Columns
File: April 2008
A Festivus For The Rest Of Us If Lollapalooza packs ’em in with the rumored announcement of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails as headliners, us Chicago folk might be crowded out of our own festival. Pitchfork Music Fest has already squashed the one that gave it birth (Intonation) — you’ll have to excuse us if […]
Hello, My Name Is Andy
Hello, My Name Is Andy Q&A With Andy McKee IE: What first attracted you to playing the guitar and how old were you? Andy McKee: I was 13 when I got my first guitar and I asked for a guitar for my birthday that year because I heard Eric Johnson on the radio. They played […]
DVD Zone: April 2008
I Am Legend Warner Home Video What is it about the end of the world? The current trend is to speculate about what the planet would be like if humans weren’t around to tend to the old homestead. Both The History Channel and The National Geographic Channel have run specials about it, and there’s I […]
Gone Too Soon
The music world lost two supremely talented and distinctive artists recently when R&B and rock drummer/singer/ songwriter Buddy Miles and Canadian guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Jeff Healey passed away. Miles succumbed to congestive heart failure at the age of 60 on February 26th in Austin, Texas, and Healey died a few days later in Toronto after a lifelong […]
Chicagoland Studio Happenings
South Side drummer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Anthony (Sgt. Roxx, Raddaka, Pamela Moore) worked on his solo project called Gagorder13 at BAREFOOT STUDIO in Beecher with David Knuth. Gabriel finished drum tracks in March and plans to track all guitars, bass, and vocals through the spring and summer for a fall/winter release.
Webbed Migration
Two years ago Steve Rhodes left his post as Chicago magazine media and political writer and launched The Beachwood Reporter, an online magazine chronicling all things Chicago (www.beachwoodreporter.com). Last year longtime New York Daily News TV critic David Bianculli made the leap to the Web with Tvworthwatching.com, after the newspaper he’d been with for 14 […]
Victorian Era
Victoria Amplifier Co. Electro King Naperville’s Victoria Amplifier Company‘s new amp, the Electro King, was a labor of love re-creation of the 1950s-era Gibson GA-40. The Eisenhower-era cathode-based 6V6 tubes supply a modest 15 watts of power, which make it suited for small-club and recording environments.
The Legacy Remains
The seed of Testament‘s reunion was planted in 2001, the year Chuck Billy was fighting for his life. Diagnosed with germ cell seminoma, the hulking frontman was undergoing chemotherapy and drowning in medical bills. So friends from the Bay Area and beyond united for the Thrash Of The Titans benefit gig in San Francisco. On […]
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
The Goodyear Pimps deliver a unique hard rock sound on their latest, Quickly Now Gentlemen, With A Lively Step. They are mostly rock with just enough punk to keep it raw, but what makes them stand out are the lyrics, (stream-of-consciousness and literate in a hard-edged way) and the vocal delivery. Unfortunately, there are no […]
Around Hear Page 3
The debut album from Paper Arrows, Look Alive, swoops in and hits the pause button on racing pulses. The trio crafts somber melodies that would make Adam Duritz proud. Joe Goodkin’s vocals even slightly resemble the Counting Crows frontman. While Duritz sings about Maria in every song, the gal Goodkin pines for in these 10 […]
Hello, My Name Is Dick
Hello My Name Is Dick IE: Seeing Electric Six at Double Door was how I spent my very first New Years Eve in Chicago. That’s not a question, obviously, just a fun fact. Dick Valentine: The thing I remember about that show is that we thought it might be our last show ever, since we […]
File: March 2008
Queen Nothing Everyone is entitled to their own opinion . . . unless it isn’t Aretha Franklin‘s opinion, too. So let it be known from here forth that no female singer may ever be lovingly referred to as “the queen” by a star-struck admirer. That’s what Beyoncé did during an intro to Tina Turner’s Grammy […]
DVD Zone: March 2008
DVD Zone Sony’s Revenge Do you like having the newest gadgets? Does the thought of running out and buying the latest technology, no matter the cost, make you a little moist? If so, you might have been one of the few who plunked down some hard-earned coin on a spiffy new HD-DVD player. Guess what? […]
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. […]










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