Category > Interviews
"You tell me this town ain't got no heart / Well, well, well, you can never tell The sunny side of the street is dark / Well, well, well, you can never tell Maybe that's cause it's midnight, in the dark of the moon besides Maybe the darkness is from your eyes You know you got such dark eyes!" Grateful Dead, "Shakedown Street" Let's be honest here — "jamband" can be a bit of a dirty phrase. It may …
| As a former Minneapolis resident, I feel some ownership where Soul Asylum is concerned. I like to think that no one anywhere else I've lived as an adult (Chicago and now C-U) gets Soul Asylum the way I get them — their ferocious live shows back in the late 80s/early 90s, the love and respect they clearly had for the music they chose to cover ("Chevy Van"!), and especially the way it felt to get ready for a night out …
With a feature on Pitchfork and their new EP The Years (available to download for free here) receiveing rave reviews, Guelph, Ontario's Memoryhouse are certifiably on the up-and-up. Their miniature sound-poems hover somewhere in the middle of Fennesz's glitched electronica, the Orb's organic ambient experiments of the early 90s, and Best Coast's hazy beach pop. If The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (an essential and seriously underappreciated album) is ambient music stretched out to the max, then Memoryhouse is ambient's …
To steal a quote from Steinbacher, Sarah Borges plays "rock ‘n roll with a little bit of country and a little bit of punk rock." But whatever labels you choose to apply to her, it's clear that her songwriting chops, voice and charisma are above-average. Sarah will play at the Cowboy Monkey tonight along with her band, the Broken Singles, including Lyle Brewer on guitar, Binky on bass and local boy Mike Ingram on drums. I chatted with the band …
When I sat down with Isaac outside Cafe Kopi yesterday to talk shop in advance of his show at Cowboy Monkey tonight, I didn't really know what to expect. While the nearly 45 minute conversation touched on topics ranging from the merits of Chicago vs Champaign to Anchorman to Elsinore's new album, his honesty, wit and insight were what stood out the most to me. SP: So you guys have this show tomorrow...Isaac: Yeah — I think it's our second …
Elsinore have had a busy week so far, with a record release, radio appearances, and blowing the roof off of the Parasol Store on Tuesday night. We sat down with lead singer and guitarist Ryan Groff a few days back to discuss Yes Yes Yes, the recording process, and just about anything else we could think of.
Though they may never have found the same level of out-of-town success as their peers (The Living Blue, The Beauty Shop and Headlights), Shipwreck had a devoted local following and left behind an impressive, if brief, discography. Their music danced the line between dozens of genres—referencing the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, often within the same song. They were a hard rock band with elements of Gram Parsons. They were a pop band that could suddenly lay down an Alice …
Bentley's stage will be a sea of red on Saturday evening, as Chicago's White Mystery come to town for a show with the Fresh Kills and Tiger Bones. It's a 10 p.m. show with a $5 cover, and it's 21+. I spoke with White Mystery's guitarist/singer Miss Alex White on the phone last week, and she expressed her undying love for "Bend Me, Shape Me," among other things.
James McMurtry, steely eyed chronicler of American life, will be in town at the Highdive this Thursday. Personally, we aren't going to take a chance of missing the show. His songwriting is so strong that sometimes his strength as a performer and guitar player get lost in the hype. But as his newest release — a CD/DVD documenting highlights of his European tour with backing band the Heartless Bastards shows — the man is a compelling performer. The sense of …
Probably one of the most unprententious band from C-U, the Palace Flophouse has a little bit of the Sea & Cake, a little bit of Lou Barlow and a whole lot of catchy back and forth vocals. Most songs on their most recent release, Try Not to Get Worried, are self-containted narratives on love, lonliness and travel. You can get the album for free on their myspace page.
Most Recent Music Comments
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
sux
whats a zmick?
Here is a link to download the aformentioned 2007 show at Red Herring, a true gem from the early Zmick archive, again recorded by Ben Valocchi: http://www.archive.org/details/zmick2007-11-02.logitech
My biggest concern is that the free Caribou show at the Krannert is now not at the Krannert and no longer free. But then, I guess if that’s my biggest concern, then I’m doing pretty well—at least I still have potable water! Still, I would prefer it…
Who’s got the crack?
Any band that makes the effort to pay homage to ! = Metallica @ = Beatles # = 2pac $ = Moldy Peaches % = Grateful Dead ^ = Dave Clark 5 All in one show! (with Herb Alpert interpolations to boot) That’s what tasty jams is all about
THE CAKE IS A LIE
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Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
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Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…