Sunday Papers

Ronnie Wood is one of the many celebrities offering encouragement on social media.

As we’re about to begin another week of sheltering in place, I’d like to express my amazement and gratitude to everyone on social media who’s posting encouragement, positive vibes, and various forms of art and entertainment. As I was researching Facebook this past Friday night for items to mention on my blog, I kept getting notices that people were currently performing live. An image came to me of stars appearing one by one in the night sky until it was full of them. I couldn’t begin to give them all credit here, so let me just suggest checking out your favorite world-famous and local performers on social media and discover the entertainment they have to offer. In many cases, they’ll throw a great perk your way for funding a charitable cause they’re supporting. And by all means, keep in touch with friends, relatives, and co-workers.

Happy Birthday to Allan Clarke, the former lead vocalist of The Hollies, and one of pop music’s most distinctive voices. Clarke recently released Resurgence, his first solo album in several years. The songs seem more influenced by Bruce Springsteen than his old mates, but it’s definitely worth checking out. (Clarke was a huge Springsteen fan even before a lot of people in the States were.) Cheers, Allan!

If you’re wishing you had been able to pick up this week’s edition of The Reader, you can download a copy on the official website. It has all the usual features, listings, and reviews. If you prefer an actual copy of The Reader, a $50 subscription will bring 12 issues directly to your home. You’ll also be helping to keep Chicago’s long-running free paper in business in these difficult times.

The April edition of the Illinois Entertainer, another Chicago-based free publication, is also available online. In addition to Tom Lahham’s cover story on Best Coast, this issue includes his feature stories on Johnny Marr and The Scorpions. The Spins section offers reviews of new releases by Pearl Jam, Stephen Malkmus, and Greg Dulli.

The Outta Space Arts in Berwyn is currently accepting submissions for its Virtual Art Show: All Love. Drawings, paintings, print, mixed media, digital, fabric, and photo material are welcome. The deadline for submitting is April 6. artsubmissions@theouttaspace.com

If you’re one of the many fans of the Laurie’s Planet Of Sound record store on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, you can show your support by purchasing a special t-shirt designed by the Barrel Maker Printing.

City Winery - Chicago has announced a trio of shows for its Open To The Future Concert Series, which invites patrons to buy tickets now for events coming up months later. Chris Hillman, a founding member of the iconic folk rock band The Byrds, will be coming to town on October 25 for An Evening Of Stories and Songs. Musicians Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson will be joining him. Damien Escobar has a pair of shows on November 7, and folk singer Tom Rush will perform on November 19. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the venue’s employee relief fund.

Vocalist Shirley Manson just wrapped up a month-long series on Instagram honoring women musicians. The informative and entertaining portraits ran on her band Garbage’s page and covered well-known, as well as more obscure recording artists. In addition to them, we learned more about Manson herself, and she’s every bit as cool as her fans would imagine.

EXPO ’76, the Chicago-based, wildly eclectic covers band made up of music scene veterans, will soon have its own podcast on Steve Dahl’s network. If you’ve seen EXPO ’76 live, you can easily see how they would fit in well on a comic disk jockey’s network.

Congratulations to Chicago area author Cherie Colyer on signing a contract with The Wild Rose Press for her latest paranormal YA novel Damned When I Didn’t. Colyer and I are long-time members of the northwest Illinois chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Meetings have been suspended during the coronavirus lockdown, but I’d like to give a shoutout to all the participants over the years. Without their help and inspiration, I would have never been able to complete the four novels that I’m currently shopping to agents and small publishers.