Recent Articles
Frontier Brothers preview
Frontier Brothers Ronny’s, Chicago Wednesday, October 8, 2008 If Jim Henson’s Muppets needed a house band, Austin’s The Frontier Brothers could fill in for Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem Band any day. Of course, the trio might want to keep the references to drugs and women at a minimum. God forbid the kids get […]
Blue Mountain reviewed
Blue Mountain Midnight In Mississippi/Omnibus (Broadmoor) Reunited and reconstituted with a new drummer, Blue Mountain double dips with a fresh album and a re-recorded mix of old “hits.” Appearing: Thursday, October 9th at Schubas in Chicago.
Land Of Talk reviewed
Land Of Talk Some Are Lakes (Saddle Creek) After changing some members, this Montreal-based quartet takes its foot off the pedal following a caustic debut EP — and its eyes off the road. Appearing: Thursday, October 9th at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Cold War Kids interview
Cold War Kids Peristroika Countless acts accumulate an overwhelming buzz on debut albums, only to never be heard from again. Defiantly, Cold War Kids plan to ripen beyond mere flavor-of-the-month status on the new Loyalty To Loyalty (Downtown). Appearing: October 11th at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Rachael Yamagata interview
Rachael Yamagata The Elephant In The Room Rachael Yamagata’s sophomore, double-disc effort, Elephants/Teeth Sinking Into Heart (Warner Bros.), should come with a warning sticker. Instead of the cold medicine declaration of Do not operate heavy machinery while using this product, the songstress’ brutal compositions should warrant an equally emboldened, unavoidable tag suggesting those with wounded […]
The Moon-Rays Sell You Lloyd?
Attack Of The Moon-Rays They may be Hollywood horror legends but, quite frankly, Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman don’t get the musical credit they deserve. Sure, they’ve inspired a song or two through the years and, thanks to films like Young Frankenstein and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, even a couple of dance routines. Still, […]
Hello, My Name Is George
Hello, My Name Is George Q&A With Catfish Haven’s George Hunter IE: For the first album and EP, I gather most of those songs had been brewing. Was Devastator a more direct, sitdown writing session? George Hunter: With all the touring we had time. We started listening to all this blues-oriented stuff, getting into Band […]
File: October 2008
The Human Fund As summer closed out in Chicago, Fall Out Boy came home to Soldier Field to participate in the local version of Nike’s nationwide Human Race event. Prior to a performance on the north end of the field, the group attended an overly brief press conference in a room underneath the stadium. The […]
DVD Zone: October 2008
Iron Man Marvel As a kid spending a healthy portion of my misspent youth with a face full of comic books, I never pledged allegiance to either of the big two, Marvel or DC. Though others will argue to the death one is clearly better than the other (and God help you if you get […]
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. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Victory Records, a label known for its jagged hardcore, seems an unlikely home for 1997. Their brand of uprising, punchy pop songs is decidedly less confrontational, while still retaining a subtle bite. New singer Alida Marroni’s sensational presence elevates On The Run as her vocals drive the lead track, “One Track Mind, Four Track Heart,” […]
The Toxic Avenger
This interview with Toxic Holocaust‘s Joel Grind took place September 3rd, the day after his newest full-length, An Overdose Of Death . . . was released. I say “his” instead of “the band’s” because Grind is the band – a one-man thrash act who, since 1999, has written, played, and recorded all Toxic material in […]
Sex, Lies, And Cassette Tapes
TASCAM CC-222SLmkII Last month we took a look at the the latest crop of turntables to hit the market for vinyl junkies, but we’re also happy to report longtime professional-audio manufacturer Tascam is keeping the cassette alive in its pro-audio and Portastudio lines. Tascam’s updated CD-and-cassette recorder, the CC-222SLmkII, includes a pitch control for both […]
He Gone
Chicago Tribune. Recent redesigns have reduced story length and page count plus relegated much of the national and world news into bite-sized briefs.
A R.A.W. Deal
Don Byczynski remembers exactly what his wife told him when he proposed gutting the entire basement of the couple’s Lake In The Hills home and converting it into a recording studio. “She said, ‘As long as I can’t hear anything, fine,” Byczynski, who goes by dB, says, seemingly still unable to believe it himself.
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