Monthly
Beat Of His Own Drum
Ten years on the road with blues great Lonnie Brooks helped drummer Patrick Doody hone his chops as a professional musician before dabbling in recording. It was actually Brooks who spurred Doody to broaden his career aspirations when he toyed with the idea of retiring back in 2000 and told his fun-loving drummer to start […]
Deep Down In Alabama
Honeydripper is the latest film by independent filmmaker John Sayles (The Brother From Another Planet, Return Of The Secaucus Seven, Sunshine State). Sayles has created a musical fable – a compelling mixture of blues, myth, and history woven beautifully by a novel-like script, surrealistic camera angles, and a stellar ensemble cast.
Cover Story: Steve Earle
Steve Earle Goes Through The Wire Any viewer tuning into the last season of David Simon’s brilliant HBO series, “The Wire,” probably did a double-take as the credits rolled. That bearded ex-junkie informant Waylon was actually played by folk-rocking firebrand Steve Earle? Yes, it’s true, says the singer of his weaselly alter ego, a recurring […]
Bell X1 interview
Bell X1 Delayed Flight Situated knee-deep among T-shirts and other band paraphernalia (monogrammed teapots anyone?), Bell X1’s Paul Noonan dreams of the great American landscape while tirelessly sorting through pre-holiday merchandise orders. Such is the life of a Dublin-based DIY musical outfit. Appearing: March 19th at Schubas in Chicago.
Chris Walla interview
Chris Walla Homeland Insecurities It comes as no surprise that certain artists set themselves up as lightning rods for controversy. Britney Spears’ ongoing crusade to become the new Courtney Love stands as the most obvious example right now. Still, others go out of their way to create and sustain mischief, which is actually even sadder. […]
The Atari Underground
Atari Returns! Dance Dance Reinvention Before video game consoles could play Blu-ray movies, display Web sites, boot Linux, or offer unlimited headset smack talk, they were good for one thing and one thing only: video gaming. When the 1.19 MHz Atari 2600 console was first released in 1977, it had two main settings: “b&w” and […]
The Goldstars feature
The Goldstars Lord Of The Ringers In some alternate universe, The Goldstars are a god-sized juggernaut. Frontman Sal — just “Sal” — is a true star, a wizard conjuring garage rock hurricanes to cleanse and purify the sodden masses.
Prime interview
Prime Backbone Of The Middle Ground Dre Vasquez, the MC better known as Prime, is arguably one of the most recognized independent hip-hop artists in Chicago. For a decade, this North Side resident’s craft and liveliness have earned him a spot on a live HBO MC battle, a track with Slug from Atmosphere (“Lambslaughter”), and […]
Hello, My Name Is Shannon
Hello, My Name Is Shannon Q&A With Shannon Wright IE: You’ve just welcomed a new baby. Were you musical as a kid? Shannon Wright: My grandma bought me a guitar when I was 9, but I hated it because it made my fingers hurt. My parents liked music a lot, but neither of them played […]
File: February 2008
EMI’s E-M Ergency In what could be mistaken for a climate-change exercise, lifeboats are circling the offices of EMI Recordings, home to Capitol, Virgin, and Astralwerks Records among others. Nearly 2,000 jobs have been cut — take that, downloaders! — and the fallout isn’t limited to staff.
DVD Zone: February 2008
Strike? What Strike? What seems to be troublin’ ya, bunkie? Are you bummed because you haven’t seen a new episode of your favorite show in months? Do you feel you’ll projectile vomit if you stumble across another inane “reality” show? Have you gotten a little sick of all those high-falootin’ writers thinking they should get […]
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Sue Fink is a singer-songwriter with a quirky take on folk’s storytelling tradition. At times she sounds as if she is writing children’s music with her sing-songy melodies and PG subject matter about dogs, fish, and cell phones. Musically, her second album, Damsel In Distress, never charts new territory, but lyrically, she’s quite creative. (www.suefink.com) […]
Around Hear Page 3
Ten years of combining polka with rock ‘n’ roll (and lots of beer) deserves a celebration. To mark their decade anniversary, The Polkaholics released 10 Years To The Floor, a live album that shows off this band’s dedication to all things polka. Even with so-so production, this album captures this Chicago trio’s live energy. Still, […]
Judd’s Dread
My first face-to-face encounter with Blake Judd didn’t leave me with a very good impression of the Nachtmystium frontman. In the summer of 2003 I had just moved to Chicago and was living half a block from Metal Haven’s old Lakeview location. Homesick, overwhelmed, clueless, and friendless, I dropped by the store a few times […]
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