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Interview: Butch Walker
Ghost Writer It should come as no surprise that Butch Walker loved Taylor Swift’s megahit, “You Belong With Me,” nor should it be surprising that, in a couple of hours, he recorded his own version of the song – one that did it huge heaping piles more justice. It might have been a little surprising […]
Interview: Dum Dum Girls
What Dreams Are Made Of It’s easy to laugh at Dee Dee Penny’s current predicament. “There’s a lot of construction outside my apartment,” she says over the phone. “I can’t hear a thing. It’s awful.”
Caught In A Mosh: October 2011
There’s an old saying that goes “It’s better to have an unpopular opinion that’s popular than vice versa.” Actually, that’s not a saying at all. I’m not even sure it makes sense. It’s either cosmic or idiotic. I made it up while listening to Grand Magus (Iron Will!), drinking coffee, and writing this column one […]
Hello, My Name Is J.
Q&A with J. Cole IE: I know you were born overseas, but had you traveled much before the Rihanna tour? J. Cole: Oh yeah, on my own tours for two years at least. Growing up I was kind of a military brat. But after coming back from Germany as a kid, I never traveled much.
The October of our years
Wow. September’s only ending and it’s already been October for a month. Tom Russell, Ty Segall, Jens Lekman, and Color Radio’s local release party: bring us to the light!
Ach! Toe = brrr!
Before we beat you upside da head with the October issue, perchance you’d glance at previews for the Diane Izzo tribute, Chipotle’s Cultivate Chicago fest, Wild Beasts with Twin Sister, Randy Montana, Wood Brothers, and Darling!
Pearl Jam 20 review!
As career choices go, rock ‘n’ roll isn’t exactly the most reliable path. Failure is the rule not the exception. So any time a band reaches any sort of recognizable milestone, it’s usually cause for celebration. When that benchmark is two decades, well, a simple Hallmark card isn’t going to do it.
Guster and Jack’s Mannequin live!
Between the constant rain, empty spots in the pavilion and lawn, and complete mid-set power outage, Chicagoland’s famed outdoor venue Ravinia wasn’t real kind to Guster and Jack’s Mannequin on Saturday night, as both bands played their debut show there. Fortunately, neither group let those challenges affect their sets.
RIP Honeyboy Edwards
Bluesman David “Honeyboy” Edwards died last Monday aged 96, a dyed-in-the-wool Delta bluesman whose final decade would be his most prolific.
Cover Story: Tom Morello
International Man Of Solidarity Tom Morello is not getting Audioslave back together. We want to get that out of the way first, because just about every other project you could associate him with is live.
Interview: Erasure
Tomorrowland One of the synth-pop era’s most innovative, infectious, and flamboyant acts, Erasure has spanned two-and-a-half decades with constant rotation in the clubs, with the occasional, percolating radio smash.
Interview: The Horrors
Cat’s In The Cradle Horrors frontman Faris Badwan is eager to discuss Skying, his quintet’s sonically adventurous new third album – a record that’s just landed him squarely in the Top Five on the U.K. charts.
Backstage@Lollapalooza
Catching up with artists playing Lollapalooza was tougher than we thought. Even with some acts stuck in town after their sets in order to play afterparties, we came up against a wishlist of musicians with schedules more hardwired than the festival’s own rigid set times.
Caught In A Mosh: September 2011
Nouveau Sheet Music Remember last month when I conducted an interview with myself? Pretty awesome, yeah? To defend myself against accusations of narcissism, though, my reasoning for that column needs clarification: The originally planned feature with Swedish band Ghost never materialized.
Sweet Home: September 2011
Race, Rage, & The Blues Nobody expected a brief Alligator Records tribute to become a catalyst for examining blues-industry race relations. When the Chicago Reader ran a profile of founder Bruce Iglauer commemorating the 40th anniversary of the label, buried within the May 19th piece was a quote that inflamed the blues community:
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