Monthly
The Best Of 2008
IE Rates 2008: Our Best Ofs Click below to see our choices for top albums, songs, DVDs, reissues, and shows, and don’t forget Trevor Fisher’s “Caught In A Mosh,”David Gedge’s “Gear,” and Beverly Zeldin-Palmer’s “Sweet Home” columns, as well as our “Best Of Around Hear.”
Shot Baker interview
Shot Baker You Aren’t Here Shot Baker frontman Tony Kovacs finds himself in the unusual position of hoping for continued economic distress. The passing of the presidency from George W. Bush to Barack Obama threatens to take the arts community, including Chicago-based punk bands like his, off its game. Appearing: Friday, March 6th at Reggie’s […]
Radio Hip-Hop
The Hip-Hop Project Connected It’s no secret commercial radio in Chicago has never been best buddies with hip-hop. It almost seems surreal to recall there was once heard an all-hip-hop station in the city – “Rap Radio” on WJPC-AM (950) – even if it didn’t last long. But where mainstream stations have failed to properly […]
DVD Zone: January 2009
DVD Zone Burn After Reading Universal Seriously, are there any filmmakers out there with a more varied canon than the Coen brothers? They’ve run the gamut from pitch-perfect film noir (Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men) to surrealistic masterpieces (Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) to works that can only be described as […]
Local CD Reviews
There’s a lot of negative energy on After The Fight‘s second CD, No Brownie Pie, Same Old Sh††, but it’s packaged in short, energetic blasts that capture the raw emotion of vintage punk. With the band aiming so much anger at society, work, and life in general, it’s surprising to find the unabashed romance of […]
Best Of Around Hear ’08
Each January, we dedicate part of “Around Hear” to those low-profile local artists who are our favorites from the passing year – the results of our staff and freelancers combing clubs and stacks of CDs for more than the booze and adulation we normally receive. This is by no means an attempt to make a […]
2008: The Way We Saw It
Hooray for heavy metal! Well, technically “heavy music” (that’s what I requested from the below guests when I asked for their Top 5 lists), but nonetheless, below is what myself and some other local characters of varying pedigrees (musicians, critics, media personalities, etc.) thought were the best heavy records of ’08. If you can remember […]
Best Of “Gear” ’08
It has been another year of interesting and exciting new products and gadgets in the world of “Gear.” Here’s our list of 2008’s best. APPLE MacBook Air (Feb) Mac fanatics have been anticipating a sub notebook that would match the specs of mini-notebook laptops from PC makers Sony, Fujitsu, and Toshiba.
CBS Heaves It To Stever
Last month’s firing of radio legend Steve Dahl and his staff was shocking – but not out of character – for CBS Radio. A few weeks earlier, B96’s longtime morning team, Eddie Volkman and Joe “Jobo” Bohannon, were dumped by CBS Radio with eight months left in their contracts – and no chance to say […]
Local Studio Happenings
CARTERCO RECORDING in Chicago is offering a Graveyard Shift special: $20-per-hour recording between midnight and 8 a.m . . . Carterco recently updated its MIDI capabilities with an M-Audio keyboard controller and some virtual instruments and plans on upgrading its Pro Tools rig to 8.0 as soon as it’s released . . . Arctic Fox […]
A Tribute To Chico Banks
The Chicago blues community gathered on Wednesday, December 10th at the West Side’s United Baptist Church to celebrate the life of one of their own. Guitarist/singer-songwriter Vernon “Chico” Banks, aged 46, passed away December 3rd of an apparent infection of a heart valve that was replaced more than a year ago.
Cover Story: Yes
Yes On The Road Again . . . Finally In theory, 2008 was supposed to be a banner year for Yes, with a 40th-anniversary tour (featuring the classic lineup of singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, and new keyboardist Oliver Wakeman assuming his father Rick’s role) booked. Though buzz […]
Flogging Molly interview
Flogging Molly Alchoholics Unanimous How does a songwriter know when a track he’s tinkering with has grown into a well-oiled, crowd-pleasing hit? If you live in the remote wilds of Ireland, like Flogging Molly frontman Dave King, the answer’s easy — just grab your guitar, saunter down to your local pub, get oiled on a […]
Everest interview
Everest Neil Before Them Neil Young’s seal of approval surely must bring a few perks . . . like a tour bus. Not so much for Everest. The Los Angeles-based band calls Young’s Vapor Records home, but the quartet will squeeze into a white van to criss-cross the country along with Young on his winter […]
Mike Mangione interview
Mike Mangione Simply Put In a time when AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica are rearing their salt ‘n’ pepper head, and their progeny fill the airwaves, singer-songwriters like Mike Man-gione, whose music is deep in the roots, are becoming endangered species. Appearing: Wednesday, December 3rd at Double Door in Chicago.
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