Mercury Rev, the once-proclaimed "weirdest band on planet Rock," performed alongside local heroes HUM at the old Blind Pig in 1995, just after the major label signing spree that included almost half a dozen of bands calling Champaign their home. Since that time, the Rev have gone on to release one of the most important records in recent history, Deserter's Songs, as well as a handful of albums that haven't done much for them in the States, but have steadily increased their worth in Europe and Asia.

What 13-year old boy — a middle child in an Jewish-American family of loud-mouthed dramatists — didn't at one point do something, anything, to try to alienate himself from the world?

For me, it was smoking copious amounts of tobacco and weed, and falling in love with the industrial rock scene. Once centered around the city of Chicago and the Denver-turned-Windy City record store/label — WaxTrax!! — that, for so long, dominated the genre, I got my fix by listening in to music that my parents just scratched their head at.

In 1994, I was given the Black Box - Wax Trax Records: The First 13 Years for Christmas, which looking back, was an odd juxtaposition.

Here I was — 15 years old — and angry for the most part, about nothing really.

My hair was long on top, shaved underneath, with NIИ scrawled into the back of my head with a hair clipper. All the while, Amy Grant's cheesy-but-somehow-awesomely-nostalgic Christmas album is playing in the background. Later that day, I pulled a milky tube in my closet, lit some incense and pushed play. What came out was nothing short of pure sonic bliss making fairly dirty love with machines, screaming men and years of pent up aggression.

The best of those tracks? A single from Revolting Cocks' 1985 album Big Sexy Land. To this day, it still remains, one of the finest songs to drive to that I have ever heard. The lyrics, filled with an urgency about a dystopian present where the idea of god and lawfulness have slipped through the cracks, still give me chills.

And now, back to lamenting like King David over the lack of Jew Food in Champaign-Urbana.

I recently stopped in to the newly refinished Hillel Foundation on John St. to settle a ten-year internal debate. A woman, who resembled every one of my mother's female relatives, was waiting at the desk.

"Would I have been eligible for the Birthright trip to Israel despite the fact that my parent's both converted to Christianity before I was born? After all, my blood is purely Jewish nonetheless." I asked her, politely, honestly.

She gave me a look of utter disbelief and disgust. "Why would your parents do something like that?"

The last time I was really taken with recorded music was in the fall of 2000. Kid A changed everything. My headphones were awash daily with Grand Theft Autumn's newest signing, The Lassie Foundation. And one late September evening, I accidentally stumbled upon perhaps the best band that I have ever seen live: Macha.

I went to check out Joan of Arc at The Highdive, mainly out of spite for my ex-girlfriend, who I knew would be there with her super-duper indie kid friends. When I arrived, I found myself in the club and just in time for their direct support, a band from Athens, GA whom I had never heard of before.

My ex never showed up, and that was the best thing that could have happened because I would have been distracted. By the end of their set, I was floored. Glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, hammered dulcimer and Rhodes piano were blended with whispered vocals and a rhythm section that could only be described as "on point." They only had their newest record with them, a collaboration with Austin "slowcore" act Bedhead, called, Macha Loved Bedhead.

It's rare when a song can honestly stir up your emotions to the point of actually seeing a glimpse of the way you felt the first time you heard it. When I hear this song, and I can actually feel the emotions I was having at the time. This synesthesic reaction, even to the day, makes it one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.

The 2008-2009 Krannert Center season opens tonight with an in-lobby party featuring the Austin-based latin-infusion band, Grupo Fantasma. As has become tradition with Krannert opening weekend parties, the center transforms their generally peaceful hardwood lobby into an all-out dance party. Recent years have featured bands like North Mississippi Allstars (in conjunction with their bi-annual Wall2Wall Guitar Festival), and the Grammy-nominated band, Tiempo Libre.

The upcoming season will mirror efforts in the past to continue to diversify the eclectic nature of the Krannert programming that the community has come to expect in years past. Some highlights include K.D. Lang on October 14; Juan de Marco and the Afro-Cuban All Stars on March 18; Chick Corea and John McLaughlin on April 7; and Joshua Redman on May 2.

Information can be found at www.krannertcenter.com..

This new column is dedicated to a collection of songs that I simply can't get over, no matter how many times I have heard them. Some of them might be recognizable to those that listen to the fringe of popular music. Most, however, I would bet never made it to your iPod, Discman, Walkman or boombox.

