Recent Articles
Everest interview
Everest Neil Before Them Neil Young’s seal of approval surely must bring a few perks . . . like a tour bus. Not so much for Everest. The Los Angeles-based band calls Young’s Vapor Records home, but the quartet will squeeze into a white van to criss-cross the country along with Young on his winter […]
Mike Mangione interview
Mike Mangione Simply Put In a time when AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica are rearing their salt ‘n’ pepper head, and their progeny fill the airwaves, singer-songwriters like Mike Man-gione, whose music is deep in the roots, are becoming endangered species. Appearing: Wednesday, December 3rd at Double Door in Chicago.
Gift madness!
The 2008 Holiday Gift Guide Helping You Navigate An Avalanche Of Releases Don’t just give it to ’em hard this holiday season; give it to ’em hard and heavy! We all know those terrible (great) Time Life infomercials where they hawk ’80s hard-rockin’ collections or “monster” power ballads, right? Well now you can get the […]
Hello, My Name Is Noel
Hello, My Name Is Noel Q&A With Noel Gallagher of Oasis IE: On the Dig Out Your Soul bonus-disc track “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down,” you sing “I’ve got a habit that the cat won’t lick.” Noel Gallagher: Heh-heh. Yeah, yeah. If you’ve got a habit and you can’t lick it, it’s pretty bad if […]
File: December 2008
The Burnt Bush Fifty more days of Bush — exhale. The world has expressed its relief that one of the most tumultuous American administrations punches out in January. We, too, will close a door, this on the most disheartening protest-music era pop music has ever seen. Ever. Where’s our “For What It’s Worth”? Our “Ohio”? […]
DVD Zone: December 2008
DVD Zone The 2008 Holiday DVD Gift Guide So the economy’s in the tank. Big deal. That shouldn’t keep you from treating those you hold near and dear to some great DVD sets this holiday season. Besides, you’d just spend the money foolishly on stuff like the mortgage, rent, food, or whatever. C’mon, anybody can […]
Lucky Number 53
It’s an awfully cliché way to start an article, but the third time truly was a charm for Jim Johnson, owner of Planet10studios in Palatine. Planet10 is what used to be Studio 53, an iconic Chicagoland recording studio home to iconic Chicagoland recorders like Bob Blum, Don Griffin, and the late Jerry Soto. It was […]
Still Cyco After All These Years?
I try not to be too much of a fanboy in this column, but when I found out Suicidal Tendencies was playing House Of Blues December 10th, I almost cried.
Barack Rocks The (White) House
While watching the celebration unfold in Grant Park last month on television, in which President–elect Barack Obama celebrated his victory with some 240,000 jubilant supporters, I felt as though I was watching another type of history in the making. Racial stereotypes were being shattered left and right as the major networks and cable channels sent […]
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt. 1
Last month’s firing of radio legend Steve Dahl and his staff was shocking – but not out of character – for CBS Radio. A few weeks earlier, B96’s longtime morning team, Eddie Volkman and Joe “Jobo” Bohannon, were dumped by CBS Radio with eight months left in their contracts – and no chance to say […]
Suite Software & Rockin’ Shirts
VOX JamVOX Vox‘s acclaimed JamVOX practice module and software suite includes recreations of 19 famous guitar amps and 54 classic effects. This lets aspiring guitarists reproduce their six-string heroes’ tones while playing along to the supplied 28 classic rock-song soundtrack, including The Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” Pearl Jam’s “Alive,” and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Jason Mraz & Lisa Hannigan live!
Jason Mraz, Lisa Hannigan Aragon, Chicago November 22, 2008 Forget about the screaming girls for a minute. Forget about the cheesy predilection for hats. Forget about the gimmicky routines instituted to spur a rapt crowd to simultaneous action and all the other reasons Jason Mraz inspires eye-rolling among those who wouldn’t be caught dead dancing […]
Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, & Thrice live!
Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice Congress Theater, Chicago Thursday, November 20, 2008 Early in their Thursday-night set at Congress, Rise Against performed against a massive backdrop with the word RISE looming prominently. It seemed fitting, as the band has risen from the ranks of suburban sensation to national power punk staple. And while it could […]
Calexico live!
Calexico Metro, Chicago Friday, November 21, 2008 One can always count on Tucson, Arizona-based Calexico to throw a party, but a straightforward rock show? That’s like Dave Matthews crashing a White Stripes gig – strange, but not totally unbelievable.
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