Supreme, which Relapse hasn’t yet handed a release date. In a sign of the impending apocalypse, their tour kicks off at the South By Southwest Music Conference in Austin.

Trevor Fisher is taking some time off.

– Steve Forstneger

Having a lot of buzz surrounding a film doesn’t always mean big box office. For all of the critical acclaim surrounding Drive, the returns didn’t match the hype. Unfortunate – as Drive is one of the best films of 2011.

The plot is B-movie simplicity at its best: a Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling, credited only as “Driver”) moonlights as a getaway driver for anyone who will pay for his services, at least until he’s double-crossed.

After a phenomenal opening sequence that turns the standard chase sequence on its ear – a tense game of cat and mouse is substituted for screeching tires – Drive settles into a clean, minimalist aesthetic. Driver’s relationship with his new neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) is shown not with long conversations, but in sparse, eloquent glances and self-conscious gestures.

As good as Gosling and Mulligan are, the standout of the film is Albert Brooks, superbly cast against type as a former film producer turned wannabe crime boss.

If you get a sense of deja-vu while watching Drive, there’s a good reason. The film has drawn comparisons to everything and everyone from Clint Eastwood’s man-with-no-name to Robert DeNiro’s Travis Bickel.

However, the film owes its greatest debt to the ’80s. From its pastel-colored opening credits on, it draws the most inspiration from William Friedkin’s To Live And Die In L.A., and even more so from Michael Mann efforts such as Thief and Heat, with a little “Miami Vice” tossed in for good measure. There are also explosive bouts of Tarantino-esque violence from time to time.

This is not to say that Drive is simply a copy of what came before – it’s much more. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn lovingly and brilliantly mixes all the elements to creates his own unique world – a beautifully layered universe where a genre flick can achieve arthouse respect. Not only that, but he can do it with a completely straight face, not with the winking, knowing irony that comes so easily these days when filmmakers want to pay homage.

The Blu-ray suffers from a weak list of special features; four of the five featurettes don’t go into enough detail to make them anything more than a passing curiosity, and only the 25-minute offering with Refn is worth more than a passing glance. Drive deserves a better release than this.

U2: From The Sky Down
IFC

Having reached the pinnacle of being the biggest band in the world after the release of The Joshua Tree, U2 nearly let it all come crashing down under the weight of a mammoth tour, and the resulting big-screen release, Rattle And Hum. To many, its portrayal of the band discovering American roots music and musicians came across as both pretentious and sanctimonious – as if they were saying “Hey look, we just found this really cool guy named B.B. King, and we’re gonna let you all in on the secret. You’re welcome!”

Licking their wounds, the foursome retreated to the warm confines of post-communism Berlin, where they immersed themselves in the club and experimental culture that had previously been inspiration for David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

For the 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby (the film had been included with the high-end edition of last year’s reissue), From The Sky Down takes a look at the band’s time at Berlin’s Hansa Studios, where the album was conceived and delivered. Not only had Hansa midwifed the Bowie and Pop projects, but it also inhabited space mere yards from where the Berlin Wall had fallen just months earlier.

Sure, U2 may have absorbed and recycled German musical styles for this outing, but this time their self-awareness had been previously unseen.

From The Sky Down suffers from having little archival footage of U2 actually recording the album at Hansa, so they make do by going back to the studio and doing the interviews and performances present-day. Despite this, director Davis Guggenheim does a nice job reminding us of what Germany was dealing with at the time, and the inspiration it provided to U2.

Special Features include extra performances of “So Cruel,” “Love Is Blindness,” and “The Fly,” as well as a Q&A with Bono, The Edge, and Guggenheim from the Toronto International Film Festival

– Timothy Hiatt

If the Thirsty Whale could do it, why not? Durty Nellie’s in Palatine has slotted February 26th to reanimate a potential competitor: Haymakers. The Prospect Heights club, shuttered in 1984, will return for one night before rushing home in glass slippers. Coming from as far as California and Florida, members of some of the venue’s stalwart acts (Bitch, Dreamer, Hounds, Madfox, One Arm Bandit, Pezband Allstars, and Tantrum) will suit up once again and rock like it’s the Reagan era. Former IE Editor Guy Arnston co-masterminded the event with Kathy Powers-Hall, wife of former owner Chuck Hall. Far from a hangout for bygone local musicians, Haymakers also hosted Cheap Trick, Survivor, The Bangles, Shoes, The Kind, Sly Stone, Queensryche, and Twisted Sister. Visit the Facebook page for more info.

WWW.SMACKDOWN.COM

The opposition cheered as caustic, conservative attacks sullied the GOP’s own primary debates, but then the glove-dropping contagion afflicted the nominally liberal world of musicians. Veteran local rapper/actor (and White House honoree) Common kicked off, telling WGCI that the “soft” MCs attacked in his new track, “Sweet,” included sensitive singer/rapper Drake. The Canadian answered back by calling Common out on the Rick Ross side “Stay Schemin’” – despite earlier pledging, “Diss me and you’ll never hear a reply for it.” Not missing a beat, Common remixed the same track with his retort, saying Drake can’t get girls, um, excited, because he’s Canada Dry – and then encouraged people to print Canada Dry shirts. The weird thing is it’s reportedly a beef over the affections of tennis star Serena Williams, who could probably kick both their asses. (Fakeshoredrive posted this news about Drake after we went to press.)

– Steve Forstneger

IE: Was the hype for your debut thrilling or scary?
Alaina Moore: It was definitely more scary. Obviously, we appreciated it and were going to take the opportunity, but we didn’t know what we were doing. Our way of handling that was forcing things to stay as small as possible. We ended up saying “no” to lots of things: no producer, no management. We said “no” to support tours because we weren’t sure if we could tour for very long.

IE: So another force was pushing you along?
AM: This time the momentum behind us is more sustained and created by us, and we feel more in control. Anyone who, at some stage in their career, has been considered a buzz band understands it’s like riding a tidal wave. You have no say, it’s just happening. It’s really amazing, but you keep finding yourself with decisions that you don’t want. I remember the first time we got a publicist, they asked us about doing late [TV] shows and they could push for that, and we were like, “No. Not at all.” I shut it down immediately. “I do not want to be on TV – it sounds horrible.”

IE: Are you ready for your tag to be, “Patrick Carney produced their album; they’re the band the Black Keys guy is involved with.”
AM: It’s funny, maybe nihilistic, but I’d be relieved if people thought that than the dismissive stereotype of us as the wedding-couple-sailing band. [Tennis' first album was inspired by a boat trip.]

IE: What inspired Young And Old?
AM: I immersed myself in Todd Rundgren; I wanted to write things on piano. I listened to a lot of Elton John and Rundgren. Patrick [Riley, guitarist/husband] switched to playing baritone guitar instead of wall-of-sound surf guitar, so that brought out a lot of differences in songwriting.

IE: Rundgren’s one of those guys who I get why people enjoy him, but I can’t stand his music.
AM: [Laughs.] When I first started dating Patrick he played me Todd Rundgren and I totally hated it. Three-years later we were at someone’s house and Something/Anything was playing and I was like, what is this? And I ended up delving into his catalog.

IE: In what sense is the Tennis name a metaphor for the dynamic?
AM: Sometimes I see me and Patrick in those classic matches, where the competition is fierce but then they hug afterwards. But I cannot emphasize enough the complete, flippant lark [it was]. If we’d thought about it, we probably wouldn’t have picked it.

Tennis’ Young And Old arrives Valentine’s Day through Fat Possum. They play Lincoln Hall on February 26th. Q&A by Steve Forstneger.

Paul Stanley of Kiss has evidently put down his paintbrush long enough to partner with Washburn Guitars and release the cool-looking (and sounding?) PS21012 Starfire signature guitar.

The PS2012 features a carved, raised center solid mahogany body that recalls the glammy heyday of Kiss with chrome hardware, and has two Seymour-Duncan SM-3 Mini Humbuckers, controlled by two volume knobs, two tone knobs, and a three-way toggle switch. A custom Tone-Pros Tune-O-Matic bridge and Starchild tailpiece machined from solid aluminum completes the body. This U.S.-manufactured guitar is available in both black and white.

Like the body, the neck is also mahogany and has a bound ebony fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets and split block inlays (the top half being pearl, and the bottom being abalone). Hats off to Washburn and Stanley for making more American-made guitars. Homefront craftsmanship certainly costs more: the retail price is $5,332.

Blue Microphones
Spark Digital iPad Mic

Like last year’s NAMM show, this year’s exhibitors showed off lots of iPad applications, and Blue Microphones debuted Spark Digital, the first “studio-grade” iPad mic that offers both iPad and USB connectivity. The combination of Spark Digital’s direct connection to iPad, along with numerous available recording apps such as Garage-Band, provides the first mobile studio setup for Apple’s tablet platform, according to the company as well as USB connectivity, delivering studio-enhanced audio to any computer, laptop or tablet with USB.

Like Blue’s acclaimed analog Spark microphone, the digital version delivers the same detailed and uncolored tone, making it suited for sound sources from vocals to drums to podcasts. Spark Digital also features studio capabilities including zero-latency headphone monitoring, fully adjustable gain control, and mute. $199.99 is the MSRP Details are available at bluemic.com.

Peavey & Antares
AT-200 Self-Tuning Guitar

You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna . . . wait. We’ve heard plenty of bands having trouble keeping in tune on stage, so Peavey and Antares Audios‘ announcement of the AT-200TM auto-tune guitar is a blessing for those who lack a good roadie.

With the simple push of a button on the Peavey AT-200, guitar players can now create music in “perfect tune and pitch,” according to Peavey.

In their NAMM press announcement, Peavey said theAT-200 utilizes Antares Auto-Tune for Guitar, a DSP technology that works behind the scenes to bring the clarity of perfect pitch to a quality instrument in an unobtrusive manner. No bulky, unattractive hardware weighs down the playing experience: the Peavey AT-200 looks, plays, and sounds just like a conventional guitar.”

Like many Peavey guitars, to us it ain’t the most attractive axe in the shop, with an ’80s hair-metal vibe to its design. (At least it doesn’t look like Cher.) But time will allow the company to bring some btter looking ladies to the ball.

Just as Auto-Tune changed how vocals are recorded (for good and bad), the AT-200 Auto-Tune Guitar should help bands sound better on stage – used judiciously. On paper, players won’t have to stop to retune during live performances. With the AT-200 guitar, perfect pitch is the new standard. The price is not known at press time. For details visit peavey.com.

News & Notes

Two of our favorite local independent guitar stores are showing their wares this month: R&B Guitars in Carepentersville is holding their annual Guitar Show in Alsip on Sunday, February 26th at the Alsip Double Tree, and Tobias Music in Downers Grove has expanded their showroom and put it all on display at an open house and sale with Taylor and Walden Guitarsin March. More details at www.tobiasmusic.com and in the next issue.

Chris Auman and his buddy Tom Ziegler conceived of Reglar Wiglar during a night of drinking in Lincoln Park’s punk-rock haunt Delilah’s in 1993. The first two black-and-white, text-only issues poked fun at alternative music, and featured fake record reviews and fake interviews with fake bands.

At its peak, the $2 zine featured 100 pages of real, well-written reviews, comics, and articles with a circulation of 2,000 and distribution through Desert Moon Periodicals and Tower Records.

But Auman, who plays in Soft Targets and runs RoosterCow Records (and has written for IE), ceased publishing Reglar Wiglar in 2005.