Up this week — Models, with their song, "I Hear Motion." This Australian band was on the scene for roughly a decade, from 1978 to 1988. They did some pretty heavy touring with other Aussie luminaries like INXS and Jimmy Barnes, but went on extended hiatus around the same time Ronny Reagan was handing over the reins to H.W. Bushleague.

Rumor has it that Models will reunite this year for a few shows. My guess is that Champaign isn't on the routing.

I think, above all, the dynamics between the synthesizer, and EMS Synthi AKS, and the disjointed backbeat of the drums is what does it for me.

Or perhaps it's just that it was featured in one of the greatest film classics of all-time: Young Einstein.

Whatever the case, enjoy.

While I know that some would argue with me to the ends of the earth about this, there is simply nothing very good about the pizza in this town.

Take Jupiter's pizza for example. I think it used to be better. If my memories of being young and half drunk from dollar pint night at The Highdive thanks to a friend or two serve me well — I believe that I ate and enjoyed that pizza on a number of occasions. Then, something changed. It might have been their recipe. It might have been the fact that I saw the cracker-like crust in a big stack in a cardboard box. It might have been the fact that I stopped being able to hear My Bloody Valentine on their jukebox after Lyle and Michelle high-tailed it to NYC. Whatever it was, it just wasn't very good anymore.

Truth be told, there isn't any really great thin-crust pizza in Champaign-Urbana.

Tuesday nights will have familiar face in downtown Champaign.

Douglas Layne, AKA DJ Delayney — the local promoter that founded PowerNSoul Productions, helps bring in Dance 2XS and hosts the now annual LightWorks Fashion Show — will be taking over the decks at Mike 'N Molly's on Tuesday nights from here on out.

According to Layne, "...it was kinda [sic] an impromptu thing...that turned out to be a really fun thing so we rolled with it. I'm kinda letting the night take it's own form..."

The night, which is currently nameless, will focus on "a lot of funk and old soul. Some jazz, some new soul, splash of reggae, dash of soulful hip hop. I also play a lot of original hip hop samples. By that I mean, the original tracks that have been used as samples to create some classic hip hop tracks (usually funk, soul & jazz tracks). This is my "new" direction... (it) has refreshed my love of music..."

Grab a plastic bottle of beer and get out the grill: it's time to return to the couch in perpetuity on Saturdays for some good old fashioned American armchair quarterbackin'.

This year's Big Ten football conference looks eerily similar to recent years, with a few quirks, of course. With Ohio State picked to win the conference — and return, again — to the most worthless and laughable excuse for a National Title Game in all of sports, we might be able to push rewind on the last two years and come out with the same result.

Where the gawd-love-it is Anniversary Plaza?

After a quick Google search, I discovered that Anniversary Plaza is somewhere by the Illini Union. And while I am not totally sure where, my guess is that if you show up in the vicinity tonight at around 6 p.m., you'll be led to it based on the extremely intricate and terrifically fantastic math-rock indie-esque-type music coming from somewhere around there.

So Many Dynamos will make the three hour trek from St. Louis today to perform for us, and they do so on the brink of what is bound to be some level of success: their last studio sessions were tended to by one Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie, whose own band will be performing at Assembly Hall on October 12.

The pressure is officially on.

Once tagged as the "Baby Boilers," Matt Painter's squad of young overachievers are no longer a Cinderella story. Picked in the Top Ten of almost every pre-season poll, the newly minted Big Ten favorites were tapped to host the first round of the annual pre-season bash known as the NIT.

While the name is synonymous with the "almost-rans" and "has-beens" in March, their place at the front of the season is firmly cemented: most every team that emerges victorious at Madison Square Garden in late November finds themselves dancing come tournament time.

Click here for the full schedule.

When we lost the High Anxiety Music house this past spring, lots of folks close to the music scene let out a collective sigh. The house, located on State St. in downtown Champaign, had been garnering a fine reputation for hosting some of the city's best house parties with great bands like Sunset Stallion, Santa, Curb Service, The Confines and more.

But when the landlord who owned the home fell on hard times, the once revered practice space and venue was shut down for good.

Have no fear though — owner Ralph Petrella is back. Sort of.

If the fabulous Market at the Square in downtown Urbana on Saturday morning isn't enough to satiate your desire for local and organic food, then one might consider heading southwest on I-72 for about twenty minutes to the little county seat of Piatt County: Monticello.

