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Jazz Hands
WNUA-FM (95.5)’s Ramsey Lewis is not the only game in town when it comes to jazz musicians moonlighting as DJs. Sax player Bruce Gibson and bass guitarist Nick Calabrese co-host a show called “Local Jazz Focus” each Tuesday night from 7 to 9 on Triton College’s WRRG-FM (88.9). They’ve had a whole host of musicians […]
Paradise Behind The Console
Michael Kolar recently took one of the biggest leaps in his five years of owning Soundscape Studios: moving from a hidden space within a factory on Fulton Street to a bustling building in the recently revitalized near South Side. Sitting in the deluxe, custom-designed Red Room of his new studio on South Wabash, the engineer […]
Bringing It All Back Home
Eric Bibb comes from a musical place. His father, folk-singer Leon Bibb, made a name for himself in the 1960s New York folk scene, his uncle was John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the legendary Paul Robeson was his godfather. Bibb grew up surrounded by musical icons. Bob Dylan advised him to “keep […]
Cover Story: Common
Common Forever And Ever It’s hard not to treat an interview/lunch with South Side-born rapper Common like a solemn occasion. He prays before he eats (mahi mahi with a side of fries). He’s impeccably dressed — pink dress shirt, grey vest, striped tie, self-promoted Sofi newsboy cap — and his speaking voice is considerably lower […]
The Magic Numbers interview
The Magic Numbers Shyness Follows Prone to fits of giggling, Michele Stodart is just returning from her brother Romeo’s flat where the two 20-somethings engaged in a bit of a spat. While the occasional temper flare-up between siblings doesn’t surprise anyone who has one, the Stodarts’ unique position puts them in continuous close range and […]
Peter Himmelman interview
Peter Himmelman PIGEONHOLED! Peter Himmelman used to be famous for three reasons: 1) being a critically acclaimed rock ‘n’ roll singer-songwriter signed to major labels (Island in the 1980s, Epic in the ’90s), 2) being an observant Jew who became the first performer of note since the Scottish Olympian Eric Liddell to jeopardize his career […]
Hello, My Name Is Tom
Hello, My Name Is Tom Q&A With Tom Smith of Editors IE: The lyrical phrases that keep popping up on your new An End Has A Start are bones, flesh, and death. Tom Smith: Heh-heh. Yeah. A lot of the songs do have me mulling over or thinking about things coming to an end. But […]
Michael McDermott interview
Michael McDermott Born Again, And Again, And Again It’s a flashback to the summer of 1991 — meeting in an Irish pub where everyone seems to know Michael McDermott, listening to stories behind the songs on his latest record. But there is something distinctly different about McDermott since we sat down for a cover-story interview […]
Colette Interview
Colette When Push Came To Shove As a DJ, Colette performs more than a hundred shows a year from the diverse worlds of Coachella, The Grammys, and an ongoing residency at Chicago’s very own Smart Bar, while simultaneously setting trends for females behind the turntables. As a recording artist, the switch hitter from Chi-town (who […]
Qui interview
THE LIZARD KING OF QUI David Yow, Resurrected David Yow spent the ’90s laying waste to the alternative scene he grew to represent. As frontman for Chicago noise-rock kingpins The Jesus Lizard, Yow made a career out of sadomasochistic stage antics. He mocked Soundgarden, hurled cans of beer at fans, rubbed strangers, and wrenched his […]
File: September 2007
I mean It This Time Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen swears his new album, The Last Sucker (13th Planet/Megaforce; September 18th), is Ministry’s last. At least until they release their very last record, Cover Up, an all-covers set planned for 2008. Among the tracks included will be previously released material such as Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut” and […]
DVD Zone: September 2007
The Elvis Re-Releases Warner Home Video You could say that Warner Home Video is commemorating the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death by re-releasing a healthy portion of Elvis’ Hollywood work. There’s a six-film box set, two “Deluxe” editions, and one giant oversight. However, “commemorate” is the wrong word. Let’s just call it what it […]
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
Perhaps releasing a two-CD set in eco-friendly packaging was meant to preserve resources, but by offering 33 lackluster tunes on Unified Folk Theory The Giving Tree Band simply wear out their welcome. Songs like “Sunshine Baby” and “Where Am I?” capture the spirit of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, but altogether ignore those artists’ insight […]
Around Hear Page 3
Sally‘s patiently spawned album Long Live The New Flesh (Paribus) is crammed with angular, clanging guitars and artfully damaged melodies. “Horrific Nightwear” is a joyously jagged wreck of crashing guitars and careening drums. Braided, blistering feedback splits “Ultimate Exposure” wide open. It takes tremendous skill to make such disjointed, spastic cacophony sound this beautiful and […]
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