“It was just too expensive,” he says. “Printing was the biggest expense, of course, but postage and shipping was a close second. It was also getting to the point where reviews of bad punk-rock CDs were becoming the bulk of the content, so the fun was being sucked out of it, too. That was my fault, due to my unwritten policy of reviewing every single piece of music I received. It also didn’t help that both of my distributors went under.”

Contributor Mike Dixon set up a blog for the zine in 2005, and four years later Auman restarted it as an online-only endeavor (reglarwiglar.com) that includes archives as well as fresh content such as interviews with Roctober’s Jake Austen, Radar Eyes, Portland comics artist Jesse Reklaw, and plenty of reviews. (Bands may visit the site to learn how to submit their work.)

The growing site gets 2,000 to 3,000 hits per week, and Auman loves the ease of digital publishing. “Kinko’s is out of the equation, as are trips to the post office. I don’t need to pedal around town with bags full of magazines during Chicago’s brutal winters. I can correct typos and edit content to infinity if I need to. I can fact check things more easily, thus making myself look smarter. It’s easier to get readers to find you through blogger tags and links from other sites; even Google searches bring people to the site.”

Later this year, Auman hopes to return to print – with a new zine “based on all the crappy jobs I’ve had in the past 25-plus years, which will be accompanied by comics and sidebar anecdotes.”

TERRESTRIAL TO PODCAST – METALMOUTH RADIO: Before launching his metal podcast, Neil Wonnell had a string of jobs as a producer, board op, and/or DJ at a handful of suburban radio stations, including WJOL, WICB, WLLI, and WCSF. The last straw came when he was working overnights, and gave the only respondent to a call-in contest its tiny jackpot. “[She] was ecstatic that she had won the entire pot of $9.50 and planned to use the money to buy doughnuts for her church,” he says of the elderly winner. “Monday morning, the station manager was less ecstatic and needless to say that ended my career at that station.”

Wonnell launched “Metalmouth Radio” in July 2010, as a heavy-metal talk show. “Not getting too many calls at first, I added music, but the sound quality on that original site was horrid,” he says. So he switched to music and started pre-recording on the city’s far South Side before uploading it to reverbnation.com/neilwonnell. (The show is distributed through Wonnell’s N.E.W. Audio Concepts LLC, and syndicated on Fox FM and Monclair State University’s WMSC-FM.)

Wonnell plays old-school, new-school, thrash, punk, and heavy metal and plenty of unsigned bands. A recent selection ranged from Fueled By Fire’s “Eye Of The Demon” to Killer Of Sheep’s “Lose Control” to Black Flag’s “Black Coffee.” After an energetic diatribe on the hypocrisy (and aroma) of hippies, he put on “Hippie Killer” by Suicidal Tendencies.

He says he’d like to find a co-host and do a full four-hour show on terrestrial or satellite radio, and add a talk edition of “Metalmouth.”

In the meantime, he says the recent signing of South Siders Diamond Plate to Earache Records put Chicago on the metal map. “Bands to watch for are Savagery and Smash Potater.”

Bands can submit music by contacting him via neilwonnell [at] yahoo.com.

ODDS N SODS: WGN-AM (720)’s new lineup is virtually devoid of women now that Karen Conti and Johnnie Putman are gone. At least they kept “Sports Night” co-host Andrea Darlas and “Sunday Night Special” co-host Marianne Murciano. The latter is one of the few live shows remaining on the weekends, which are now devoted to – yawn – “best-of” reruns . . . We loved the debut of Brooke Hunter and Jill Egan’s new weekly podcast, “The Brooke & Jill Show” (the two first paired up at “The Zone” in 2002). At press time they hadn’t launched a website; listen at chicagoradioandmedia.com or check out their Facebook page . . . They’re following the footsteps of local radio veteran Wendy Snyder, who continues doing her weekly podcast – which she started two-and-a-half years ago – with husband Jimmy “Mac” McInerney. Listen at snyderemarksradio.net . . . Which reminds us: on February 1st, the Chicago Foundation For Women co-sponsors a free screening of Miss Representation, a documentary about gender and discrimination in media. More at cfw.org.

Dot Dot Dot returned to the studio, this time with producer/mixer Tadpole (Plain White T’s, 3 Doors Down, Finger Eleven, Disturbed). Working out of Parka Studios in Berwyn, they say they’ve continued the direction of III, which itself was a marked departure from their early poppier sounds.

“Everyone has an opinion on what you should sound like” says lead singer Adam Blair, “They’re all trying to help, but at some point though we realized we wanted to just make music regardless of trends and or what sells – just trying to make music that represents what we sound like live. To me, it’s all about writing a great song.” The last recordings have found the band on a national commercial campaigns (Party City/Factory Card Outlet) as well as cable-TV standards like “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” while continuing a grueling tour of 150-plus shows per year. Drummer Marty Kane says, “Having worked with Tadpole on our last EP, it seemed when we got back into the studio for these latest sessions, we had a general understanding of how each of us worked, how we communicated, and what was expected in the performances. Tadpole knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to re-take until he captures precisely what he’s going for.”

The Damn Bats, consisting of locals/ former Rabid Bats, Reaganomics, and Bill Ura Dik members plus veteran British drummer Rat Scabies (The Damned), tracked two songs of which one was finished by Scabies at ALASKA STUDIOS in London, England. The demo for “Doomed” was then returned to Chicago so guitars, bass, vocals, and final mixing could be finished.

A year in the making, Richie Rich (a.k.a. Rich Ryan) and the Chi-Town Blues Band recorded From The Streets at Studio Chicago in Chicago with Wes Blaha engineering. Editing was done at Image Pictures in Tomah, Wisconsin with Ryan and owner Peter Malinger at the controls. Mixing and mastering was done at CRC Chicago by Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Chris Steinmetz and his assistant, Yuki Tasaka. To adequately capture modern blues witha traditional edge, Ryan brought some heavy hitters to the sessions: Grammy-winning guitarist Billy Flynn, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, plus Grammy-nominated pianist Barrelhouse Chuck, Mark DeVos on bass, and a horn section from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Ryan wrote and co-arranged all 12 songs on the CD, sharing three writing credits with Steinmetz.

At BobDog Studios in Oak Park, producer Dave Owsald brought singer/songwriter Arden Baldinger and guitarist extraordinaire Andon Davis in to remix one of Arden’s songs (from the recent Pony CD) for release as a single . . . Oak Park teen singer/songwriter Lena Fjortoft recorded a four-song demo . . . Arie Sorin recorded fiddle tracks to help finish the upcoming posthumous release of Dennis Dermer’s Psychic Change with Bill Kavanagh providing bass . . . Dave Ero brought in drummer Mike Panico, singer Sandy Lee, and keyboardist Dave Mathis to continue work on his upcoming release . . . South-African/American singer/songwriter Rozanne Gewaar recorded additional songs for her newest album . . . Scott Lehman treated home-recorded new songs with added, studio-quality plug-ins . . . Scott Fortman’s The New Normal continued tracking for their debut CD, with owner Kavanagh on bass.

Hey Studiophiler: To get your studio or band listed in “Studiophile,” just e-mail info on who you’re recording or who’s recording you to ed[at]illinoisentertainer.com, subject Studiophile, or fax (773) 751-5051. We reserve the right to edit submissions for space. Deadline for March 2012 is February 15th. We need your news, you need us to print it!

When exploring the formidable list of Chicago’s blues divas, Deitra Farr’s name is always front and center. Versatile and energetic, her smooth and controlled voice tackles a range of genres from soul to gospel but it always remains grounded in the blues. Growing up on the South Side, it was clear that Farr was headed for a life on stage. Her youth was filled with exceptional situations that kept thrusting her into the spotlight.

“When I was 7, I went to see my uncle perform. There was a female lead singer and I told them, ‘When you get tired of her, give me a call,’” Farr recalls of her early start. “Everybody thought I was cute, but when I was 17, the girl quit the band. I was ready. I had my songs, I knew the top-40 hits.” She auditioned for her uncle’s R&B band, Central Power Station, and beat out 11 others for the job. They performed pop hits at local parties, but it was just the first step in her quick ascent up the music business ladder.

By the time she graduated high school, Farr was already set to record her first single. She was studying music at Loop College (now Harold Washington College) with noted music producer James Mack and one of her classmates was looking for a lead singer for his group, Mill Street Depo. Farr snagged the job and recorded a single, “You Won’t Support Me,” with the band on Platinum Records, which was Sylvia Robinson’s (of Sugar Hill Records fame) label. The recording become a Cashbox Top 100 R&B hit in 1976, supplying 18-year-old Farr with a smash record and two professional groups with which she regularly performed. It was all heady stuff for anyone – especially a teen – but she viewed it as simply part of her path. “Because of the way my life has been, I expect the unusual and I do the unusual,” she says. Unusual indeed. When she was growing up in Englewood, her biggest dream was playing the Grand Ballroom on 63rd. She never imagined that she would eventually play in 40 countries. Her next step was obtaining blues-club gigs.

At 22, she was working as a desk clerk at the U Of I and one of her friends dared her to get up and sing with Phil Guy, who was performing at the school. “They didn’t know I could; I got up and sang ‘Steel Away’ and Phil said, ‘You can really sing, you need to play with us.’” Farr played with Guy at the Checkerboard and Theresa’s, meeting Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. “I thought, maybe I can be a blues singer. I liked it. My dad had a big blues collection so it wasn’t foreign to me.” She quickly became absorbed in the scene and was amazed at the wealth of legendary blues people who formed the local scene in the ’80s. She played Kingston Mines, Blue Chicago, and Wise Fools Pub. “I was in awe that I could meet people on blues records,” she says. “These people were my heroes. I met Louis Myers, who was Little Walter’s sideman. People coming on the blues scene now, I feel sorry for them because it’s gone. They can only learn it on records.”

Farr grabbed the opportunity to learn from legendary blues icons and it served her well. She went down to play in Birmingham, Alabama with Howlin’ Wolf drummer Sam Lay in the early ’80s. The band was white except for Farr and Lay, but they played a black club. With Lay in the back on drums and Farr backstage, all the club’s patrons saw were white faces and they walked out. When Farr came out to sing, the club was empty except a lone figure at the bar.

“I went out and decided to do my show and I sang my heart out,” she remembers, “pretending it was a full house. I got off stage and saw somebody sitting at the bar and it’s Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations. This was one of my idols and he was the only one in the audience. The lesson is to do your show because you don’t know who is watching.”

The world is watching Farr now. In the ’90s, she performed as the lead singer of Mississippi Heat, touring and recording two CDs. “They were the brothers I never had,” she says. She left the group to focus on her solo career and produced her first solo outing, The Search Is Over (JSP), in 1997. That album showcased her rich vocals and the smooth blues that has become her trademark. She followed with Let It Go! in 2005, which reflected her soul and gospel influences.

“I’m not strictly blues, I also do soul,” Farr says. “I sing what I feel. I feel blues. I feel soul. That’s the best way I can express myself. I’m not shy about singing jazz. I sing gospel. I’m a music lover. The way I best express me is blues, soul, gospel.” As a songwriter, she stands out as one of the most evocative in contemporary blues. All of her work displays a strong narrative and well-defined emotions.

“I’m inspired by what I hear, what I’m going through, and what I read,” she says of her process. “Sometimes the music gets to me first. I’ll hear chords in my head. I write all of my music in my head. I go through periods where I don’t write anything because I just wasn’t inspired. You can’t force creativity. It’s either there or not there.”

Always multi-faceted in terms of creativity, Farr is currently working on her memoirs, two movies, as well as her monthly “Artist To Artist” column in Living Blues. She kicks off a South American tour this summer, so catch her while you can.