In addition to having one of the finer downtown "squares" around, the organization Monticello Main Street organized their own little gathering of local and regional farmers every Thursday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on State St., in front of the Allerton Public Library.

Expect fresh produce like southern Illinois peaches, apples and pears, as well as baked goods from Amish vendors. And while you are there, pick up dinner from one of the better diners in six counties: The Brown Bag.

In my travels, I rarely turn down a bowl of matzo ball soup from a restaurant menu. It's not that I find the soup to be all that interesting or spectacular; chicken broth and a dumpling made of matzo meal are hardly what I consider to be the most dynamic or flavorful items on my virtual menu.

What drives me to order this item, or simply add to my order no matter what I've chosen to eat that day, is the sheer fact that I cannot get it on any menu in Champaign-Urbana. And while I'd like to point out that I am always quick to accuse people of latent anti-semitism, I don't believe that this is the case this time. I simply think that there is no one in town that really seems to know the value of serving up this traditional delight — also known as "the Jewish Penicillin."

But let me tell you, there's more than value. There's gold.

Last Friday, a couple years of controversy slipped away into the static of television. On the morning on August 15, channel 66 on the now Comcast-controlled cable service became the Big Ten Network.

I awoke and turned it on to find a replay of a bad football memory for me: Purdue at Iowa, 2002. The Boilers let the game slip away in the final two minutes of regulation, as Brad Banks outsmarted the Purdue line to toss a five-yard touchdown to receiver Dallas Clark, putting the Hawkeyes up for good, 31–28.

Does this type of backdated reporting sound silly? Even, perhaps, obsessive? It is.

Sometimes, the only choice is the best choice.

For Krist Krueger of Southerly, living in Fon-Du-Lac, Wis was a dead end trying to both perform and work within the national indie rock scene. So, instead of whining about it, he left for one of the hottest and most relevant of them all: Portland, Ore.

Way Out West Entrance

Generally speaking, Smile Politely tries to cover events in and around Champaign-Urbana. It's part of our mission statement actually; we believe in the notion that our cities have their own culture. But seeing as how almost half of us have been overseas for the past week and a half, we thought a few photos from a great music festival abroad, Way Out West, would be fun to share. Enjoy.

For as far back as I can remember, I've wanted to own and operate my own restaurant.

Of course, I do in a fantasy land — within the confines of my own kitchen. But I also, however, have always had a sincere and true desire to offer up some of my favorite dishes to the community at my own joint; a place where my special recipes of matzo ball soup and meatballs mix together on one fantastic menu.

In truth, I just don't have the time right now. Plus, any one who wants to open a restaurant probably needs to get their head examined; one in five upstarts close and lose money within the first two years of existence.

I am involved in other projects, and other realities are taking precedence for me, such as Smile Politely. So, instead, I've decided to dedicate a particular column to pleading — no — beseeching someone in the community with the financial and mental capacity to open up and sustain a few different restaurants that I would most certainly frequent.

This week — A stand alone French Fry shop, modeled after the one we visited in Amsterdam this past week.

One of the more rewarding elements about coming to play basketball for the Illini is the local celebrity that follows a successful career at Assembly Hall. Of the most notable names to pass through in the past decade, a couple of them have taken it upon themselves to offer their services by teaching kids the thing they know how to do best: play basketball.

Unlike Damir Krupalija , whose parents opened up shop selling used cars upon their son's minor success on the court in the 90's, both Dee Brown and Brian Cook have started basketball camps in Champaign-Urbana during the summer months on various courts in town.

Evidently, Monday nights are alive in downtown Champaign, and you can thank the perseverance of local buzz columnist and musician/booking agent/promoter/kickball fiend/torrent master Mike Ingram. What was once a shot in the dark — an attempt to move the music action once centrally located at Cowboy Monkey over to The Highdive — has been paying off as of late; crowds of 150+ have been regularly packing it in to watch the cleverly named DJ Mingram spin the best of the best from the 1980s alongside videos and a small lightshow.

Reports of Pat Benetars, Michael Jacksons and Eddie Van Halens showing up are increasing by the week. There is no cover and cocaine, while still illegal, is bound to be snorted by someone at some point during the night. And if not, chances are, you can find a dork with a Rubix Cube somewhere.

It's so rare that I fall in love with new music anymore.

