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Local CD Reviews
“Chicago ain’t been this great since Jordan,” declares Terror Squad president Fat Joe about Logan Square rep Ace Mac on All Aces Mixtape Vol. 1. So Joey Crack’s co-sign is a little inflated, but Mac does kick some pretty entertaining “gangsta shit.” Atop a barrage of mostly borrowed, bass-heavy beats from Rick Ross, Twista, and […]
Around Hear Page 2
The three-song sampler for Secrets To Be Told, Rob Nicholas And A Moment’s Notice‘s debut CD, is tolerable but by no means terrific. “Lost Yourself” and “You Say” are run-of-the-mill alt-rock odes, with “Crave” adding a dash of jazz guitar to an otherwise mediocre melody. Hopefully the full-length disc features more originality, as quite honestly […]
Around Hear Page 3
Seven-One E/Z bring some unique elements to the razor-edged hip-hop songs and freestyles on their self-titled demo by mixing in synthesizers and using deep vocals as percussion. The gritty, first-person accounts of pimps and gangstas make this an R-rated effort, while others will be more offended by a steady flow of the “N” word and […]
Under The Sea
ANDY MASON GUITARS The Mermaid Only a guy who built a triple-neck guitar for Led Zeppelin could devise something like The Mermaid.
Rock Star Parking
Local musicians who haven’t checked out the independently produced local TV show “Upscale TV” should do so – and soon.
On The Move
Count Chris Shepard, studio manager at Chicago Recording Company, as one of those who considered Lollapalooza 2006 a smashing success.
Three Little Pigs
Blind Pig Records‘ 30th anniversary collection, Pearls From Swine, is a two-CD-plus-DVD package celebrating the Chicago blues and blues rock label’s upcoming pearl anniversary in 2007. From its humble beginnings in 1977 in the basement of the Blind Pig, an Ann Arbor, Michigan blues club, the label has grown into one of the world’s foremost […]
Silk Hurley Honored
On Thursday, August 10th, the lush River North club Cabaret provided the meeting grounds for a truly curious mix of music industry folks. Everyone from hip-hop DJs (in town for The Global Mixx Retreat) to well-dressed label reps (invited by The Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy) were on hand for this occasion dubbed “In […]
Hello, My Name Is Roger
Hello, My Name Is Roger IE: Do you appreciate how The Byrds are remembered, or is there an angle people never really grasped? Roger McGuinn: Well, on the whole I’d say The Byrds are underappreciated when you think of The Beatles, The Stones, and The Beach Boys. But they’re sort of a musician’s band.
File: September 2006
Idol Chatter Hot off the heels of last year’s Devil’s Playground, Billy Idol keeps the product chain coming with a concert DVD recorded at the somewhat-rundown-but-oh-so-punk-rock Congress Theatre.
DVD Zone: September 2006
THE ROLLING STONES UNDER REVIEW 1962-1966 LED ZEPPELIN THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES Music Video Distributors You would think when it comes to The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, it’s all been said before. After gallons of ink have been spilled and miles of paper reams have been used to dissect and analyze every tidbit […]
Mississippi Amersterdam
Big Bill Broonzy: Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953 (Munich) is a double-CD package of musical and historical significance. The recordings capture Chicago via Mississippi legend Big Bill Broonzy in an intimate setting before appreciative crowds at the Ons Huis (Our House) club on February 26th and 28th, 1953. The liner notes provide a glimpse of Broonzy’s […]
Studio Happenings
The Countdown recorded and mixed at THE MATTRESS FACTORY in Chicago with Martin Atkins (PIL, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface), owner of Invisible Records. They are working on a full-length album, which will be the follow-up to the 2004 EP Scratch & Sniff. The LP will be released this winter.
Not-So-Sacred Cow
We were never fans of Erich “Mancow” Muller, the libertarian shock jock who started drawing young male listeners to him like flies when he came to Chicago in 1994. But we were not pleased when Emmis Communications-owned WKQX-FM (101.1) dumped his top-rated “Mancow’s Morning Madhouse” in July.
Roll With It
GRETSCH G400JV Archtop Guitar Fresh from his victorious performance at FitzGerald’s, Jimmie Vaughan has a new piece of signature hardware to show off.
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