Apparing: 2/2 at Buddy Guy’s Legends (700 S. Wabash) in Chicago.

Harp master Sugar Blue will make beautiful music at his blues wedding on February 16th at Rosa’s, 3420 W. Armitage. The event will start at 9 p.m. with the band playing, including groom Sugar Blue and bride Ilaria.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

CBGB in New York is a tourist attraction now. Never mind that it became a punk club. Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival might not be a haven for fundamentalists and zealots, but the first night, this Saturday, makes a case for the styles’ futures.

With a lineup featuring The Del McCoury Band with David Grisman, The Bluegrass Ball featuring The Travelin’ McCourys, Bill Nershi of String Cheese Incident with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band, Joe Purdy, The Giving Tree Band, Henhouse Prowlers, and Majors Junction, you’re out of your element if you expect something akin to Joe’s On Weed or the North Halsted blues venues. The Auditorium Theatre’s pristine acoustics might be an odd match for music that rose up from the dirt, but it’s all the better to hear a madcap innovator like Grisman plying his trade.

Next Saturday, the 28th, the party moves to Congress Theatre with a 5 p.m. start. Drive-By Truckers headline, with Dawes and Joe Pug in tow.

– Steve Forstneger

As a number of enthusiasts have pointed out, there are currently more pop-music genres than there are artists to occupy them. Whether such a sneering jab is true, the slotting of acts into ready-made categories has always been a vice of critics and fans.

The practice of labeling often gets dismissed as laziness, but the feverish production of new phyla seems to stem more from over-active minds than the other way around. Cross that industriousness with the inexhaustible supply of fresh sounds online, and it’s no wonder the cup is overflowing.

The result, however, has been the opposite of intent: there are so many alleged styles that nobody can agree on what each signifies, and they often come about with little regard for whether an existing tag suffices. (Or if – as in the case of mumblecore and crabcore – we’re even discussing music.) The “-core” suffix gets applied so liberally, you’d think the hacks who attach “-gate” to news scandals are behind it. The English-bred field of “drum and bass,” which sprang out of ’90s rave culture, has nearly two-dozen permutations (darkstep, breakcore, techstep, darkcore . . .) most of which appear designed to only appease the organizational demands of beats-per-minute Talmuds.

With local artists as a prism, we’re going to try and help you determine which sounds correspond to which circles on your Scantron sheet. In a cosmopolitan metropolis like Chicago, you never know if the next blues or house will spring from dubstep. Or drumstep. Or moombahton. Or moombahcore.

United States Black Metal (USBM)

While black metal itself is unfamiliar to most, the USBM delineation is hardly perfunctory. The mother genre arose out of Scandinavia with deceptively conservative architecture and an equally dogmatic culture (which is ironic, because it’s rooted in opposition to organized religion). Black metal is frequently written and recorded by individuals in solitude, by melding violent blast beats (percussive cannonades akin to machine-gun fire), low-fidelity recording techniques, a raspy, nihilistic Cobra Commander-esque vocal, and punishing, tremolo-picked guitar arrangements. A generation of Americans, however, have abused the genre for their own nefarious means. While many practice traditional black metal (and spend their days crafting perfectly indecipherable logos), others surgically dissect it, taking only what they need.

Chicago is perhaps the best place to start, with Nachtmystium (championed by “Caught In A Mosh” columnist Trevor Fisher) and some bands you’d only think of as tangentially heavy metal – though tangential seems to be the nature of USBM. Because for as important it is to note USBM’s similarities to and differences with regular black metal, it’s also a neutral identity. Nachtmystium sound no more like Liturgy than Jimi Hendrix sounds like Crosby, Stills & Nash. The former, fronted by Blake Judd, began as a trad outfit and who began splashing their core influences with classic metal signatures and even modern rock. (Key track: “Addicts.”) Locrian involve so much of the no-wave noise rock pioneered by Glenn Branca that, with a couple tweaks, they could almost be Sonic Youth. Utilizing chants, earthy percussion, and things that go bump in the night, they’ve become the sonic equivalent of a terrifying horror film that never shows you the gore. (Key track: “At Night’s End.”)

Dubstep

Typically an electronic-music movement makes its way through England and Europe before winding up in stateside pop songs and hip-hop samples. Dubstep emerged about a dozen years ago in London, from the mingling pools of drum and bass, grime (a mercurial strain of hip-hop), 2step, and dub reggae. Its American manifestation has shown up at the neo-raves of DJs like Skrillex, who’ve been slammed by purists for creating “brostep”: a frat-boy friendly bastardization. Mostly instrumental (save when samples have vocals), dubstep typically relies on a half-step rhythm and menacing bassline filled in by some or all of synth figures, syncopation, and samples. The modern/commercial tracks all lead to what’s known as the drop. “Filthy” drops are akin to bass solos conducted by malfunctioning automobile factories. Customized dance moves resemble breakdancing seizures, and remixes typically add teeth to the most innocent of tracks (Adele, Ellie Goulding). While Chicago has no one on the level of Skrillex or Bassnectar, DJs Chris Widman and Phaded (1/29 at Reggies) hold down regularly at Smart Bar, while Nameloc was among those at the Lava Lounge beginnings and who regularly throws down at Subterranean. (Key track: Nameloc “Ever After.”)

Juke

Juke juke juke juke juke. You won’t have trouble finding local examples of juke hip-hop, because juke is a Chicago idiom. Like go-go to D.C. or hyphy to Oakland, juke represents a regional culture that hasn’t really traveled outside the area. An offshoot of ghetto house, minimalist – and we mean minimalist – beats move at a breakneck pace to push dancers to the limit. The dancing (“footwork”) is more essential to juke than breakdancing was to early hip-hop, and it rivals dubstep moves in mind-bending ingenuity. You’re more likely to find representative CDs sold from of a car trunk than a Best Buy, with the more mainstream artists being Chrissy Murderbot, Zebo, Flosstradamus, and Kid Sister (Key track: “Luuk Out Girl“). But if you find yourself in a South Side fix and need to flash some cred to save your neck, you can always ask anybody if they have any DJ Rashad, Gant-Man, Traxman, DJ Client, Dude’n Nem, Ghetto Division, or Starfoxxx. (Key track: DJ Rashad ft. Gant-Man “Juke Dat.”)

Moombahton

The term “moombahton” sounds far more international than the Hispanic high-school where it was born. Invented when a DJ (Nadastrom’s Dave Nada) turned up for a dance with only techno, and deliberately modulated it to sound like reggaeton (the first song he tried was called “Moombah“), the style’s vocabulary has exploded in ways that variably amp or downplay the ethnic aspects. Chicago already has top men working on it – Top. Men. – with fierce parties hosted by Willy Joy (1/13 with Nadastrom at Metro) or Rampage & Nader, while Stratus – who also deals in dubstep – released the addictive cut, “Jasper’s Theme.”

Witch House

Nothing announces an arrival like a good backlash, and maybe all you need to know about witch house is that there’s an arbitrary band-name generator online: it spits out ideas with each capital A replaced by a triangle. The second thing is the deceptive use of the word “house,” which doesn’t necessarily signify the dance-music form. The best way we can describe it is ineffably slow and languid late-’80s goth-pop for the American Apparel generation. Vocals are purposefully drowned out and not particularly melodic, which lead to an impression of hauntedness. Pitchfork alleges that early, ambient dubstep and Swedish electro band The Knife were key influences, though witch house’s burgeoning star, Charli XCX, shatters the buried-voice rule and sounds like a synthed-out Siouxsie & The Banshees. With a scene that’s almost purely Internet-based, locating practicing local outfits is difficult. Local booking agents recommended Magicks, the nom de plume of a Reggies employee whose latest upload, “Catalyst,” tells you everything and nothing about witch house, because it might be considered . . . (Magicks: 1/19 at Reggies with Rituals)

Chillwave

Chillwave also goes by glo-fi, though the only people still calling it that are also calling witch house “drag.” The difference between the two depends on how you grade the amount of light you feel. The – semi-dismissive – shorthand on chillwave is “electronic vacation music,” if you believe vacationing to be sitting on a warm beach and letting the wind sift through your hair. (Male-pattern baldness need not apply.) Chillwave also prefers strong vocal lines, though in the eyes of Chicago’s Glitter Bones, they don’t have to be high in the mix. Houses (Key track: “Soak It Up“) amiably fit the holiday description, while Young Man (Key track: “Up So Fast“) – releasing another album on French Kiss this winter – drifts into and out of Animal Collective/Beach Boys space.

Noise pop

Not new by any stretch, noise pop has shown a spectacular ability to regenerate and mutate, recently adding middling success to its repertoire. As distinguished from full-assault, Boredoms-esque noise rock, noise pop’s game is to hide the melody. The bigger national bands like Animal Collective and No Age get prominent slots at major festivals, washing their tunefulness in waves of distortion and electronics that are less ferocious than textural. Provocation remains integral, but even local outfits like Yawn have managed to sculpt bracing psychedelia into something user-friendly. Bigcolour kicked off with sizzling, chillwave compositions but have since morphed into a garage-rock hybrid that trembles while trying to focus. But if it’s discomfort you seek, Gypsyblood’s Cold In The Guestway (Sargent House) doesn’t sound at all out of place on a label with serial Japanese noise terrorists Boris – as if when they were kids they put saw blades in their bicycle spokes.

Lazer Bass

Such is the yen for artists to feel insulated from traditional scenes, MC Zulu told the Chicago Reader he’d rather not live where there are large Afro-Caribbean communities. While Toronto and Queens teem with competitors, Zulu – born in Panama to a military family – has few peers in Chicago’s field of lazer-bass saplings. (Other descriptors include “future blap” and “turbo crunk.”) The sci-fi-like genre couldn’t be more of a melting pot if it tried, combining dancehall MCs, clunky hip-hop, hyperdrive techno, bossa nova, and whatever else you got. French-Canadian DJ Ghislain Poirier initially announced the “movement” to be stillborn, that it was only a small circle of people who were fiddling with the same sounds. Central to it – as for dubstep, moombahton, etc. – are deep, industrial-grade basslines that are frequently doubled in octaves above and below, plus the odd conflicting bass pattern. Zulu, quasi-Caribbean by birth, seems primed to overtake it. (Key track: “Call Red Alert.”)

Genre Unto Themselves

We could really run with this forever. Besides frequent citations of “post-chillwave” and well-populated but sufficiently underground categories like glitch-hop or crust punk, we’ve come across purple sound, acid crunk . . . it’s overwhelming. But one of the biggest square pegs we’ve found among Chicago-based musicians have already been put on the shoulders of an unlikely source: Victory Records. The punk label’s roster, which seems to aggressively recycle the same hard-edged tones, dug up Victorian Halls and no one knows what to do with them other than blast them for being Blood Brothers clones with high-tech dance beats. It’s a fair argument, though clearly the sound didn’t get the BBs anywhere – something else must be afoot. Dance punk, so myopically rooted in Gang Of Four since forever, needs an exit strategy. Even if that means Auto-Tune. Victorian Halls might not find the door, but with some occasionally embarrassing and thrilling solutions, they’re doing quite a bit more than fumbling through their keys. (1/27 at Double Door)

And if you only seek a pure, guitar-pop rush, there’s always Clip Art. They’ll be on display at Schubas every Monday (beginning the 9th) in January, and spiritually following Shoes and The Redwalls – or, if you like to get grandiose, Badfinger and Big Star. Their immediate antecedents, The Smith Westerns, headline Metro on February 3rd.?

