Saturday, October 2, 2021

Saturday Slumgullion


For those of us who purchased Bobby Elliott’s 2020 autobiography It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Story - My Life In The Hollies, as well as his 2010 photo book The Hollies - Through The Years, it’s obvious he’s justifiably proud of his music career. So there’s no doubt the recently announced An Evening With Hollies Drumming Legend Bobby Elliott special appearance on November 13 will be a fascinating event. 

The Facebook post doesn’t make clear what Elliott will be doing at the event (talking, playing some drums?), but it takes place at the Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford, Nelson in England. Seating is limited. The ticket price of  £15 includes wine and cheese, and there will be a limited bar. All proceeds will go toward maintaining the Pendle Heritage Centre. Maybe if this is a success, Elliott will consider similar events in the U.S. But so far, that’s just wishful thinking on my part.


Tickets are now on sale for the premiere of Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story at Lincoln Hall on Chicago’s north side on December 2. The event will also include a concert by the current Material Issue lineup featuring original members bassist-vocalist Ted Ansani and drummer Mike Zelenko, along with Phil Angotti on lead vocals. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of when the Jim Ellison-fronted Material Issue released its remarkable debut International Pop Overthrow.


Not to be outdone by The Rolling Stones, who opened their Carnaby No. 9 store in London a while back, Queen now also has a mega store on Carnaby Street. Dubbed Queen The Greatest, it offers two floors of the band’s merchandise. The u discover website has all the flashy details. 


Billy Idol has a U.K. tour planned for next summer that will include dates in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Cardiff, and Leeds. Titled The Roadside Tour after his recently released 4-song EP The Roadside, it will feature The Go-Go’s as his opening act. It will be the first England performances for The Go-Go’s in 26 years.


Just in time for Halloween. C.L. Colyer, who’s scared us with her YA novels in the past, has a new ghost story titled Friends To The End. The copy I ordered from Amazon came in the mail yesterday, so I’ll be starting that soon. Back when Colyer was a member of the writers group I belong to, she brought in some chapters from Friends To The End for us to critique, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the final product turned out. Like Kym Brunner, Katie Sparks, Susan Kaye Quinn, and Meg Fleming, Colyer is one of our alumni who’s been published.


I have three virtual meetings with literary agents scheduled as part of the North Carolina Writing Day Workshop I’ve signed up for on November 13. It’s online, but maybe I’ll still wear my t-shirt with North Carolina natives The dB’s on it for good luck.  


Eccentric English rocker and former Soft Boys founder Robyn Hitchcock’s 2021 U.S. tour starts next Thursday, October 7 in Vienna, Virginia, and includes dates throughout the month in New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.


Fourteen-year-old Chicago area vocalist-guitarist Gavin Eimerman’s clever-rhyming, topical new song “Losing Ground” is now available today on Aussie musician Joe Algeri’s Bandcamp page. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s because Gavin is the grandson of long-time power pop musician Herb Eimerman. The elder Eimerman plays bass and 12-string acoustic guitar on the track, which also features Joe Algeri on drums and guitars and Hanna Algeri on backing vocals. Herb Eimerman and Joe Algeri have worked together in The Britannicas for several years. 


The upcoming U.S. tour for Wolf Alice will include a stop at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles for the first American screening of a film based on the band’s recent Blue Weekend album. Wolf Alice will be doing an acoustic set, as well as a Q and A afterward. On November 8, Wolf Alice will be performing at The Vic in Chicago. 


Congratulations to former Chicago Cub Anthony Rizzo on hitting home run number 250 while playing for the New York Yankees. Rizzo played an essential role in helping the Cubs win their first World Series in over 100 years back in 2016, and is also loved in Chicago for his cancer prevention work with the Rizzo Family Foundation. 


She and Him, AKA Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, have a holiday-themed show coming up at The Chicago Theatre on December 7. No doubt, the indie rock duo will be performing songs from new the 10th Anniversary Edition of its A Very She And Him Christmas album, which will be released on November 12.


The Josh Caterer Trio,  composed of one musician each from Smoking Popes, Hushdrops, and NRBQ, have a three-day Holiday Soiree tour coming up on December 16 (Evanston, IL), 17 (Green Bay, WI) and 18 (Milwaukee, WI). Caterer recently noted on Facebook, “We’ll be playing songs from our album “The Hideout Sessions” along with favorites from the Smoking Popes catalog and a few Christmas classics to keep things festive.” Each stop will feature special guests Sunshine Boys, who have released two superb albums, and probably know some holiday tunes too.


I dropped by The Music Room store in my hometown of Palatine and picked up the October issue of the Illinois Entertainer. In addition to Jaime de’Medici’s cover story on Local H, there’s Tom Lanham’s interview with Billy Bragg about his new album The Million Things That Never Happened. There’s also a very cool half-page ad on page 8 for the Abbey Road All-Star Tribute To The Beatles at City Winery on October 23.

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