Category > InterviewsLocally Grown
Record producers are nuts. Perhaps the quintessential maniacal record producer is Phil Spector, originator of the "Wall of Sound," who was convicted earlier this year in the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson resulting in a prison sentence of 19 years to life. He brandished firearms in the studio on multiple occasions and may or may not have taken aim at John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and members of the Ramones (among others) while recording. The list could go on. Guy …
| Jonathon Childers has one major problem to face Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 – he is finally happy. When a family member dies or a girlfriend walks out on him, it is much easier to scrawl a few angry words and work them into a song. Somewhere along the line his muses changed, the songs were still written, and he continued to move through bizarre and unsteady territory as a new musician in Champaign-Urbana. Childers' musical …
When I was a wee tyke of six years, I went out on the porch to watch Jack, our lawn mower, do his work. Jack always wore the same thing - jean overalls with blue flannel underneath. I was already drenched from the heat by my salty secretions, but somehow Jack always worked outside in that flannel. I was drinking my cherry Kool-Aid on the porch, when he began to walk toward me. As he meandered up the stairs, he …
This story is not about how Nic Dillon almost died last summer. It's a story about how Nic and his wife Heather (who make up the Champaign-Urbana duo, Casados) choose to live a quiet and idyllic life together in this charming town. I pulled up to their yellow stucco abode on an unusually warm day. Stunning. Nic scooped up their loveable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Sadie, before she got the chance to pounce. "You're not allergic to dogs, are you?" …
A quaint Laura Ingalls Wilder-style town in the middle of the woods serves as the perfect inspiration for novels of throbbing heartache and a Bon Iver album, but it's not the ideal place for a break dancing 10-year-old to grow up. By the time the late '90s rolled around, local musician and DJ Larry Gates knew that greener pastures were located far from the fields of Indiana. As a kid, Gates escaped the covered wagon festivals of his Indiana hometown …
The microphone drips with a foul mix of sweat and PBR as it teeters and jolts among a cacophony of cymbals. A crowd of drunken friends scream along with their favorite songs and beat each other to the point of fresh pink bruises. The air is tight and hot as the teens suck down volumes of secondhand smoke. Cigarette butts burn arms and ears, a friend is hooking up with the merch girl out back and the band is slowly …
You’ve been there. You’ve shoved in the fluorescent orange ear plugs, saddled up to a Long Island iced tea, braved the crowds to catch your favorite band and maybe even seen a comedy show or two. The Canopy Club is Champaign-Urbana’s sole strictly music venue, but how much do you know about its 10-year history and what’s to come? Believe it or not, it all started at Brother’s — well, sort of. Throughout the ‘90s, Ian Goldberg promoted shows at …
For some, music is simply a way to pass the time – a few sound waves slipping through the headphones to entertain their ears. For Jake Fleischli, music is audio nicotine, filling a craving for the hard stuff (Bob Dylan) he’s had since childhood. Music is both therapeutic, addictive and the reason he started the band Tractor Kings in 1998. Tractor Kings has seen a complicated web of local musicians in its 10-year history. It all began with a two …
A law school student and a maker of dental bridges seems like an unlikely pairing for an ethereally hypnotic band. Then again, Common Loon isn’t your run-of-the-mill pair. Their band is only one piece of a cryptic life puzzle for two of Champaign-Urbana’s most reserved men. Matthew Campbell and Robert Hirschfeld are the guarded duo behind the band Common Loon. The two have spent years together and apart, and worked odd jobs in odd places along the way. They balance …
Olney, Ill., (pronounced ull-knee) is the undisputed home of albino squirrels. The chummy police officers sport chalky white rodent patches on their sleeves and wear clear jelly shoes. Without this hairy claim to fame, Olney could just be mistaken for a spot on a map. It was that seemingly insignificant spot that molded and formed New Ruins into the band, and the men, they are today. New Ruins formed in 2004 with Caleb Means and Elzie Sexton both on acoustics. …
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…