My job demands an ear that is more or less discriminating to the point of alienation; most artists are just a blob of sound that ends up forgotten before I can even give it a chance to be appreciated. It's a horrible side-effect to being employed in the "industry."

So, it was with great delight that I gave the (relatively) new single by M83 a listen for more than 20 seconds last week. The song "Kim & Jessie" has been playing in my office and car on a virtual repeat since last Thursday, and for good reason: it hits on all the best parts of my favorite bands from the 80's — Tears For Fears, INXS, XTC and the like.

And while Smile Politely's Zack Adcock isn't the biggest fan of M83's recent "pop music song structures," he was still able to see it for what it is: some of the best "pop" music being made today.

Listen to the radio edit of "Kim & Jessie" here: www.myspace.com/m83

Monday nights are notoriously empty at bars downtown; it's easily the toughest night for venue promoters to fill because of the inherent need for those who drink to come down from their weekend swill.

If history is any indicator, there will be too few people at the show tonight at The Highdive as well, and that's unfortunate. KaiserCartel, a folk-rock duo posing as indie kids from Brooklyn, will be making a tour stop in Champaign tonight, and will be supported by Tracey and Tricia of the band Tall Tale as well as Darling Disarm.

The show is an early one, starting at 7 p.m. Make sure to come out and support your downtown music scene. What's left of it, anyway.

Elsinore, Champaign's latest band to make a go of it on the long and winding road that is the American West, is in the first week of their first extended tour thanks to local agency, Amnesiac Booking.

After years of growing local popularity, the members of the band finished school or quit their full-time jobby jobs and decided to make a go of it in the national indie rock scene.

"We've been ready for some time," said lead singer Ryan Groff, a well-known solo artist in his own right. "Things are going smoothly, and [despite gas prices] we're financially ahead so far."

Check out the rest of the tour dates after the jump. They will conclude with a show in downtown Champaign at the final street fest of the summer. Keep checking Smile Politely's Tour Diaries for updates from the road.

We can only hope that the city of Urbana continues to improve upon its recent trend of creating and sustaining events in the downtown area. Certainly, the Sweetcorn Festival has a niche, and despite the fact that they charge a 500 percent markup (roughly — it used to be totally free) on an ear of corn, the festival is still a good thing for the C-U community, and traditionally marks the end of a quiet summer with the large crowds; the university students have just arrived in town and generally mill about with the townies.

Say it ain't so, Bellcaster.

After almost a full year hiatus, downtown rockers Bellcaster will hit the stage again tonight at the last indie venue standing, Mike N' Molly's. And then, they will hang it up.

For good, in fact.

The reason? Drummer Michael Allen is moving to Vermont with his wife, Jane Boxall, another local percussion hero known for lugging a full-sized marimba about town and performing the community into a trance.

It's still hard for people to believe it, but the Chicago Cubs are currently the favorite to win the World Series this year. They are currently leading their division by 4.5 games and lead the Los Angeles Angels by 1.5 games overall.

So. What's your dream?

One of our finest bands has suffered a bit of a set back this week, as Nic Dillon of Casados was injured by a falling tree during some rough thunderstorms last weekend.

According to bandmate and wife, Heather Dillon, Nic was cleaning up some of the picnic before planning to take shelter inside when a tree fell and hit him from behind, lacerating the back of his head, fracturing his skull, breaking his scapula and several ribs and slightly puncturing his lung.

Fortunately, all is looking well for Nic, who is currently on the road to recovery in a Bloomington, Ill hospital. Update: Plans for him to return home have come to fruition, he is currently back in Urbana, and resting well in a big comfy recliner with electronic features to make it easy on him.

Say what you will about Comcast and their policies, Illini and Big Ten sports fans can expect to get a whole lot more this fall when the Big Ten Network becomes part of the cable-provider's extended basic service.

Service begins on August 15. Until that date, the Big Ten Network is only accessible in the area via satellite television providers such as DirecTV.

Champaign-Urbana, for all of its glory, lacks a couple of things that might help qualify it as a more well rounded and culturally relevant city. Minor League baseball, perhaps, is a missing element. An amusement park to draw in the regional folk for a Saturday afternoon of theme-filled fun is another.

Something notable that's missing and simply can't be denied when looking at the cultural make-up of C-U is the absence of a zoo. Oh sure, we have a petting zoo at Prairie Farm at Centennial Park, and you can feed a goat at Curtis Orchard come fall, but those are not zoos. Those are spaces with dirt, .25 cent feed and farm animals.

