Monthly
DVD Zone: July 2009
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 UMe If Bruce Dickinson isn’t the coolest person on the planet, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who is. Not only is he still one of the best and most charismatic frontmen in the business at age 50, but if he needs to catch the afternoon shuttle from London to Cardiff, […]
Cover Story: Aerosmith
Back To The Edge For one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most treasured groups of “bad boys,” Aerosmith haven’t done much rockin’ or rollin’ lately. The mechanics of mobilizing their aging machine have proven more difficult than imagined, as age, health, and stop/start productivity have given the band fits. The marketing arm has no problem functioning […]
Mr. Lif interview
Neighborhood Watch When speaking with seasoned indie MC Mr. Lif , it’s surprising to hear that he hasn’t been keeping up with the news. After all, this Boston-bred artist, born Jeffrey Haynes, has been best recognized for the vigilance and yen for social justice within his well-crafted raps. What he has done best with songs […]
The Veils interview
The End Is The Beginning At home in London, Finn Andrews sounds anything but comfortable. The Veils’ driving force says he’s perched on a stool, but in truth it sounds as if he’s upstairs in a closet with the lights off, clutching his cell phone so closely his voice sounds muffled. Appearing: Thursday, July 23rd […]
Jon Troast interview
Household Name Having the stamina to perform a hundred shows in a hundred days is a tricky task in and of itself, but finding a competent booking agent to line up that many back-to-back gigs for an indie artist is even more of a long shot. Lake Geneva-based singer/songwriter Jon Troast has plenty of energy […]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs live
Aragon, Chicago Tuesday, May 26, 2009 A common concern with success is whether someone gets too big too quickly. In Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ case, they went from a venue the size of the Riviera (where this show was originally booked) to the Aragon in a matter of weeks. No wonder frontwoman Karen O. didn’t know […]
Hello, My Name Is Dan
Q&A With Tortoise’s Dan Bitney IE: Beacons Of Ancestorship is a mouthful of a title. What were the runners up? Dan Bitney: That’s always the biggest struggle for us — naming stuff is the last thing we do. Appearing: Friday, July 17th at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.
File: June 2009
VIA CHICAGO This space was originally a set of light jibes regarding the legal dispute brought against Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy by former bandmate and writing partner Jay Bennett. Bennett, who was fired in 2001 after seven years in Wilco, claimed Tweedy owed him songwriting royalties as well as compensation for his appearance in the documentary […]
DVD Zone: June 2009
Revolutionary Road 20th Century Fox After taking a trip to the Middle East with Jarhead, director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road To Perdition) returns to the fertile ground of middle-American dysfunction with Revolutionary Road. Teaming up again are Titanic co-stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as April and Frank Wheeler, but there are no “king […]
Caught In A Mosh: June 2009
THE DEVIL IN DETAIL “I’ll be shocked if The Devil You Know isn’t absolutely awesome.” I typed those words in my April column. It was less than a month until said Heaven & Hell album’s April 28th release and I, like many metalheads, was very excited.
Media: June 2009
FREE RADIO STILL RELEVANT – ESPECIALLY FOR MUSICIANS A few years ago, Massachusetts-based musician Candace Clement was in a band called Better Friends Than Lovers when she started taking a hard look at how the music industry works. “A pattern quickly emerged — one where very few companies seemed to control all content,” says Clement, […]
Around Hear: June 2009
Beaujolais‘ Love At Thirty (Parasol) revolves around divorce, with melancholy tracks like “Nightmare In A Healthy Brain” and “Please Don’t Let This Be True” over-sharing Joe Ziemba’s (The Like Young, Wolfie) dark emotions.
Sweet Home: June 2009
TURNING 20 On June 9th, 1989, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells performed a memorable set of acoustic blues at the Front Porch stage during the Chicago Blues Festival. This writer was there, MCing that particular stage. Once the show was over, I was directed to announce to the lingering crowd that they should make it […]
Gear: June 2009
B.C Rich Kerry King V Generation 2 B.C. Rich and Slayer guitarist Kerry King have teamed up to assemble two new guitar models for collectors and first-time players. Bill Xavier, vice president of B.C. Rich, was a proud papa when speaking about this new collaboration with King. “Kerry has an innate understanding of his fans […]
Cover Story: The Dead
The Afterlife Afterparty Bill Kreutzmann is in Washington D.C. and, from where he’s sitting, a bad place. He’s not getting weird vibes or whatever lame, hippie mysticism people derisively ascribe to his band and their followers – he can’t get an Internet signal. “I’m trying to get my computers up,” he says, pausing to plead […]
Recent Comments