Winter is always the hardest season for music lovers in Chicago because so few bands hit the road. And who can blame them? After all, the below-freezing temperatures, blustery snow, and icy roads are enough to make even the proudest native wish they were somewhere south, while tourist traffic is slim, especially since cash is short after the holidays.

Thankfully though, there is one relatively recent development in the indie-rock scene that’s giving faithful a much needed new-year fix. Enter Tomorrow Never Knows, a festival spanning January 11th to 15th, that’s spread across Schubas, Lincoln Hall, Metro, Smart Bar, and Hideout, bringing a mix of national and local bands, plus a handful of DJs and standup comics.

“It started in 2005, essentially out of Jeremiah Wallace from Paper Airplane Pilots, who worked here [at Schubas], looking to find support for a record-release show,” recalls Matt Rucins, talent buyer and promoter for both Lincoln Hall and Schubas. “We figured it would be best to make it two nights of local bands and – by naming it – it would be easier to promote. It went well, so the next year we stuck to local bands, but added a third night and the idea stuck. Then we started introducing regional bands and wound up with five days at Schubas. We continue expanding a little bit each year and wound up adding Lincoln Hall. We’ve always been close with Metro and last year we brought them on board for a couple of nights. This year we wanted to add another venue, but went to the smaller end with the Hideout, where comedy will be a nice addition to the room.”

Though acts continue to be added, confirmed artists at press time included headliners The Walkmen (performing a 10th-anniversary concert), along with Grouplove, Glass Candy, Chromatics, Theophilus London, Two Gallants, Tycho, Active Child, and Chairlift (above). Of course, there’s also a slew of even less familiar faces, but Rucins recommends showing up early because chances are one of the future’s most beloved bands could emerge from the event.

“Some of the stuff you might not be aware of unless you do some research, but if you know and like the headliner, you’re probably going to be fairly happy with who goes on before them,” he confirms. “Bon Iver did his first show in Chicago as part of Tomorrow Never Knows and now you have to pay $30 to see him play at Chicago Theatre or UIC Pavilion. We’ve also had Tapes ‘N Tapes, Dr. Dog, Handsome Furs, The Helio Sequence, Atlas Sound, Freelance Whales, Maps & Atlases, White Rabbits, and The Redwalls, to name a few.”

Given the event’s Chicago roots, it’s understandable for prospective attendees to draw a mental parallel to Lollapalooza or Pitchfork Music Festival, but Rucins likens it loosely to South By Southwest in Austin or CMJ Music Marathon in New York. “I think this is for pretty serious music fans,” he continues. “Pavement’s not headlining and you’ve got to come out in the depths of winter in Chicago to see it. It also takes more effort from you and it’s not all one-stop shopping. We provide a trolley to all venues, but there are also buses, trains, and cabs. That makes it more along the lines of CMJ and South By Southwest, but it’s much, much smaller and it’s not a music conference. We don’t have panels and I don’t envision us going that route, but we do hope to keep up a diverse lineup and continuing partnering with other venues.”

Perhaps the smartest planning angle of the entire event is the immense amount of attention it and the participating bands receive, if only for the lack of competition. Even though TNK is a shoe-in to saturate the blogosphere and print papers, all of the attention is certainly warranted since so many new musical discoveries are ripe for the picking.

“When we started this, we didn’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s start a music fest in January’; it’s more organic than that,” promises Rucins. “There’s not a whole lot going in live music or much else really, so we quickly found out the coverage of it between press, blogs, and word-of-mouth was pretty all encompassing. Having it a part of the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend buys us a little extra energy, and it gives Chicago music fans something to look forward to in the middle of winter.”

Bands to watch

The Walkmen
Formed from the ashes of late-’90s buzz band Jonathan Fire Eater, The Walkmen not only survived the garage-rock boom of a decade ago, but are surging. Though their biggest commercial achievement remains the arena-friendly “The Rat,” a romantic flair and widescreen arrangements keep them fresh.

Active Child
Frontman Pat Grossi could probably give you the mathematical and theoretical breakdown for why his vocal arrangements drop peoples’ jaws open. He doesn’t hide his skill or training, and filled You Are All I See (Vagrant) with influences that range from Jeff Buckley and Owen Pallett to Antony & The Johnsons and Baby Dee. He offsets his classical composure with the pent-up, minimal R&B that built James Blake a house, but streaks that quad wearing a Petruccio mask.

Chairlift
One of those Apple television-ad bands, Chairlift’s 2008 debut didn’t always work but came from so many directions that the possibilities on the folluwup are manifold. They’ve released two singles from their forthcoming Columbia debut, Something, and both “Met Before” and “Sidewalk Safari” reveal a more assured, focused band – now a duo – without losing an ounce of enthusiasm.

Class Actress
Elizabeth Harper started as an earnest singer/songwriter, and now seems to prefer mugging for photo shoots. Class Actress’ effortlessly sexy, glittery synth-pop meets somewhere between The Knife and Goldfrapp, and can be both teasingly girly and relentlessly powerful. Rapproacher (Carpark) never goes anywhere without its makeup on, even if it’s tellingly smeared.

Dom
Coming seemingly out of nowhere, Dom’s decidedly lo-fi, fuzzy, surfy-psychy, synthy, reverb-heavy-just-out-of-the-garage rock has been building buzz since it first started circulating on cassette. The band deliver solid hooks, with riffs recalling “La Bamba,” “Get Off My Cloud,” and “China Girl” – or, in short, touching all of pop/rock’s historic high points.

Plants & Animals
Plants & Animals sound like the work of a theater company. Seeking more power from their trio, the band stack songs with brass, clarinet, flute, and choir. A big choir. Evoking Polyphonic Spree, Beta Band, and Head Of Femur, they alternate between a pensive romanticism, desperate and sultry R&B, shy folk, and glam Bowie without seeming out of their element.

Grouplove
If ever a song were sole justification for Lollapalooza to invite a band, “Colours” is it. A flailing, acoustic thumper with stuttered verses and adlibbed harmonies, the track frantically ticks all the boxes on the summer-anthem checklist (“Things are not thaaaaaaaaaaat bad”).

Herman Dune
This band’s approach to songwriting might cause some to stick them with the dreaded “quirky” tag, an effect most likely from David-Ivar Herman Dune’s conversational lyrics. But slowly, you join the Tell Me Something I Don’t Know EP’s discourse and find yourself one with the geeks.

Willis Earl Beal
This reclusive West Side artist will probably spark a number of uncomfortable conversations this year. Acousmatic Sorcery, due in late March via XL, might strike you as gut-wrenching gospel/blues of the Fire In My Bones order, Wesley Willis-level exploitation, or pure minstrelsy. Moments of unbridled, soulful majesty are broken by passages of utter inscrutability, making for an exhausting yet rewarding listen.

Cloudbirds and Carter Tanton
Familiarity (and clouds) strikes twice on the 12th at Schubas. Cloudbirds are 3/4 of Kinks-bred local boys The M’s, who’ve transformed into a gentle, hymnlike acoustic-harmonies trio. Their self-titled debut can be had for free here. Tanton used to travel the globe as Tulsa, but ushered a shimmering version of his echoing Americana into Freeclouds, which was released last fall on Western Vinyl.

Nadastrom and Willy Joy
The term “moombahton” sounds far more international than the Hispanic high-school where it was born. Invented when a DJ (Nadastrom’s Dave Nada) turned up for a dance with only techno, and deliberately modulated it to sound like reggaeton. (The first song he tried was called “Moombah.“) The style’s vocabulary has exploded in ways that variably amp or downplay the ethnic aspects. Chicago already has top men working on it – Top. Men. – with fierce parties hosted by Willy Joy.

Tycho
Scott Hansen knows that his graphic-design job and music gig are deeply intertwined, but he’s given them separate names (ISO50 and Tycho) anyway. He embraces the chillwave aesthetic – waking up on the beach – in both, though his latest outing, Dive (Ghostly International), will get you more in the mood than staring at sun-bleached visuals (on a cold January day in Chicago) ever would.

Poliça
It’s always a good thing when the psychedelic, Animal Collective paradigm gets stretched into something less recognizable. There are far too many artists who orbit too closely. Poliça, an offshoot of Gayngs, manage the swirling effect but come at it with the mindset of underground R&B producers. Channy Leaneagh’s fluttering, faux-Auto-Tuned vocals on next month’s Give You The Ghost recall James Blake with a heartbeat, and her pulse gets a boost from Ryan Olson’s beats — and he’s not afraid to rock out if he has to.

Caveman
On its debut (head-scratchingly named after an ’80s-era middling bad guy WWE wrestler?), current Brooklyn-based five-piece band o’ month Caveman serve up high-fretted, whooshly keyboarded ethereal indie pop with an electro/ambient edge, which serves as perfect backdrop tight harmonic vocals that all members appear to contribute. Think jangly pop without the jangle from Autechre backing Enya singing in English and you get the idea. On cuts like “Old Friend” and “Thankful” it can get irresistibly compelling that one keeps returning to.

Hospitality
That giant swoosh you just heard was a premature donning of corduroys by Belle & Sebastian nation upon hearing the opening tones of Hospitality’s forthcoming Merge debut. A (merciful) red-herring if there ever was, the New York-based trio can surely deal in wistful twee as well as any Glaswegian waif in a cardigan, but it’s Amber Papini’s unexpected sass on tracks like “Friends Of Friends” and “The Right Profession” that move the record along.

Canon Blue
If you’re the type of person who enjoys Mutemath, you’ll probably not be caught lurking around TNK this week. Everyone else will need to make this set a priority, because the next time multi-instrumentalist Daniel James and co. come through, it’ll be opening for the keyboard-smashing cabal. Canon’s Rumspringa opts for brightly popping classical-related fills, samples, and loops, giving the album a distinctly British feel.

– Interview by Andy Argyrakis; preview by Steve Forstneger and David C. Eldredge

Grab your torches, we found the person responsible for Kanye West. Actually, while most of local hip-hop history goes relatively unsung, people far and wide shout No I.D.’s praises – probably without knowing it.

The South Sider, born Dion Wilson (his moniker is the reverse spelling of his first name), has made several unremovable marks on rap music in two distinctly different eras, and is one of the few artists in any genre to successfully choreograph a second act. The first came at the side of rapper/actor Common in supplying the beat for “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” raising the Midwest’s game above the East Coast/West Coast fray in ‘94. (It was during this stage that a green-eared West would sit in the studio and watch a master at work.) The second act, we’re living with him: he’s an A-list producer/songwriter behind Jay-Z, West, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Drake, among others, who was recently tapped to become an Executive Vice President at Def Jam Records – the New York-based label that is hip-hop.

“Well actually,” he laughs, “I’m in control at this moment.”

Looking at that history, the eyes are drawn to a gap in the chronology almost perfectly sandwiched by Common’s voyage east to become a Soulquarian and West’s rocket-like ascendancy of the pop-music zeitgeist. Peoples’ taste for the jazzy elements that were his signature turned to the live-band approach favored by The Roots. Then, sample freaks in general flocked as commercial hip-hop went the way of hook-heavy Puff Daddy productions and the jerky punch of Timbaland. No I.D. actually released a couple solo albums in this interim, but otherwise laid low.

“I took a break,” he says matter of factly. “It’s not like [artists] go to school, and get a handbook, and it’s laid out. We make our mistakes, have our ups and downs. A lot of people don’t get past the downs. So, I took some time, refocused, rethought. I educated myself a little bit and decided on a path. So pretty much everything happening was a choice, an educated choice. Experience taught me a lot. The [Def Jam job] wasn’t an accident: it’s a job, a specific project with goals that I set. From that aspect, I wasn’t surprised [to get it] other than the fact that I’m good enough to achieve these things. I may be the one producer from my era that is still working at this level. I feel kind of over-qualified for what I’m doing.”