Few things do it for me like the sound of an ice cream truck rolling by my house. I am 28 years old now, and still, that warped and wobbly jingle pumping out of those crummy speakers makes me drop my rake and go dashing into the house for money without thought.
Last night was no exception. At around 7:45 p.m., an ice cream man named Ralph, from Thomasboro, stopped by the neighborhood and sold his icy confections to the masses.

Be sure to look for him this summer, as he plans on scouring the streets from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day — unless the weather is rotten, that is.

"When it rains, it's worthless," Ralph quips. "I stay home."

And I can't blame him. Even though the temperatures only got to the upper 60s yesterday, the sun beating down was enough to inspire me to drop a fiver on an array of ice cream treats. There goes the diet. Again.

With my wedding just 16 days away, and a burning yet misdirected need to somehow shave off as many pounds as possible, my mind has been on one thing and one thing alone come dinner time: chicken. The fried kind.

We’re fortunate to live in a community that serves up some great choices if you’re willing to get your ass on the treadmill the next day, and so I present to you my Top 3 Places to Eat a Fried Bird in C-U:

Dig in after the jump.

Sleepy downtown Urbana is a diamond in the rough around these parts. The fact that you can always get a table at Crane Alley or squeeze into the Iron Post for a jazz show may be troubling to the owners of the joints at times, but to consumers, it leaves a lasting impression; these are places where everybody might literally know your name if you give them your time (and money).

Getting your green thumb on is not as easy as it seems. As a new homeowner, I lack the confidence to feel anything more than a little uneasy about planting — and tending — a garden of vegetables and herbs. That, however, won’t stop me from giving it my best shot. After all, there’s nothing quite like fresh Roma tomatoes from your own garden.

This Saturday, May 10, Common Ground Food Co-op gives us another reason to bow at its altar. In addition to providing the community’s only truly organic and local food store, the co-op is also hosting its annual plant sale in the store’s parking lot at the corner of Fourth and Springfield in Champaign. The sale will run this weekend from 8 a.m.–12 p.m.

CGFC is touting its heirloom vegetables and herbs as the freshest around, so expect these newly sprouted plants to be just as delectable as the co-op’s popular cashew butter and zucchini.

Common Ground Food Co-op will remain in its current location at 610 E. Springfield Ave. in Champaign until July 1, when it’ll move to Lincoln Square Village.

Unlike most prep stars, local three-star guard Verdell Jones III chose to wait until after the smoke had cleared to select a school. And it wasn't the school most people were expecting him to choose.

The Champaign Central product will be suiting up for a seriously depleted but newly helmed Indiana squad under the direction of Tom Crean.

Despite the fact that the team faces sanctions and only returns three scholarship players, Jones said it was "the best situation for me. They expect me to come in and make a big contribution." He also noted that part of his decision was looking at how well Crean developed his guards at Marquette, a school long known for its outside-the-arc performers.

Anyone who grew up in these "twin towns" knows about the Chester Street Bar. During Reagan's first and second terms, when tolerance about the LGBT lifestyle was far lower than it is now, the bar was uniformly stereotyped as such: a gay bar. Now, since Ellen came out of the closet on television and people like RuPaul and Carson Kressley were almost universally embraced, Chester Street has become what it was always meant to be: simply, a tolerant club that offers central Illinois the best place to dance in 150 miles.

Nekromancy on Monday nights are no exception. The residency is held by DJ Sorcerykid (pictured above on the left) is the longest running industrial and electronic club night in the state of Illinois. Considering the fact that Chicago is arguably home to the strongest industrial scene in the western world, that is saying a lot.

The Link Gallery at Krannert Art Museum is exactly that: a hallway that essentially serves as a link between the School of Art + Design and the art museum that houses the university's permanent collection, as well as touring shows and exhibitions. Tonight, May 1, the Link Gallery will reprise its role as one of the newest and most welcomed venues in the local music scene.
Oceans, who have been known to throw a house party or two, will take to the stage starting at 5:30 p.m. to support the Animation Festival that is being showcased by students of FAA.
This show should be an excellent warm-up for the band, who plans to spend part of their summer on the road. Check out their MySpace link above for the dates.

It might not have been how he was hoping it would happen, but J Leman is still going to try out for a slot on football's biggest stage: the NFL.

