Brassneck
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Q&A: Gin Whigmore – Glass Half Full
If thereâs anything that our current claustrophobic coronavirus crisis has made clear, itâs this: One personâs shuttered, brain-clouding lockdown is anotherâs key to swinging the door open wide on an unexpected new creativity. Take New Zealand-bred R&B-rock chanteuse Gin Wigmore, for example. A few months ago, she had just given birth to her second son […]
Feature: Enuff Z’Nuff – Still Flyin’ High
Chicago power-pop rockers Enuff ZâNuffâs fan base has always been incredibly loyal since its 1984 formation. Fast forward to 2020, and the bandâs legacy is well intact on its new studio album Brainwashed Generation (released July 10 via Frontiers Music s.r.l.). However, while half of Enuff ZâNuffâs fan base has gleefully accepted the current Chip […]
Media: August 2020
Andy Masur knows his new gig as radio play-by-play man (WGN Radio) for the White Sox is a great opportunity, but he also realizes who he is following. âThereâs a little pressure because itâs not so easy to replace someone like Ed Farmer (who passed away a few months ago). I donât ever feel you […]
Cover Story: The Go-Go’s – Document This!
Not that anyone should sink so deep into navel-gazing that they find fuzzy lint in these reflective post-pandemic times, but â as many folks are discovering â all this imposed downtime can lead to some eye-opening, perhaps life-changing introspection. The kind that might otherwise go unobserved back when we were all rushing through our hectic, […]
Spins: Taylor Swift – Folklore
Taylor SwiftFolklore(Taylor Swift) Taylor Swift surprised fans with her eighth studio album in late July, and as expected – many fans and this writer think it’s her best. Swift heavily strays away from her history of pop radio hits with her first alternative album, collaborating with Jack Antonoff, who has worked closely with the singer […]
Stage Buzz: Livestream Buzz July 29th – August 1
Large concerts may be mostly done this year (carpool concerts remain), but thereâs still a lot of live music to enjoy on the web. From classic performances to virtual festivals, here are this weekâs canât miss livestreams. Join the Stone Temple Pilots as they perform their iconic debut album, Core, in its entirety on July 31st at 8 […]
Stage Buzz Promo: “Live From The Lot” – Local H, Hairbanger’s Ball, Smells Like Nirvana August 6-8
Last we saw Local H, they were pioneering one of the first drive-in social distanced concerts in downstate Gibson City. In a summer where youâre never quite sure if you’re going to see your favorite bands because of safety precautions, weâre happy to announce that Scott Lucas and Ryan Harding are performing much closer to […]
Q&A: CeeLo Green
Itâs not an idyllic color-blind utopia, by any means. But the modern music world has certainly become a comfortable place of artistic collaboration where just about anything goes â Ariana Grande could record a squawky duet with a great blue heron, theoretically, and a waiting audience would snap up every last 12â remix. And chances […]
Spins: Michael McDermott ⢠What in the WorldâŚ
Michael McDermott What in the World⌠(Pauper Sky) Chicagoâs Americana and folk-rock hero Michael McDermottâs 15th solo album finds his songwriting sharp and full of fire. The high-spirited title track of What in the World⌠is a thundering folk-rock anthem for the election year that unleashes a torrential flood of words a la Bob Dylanâs […]
Spins: Bob Dylan ⢠Rough and Rowdy Ways
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia) In 2012, Bob Dylan released his 35th studio album Tempest. The collection was loaded with potent songs like âPay in Blood,â âScarlet Town,â and âEarly Roman Kingsâ that served Dylan well during stops on his Never Ending Tour. The album earned stellar marks from musicologists, but despite a […]
Spins: INXS ⢠Live Baby Live: Wembley Stadium
INXS Live Baby Live: Wembley Stadium (Eagle Vision) INXSâ concert film Live Baby Live was originally released on VHS in 1991, following the Aussie dance-rock kingsâ juggernaut world tour supporting 1990âs X album. The Summer XS event was held at Londonâs original Wembley Stadium at the peak of the sextetâs popularity, cementing the multiplatinum success […]
Hello My Name is…Mike Peters of The Alarm
by Tom Lanham You can hand Mike Peters the sourest, acrid batch of lemons ever harvested and the scrappy Alarm bandleader will make a refreshing, ice-cold pitcher of tasty lemonade with it every single time. This Welshman has often endured more hardships in a single month than most so-called rock survivors endure in a lifetime, […]
File: Live Music is alive at the Drive-In
One of the unfortunate casualties of the coronavirus is the loss of live music. While music from the stage is only in a self-induced coma, Chicagoland has essentially been music free from stages since the lockdown went into effect on March 19. As we’ve waded through our first three phases of Governor Pritzker’s quarantine in […]
Cinemascopes: July 2020
I was fully prepared to write, with a plethora of enthusiasm, about all the films finally coming to THEATERS in July. Well, stick a pin in that, as it seems many of those new movies we thought would be releasing have now been postponed. Again. And with good reason. We are still in the middle […]
Cover Story: Jehnny Beth
There are Renaissance women, dream-driven ladies who tirelessly toil their way to coveted career kudos like gaining elite EGOT status by winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. There is even a further achievement to shoot for once that title is secured â the PEGOT, via the added plaudit of a Peabody Award, a category […]
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