It’s hard not to notice his confidence, or hear the similarities in the way Common talks about his own career: there are no extraordinary gambles, miscalculations, or accidents. Everything happens for a reason, or for each door that closes another opens. Asked if he feels his current status feels like a vindication or a longtime coming, he steadily repeats himself.

“I think it’s not more of a longtime coming, but being qualified to do a job,” he assures. “Not a vindication.”

No I.D. cut his teeth spinning records at house-music clubs and parties when he was a teenager. DJ technology was still pretty primitive in the late-’80s, so cutting tracks and matching speeds took not only an inherent feel for rhythm, but the ability to read an audience whose mood balanced on the mercurial mix of chemicals in their bloodstreams. House music, as it related on the South Side to step music and eventually juke, wasn’t simply pressing buttons.

“I started out with Farley Keith, Steve Hurley, Andre Hatchet, Ron Hardy,” he remembers, “you name ‘em: all the classy house DJs. It was a Chicago culture. I was a young kid and I got the experience of playing music for 2,000 people and having the responsibility of making them react to things they’d never heard. I was just all into it. The music business and house music were not . . . it’s not a business you can make money off of. It was more for the love of the music and the culture of going to the clubs, the instant gratification. You’d dance all night, and Chicago’s one of those places where a person from Chicago will just start dancing by themselves. It’s weird. You don’t see that too many places, outside of New Jersey, maybe. It was just something fun. The excitement was musical, challenging, and in a city where there was no music industry where I was growing up, it was my introduction to everything.”

He soaked up ideas from anyone who’d give him the time, and transferred his house skills into the studio where he and Common would form a lethal combo. His spellbinding mix under “I Used To Love H.E.R.” gave a psychedelic, mysterious feel to a parabolic tale of hip-hop as a tragic female. They also started a minor war with Ice Cube via “The Bitch In Yoo,” and meshed seamlessly with the neo-soul coming out of Philadelphia. After three albums together and laying the blueprint for conscious rap, No I.D. seemed to disappear.

“I have a system of thoughts that focused me to deal with that,” he explains. “Me stumbling and everything: I realized most people don’t have a long career and I kind of made an assessment that it’s because once you start living within the successes or acknowledging them as you set new goals – setting them next to your goals – you’re liable to trip and fall. I’m a person who never takes my plaques and puts them on the wall. I treat everyday like I never did anything. And I also leave space to make mistakes and try different things and stay humble, not turn people off. It’s a calculated move on my part, because I realized the only way to make a full, real-life career out of this is to keep having space to reinvent yourself, re-educate, and readjust. And don’t let success get in the way of that.”

So he bided his time until moving to Atlanta and hooking up with Jermaine Dupri. Along the way, he had introduced West to friend Kyambo Joshua, an A&R rep at Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella imprint. Joshua signed West to his own Hip Hop Since 1978 label, paving the way for West to work with hip-hop’s elite. West would drop No I.D.’s name in album verses, which facilitated his unprecedented return. While he never stopped doing beats and kept busy in the South, No I.D. was permanently back in the game with two key credits on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3, “Death Of Auto-Tune” and “Run This Town.”

“A lot of what I learned early is what I used,” he says, “and I kind of ‘hybrided’ it with what’s popular now. So, again, it’s like a nice tool set or skill set to have been in that era and know how to do it properly – even down to the fact when I came into music, people were using reel-to-reel and now it’s just computers. But that perspective teaches me a lot of how to make a record sound different. Most people are just working with what they have, and it’s all they know. But I have a different reference point just because of the eras I’ve been through while making music.”

As for the age-old quandary of making Chicago a hip-hop capitol, he says it’s up to artists like him to share what they know. The talent level is unquestioned.

“We don’t have teachers, so we have to teach ourselves,” No I.D. believes. “We make innovative choices, and there’s a will and desire to work over every single obstacle to prove your worth, versus, ‘Hey, I’m handing you an opportunity.’ It’s like, the heavier the weight, the stronger you get.”

But still, it seems our talent needs to leave to shine.

“It’s not that we’re not good enough, but the business infrastructure is what’s not in Chicago,” he argues. “That’s why people have to leave Chicago. You can’t just build the business aspect of it. Because, again, you’ve got to have the people to show you how, the resources, and it’s just the simple fact of cash flow in that sense. You’ve got to have qualified people, experienced people . . . that’s just not in Chicago. You can’t say, ‘When will it get it together?’ Chicago has some of the better artists. You look at R. Kelly, Kanye West, Common. When you look at [a smaller city like] Atlanta, the first thing you see is [Antonio] L.A. Reid, who had this experience with Babyface and let him be more of an executive than a producer. So they built a business scene and helped educate Jermaine Dupri. Experienced people helped build the infrastructure as well as money streams from their success.”

It wouldn’t hurt to have more proteges like West, who, when 14, No I.D. chided as “Hammerish.”

“When he was younger,” he snickers, “he really looked up to [MC] Hammer as an artist. He thought he was a really good artist – not saying that I don’t – but I’ll always remember a day when he was wearing the actual Hammer pants. He was a character.”

Well, he had a good teacher.

The IE staff picks its favorite albums, reissues, live shows, and local bands of 2011.

Curt Baran: Albums
1. Wild Flag Wild Flag (Merge)
2. PJ Harvey Let England Shake (Island)
3. Le Butcherettes Sin Sin Sin (Rodriguez-Lopez)
4. Tune-Yards whokill (4AD)
5. Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
6. Fucked Up David Comes To Life (Matador)
7. Radiohead The King Of Limbs (TBD)
8. Wilco The Whole Love (dBPM)
9. Wye Oak Civilian (Merge)
10. The Black Keys El Camino (Nonesuch)

Steve Forstneger: Albums
1. Wilco The Whole Love (dBPM)
2. Raphael Saadiq Stone Rollin‘ (Columbia)
3. Seryn This Is Where We Are (Velvet Blue)
4. Elbow Build A Rocket Boys! (Fiction/Polydor)
5. The Tunnel Fathoms Deep (Glorious Alchemical)
6. Meshell Ndegeocello Weather (Naive)
7. Frank Ocean Nostalgia, Ultra (mixtape)
8. Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer (Merge)
9. Drive-By Truckers Go-Go Boots (ATO)
10. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)

John Vernon: Reissues
1. Material Issue International Pop Overthrow (Hip-O)
2. The Smashing Pumpkins Gish (Virgin)
3. R.E.M. Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011 (Warner Bros.)
4. Peter Tosh Equal Rights (Legacy)
5. Nirvana Nevermind: 20th Anniversary Edition (Geffen)
6. Sugar Minott Hard Time Pressure (VP)
7. The Jesus And Mary Chain Darklands (Edsel UK)
8. The Beach Boys The Smile Sessions (Capitol)
9. The Who Quadrophenia: The Director’s Cut (Geffen)
10. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (Motown)

Andy Argyrakis: Concerts
1. Paul McCartney – Wrigley Field, August 1
2. U2 – Soldier Field, July 5
3. Lady Gaga – United Center, February 28
4. Bryan Ferry – Civic Opera House, October 12
5. Steely Dan – Ravinia, August 12
6. Alison Krauss & Union Station – Summerfest, September 10
7. Roger Daltrey – The Venue, October 7
8. Weezer – Aragon Ballroom, January 7
9. Robert Plant – Ravinia, June 16
10. Gang Of Four – Metro, February 11

Around Hear staff: Local Bands
California Wives
Jeff Elbel + Ping
Daniel Knox
The Maybenauts
Musikanto
Joseph Messing & The Wisemen
Northpilot
Will Phalen
Tiger Bones
YP

Is that a giant list of songs, or are we just happy to see ya? For all the discussion surrounding the deaths of various recording styles and formats, 2011 was a fantastic year for songs. IE found very little overlap when our writers submitted their votes, which is astounding. If you can find 10 new singles you’re ecstatic about, and none of those would land on a peer’s top 50? You bemoan the lack of consensus – we say, bring on more salad bar!

Too many listeners take a philistine attitude to year-end lists: the Spin and Rolling Stone comment boards overflow with readers disappointed not to see their own delicately chosen tastes reflected back at them. Here’s an idea: treat them as recommendations. Almost all of IE’s top songs can be streamed, YouTube’d, caught on Soundcloud, Spotify, or legally and freely downloaded as MP3s. And if you hate every single one, exult in the knowledge that you’re an individual!

In alphabetical order:

Akron/Family “Island”
The Antlers “I Don’t Want Love”
The Bees “I Really Need Love”
The Belle Brigade “Losers”
Big K.R.I.T. ft. David Banner “Sookie Now”
James Blake “The Wilhelm Scream”
Bon Iver “Holocene”

Jeff Bridges “Falling Short”
Buffalo Tom “Down”
Hayes Carll “KMAG YOYO”
Chairlift “Met Before”
Class Actress “Keep You”
Cornershop “Double Decker Eyelashes”

Danger Mouse & Daniel Lippi ft. Jack White “Two Against One”
Lana Del Rey “Blue Jeans”
Dev “Bass Down Low (Proper Villains)”
Thomas Dolby “Nothing New Under The Sun”
Drake “Marvins Room”
The-Dream “Body Work”

Elbow “Neat Little Rows”
*The Electric ft. Pugz Atomz “Toot Toot”
Foo Fighters “Walk”
Foster The People “Helena Beat”
Fountains Of Wayne “Action Hero”
*Ezra Furman & The Harpoons “I Killed Myself But I Didn’t Die”
Gotye ft. Kimbra “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Cee-Lo Green “You’re So Square”
Grouplove “Colours”
Lisa Hannigan ft. Ray Lamontagne “O Sleep”
Hey Sholay “Dreamboat”
Incubus “Adolescents”
Iron & Wine “Walking Far From Home”
Mason Jennings “Bitter Heart”

Wiz Khalifa “On My Level”
*Kid Sister ft. Riff Raff “Hide & Seek”
Takahiro Kido “Oranges & Lemons”
King Creosote “And The Racket They Made”
Kendrick Lamar “The Spiteful Chant”

LMFAO “One Day”
Low “Try To Sleep”
M83 “Midnight City”
Major Lazer “Original Don”
Mastodon “All The Heavy Lifting”
Nicki Minaj “Super Bass”
Meshell Ndegeocello “Weather”
Nekromantheon “Divinity Of Death”
Notorious B.I.G. “Gimme The Loot (Superginger remix)”
*Russian Circles “Mladek”

*Scattered Trees “A Conversation About Death On New Years Eve”
Sebastian “Embody”
Seryn “We Will All Be Changed”
The Shoes “Crack My Bones”
*Smith Westerns “Dye The World”
The Smithereens “What Went Wrong”
Sneaky Sound System “Big”
Star Slinger ft. Reggie B. “Dumbin’ (Diplo Remix)”
Stay+ “Young Luv”
Still Corners “Into The Trees”
*Stratus “Jasper’s Theme”
Switchfoot “Afterlife”

*Urge Overkill “Rock&Roll Submarine”
The Vaccines “Wetsuit”
Tom Waits “Hell Broke Luce”
We Were Promised Jetpacks “Sore Thumb”
The Weeknd “Wicked Games”
*Wilco “Whole Love”
Wild Flag “Something Came Over Me”
Wooden Wand & Briarwood “Winter In Kentucky”
Willie Wright “Dressing For The Occasion”
Yelawolf ft. Kid Rock “Let’s Roll”