After injuring his ankle in the Rose Bowl and having to sit out the East-West Shrine game and the NFL combine, the All-American from Champaign had dropped some stock in the past three months since he led the Illini to their first winning season in six years. After he wasn't picked up in the NFL draft over the past weekend, he was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, a team that has no need for any new linebackers at the moment. Leman's position in college, middle linebacker, is firmly held by E.J. Henderson, the Vikings' leading tackler.

A message to all you homeowners out there.

Your chance to get all that winterized gunk out of your yard could end as early as today, depending on where you live. The city of Champaign authorizes Spring and Fall collections of yard waste each year, and according to this map, May 2, next Friday, will be the last day that you can take advantage of the service.

I've got $100 dollars on the notion that west Champaign neighborhoods in the B–5 zone are subject to midnight drop-offs from procrastinating citizens come Thursday night.

For those who miss the deadline, there is always the Landscape Recycling Center in Urbana that operates year-round.

During winter, while the music scene pondered the decision by Nieto Enterprises to stop scale back live music at Cowboy Monkey in favor of a more "restaurant-oriented" focus, a lot of people all asked the same question: What is going to be on this new menu?

Well, look no further than Smile Politely, as per usual.

How does it stack up? You be the judge...

Click on the image to see it in full. And then, tell us your thoughts.

There is something uniquely charming about taking a long drive to go out to eat. After all, most dining out experiences in these towns involve simply settling for second best: grab hold of what strikes you immediately, look at your array of choices in town and get a table. Sigh.

I’ll be the first to state it clearly: these towns really fail me in terms of offering up a good selection of places to eat out. I mean, not just kind of, but pretty much across the board. In fact, there are only four restaurants that honestly excite me in Champaign-Urbana. That's not saying much for towns like these and I am not even really a food snob.

So, that said, the drive to Gibson City to take in a meal at Bayern Stube, an authentic German restaurant that translates literally to "Bavarian living room," was filled with a certain anxiety. I have become accustomed to disappointing experiences when dining out ‘round these parts, so my expectations were light, to put it mildly.

Brace yourselves, campus dwellers.

Ben Folds, the actually really great pop songsmith, returns to campus for the third time in the last eight years. Ben Lee opens the show, which will no doubt be more fun than a trip to the zoo on ecstasy.

Starcourse, the campus-based concert committee must have really reached deep into their bag of tricks for this one. A quick glance at their website will tell you who they have brought to town over the past 100 years. And the last ten years confirms it: this organization is hanging out with the wrong people.

Tickets are $29 for students and $31 for the general public.

This weekend promises variety when it comes to one of the finest new bands in town. Kristov’s Agenda has finally arrived. So, what makes this particular weekend so special?

Why none other than not just one, but two, CD release shows for the band that takes cues from everyone from Radiohead, to Massive Attack, to Portishead, to MF Doom, that's what.

Bill Self brought glory back to Lawrence, KS last night as the Jayhawks performed a miracle comeback against the Memphis Tigers, eventually sealing the victory in overtime with strong play from Mario Chalmers, the Final Four's MOP. It was Kansas' first title since 1988 when Danny Manning (and the Miracles) defeated Oklahoma 84–79.

How does this relate to us in the cornfields of Illini Nation?

Call it a mash-up of the arts or a quick case of amnesia.

Hollywood Video, a video rental store situated on the corner of Neil and Green streets, is not known for it's reputation as a live music venue. And that is probably because they have never hosted a live band before.
That all changes tonight at 8:00 p.m. when the Covington, IN band, Axxis, will take the "stage" for Student Appreciation Night at the video rental mainstay open since 1997.

Students will be treated to free pizza and able to rent one movie and get another free while the band, which could best be described as "angry", rocks out for the last part of the store's regular business hours.

Hollywood Video is located at 512 S Neil St Champaign, IL 61820. There is no cover charge. Obviously.

First Sniff

I never had the chance to tour in a bus when I was a musician. It’s the dream of most bands actually; your own cot, a living room in the back with video games and satellite television, a kitchen with a stove and running water. It’s a mobile home, in reality. And when your band can afford it, it’s a luxury that most are willing to dip into the band fund to purchase. After all, any one who has been in a van for tens of thousands of miles with the same stinky people understands that anything (and I mean anything) would be better than that.

