Columns
DVD Zone: May
Capote Sony Pictures Classic How’s this for a trade-off: You write a book that makes you the most talked about writer of your time, but the process of writing it affects your life so much that you never complete another one. Such is Truman Capote’s lot.
Feeling The Blues
“He’s so good, man.” – Muddy Waters talking about Otis Rush in Robert Palmer’s Deep Blues.
Studio Happenings
At UP ON THE ROOF RECORDING in Lombard, owner/engineer Mark Blas recorded and mixed tracks for reggaeton artist/producer Wil Diaz . . . Blas also tracked the second album for blues locals Mitch & The Polecats.
Jazz Heaven
Jazz singing is like pornography, in that you know it when you hear it,” quips local singer Kurt Elling during a conversation with Al Jarreau and Ramsey Lewis on an episode of the new weekly TV series, “Legends Of Jazz.”
Local CD Reviews
The dark melody on Angel Eyes‘ Something To Do With Death is carried by smooth electric guitars and wavy samples, then sporadically shifts into pounding drums and metal sequences coupled with screaming vocals. Despite the songs being too long (four tracks/50 minutes total), the sporadic changes in tempo and moving from instrumental gloom-heavy rock to […]
Around Hear page 2
Click here to return to page 1. The Osaka Orangeade Concern play melodic and dynamic indie rock that recalls The Wedding Present, Silkworm, and Fugazi. They are raw enough to be real but skilled enough to be mostly listenable, which is not always the case with this stuff. Check out “What Would Wilco Do?” and […]
Good Night, And Good Luck/Network
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK / NETWORK “SPECIAL EDITION” Warner Brothers In a 1961 speech to the National Association Of Broadcasters, FCC Chairman Newton Minnow challenged those in attendance to watch what they were producing and really look at what was on the air. If they could “keep [their] eyes glued to that set until […]
Hello, My Name Is Jack
Q&A with the former Dire Straits guitarist, who put together this spring’s Guitarmageddon at Guitar Center. IE: Guitar Center’s Guitarmageddon contest is focused on finding the Next King Of The Blues? Jack Sonni: It’s never been focused on a particular genre like this, something we decided to do because it had become an exercise in […]
File For April
SO YOU WANNA BE A ROCK SUPERSTAR? On Saturday, March 11th, perhaps the first truly beautiful day of the year, a line outside the Elbo Room in Lincoln Park stretched all the way down the block. The gathering might not have looked particularly out of place at the venue except that it was mid-afternoon, not […]
Introducing The Blues
By Beverly Zeldin-Palmer During the month of February, a slice of Chicago’s rich musical history was revisited in the Vittum Theater’s musical production, I Dream In Blues. The play, dubbed a “bluesical” was conceived by singer and storyteller Katherine Davis and Tom Arvetis, artistic director of the Vittum. It is Davis’ autobiography in words and […]
Banking On It
By Trevor Fisher Besides just being pretty freakin’ sweet, the fact Manny Sanchez‘s The I.V. Lab Studio is housed inside a vintage bank vault actually may have helped him secure a loan.
Gear: Part 2
Click here to return to page 1 GODIN LG EMG Guitar Godin‘s LG EMG black graphite guitar further cements Godin’s recent trend toward offering several guitars for heavy rockers. Godin’s press materials touts the guitar line with a “darkly alluring new black graphite semi gloss finish and full out, blistering tone.” The LG EMG is […]
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