Young Chris ft. Future “Racks On Racks”
Young Galaxy “The Angels Are Surely Weeping”

* = local

Richard Anthony is much more gifted as a songwriter than he is as a singer throughout Connected Part One, an odd but occasionally endearing synth-pop project where 100-percent of the proceeds go to foster-children’s charities. Clearly he’s a noble guy capable of spinning several socially conscious tales, but a limited a range and hit-or-miss vocal effects suggest he’d be best penning tunes for already established artists. (richardanthonymusic.com)
– Andy Argyrakis

You’re never too young for hip-hop. Chica X, the 11-year-old rapper (real name Xiola Tapia), proves this on five new tracks. She drops simple rhymes over slightly muddy electronic beats and synth, just a few notches in quality above what one might reasonably expect at a family talent show. This is no knock on Chica X: she’s got skills, but sophistication, life experience, and better production value is what she needs most. Keep the name in mind so in a few years you can say you read about her here first. (myspace.com/chicaxrox)
– Jason Scales

While Korn’s new album uses dubstep to give its metal a fresh coat of paint, The Coop aren’t so hands-off when it comes to their proggy, jazzy shades. Internalize ventures from electric blues with drum and bass to Euro club synths and Bonnaroo with uncanny ease, rarely clunking into a mismatch and confidently cutting a path when none appears obvious. That said, tracks like “Space Cakes II” indulge themselves endlessly, usually at momentum’s expense. But it’s generally better to have too many ideas than none. (thecoopmusic.net)
– Steve Forstneger

Eddie Dixon seems to be a kindred spirit of Beck, not necessarily in musical sound but in one-man-band approach to creating music. The multi-instrumentalist ably exhibits his pop music/mad-scientist skills on the nine-song Skirmisher. Although a bit left-of-center in arrangement, the songs have a solid rock backbone made pleasantly quirky with Dixon’s high attention to detail. “Lucky” and “Kidnap Van” showcase this peccadillo with their layers of instrumentation and vocals, which are generally warm if not understated throughout the tracks. (eddiedixon.bandcamp.com)
– Jason Scales

Folksinger/songwriter Mark Dvorak’s fourth release, Time Ain’t Got Nothin’ On Me, features 12 originals, plus three live tracks. Dvorak’s songs about life, time, and age are delicately crafted with a familiar, folksy warmth. His voice conjures the spirit of Buddy Holly while he pours his heart and soul into the music. Various styles are on display here: hints of bluegrass, country & western-tinged songs with banjo and fiddle – good ol’ down-home folk ditties. His reflection on the passing of time is the major theme, though Dvorak shows that you can look back while keeping a watchful, hopeful eye on the future. (markdvorak.com)
– Kelley Simms

Brian Eaton’s Graphic Nature full-length is a one-man rock show. After spending nearly 20 years producing other bands, Eaton stepped out from the desk to write, perform, and record all the instruments and vocals as well as produce, engineer, and mix his debut. Eaton utilizes a vast range of styles with inspiring lyrics about the struggles of the human condition. Graphic Nature displays the tenacity of the Foo Fighters, the diverse proginess of Porcupine Tree, and the sensible pop qualities of The Fray. Eerie Queensrÿche-ish monster tribal drum rhythms, acoustic guitar, and prog synths open “Sobriety,” and a cover of Seal’s “Crazy” is pulled off surprisingly well, ultimately making it his own. Eaton is a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist with multi-tasking abilities. (brianeaton.com)
– Kelley Simms

When you hit Frank Gondo’s Facebook page, you read that his employer is Gondo, his band. It’s an amusing detail, because were Mr. Gondo not canned from his straight job in this recession, the music could very well be on the backburner. The compression on his recordings inadvertently recalls early Bob Mould, but with cascading drum fills, layered acoustic and electric guitars, and mounting solos, joblessness has led Gondo to explore his inner classic rocker. A thick fuzz on tracks like “Intelligent Design,” however, make him fully modern. (reverbnation.com/gondo)
– Steve Forstneger

Stephen Pearlman, recording under the moniker Haberdashery, could be considered the poor man’s Owl City, though he’s been at it for longer. Pearlman writes and records his own electro/synth pop, and his fifth full-length release Tonight The Angels finds him continuing to channel Erasure as he uses his keyboard to explore themes of love and relationships. While Pearlman does manage to create some sweeping music from his electronics, unfortunately his melodies and choruses aren’t nearly as memorable as his counterparts. (haberdasheryinfo.com)
– Carter Moss

R&B diva Syleena Johnson’s scored a Grammy nomination and collaborations with Kanye West and R. Kelly, but she’s yet to experience superstardom. Chapter V: Underrated (Shanachie) might not possess the magic she needs given multiple routine soul stompers and basic old-school ballads, but a little duet help from famous friends like Faith Evans, Angie Stone, and Tweet should give the local some additional exposure. (myspace.com/syleenajohnson)
– Andy Argyrakis

Last False Hope is one strange mash-up of musical influences and worldviews. On the band’s debut EP, The Shape Of Bluegrass To Come, the music is hardcore/punk-inspired bluegrass, the vocals are straight from the reject bin of death-metal bands, and the lyrics are cynical and unashamedly anti-God (“Giving Up God For Lent,” “Drag Me To Hell,” “Dying And Diseased”). At least the band helps prove an adage – just because we humans can do something, it doesn’t mean we should. (lastfalsehope.tk)
– Carter Moss

With her sweet, soaring croon, Katie Luka exudes a soulful maturity beyond her mere 20 years. Deep, expressive emotion winds through her debut, No Blonde Country. Her languorous interpretation of “God Made Me” allows her to showcase a touching vulnerability while maintaining her strong tone. She makes a slight stumble in her choice to cover The Beatles’ “Let It Be”; her vocal performance is slick and inventive, but she does herself no favors reworking the arrangement and inexplicably including a flashy guitar solo. (katieluka.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Panther Style is in. The band’s 10-track album ¡Emergencia! oozes a cool, hip, urban rock vibe. The four-piece seems inspired by early U2, especially with the snare drum work on “The Instrumental,” or simple verse-chorus-verse structures, like a mid-1990s Sub Pop product, a la The Fastbacks. But the uptempo energy, tight songwriting, and female vocal harmonies are the flash to this style worth emulating. (pantherstylemusic.com)
– Jason Scales

Humor doesn’t get much darker than the morbid tales spun by The Royal Pines on their latest collection of psychedelic/country songs, Come Forth. The energetic “Open Your Face (Drink Alone)” depicts characters who are fun to drink with except for some homicidal tendencies. Frontman Joe Patt’s talky vocals almost evoke Steve Martin, especially on the paranoid punk of “All Wrong,” and the ominous country & western ballad, “The Night Before.” Definitely not for everyone, but often pretty funny. (myspace.com/royalpines)
– Terrence Flamm

Serengeti is the rapper for those who don’t like rap. His bouncy verbal acrobatics hopscotch over the cool grooves and ambient beat puzzles assembled by Advance Base and Yoni Wolf on Family And Friends (Anticon). Geti’s slick syllable surgery slices through the icy, skittering melody and throbbing deep bass in “Ha-Ha.” A glistening melody speckled with shoegazing touches, and M83-style drama is the backdrop for his fast-paced stream-of-conscious rattle in “A.R.P.” This is a more relaxed outing, but his passion and humor still shine through. (anticon.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Sex Unicorn brings all the raw ingredients needed for vintage speed metal to its self-titled EP, including a vocalist who howls and whispers with menace, and a wildly strumming lead guitarist. But the quartet adds a modern edge to its sound on “Riding In Cars With Boys” and serves up an impressively elaborate vocal and keyboards arrangement with “Methlab.” (sexunicorn.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Power trio Simple Simon (a.k.a. The Simons) is back from a 10-year hiatus to deliver its trademark rock ‘n’ roll on Attack. Its nine tracks will leave you out of breath from its crushing drums, shredding axe attack, and brash vocals that bash through repeatedly. This sixth album’s calculated punk vibe mixes with ’70s rock – Thin Lizzy style – for a great combination. It also throws the kitchen sink at you, too: prog-rock influences, stoner rock-isms, layered vocal harmonies, epic-sounding songs, acoustic and lap steel guitar, and some synth bits add to Simple Simon’s diversity. Attack really struts its stuff. Spread the word, “The Simons” are back. (myspace.com/simplesimonchicago)
– Kelley Simms

Armando Perez, operating under the moniker The Single Helix, wields his instrumental wizardry making Odd Czar (Dilligaf) an effervescent blend of trip-hop, crooked folk, and ambient bliss. “190″ is airy and anthemic, reaching for the clouds from the same launching pad as The Postal Service. For some dreamy escapes, follow the advice in “Take A Moment To Yourself” and drift away in the perfectly arranged acoustic guitar, strings, and softly harmonizing vocals, or get lost in the hazy thump-and-bump of “The Fire.” (thesinglehelix.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Fans of Bruce Springsteen-inspired ballads will find a lot to like on Dan Tedesco’s latest effort, Tracks On Fire. The singer/songwriter’s expressive vocals bring an authentic feel to the dramatic piano and guitar arrangements on the title track and songs like “Hold On To Me.” That said, Tedesco might actually be at his best on the more energetic “How Good It Feels” and romantic “Lookin’ For A Girl Like You,” where he adroitly blends melodic pop and country music. (dantedesco.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Promising MC/producer Tizone may have titled his new album The Interpretation, but the tracks aren’t quite so committed to a single view. After an intro cut and opener where he establishes himself back in the game, Tizone switches course into playa/loverman mode for several tunes, and then weaves in and out of personalities for the remainder. It makes for a schizophrenic listen through the 18 songs, and ultimately bears the energetic, wanna-freak-ya side out. (tizoneonline.com)
– Steve Forstneger

Vapor Eyes has mastered the rapid-fire, hard-hitting rhymes fans expect from rap, but on his ambitious new CD, It’s Moving So Fast It’s Standing Still, he also incorporates elements of jazz, ambient, and gospel music. “Terra Incognita” sounds the alarm on global warming while “New Proof Material” delves into street crime. Space-age keyboards and sound bites add to the sense of intrigue on “Hypermart” and “Int3rlood,” while “Caressed By Sin” is smooth and seductive. (vaporeyesdj.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Chuck Maurer’s What Rebel began as a cover band in a west-suburban basement that felt confident to move into originals. Tracks like “Rise Up” and “Time Is Running Out” force derivative riffs and chord changes through a cardboard amplifier, which competes with click-track vocal performances and A/B (sometimes just A/A) rhyme schemes for the single microphone. Clearly this is an act in its infancy – maybe several weeks premature. (reverbnation.com/WhatRebel)
– Steve Forstneger

Like Hulk Hogan, I am a real American. That means, first and foremost, I fight for the rights of every man. It also means I use geographically specific release dates for my year-ending top five. Hence Ghost’s Opus Eponymous inclusion even though everyone who is anyone heard the record in late 2010, given its European release was October of that year. Not being just anyone, though, I didn’t discover the album until its January 2011 North American issuance, which is how I justify its selection. That and the fact it’s some of the catchiest damn Satan worship ever.

As for the rest of my picks? Mastodon did it again with The Hunter. Superchrist is one of the underground’s finest, and Burn Again captures the Chicago group at its best . . . live. Weedeater gets better and better every album, and Acid Witch is as fun as it is heavy. And as heavy as it is stoned.