Somewhere, there is a group of people currently discussing what went wrong. Boards, points in the paint, 3-point shots, dribble penetration, free throws, officiating, coaching, hustle, turnovers — all of it perhaps.

They might be Wisconsin fans. They could very easily be Michigan State fans. Certainly, Indiana fans are scratching their heads. Illinois fans have already made their scalps bleed.

This is the current state of Big Ten basketball. It’s a head-scratcher, as they say. In the last decade, there has not been a time when the conference was so completely written off by the media — and then proved the media right on the court. Both Michigan State and Wisconsin lost in the Sweet 16. And they not only lost, they got handled.

Next year will different, though. No doubt about it.

John Kosmopoulos knows what it means to keep doing what you love. And despite the fact that he is older than you might expect, you'd never guess it from his boyish good looks and endless charm. Plus, he can still throw as good of a party as anyone in this town. Not bad for someone who can remember Nixon in office.

I admit it: I am an addict for Chinese take-out.

For a while, I thought that there were three Chinese restaurants in town that were owned by the same person. After all, they had the same menu — with the red typeface — and the exact same listings. The prices varied, but not by much more than a few cents on certain items.

Then, I learned these menus were something that Chinese restaurants can choose to purchase, and the restaurateur can opt to align his culinary choices around what has already been listed. It makes sense; a printing company someplace offers these hole-in-the-wall Chinese joints ready-made menus and four walls later, a place like No. 1 Wok is born.

John Isberg likes to wear a couple of different hats. It's just part of his style.

After performing with The Blackouts The Living Blue for a couple of months, Isberg paired up with The Firebird Band in 2001 where he joined Chris Broach for a series of high intensity releases and tours in the post-Braid era.

i:scintilla decided to relinquish their status as a "local band" earlier this year when they moved to Chicago. Generally speaking, I'd be the first to tell an indie band that this move is a bad one and that they were making a huge mistake. The rent is higher, the scene is harder to break into, and the chance of being "discovered" at something like MOBFest fell out of fashion at the onset of blog culture a few years back.

Fortunately for i:scintilla, they aren't an indie rock act at all.

You’ll forgive me if I seem more than a little wracked in the brain, please. After all, it’s officially March Madness, and if you are one of the 16–47 people who read the Big Ten Basketball Report each week, you know that I am:

     A. A die-hard Purdue fan
     B. Fairly spiteful of Illinois sports
     C. Obsessed by the NCAA Tournament

So, after screaming at a High-Def TV screen in a random sports bar last Friday while the good guys in Orange upset not one, not two, but three Big Ten teams (including Purdue) en route to almost winning a Big Ten Championship, I am more than a little parched.

So parched in fact, that I found myself craving nothing but cabbage soup, evidently.

What exactly is "Northern Rock"? I am not quite sure, but I can state without question that I want to hear more of it if bands like Great Lakes Myth Society are leading the movement. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., this quintet led by the brothers Monger, have been churning out its dramatic brand of chamber pop since 1999. First known as the Original Brothers and Sisters of Love, the band has morphed into its current incarnation after two core members left in 2002. By 2005, Great Lakes Myth Society was officially born and started making the rounds on the national indie scene with performances at SXSW and CMJ Music Marathon.

Let's just be absolutely clear: This is not the Big Ten's year. At least, according to some.

It's hard to not assume that the selection committee had made up its mind about that fact long before Purdue dropped a shocker to the Illini or before Blake Hoffarber performed Miracle Number Two for Minnesota on Indiana's dying team. It's hard to believe that the committee would also leave out Thad Matta's Buckeyes but sneak in Arizona, Villanova and Baylor. It's hard to swallow the fact that the Big Ten champion, both regular season and in the tournament, was given a #3 seed despite being ranked in the Top 5 nationally, residing in the Top 12 in the RPI rankings and simply having not lost to anyone except Purdue since December 8.

This is hard to fathom, yet it's all true.

First Sniff

I have recently tangled up with a new and freshly-minted obsession: weight loss. After years of making certain that my belt line increased annually with plenty of red meat, Jarling’s Custard Cup, and an excessive amount of mushroom sherry sauce from Original Pancake House, I have decided that this is the year to start reversing that trend. I am currently 5'7" and 200 pounds. That, according to most healthy weight-management sites, is about 40–60 pounds more than I should be, making me officially obese.

I am willing to accept this — for now.

But 2008 means more than marriage for me. It means a skinnier Sniffer.