Monthly
Celebrity Helper
“You cannot make friends with the rock stars,” Lester Bangs insists, talking to the budding rock crit in Almost Famous. “They’ll buy you drinks, you’ll meet girls, they’ll try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs. But they are not your friends.”
Rockin’ Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio – Let’s Go!
Few things are more satisfying to the ears than hearing Robyn Hitchcock unveil a new song played live with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey on free radio, then listening to them explain its context and spin some of their favorite records.
Best Of Gear 2006
In honor of our January ’07 “Best Of” issue, we’ve compiled our favorite pieces of “Gear” from the past year. Gretsch G400JV Archtop Guitar
A Velvety Listen
Let’s call it a comeback. No need to mince words. Colombia’s premiere rock en español group were on a scary path toward losing the essence of their Latin alternative roots.
Local CD Reviews
Prior Ahab Rex CDs have been praised in this column and the latest, Blood On Blonde, earns similar thumbs up (even though they, once again, retread four tracks from an ’04 disc). That leaves six great new tunes that bend the caustic with the sweet, bobbing and weaving from jazzbo to agit/agro and all points […]
Around Hear Page 2
Even when attempting to be melancholy, as on “A Good Fight,” the 11 tracks on Love By Design‘s Let The Outside In are generally optimistic, innocent pop rock numbers. The whimsical, almost childlike, vibe, especially with “Busy Bee,” is likely due to the immaculately produced studio sound and the soothing, harmonizing vocal style. A rich […]
Best Of Around Hear 2006
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 […]
Cover Story: Hey Punk!
Familiar Influences, Different Worlds A New Breed Of Chicago Punks Challenge The Country Chicago never had a punk rock scene — at least not one you were supposed to know about. Stubbornly hiding underground, it bred Midwestern know-how with an extreme prejudice toward the mainstream. Purposefully uncommercial even when Nirvana blew up and punk “broke” […]
Hello, My Name Is Dee
Hello, My Name Is Dee Q&A With A Twisted Sister IE: So A Twisted Christmas, this is it? The final chapter of Twisted Sister? Dee Snider: Not so fast [laughing]. I was saying it was the final chapter and the last nail in the coffins of our career, but as it turned out it might […]
Solomon Burke interview
Solomon Burke Just Duet Solomon Burke is a big man. In an interview, he launches into the rhythms of preaching, laughs irrepressibly (and often), and tells stories with skill, every bit the personification of the phrase “living with gusto.” On stage, dressed in sequined pin stripes (impeccably tailored), with kingly robes completing the ensemble, and […]
Robert Randolph interview
Robert Randolph The Next One Lap steel guitar prodigy inspiration and advice by listening to classic Eric Clapton, Santana, and Aerosmith albums, but he learned the ropes first-hand from those illustrious artists. In the three short years since the release of his official Warner Bros. debut with The Family Band, the seasoned player has toured […]
Jeremy Enigk interview
Jeremy Enigk World’s Wait Sitting at Niagara Falls watching the water cascade and wash away, Jeremy Enigk is staring at the tumult of the last 10 years of his life. Since the first breakup of Sunny Day Real Estate — the band who forged the template for emo in the ’90s, for better or worse […]
Mario Vazquez interview
Mario Vazquez Idol Hands As the only contender to ever voluntarily withdraw from Fox TV’s hit singing competition “American Idol,” Mario Vazquez became the show’s ultimate rebel last year. After all, this Bronx-born Nuyorican was only stepping away from what many speculated to be a sure victory. But just prior to reaching the show’s coveted […]
IE’s 2006 Holiday CD Gift Guide
IE’s 2006 Gift Guide If you have a country music fan on your gift list, there’s no shortage of options this holiday season. The most intriguing is Nashville Rebel (RCA/Legacy), the first ever career-spanning Waylon Jennings anthology. Created with the complete involvement of his wife Jessi Colter and his son Shooter Jennings, the four-disc set […]
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