That said, here’s 2011’s finest heavy albums as chosen by people whose opinions you may or may not respect.

Trevor Fisher, “Caught In A Mosh”
1. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
2. Ghost Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade)
3. Superchrist Burn Again (self-released)
4. Weedeater Jason . . . The Dragon (Southern Lord)
5. Acid Witch Stoned (Hells Headbangers)

ALSO VERY GOOD:
Opeth Heritage (Roadrunner)
Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)
High Sprits Another Night (self-released)
American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
Midnight Satanic Royalty (Hells Headbangers)

Steve Forstneger, Illinois Entertainer
1. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
2. American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
3. Yob Atma (Profound Lore)
4. Wolves In The Throne Room Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
5. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)

Chris Lotesto, Ion Vein
1. Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)
2. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
3. Symphony X Iconoclast (Nuclear Blast)
4. Machine Head Unto The Locust (Roadrunner)
5. Novembers Doom Aphotic (The End)

Jeff Wilson, Wolvhammer
1. The Atlas Moth An Ache For The Distance (Profound Lore)
2. Mournful Congregation Book Of Kings (20 Buck Spin)
3. 40 Watt Sun The Inside Room (Metal Blade)
4. Leviathan True Traitor True Whore (Profound Lore)
5. Loss Despond (Profound Lore)

Neil Wonnell, Neil Wonnell’s Metalmouth
1. Diamond Plate Generation Why? (Earache)
2. Saxon Call To Arms (UDR)
3. Smash Potater Zom-Beez demo (self-released)
4. Evile Five Serpent’s Teeth (Earache)
5. Degradation Juggernaut (self-released)

Brian Elza, Czar
Trap Them Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic)
Disma Towards The Megalith (Profound Lore)
Wolves Like Us Late Love (Prosthetic)
Dark Castle Surrender To All Life Beyond Form (Profound Lore)
Weekend Nachos Worthless (Relapse)

Igz Kincaid, Hessler
1. Skull Fist Head Of The Pack (NoiseArt)
2. Iron Maiden From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010 (EMI)
3. U.D.O. Rev-Raptor (AFM)
4. Firewölfe Firewölfe (Rubicon)
5. Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)

Rodney Pawlak, Chicago Metal Factory
1. Macabre Grim Scary Tales (Willowtip)
2. Cianide Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers)
3. Novembers Doom Aphotic (The End)
4. Bloodiest Descent (Relapse)
5. The Atlas Moth An Ache For The Distance (Profound Lore)

Jon Necromancer, Bones
1. Autopsy Macabre Eternal (Peaceville)
2. High Sprits Another Night (self-released)
3. Necros Christos Doom Of The Occult (Red General)
4. Cianide Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers)
5. Wolvhammer Obsidian Plains (Profound Lore)

Chris Avgerin, Heaving Mass
1. American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
2. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
3. Maveth Breath Of An Abomination (Nuclear Winter)
4. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
5. The Swan King Eyes Like Knives (Seventh Rule)

Trevor de Brauw, Pelican
1. Young Widows In And Out of Youth And Lightness (Temporary Residence)
2. Tombs Path Of Totality (Relapse)
3. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
4. Cave In White Silence (Hydra Head)
5. Craft Void (Southern Lord)

So if you believe those wacky Mayans (and really, when have they ever lied to us?), there’s less than a year left on the lease here on the big blue marble. The countdown to oblivion is coming to town, so get dressed.

Really, the only question is how the lights are gonna go off. Don’t worry, Hollywood is always at the ready to provide a scenario or two. More often than not, those scenarios include lots of boom and bang and buildings toppling to the ground. The infinitely more frightening plot line involves threats you can’t see.

Director Steven Soderbergh returns to the multiple A-list cast and global-reach terrain (that he’s mined in films like Traffic) for the worldwide pandemic thriller Contagion. Unlike Traffic, however, Contagion never quite hits home, due to the fact that too many characters are shoved into too little movie.

First off, there is the main cast, which features Matt Damon as a workaday Minneapolis guy whose wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns from Hong Kong with a nasty case of the coughs. Within days, both she and their son are riding slabs in the morgue, while Damon and their daughter remain strangely immune.

Then there’s Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet as doctors for the Center For Disease Control, and Marion Cotillard as a World Health Organization doctor who traces the source of the plague back to Paltrow.

Also along for the ride is Jude Law, as a blogger who doesn’t believe the government’s take on the matter, and ends up doing more harm than good by inciting his readers into panic. There are also appearances by Elliott Gould, Bryan Cranston, John Hawkes, and Demetri Martin to name but a few.

Soderbergh does a fine job establishing a palpable sense of dread. Lingering shots of hands on door handles, drinking glasses left on planes, and everyday handshakes are enough to make you never want to leave the house unless encased in a full hazmat suit. And to hammer the point home, each change of scenery comes complete with a census figure ripe for infection – Tokyo: Population 36.6 million, San Francisco: Population 3.5 million, and so on. To his credit, Soderbergh avoids the disaster-movie histrionics to which most other films of this nature would stoop. It’s a quiet, meditative look at a very realistic scenario.

The problem is that with so many characters, we never stay with any of them long enough to care very much. We never find out why certain people are immune, and some characters are introduced early on, only to reappear much later as major plot points.

The Blu-ray is a bit light on features, with only three segments on viruses and the nature of worldwide infections. The disc also contains an UltraViolet Digital Copy of the film, which allows folks to download and instantly stream the movie via WiFi to compatible computers.

Portlandia: Season One
IFC

Imagine, if you would, a “Saturday Night Live” spinoff for hipsters, and you have “Portlandia.” Running on IFC, the series is the brainchild of “SNL” regular Fred Armisen and indie-music goddess Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag), who shows that not only is she a force to be reckoned with as a guitarist, she can also be damn funny.

Like any sketch-comedy offering, the results are hit or miss. But “Portlandia”’s take on life among the City Of Roses’ hipper-than-thou denizens hits the mark more often than not.

Plus, there’s a non-stop parade of guests to solidify its indie cred, such as Steve Buscemi, Aubrey Plaza, Gus Van Sant, and Kyle MacLachlan, whose performance as the mayor of Portland is worth the price of admission alone.

The six-episode, Season One set features a speech by Armisen to the graduates of the Oregon Episcopal School, deleted scenes, extended scenes, and commentary on every episode by Armisen, Brownstein, and director Jonathan Krisel.

– Timothy Hiatt

Of the dozens of musical gadgets we preview and review every year, a few stand out as “the best of best.” As we look back at 2011, we present Gear’s best of, uh . . . Gear!

EMG
JH Set Guitar Pickups
•June 2011

Metallica founder and frontman James Hetfield brought out his all-new heavy artillery (is there any other kind?) on the North American leg of the Big 4 tour by debuting his new EMG JH Set pickups.
The JH Set was designed with the sole input of Hetfield, which is a new experience for the company – as they usually share ideas with multiple designers. Hetfield wanted to craft a humbucker pickup that with a “stealth” design “that captures the clarity and punch of a passive pickup and still retains the legendary active tone that molded a generation,” according to EMG.

Korg
iElectribe Gorillaz Edition iPad App
•May 2011

Korg’s new Gorillaz iPad App is unique because it breaks down barriers in music making, by allowing bands to release music in two platforms: traditional CDs and through apps that allow fans to interact with the artist about potential future remixes and mashups. Blur founder Damon Albarn and fellow Gorilla Jamie Hewlett’s new album, The Fall, is notable for being recorded entirely on Albarn’s iPad. Fittingly, Korg and Gorillaz have teamed up to offer the special iElectribe Gorillaz Edition for a limited run of 10,000 units at $9.99 a pop. The program was designed for Gorillaz fans to choose an instrument and quickly build a groove in its 16-step sequencer. And freakout like the cartoons they want to be.

Nady Systems
AxeHead Portable Guitar Amp
•November 2011

Despite a flurry of portable guitar-amp apps aimed at iPhone and Android users, Nady Systems believes its new AxeHead portable amp has a place in your pocket.

The pocket-sized AxeHead plugs directly into your guitar or bass for instant, pro-sounding tone. It’s a practice tool that eliminates the need for a larger-sized amp or effects unit. Players can listen through headphones (not included) and crank it up like Mom and Dad ain’t never coming home.

AxeHead’s built-in amp simulation allows you to tailor your tone from ultra-clean to heavy distortion. With virtually no setup involved, you can sound like you’re onstage at Metro while jamming in your bedroom, office, or dorm. Early adopters have also said it’s also great for warming up discreetly for a gig.

Set up is easy: just plug and play. An 1/8-inch Aux input jack connects to your MP3 player, CD player, or any compatible audio source so you can hear accompanying music while playing.

Roland
GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer
•April 2011

Since its birth in the mid-’70s, the guitar synthesizer has taken the long road to respectability. Brave, early adapters were troubled by technical glitches and Moog-like novelty tones, more aligned to experimental music than mainstream sounds. In the last 10 years, Roland has been the leader in breaking barriers to make the guitar synth a more natural-sounding instrument. The GR-55 delivers exceptional tracking performance, aligning guitar tone, and synth tone while simultaneously powered by two independent synthesizer sound engines loaded with more than 900 of Roland’s onboard sounds, including pianos, organs, strings, vintage and modern synths, percussion, and many more. The GR-55 allows players to combine all three sound engines plus their guitar’s normal input to create any sound from the familiar to novelty tones.

Seagate
Goflex Satellite Portable Wireless Hard Drive
•December 2011

The Goflex Satellite is an idea that’s been years in the making. It’s a pocket-sized hard drive that can connect to any mobile device including cell phones, laptops, desktop computers, and tablets that are wi-fi connectable. Seagate has opened a way to store music and movies and also lets you stream your files when you get the urge. Most importantly to “Gear” readers, users can download music files (e.g., ProTools files) from the home-studio setup. On paper it’s a great idea, but as a first-generation model, Seagate has some gremlins.

Back in 1979, half of Chicago tuned into Wally Philips’ popular WGN-AM (720) morning show. That year, newcomer Steve Dahl released his song parodying the venerable Philips and his loyal listeners, “Oh Wally.”

Thirty-three years later, the Chicago Tribune-owned station hardly resembles your grandparents’ WGN.

The shakeup that put Jonathon Bramdmeier into the morning driver’s seat, simultaneously sent his old producer Bud Wiser packing, and moved Bill Leff to overnights has the station – with Garry Meier doing afternoons – starting to resemble your parents’ WLUP during its early-’90s all-talk heyday.

The shakeup also included the ouster of Greg Jarrett, whose local mispronunciations did not endear him to listeners, and husband-and-wife hosts Steve King and Johnnie Putnam, whose overnight show included live, in-studio jams with visiting bands.

But all is not lost, music-wise.

That same week, vice president and general manager Tom Langmyer quietly ushered in a startling new hire for the staid station: a foreign left-winger with Bad Jibs and no radio experience, who is actually under 30.

The newcomer is Chicago Blackhawks forward Daniel “Car Bomb” Carcillo, who hails from Canada and was born the same year Wally Philips moved to afternoons, in 1986.

Carcillo’s one-hour music show, “The Bomb Shelter,” airs sporadically on the station after weekend home games. (For more, visit wgnradio.com).

Car Bomb’s music obsession dates back to when he was elementary age, and played a cassette of Michael Jackson’s “Black Or White” until he wore it out.

“I had a white boom box by my bed, and shared a room with my younger brother,” he explains. “He got that song stuck in his head as well – whether he liked it or not. I always remember that. I had pretty strict parents. I was about 7. But I always blasted it when I was getting up and going to bed. I liked that track, and the intro of the guy banging on the door, telling him to be quiet.”

