Monthly
Gear: October 2009
Gibson Zoot Suit LG Guitar Let’s face it, Gibson Guitars’ Zoot Suit SG maybe the ugliest guitar we’ve seen in the last several years. But sometimes ugly is cool. Cherry Poppin’ Daddies‘ leader Steve Perry has teamed up with the legendary manufacturer to take blame for this beauty. The Zoot Suit SG is a “guitar […]
Studiophile: October 2009
Neil Larsen The name Neil Larsen might not immediately jump off the page to average music fans, but to those in the know, he’s a legendary keyboardist with credits on some 150 prominent albums. And he just so happens to be on one of this decade’s most anticipated tours, linking up with the legendary Leonard […]
Spins: Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson Walking On A Wire (1968-2009) (Shout Factory) Somewhere early on in his career Richard Thompson got tagged as one of the great guitarists, but I’ve never thought it was true. He is an exceptional guitarist no doubt, but he is absolutely a great songwriter. And it’s great songs that last. There are 71 […]
Spins: Radiohead
Radiohead Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail To The Thief (Capitol) Where were you on October 3rd, 2000? Did you raise a glass to pop music as it tied a kerchief to a stick and set off down the tracks? Look around you now: Nothing has been the same since.
Around Hear: October 2009
Local Band Reviews Add American Draft to Chicago’s instrumental rock pedigree. The band’s second full-length release, the eight-track Hawk On Coachhouse, is like a less frenetic Mastodon minus the vocals. The title track showcases its multi-layered guitar attack, with variations on a soaring/airy riff. Harder-rocking tracks like “Diet Of Worms” and “Tree Of Woe” are […]
Media: October 2009
Pod-A-Palooza Steve Dahl unveiled his new weekday webcast September 8th (www.dahl.com), just after deadline time. The CBS Radio-sponsored show allows Dahl a chance to talk to his fans – something he hasn’t been able to do since CBS took him off WJMK-FM (104.3) late last year, and he won’t be able to return to the […]
Sweet Home: October 2009
Delmark Delivers Blues History Chicago remains a blues mecca, even in the face of distracting new-millennium antics of Chi-town musicians like Kanye West and R. Kelly. Despite this and a lengthy gospel, R&B, and jazz legacy, Chicago’s blues heritage towers over them all. It Ain’t Over (Delmark) showcases exactly why this is, a DVD packed […]
Caught In A Mosh: October 2009
The Seven Wonders Planet Metal can do no wrong. Fifteen months after launching, founder Chris Black (Superchrist, Pharaoh) has yet to put his label’s logo on a bad or even so-so album. Everything is gold. O.K., I haven’t heard PM001, Sentenced‘s “The Glow Of 1000 Suns/ Amok Run” 7-inch, but PM002 through PM007 are scalding. […]
DVD Zone: October 2009
Listen. I’m gonna drop a little knowledge on you. It may seem a bit controversial, perhaps even scandalous, but you need to hear it: Summer is overrated.
Lovehammers interview
Crowning Achievement Each time an INXS song pops up on the radio, a split-second is devoted to re-imagining the tune with Marty Casey’s voice in place of the late Michael Hutchence. For anyone who avidly followed Casey’s television journey on the CBS reality show, “Rock Star: INXS,” where the chart-topping Australian group searched for a […]
Chevelle interview
Friction Fiction “I walked out of a Mars Volta show in L.A. a couple years back,” says Chevelle frontman Pete Loeffler, “because it was one long jam session. If that’s what you’re into – great. But I heard one song I knew and the rest of it I was like, ‘Whoa. O.K. I get it: You’re […]
Yoko Ono interview
The Further Adventures Of Plastic Woman Many know Yoko Ono as leader of Plastic Ono Band, others for solo tracks spun in danceclubs across the globe, some as an avant-garde artist. Of course, she’ll always be linked in the mainstream press to her famous (and occasionally infamous) marriage to John Lennon, much of which was […]
Fruit Bats interview
Drums & Bass Eric D. Johnson finally feels the power of rock ‘n’ roll. Years ago, he fell in love with a band who took pride in deconstructing it. Then the Fruit Bat warmed to a utopian, collaborative ideal before settling on toting his acoustic guitar from tree to tree. Before long he ran with […]
Hello, My Name Is Jimi
Hello My Name Is Jimi Q&A with Survivor’s Jimi Jamison IE: What did the city of Chicago mean to you during the Survivor days and how about now? Jimi Jamison: Chicago is such a blessing and I didn’t realize what a great city it is until I joined Survivor. People in Chicago are the most […]
File: September 2009
Les Was More We’ve strained, but we can’t think of an adequate parallel to Les Paul‘s notoriety vs. his actual impact. (Somehow Ben Franklin and bifocals just don’t capture it.) Despite the guitar body that made his name an emblem, Paul’s greatest contribution to music wasn’t his attachment to Gibson Guitars’ iconic slab of wood. […]
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