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Gear: October 2010
Gibson John Lennon 70th Anniversary J-160E In honor of John Lennon’s 70th birthday in December, Gibson Acoustic announced three limited-edition 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E acoustic guitars to celebrate the legacy of the legendary Beatles songwriter/guitarist.
File: September 2010
Throw It to Lucas Leafing through the photo album with even the most casual interest suggests Local H frontman Scott Lucas was once scowling when someone hit him on the back, thus sentencing him to a life term with a frown on his puss. Though his hardened demeanor – great for this fall’s prison fashions […]
Hello, My Name Is Jeff
Q&A with Jeff Daniels IE: Your musical ambitions seem pretty friendly and harmless. Jeff Daniels: I’m not trying to hurt anybody.
Around Hear: September 2010
Local Band Reviews Aevumin (a band with an instantly recognizable moniker but with pronunciation challenges) plays tight and peppy post-punk rock on a seven-track, self-titled CD. Some, like “Cliché,” value frantic power-chords, riffing and lyrics. But the band shines when jamming to groovier, more deliberate midtempo rhythms like on “Lonely Walks Away.”
Caught In A Mosh: September 2010
Mightier Than The Sword?! Here’s the thing about digital voice recorders: the “record” button must be pressed in order to record something. Actually, there are voice-activated options, but I don’t trust ’em. There’s too much at risk when conducting an interview to trust a tiny-ass sound sensor inside a tiny-ass digital record to kick on […]
Media: September 2010
The Decent Thing To Do Fucking brilliant! Those two words uttered by U2’s Bono while accepting an award for “The Hands That Built America” on a January 2003 NBC broadcast of the Golden Globes sparked a battle with the Federal Communications Commission that lasted until July of this year.
Sweet Home: September 2010
An Outpouring Of Blues The fall traditionally signals back to school, work, and more activity than the lazy days of summer usually demands. Well the blues has stepped it up as well, with a slew of recent releases and reissues from the masters.
Gear: September 2010
Boss continues to battle competitors with more portable and relatively affordable multi-track recorders with its new BR-800 Digital Recorder, a battery-powered studio “to go” using newly designed touch-sensor switches and SD-card recording media. Up to four tracks can be recorded or eight tracks played back simultaneously, plus an additional stereo track dedicated to the built-in […]
Studiophile: September 2010
I’d Like To Be Like Lauren Frost At OAKDALE 3B STUDIO in Chicago, Lauren Frost, current indie/acoustic rocker and former Disney star, recorded what might be regarded as her signature song, “The August,” with songwriting partner Ashton Likes. One of the more requested songs from her live show, Frost gave us the backstory on the […]
Digital Divide: September 2010
Look, It’s The City! Run! So this is how marriage is: You’re together for awhile, squeeze out a few kids, and settle into a routine. You go to work, you come home from work, feed and clean up after said kids, and do it all over again the next day. It goes without saying that […]
Hello, My Name Is Carl
Q&A with My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel IE: A lot of people might see your gentle solo album as an extreme reaction to My Morning Jacket’s classic rock gusto. Is it? Carl Broemel: I definitely don’t think of it that way. There are lots of things about MMJ that embrace the quiet and gentle, so […]
File: August 2010
New: The New New We all remember the consternation when Sergei Makarov took home the NHL’s 1990 rookie award at age 31. An age mandate was added (the Makarov Rule) and, incidentally, an Igor Makarov will be trying to make the Blackhawks this fall. Anyway, the Grammys has endured similar bouts of hand-wringing and finger-pointing […]
Around Hear: August 2010
Local Band Reviews Bird Show Band‘s self-titled CD is flat-out bizarre at first, but for those willing to embrace its unconventional mixture of jazz, progressive rock, and synths, it’s one of the more alluring projects to come from the Amish Records catalog. Though the group is avant-garde at its most indulgent, the European undertones provide […]
Media: August 2010
Fear No Art, Chicago “I felt that there was nothing that went behind the scenes showing how human the process of making art is: its mistakes, conundrums, miracle moments, etc. I wanted to discover the artists behind the art, showing the human side, and thus making the arts more approachable for people,” says Elysabeth Alfano, […]
Sweet Home: August 2010
Bourbon At A Young Age As a child in New Orleans, Tovi Khali didn’t quite know what she wanted to be when she grew up, until she first glimpsed inside Bourbon Street blues clubs. “I’d be outside watching the singers and I knew I wanted to do that,” says Khali. “If it weren’t for the […]










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