Carcillo’s father, Gino — who named his son for the Elton John song — appeared on his first show. They talked about music and the family’s history in Monte Cassino, Italy – which was ravaged by World War II. “I was digging around trying to find out why I have this fascination and love for music,” Carcillo says.

“[My father] went into the history of my great great-grandfather going around when the war was going on. He had a little music box and a monkey and the whole deal, and that’s how he’d make money during the war – he’d go under people’s windows and he’d play music and they’d throw money.”

These days, Carcillo’s taste tilts more towards classic rock than organ grinder or MJ. “I’ll never get sick of it,” he says, and rattled off some favorites ranging from the Allman Brothers to Led Zeppelin. As for new bands, he likes Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, and The Black Keys.

Carcillo says he was blown away by WGN’s massive vinyl vault. “It’s kind of overwhelming walking in there. There has to be over 5,000 records. It’s exciting to be able to pick a shelf and sift through it and play the records you find in there – from The Beatles to any motion picture you want from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. It goes back a long way.”

He hopes to do an all-Canadian band show, featuring bands like Bachman Turner Overdrive, Rush, The Guess Who, Neil Young and Tragically Hip.

“Every Canadian hockey rink you go to, it’s the Tragically Hip playing,” he says. “They’re an amazing band – I love them a lot. It’d be nice to play them on the radio.”

He’s thrilled to be playing hockey for one of the Original Six teams, and playing music on a heritage station that dates back to 1924. “To have the opportunity to express myself away from the rink is pretty amazing. To have the organization fully behind you is a big honor.”

ODDS ‘N’ SODS: The Vocalo.org radio show “Morning Amp!” was recently picked up by two college radio stations, Loyola’s WLUW-FM (88.7) and Elmhurst College’s WRSE-FM (88.), which probably quintupled the latter’s audience. Not that there’s anything wrong with the show, which is hosted by local comedian Brian Babylon and radio producer Molly Adams. But shouldn’t that prime-time air space be reserved for the kids – whose tuition finances it? . . . Steve Dahl recently added a weekly 60-minute podcast by the recently canned Kevin Matthews, which is included in the monthly podcast price. More at www.dahl.com . . . Numero Group recently released a CD called Eccentric Soul: The Nickel & Penny Labels, featuring 24 songs produced or written by local radio legend Richard Pegue . . . The best thing we’ve seen lately is the return of MTV’s “Beavis And Butthead” – particularly when they lampoon Mike Judge’s other great creation, “King Of The Hill” . . . The best thing we’ve read lately is a lively discussion of weathercaster body language on the Chicagoland Radio And Media Bulletin Board. The consensus? That some local female weathercasters lean backward and arch their backs, accentuating certain assets, while some males lean forward , hiding their paunch. The solution? “Straighten up!” More at chicagoradioandmedia.com.

– Cara Jepsen

It’s been six years since the release of her debut album . . . this side of yesterday, but January marks the return of indie-folk singer/songwriter Martha Berner. Her long-awaited full-length follow-up, Fool’s Fanatsy, also bears the stamp of her new band, The Significant Others. The entire album was recorded at Chicago’s Stranded On A Planet studio with producer and Signifi-cant Others’ guitarist Scott Fritz, and was mastered by four-time Grammy winner Gavin Lurssen (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Cat Power, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen). While this new material still incorporates the Chicago-based (via Williams Bay, WI) musician’s trademark whiskey-and-honey vocals and thought-provoking subjects that stretch across folk, pop and Americana, Fool’s Fantasy marks Berner’s first true band effort – incorporating elements of Stax soul, insurgent country, and the unbridled passion of late ’60s rock ‘n’ roll. Read the full story in next month’s IE.

At BOBDOG STUDIOS in Oak Park, The Puffins just completed their CD Shades Of Blue . . . Power popmeisters Treeshakers mixed their forthcoming album . . . Dav Ero began tracking his latest project . . . Cedes De La Paz Buck prepped the release of her first EP . . . Scott Fortman’s The New Normal recorded some of its debut record; owner/producer/engineer Bill Kavanagh provided bass tracks on both The New Normal and Cedes Buck’s projects.

South Side swamp-rock band, Convoy, worked on recording their latest project, Blue Collar America, at ROCK LOUNGE in Westmont with producer/engineer Johnny Million. The CD is scheduled for a 2012 spring release.

West suburban-based Champions tracked their fully original new record – due January 20th – at the Gallery of Carpet in Villa Park. Owner Brian Zieske served as engineer/producer, and the studio also handled the mastering.

Strobe Recording in Chicago tracked California Wives, Vagrant Records, Frank Catalano, Cains and Abels, Whistler Records, and Wally Dogger projects in the studio.

UPTOWN RECORDING in Chicago has upgraded to ProTools 10HD. For most studios, all software updates may come with a learning curve. Fortunately, chief engineer Rob Ruccia has had the pleasure of being a beta tester for both Pro Tools 9 and 10, in fact his name resides in the credits. Six months before Avid (Pro Tools’ parent company) had released the software, Ruccia was helping shape it into the finished product. “Working at Uptown on these new versions with people who know how to use them, gives us the edge over those studios stuck in the older versions,” say the folks at Uptown, “while [needing to] learn the newer ones.” Uptown currently runs the latest Pro Tools HD10 and HD9 software featuring HEAT, which gives bands the ability to add a sonic “big mixing board sound” without the big price.

Gravity Studios in Chicago has added a new member to its engineering and production team. Jameel “The Real Deal” Harris is a veteran of the Chicago recording community with a sterling reputation for top quality mixes as well as being a voice of experience and reason in the midst of a crazy industry. Owner Doug McBride says Harris’ specialty is programmming, producing, and mixing hip-hop.

The Damn Bats, consisting of locals/former Rabid Bats, Reaganomics, and Bill Ura Dik members plus veteran British drummer Rat Scabies (The Damned), tracked two songs of which one was finished by Scabies at ALASKA STUDIOS in London, England. The demo for “Doomed” was then returned to Chicago so guitars, bass, vocals, and final mixing could be finished.

Hey Studiophiler: To get your studio or band listed in “Studiophile,” just e-mail info on who you’re recording or who’s recording you to ed [at] illinoisentertainer.com, subject Studiophile, or fax (773) 751-5051. We reserve the right to edit submissions for space. Deadline for February 2012 issue is January 15th. We need your news, you need us to print it.

Hubert Sumlin was one of the greatest blues guitarists of his generation. Famous for the explosive guitar riffs that he produced as a member of Howlin’ Wolf’s band, Sumlin influenced such rock-guitar gods as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Keith Richards. His 80-year journey began in the Mississippi Delta and took him across the world to leave his impression on scores of blues fans until his death on December 4th.

A self-taught guitarist with a natural gift for rugged tones that evoked great emotion, Sumlin gravitated toward his instrument as a child growing up in Arkansas and never broke from its orbit. He played with James Cotton at local functions while a teen, and grabbed his first peek at mentor Wolf by climbing on top of a stack of boxes under a juke-joint window. The boxes tumbled and Sumlin ended up falling onto Wolf’s head. It was a telling meeting for two musicians who would help define the Chicago blues sound.

By the early ’50s, Wolf sent for Sumlin to join him in Chicago, where he was recording for Chess Records. Wolf’s sprawling and outsized vocals quickly captured attention, but it was Sumlin’s stinging guitar that sealed the deal on classics like “Smokestack Lightning,” “Backdoor Man,” “Red Rooster,” and “Goin’ Down Slow.” He played with Wolf for 20 years, interrupted only by a brief stint with Muddy Waters and finally by Wolf’s death in 1976. Sumlin left Chicago shortly afterward, eventually settling in New Jersey where he crafted a solo career that included expansive touring and recording. His albums garnered four Grammy nominations, most notably 2005’s masterful About Them Shoes (Tone-Cool), which attracted acolytes such as Richards and Clapton as sidemen. Sumlin was a musician’s musician who earned never-ending respect from his peers. He never gained the fame of Wolf or Waters, but when he passed away from heart failure, the music community immediately poured out accolades. Mick Jagger and Richards rushed to pay for his funeral in Homewood, as a way of giving back to the man who had given so much of his life to spreading the love of the blues.

Big James & The Chicago Playboys expand on the Chicago blues tradition with their free-wheeling recent release, The Big Payback (Blind Pig). If that title calls to mind James Brown’s seminal record, that’s exactly the point. There’s a cover of the seminal tune on the 10-track CD, but the title also alludes to the horn-driven, funky blues that fills the album, which owes a lot to the Godfather Of Soul. Recorded live at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club in Paris, the exuberance spills out of every note.

Opening with the energetic party anthem, “The Blues Will Never Die,” the tune showcases the band’s upbeat style with brass decorating every beat and personal lyrics like, “Sometimes people look at me with scorn/but I don’t care/I was born to play the horn.” On another original, “Coldest Man I Ever Knew,” the band offers straight-ahead blues and a killer guitar solo at the end. The title cover track isn’t as successful, with a perfunctory reading and an uninspired arrangement. But the irresistible groove is still there, which is the only thing that saves it. Magic Sam seems to inspire the group in terms of soulful covers; “All Your Love” delivers all the verve and grit required of the legend’s classic, and “That’s Why I’m Crying” calls up some pure blues with broken-hearted and anguished vocals by frontman Big James Montgomery and an evocative guitar solo by Mike “Money” Wheeler.

BJCP deliberately mine all the branches of the blues, touching on soul, funk, and rock and it’s nice to hear these connections firmly couched in the blues tradition. The Johnny Taylor hit, “Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone,” sounds just as infectious as the soul blues original and an interesting cover choice of George Clinton’s “I’ll Stay” simmers with haunting funk rhythms. Montgomery ties it all neatly together with his take on the classic Chicago sound, “Low Down Dirty Blues.” The album closes with the rather gratuitous “Smoke On The Water,” adding a bluesy, horn-driven feel to the rock staple.

For those who believe that the blues has been lost or is weighed down with outmoded traditions and sensibilities, I have three words for you: Joe Louis Walker. Always a stellar performer and musician, his decades of skill and passion have been hammered into one tightly crafted, explosive package that should be called The Truth. Hellfire (Alligator) inaugurates the blues new year with a near-perfect collection of riveting blues. The 11-track CD was recorded in Nashville and there’s a country undercurrent that runs throughout, underscoring the clear but often overlooked connection between country and blues. But this is no gimmicky crossover ploy – everything on the album sounds organic and honest.

The battle between salvation and damnation is the theme of Hellfire and, although it’s a well-worn blues topic, JLW supplies the personal history of the journeyman who has moved between both the secular and the gospel world. From the searing title track that opens the set, it’s clear that Walker is on top of his game. His phrasing is crisp yet powerful, his guitar precise yet transcendent. That’s just the first song.

Most that follow, from the moving “I Won’t Do That” to the rollicking “I’m On To You,” provide the same perfection. “Soldier For Jesus” is more country-tinged gospel than blues and the backing by the legendary Jordanaires just makes the tune sound more of a throwback, but JLW’s conviction is palpable. The honky-tonk groove of “Too Drunk To Drive Drunk” offers a fun riff, and “Black Girls” provides the slyest humor yet: “The blues I’ve been hearing lately/sounds a lot like rock ‘n’ roll/and I wondered what happened to all that soul/you got to have the black girls/to put the soul back in your songs.” If fresh, innovative music like this is what we have to look forward to, it will be a good year, indeed.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates