Features
Cover story: Ray Davies
And Then The Chorus Hits He might have been a fit for Monty Python. When we met him in the ’60s, Kinks frontman Ray Davies was one of many shaggy-haired Brits ripping back the fabric of traditional mores. “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night” remain two of the most […]
Arctic Monkeys interview
The Reality Of The Situation Nick O’Malley says “I suppose” a lot. It’s so integral to his speech you wonder if it’s the Sheffield equivalent of the Chicagoese “I says” or the valley girl “like.” It has the effect of perpetual contemplation and complete detachment from his current emotional condition, as if you could insult […]
Kid Sister interview
Coming Unstuck “If you put out good music, it doesn’t matter when you put it out. It’s gonna get buzz, it’s gonna get what it needs to get. It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to ride on the tails of some whatever — if you make sure that what you do is consistently excellent, you […]
The Swell Season interview
Ode To Joy “I find myself getting bored with the angst,” Glen Hansard admits. The words might come as a surprise to those intimately familiar with the Irishman’s back catalog. Sure, The Frames excelled in lifting its audience’s souls to the rafters of the world in the course of its 19-year history, the same way […]
Brandi Carlile interview
Tiger Beat Pasting up a photo of a heartthrob on a bedroom wall is almost a rite of passage for any teenage girl. Depending on the decade, the frozen, smiling mugs of David Cassidy, Kirk Cameron, Lance Bass, and the Jonas Brothers stare back at the mooning eyes of a smitten fan as she drifts […]
Cover Story: The Black Crowes
The Audience Is Listening Maybe you thought they’d capitulated. Since reuniting in 2005, The Black Crowes haven’t exactly sauntered onto Super Bowl half-time gigs or spilt their avian guts on “Oprah” (next day’s headline: “Brothers used to hit each other!”). Chris and Rich Robinson released the Freak ‘N’ Roll and Brothers Of A Feather live […]
The Prairie Cartel interview
Still Standing It’s not especially likely that a decade ago, anyone would have expected an experimental electro-punk project from the frontmen of hometown rock staples Local H and Caviar. Good thing those very same frontmen (Scott Lucas and Blake Smith, respectively), didn’t let little things like precedent and expectations stop them from forming The Prairie […]
Robert Earl Keen interview
How To Be Big And Rich This summer, after his mid-afternoon Lollapalooza set, Texan singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen found himself in a rather deserted portion of Navy Pier. Opposite a mysterious arcade machine with a sinister Gyspy skull inside, he popped in a quarter and said, “I want to be big. No! No! Sound big. […]
A Veteran Decision
Where Did Our Love Go? A Roundtable Discussion With Out Of The Box Records And Friends Between constant changes in the music industry, specifically the way tunes are purchased, swapped, distributed, and promoted, there was plenty to chat about when Out Of The Box Records hosted a recent Rock And Roll Brunch. To coincide with […]
Cover Story: Riot Fest 2009
Rocket To L.A. Music festivals tend to have an air of inclusion, a come-one come-all embrace that promises big-name acts and a sprinkling of enticing openers. Riot Fest, since its 2004 Chicago debut, has been different. This isn’t to say it’s exclusionary or private, but it’s punk rock by and for punk rockers. Headliners such […]
Christopher O’Riley interview
Fusion In D-Minor There’s bit of the angel and the devil to acclaimed, Chicago native Christopher O’Riley. On one hand, there’s the Van Cliburn-prize finalist, classical pianist recorder/performer, and 10-year host of NPR’s highly rated show, “From The Top”; O’Riley’s the championed poster child (if not savior) of classical music in the modern era. On […]
Karl Denson interview
The Old Switcheroo Don’t judge a man by his ringtone. While Karl Denson may pull down the funkiest riffs on the sax and flute (take that, Ian Anderson) this side of a Tarantino flick, his main connection to the outside world alerts him of incoming calls with the fervor of a Kenny G track. Appearing: […]
Say Anything interview
Alive With The Glory Of Love For awhile there, it seemed like Max Bemis might just end up as pop punk’s permanent and resident trainwreck. Diagnosed with bi-polar disorder following the release of his band Say Anything’s 2004 breakthrough release . . . Is A Real Boy (J), Bemis’ story became one of drugs and […]
Thirsty Whale Reunion
In The Belly Of The Thirsty Whale It was more than 20 years ago that I last set foot inside the Thirsty Whale. The band was Holland, on the eve of their Atlantic Records release, Little Monsters. Former B’zz singer Tommy Holland had assembled a new outfit, and I was excited to see what they […]
Web Exclusive: More Whale Memories
The Thirsty Whale Reunion All The Whale Memories Unfit To Print Joe Cantafio: “We were so young. I was the old guy at 19, but my brother and two of the other guys were 16 in the band, performing at the Whale and nobody knew it, nobody knew they were that young. And that was […]
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