Monthly
Rhymefest interview
Escaping The Matrix “My real name is iller than my rap name,” declares Che Smith, the Chicago-reared MC better known to hip-hop fans as Rhymefest (and as co-writer of Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”). Talking about the meaning of the title and concept of his long-delayed sophomore album, El Che, Rhymefest has left the major-label life […]
Ha Ha Tonka interview
Use Somebody Already Move over Caleb Followill. Ye of grizzled, sultry croon that could tear the very clothes off a fair maiden just by hitting the right sequence of notes must contend with a redhead from the Ozarks, who miraculously possesses a similar ability to defrock fresh-faced coeds with merely the sound of his voice. […]
Male Bonding interview
Everything’s A Blur Distortion in rock ‘n’ roll used to be extremely violent. True to form, guitarists like Pete Townshend and Dave Davies achieved the sound by literally stabbing holes in their amplifier speakers. Over the years, of course, distortion was harnessed and polished for Sears commercials and kiddie TV theme songs, another casualty into […]
Around Hear: May 2010
Local Band Reviews Admiral Of Black Admiral Of Black has recorded the template for fundamental hard rock/metal debut albums with The Hand Of Chaos. The eight-track CD — already a year old — has the right production to stand out from other newcomers, thanks to a party-metal swagger that overcomes any minor first-effort deficiencies.
Media: May 2010
Truly Local – And Scrappy, Too When Conscious Choice published its final issue last April, its employees refused to let the dream die.
Caught In A Mosh: May 2010
Three Years A-Moshing Almost. Truth is, June is this column’s official birthday, but — lucky you — I’ve decided to celebrate early.
Sweet Home: May 2010
Delta Crush Blues It’s telling that blues guitarist Chainsaw Dupont lists as turning points in his music career not listening to B.B. King as he was growing up in the Mississippi Delta or touring with Junior Wells in the ’90s, but hearing Sly & The Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and […]
Digital Divide: May 2010
It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Blue Avatar Fox Home Entertainment I’ll admit it: I’m probably one of only 20 people in America who didn’t see Avatar in the theaters. Yet I felt no sense of shame or desperation about not taking part in the group collective, because I knew that the eventual home-video release would be […]
Gear: May 2010
Taylor Dave Matthews Signature Guitar As a longtime Taylor Guitars devotee, Dave Matthews used his 914ce to write music that would shape a new generation of jam bands that still inspires new converts today. With an eye on the future, Taylor has collaborated with Matthews and released the Dave Matthews Signature Model guitar that also […]
File: May 2010
In The Radio While the record labels continually empty chambers and reload hoping to find that magic bullet, record stores have taken charge and adapted themselves to the crashing and surging marketplace. At 5045 N. Clark St. in Andersonville (less than a mile west and slightly north of the Aragon and Riviera), Transistor has taken […]
Hello, My Name Is Eddie
Q&A with Montgomery Gentry’s Eddie Montgomery IE: What’s it like playing up north? How do you approach the crowd and set? Eddie Montgomery: Let me tell you first off, what you see with me and “T” [bandmate Troy Gentry] is what you get. A lot of people think they can fool country fans, but they […]
Cover Story: Bernard Sumner
Don’t Sweat The Technique The odds of a band breaking big are astronomical enough, but what are the chances it will happen twice let alone three or perhaps even four times for the same artist under different incarnations?
Kate Nash interview
No More Pissing And Moaning When English folk-rocker Kate Nash closes an album, she really knows how to do it in fine sardonic style. Ergo, “I Hate Seagulls” stands as the coda to her lovably droll new sophomore set, My Best Friend Is You, wherein she sunnily chirrups down a huge list of everything she […]
Dr. Dog interview
No Shame In Trying Scott McMicken possesses a long-windedness normally associated with blathering history professors and parents gushing over week-old bundles of joy. It’s a wonder the Dr. Dog guitarist/vocalist can pare his thoughts enough to squeeze them into the Philly-based band’s four-minute-or-less compositions on Shame, Shame — let alone sharing songwriting duties with bassist/vocalist […]
The Felix Culpa interview
Planting New Seeds It’s an unseasonably warm January night at Metro, and the Wrigleyville concert hall is respectably and, surprisingly, full. Respectably because, while not sold-out, the turnout is full of passionate fans, all out to witness the triumphant live return of an act that’s been all but M.I.A. from the local-music circuit for the […]
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