Recent Articles
File: July 2007
Cannibals At The Gate Much like Major League Baseball and anti-trust laws, terrestrial (that means land-based) radio enjoys a certain loophole to keep itself alive and occasionally relevant. Radio, as a music broadcaster, only has to pay royalties to songwriters and publishers. Right or wrong, performers and record companies have been shut out. But now […]
DVD Zone: July 2007
Glastonbury Thinkfilms With the summer festival season in full swing, why not take a look at one of the most famous and long-running get togethers of them all?
Local CD Reviews
Doug Bistrow’s sly upright bass on Akasha‘s self-titled EP stands out as the quartet’s key ingredient. “Sideways” combines the band’s reggae/blues influences with a touch of INXS, while “In Defining” runs along the blueprint laid out by Bob Marley. Lead singer Cosmos Ray sounds vaguely reminiscent of Shaggy sidekick Rayvon, especially on “Affliction.” The record’s […]
Around Hear Page 2
Despite the album’s title (The Panties Your Mother Laid Out) For You, mom isn’t likely to get her panties in a bunch listening to the latest aural assault from Egnaro. It’s innocuous, middle-of-the-road metal, with now-and-again insightful lyrics interspersed with pile-driving beats. While there are some self-indulgent moments, the 10 tunes – most notably “The […]
Around Hear Page 3
Those who have Pete And J‘s Dressed For Conversation playing in the background might mistake the pair for a present-tense Simon & Garfunkel. Though that may be a turn on for fans of the folk duo, the similarities are so close (especially on the ballads “Sweet Cecilia” and “Sentimental Love Song”) that it comes off […]
Battle Of THE Bands
Metallica vs. Megadeth – album for album. This battle has taken place in my head many, many times through the years, and now it gets put to paper.
Acoustic Rock
Fender Electracoustic Series Guitar After seven years of the status quo, Fender have redesigned their Electracoustic Series.
Save Internet Radio
Is the musical Wild West of Internet radio about to become as predictable as commercial broadcast radio? A new Copyright Royalty Board measure that goes into effect July 15th would massively increase the rate webcasters must pay each time they stream a song, and put thousands of small, independent outlets out of business.
Rock Accessories
I’d always thought that rock’s major accessory was sex. But a recently published book, Paul Grushkin‘s lavishly illustrated coffee table tome Rockin’ Down The Highway (Voyageur), has given me second thoughts. Grushkin makes a convincing case that rock’s main accoutrement is the automobile.
Studio Happenings
At CLEANCUT RECORDING STUDIO in Palatine, How Bright The Sky recorded a single entitled “Typewriter” that was produced by Tony D. . . . Pow! Right In The Kisser worked on their full length, Knuckle Up, with Tony D. . . . Men Dream Of Flying worked on pre-production.
Blues From The Heart
“I love singing the real, old-school blues. It gives me a feeling to sing them type of blues. That’s old school. That’s me.” – Koko Taylor Old School (Alligator) is Queen Of The Blues Koko Taylor’s first album in seven years! Taylor roars and growls her way through five originals and six cover tunes from […]
T.I. live!
T.I. Riviera, Chicago Wednesday, June 20, 2007 While not marketed as a “secret” show, the location of rapper T.I.’s free MySpace performance wasn’t made available until the day before. But that didn’t stop his fans from arriving in throngs — lining up the entire stretch of the 4700 block of Magnolia around Lawrence, all the […]
oh my god preview
oh my god Schubas, Chicago Thursday, June 28th & Friday, June 29th, 2007 Chicago band oh my god, long revered for their wacky drums/bass/organ lineup, finally take the leap and add geetar to the mix. Does this mean conformity for these proud weirdoes? Hardly.
Cealed Kasket preview
Cealed Kasket Otto’s, DeKalb Friday, June 29, 2007 Double Door, Chicago Saturday, June 30, 2007 Like a weightlifting, protein shake-pounding, barbed-wire armband-wearing man unable to confess his secret love of figure skating, it can be tough for heavy metal fans to admit the silliness of some of the music they, and the bands they love, […]
Great Lake Swimmers preview
Great Lake Swimmers Schubas, Chicago Saturday, June 30, 2007 From an audio standpoint, it might feel like Great Lake Swimmers will have just blown into town on Saturday.
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