As someone who still owns and uses a VHS player, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story Limited Edition Of 40 VHS offer on the Factory25 website. The Balin Schneider documentary honoring the ill-fated Chicago based indie rock trio is also available on Blu-ray, but the VHS version is hand numbered and there will only be 40 of them.
Back when Out Of Time was screened at Lincoln Hall in Chicago in December 2021, I posted a review here on BHT and noted: “Schneider has crafted a compelling if short study of a band that seemed destined for major success but inexplicably fell short. It’s a familiar scenario for Chicago area music fans who’ve seen major labels bungle the marketing of Shoes, Off Broadway, and The Elvis Brothers. Except in this version, the outcome was genuinely tragic when charismatic lead vocalist-guitarist Jim Ellison committed suicide.”
On the subject of my recent purchases, I just ordered a copy of Zip It Up! - The Best Of Trouser Press Magazine 1974 – 1984, a 440-page large-format paperback book, which is now available on the Trouser Press Books website for $25. Pete Townshend, Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, Bryan Ferry, Kate Bush, Blondie, and R.E.M. are among the acts covered in the book.
Sonic45, sports broadcaster/musician Len Kasper’s atmospheric and often eerie alt rock band featuring Chicago music scene veterans Matt Spiegel (also a sportscaster); Liam Davis; Gerald Dowd; and Dag Juhlin, has finished recording its second full-length album. The sophomore effort will likely be be released this summer, and the first single, “You And I Are Stereo,” will be released exclusively on Bandcamp next Friday, April 5.
The Deadline website recently reported that a film about the creating and recording of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska could be on the way. It would be titled Deliver Me From Nowhere, and the filmmakers are hoping to land Jeremy Allen White from The Bear TV show to portray Springsteen. In related news, a Best Of Bruce Springsteen collection in CD, vinyl, and digital formats will arrive on April 19.
WXRT will continue its tradition of cheering the Chicago Cubs on to another major league season by hosting the 93XRT Opening Day Celebration At Yak-Zies this Monday. Yak-Zies is located at 3710 N. Clark Street, just down the street from Wrigley Field. The doors open at 8:00 am, and the next five hours will feature radio personalities Frank E. Lee, Johnny Mars, Ryan Arnold, and Terri Hemmert spinning their favorite vinyl tracks. The event will wrap up with a live performance by up-and-coming Chicago-based rockers Brigitte Calls Me Baby, and the Opening Day Benediction by The Regular Guy. I’m willing to bet the late, great Lin Brehmer, my (still) best friend in the whole word, will be there in spirit.
The WXRT bash isn’t the only rock and roll baseball tradition in Chicago. Waco Brothers will perform a free show for fans over age 21 at Gman Tavern at 3740 N. Clark Street on the Cubs’ opening day. Doors open at 10:00 am, the music starts an hour later.
Stephanie Kuehnert, the author who garnered national attention with her well-crafted and emotionally charged novels Ballads Of Suburbia and I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, released a memoir titled Pieces Of A Girl this past Tuesday. She’s keeping busy with in-store appearances and media interviews, and it’s already been selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
Girlschool, the English all-women hard rock band that was one of the first of its kind back in 1978 and still shakes the rafters, will perform at Thalia Hall this Tuesday, April 2. The Chicago appearance is part of the Girlschool’s Final North American Tour. Upcoming stops include Columbus, OH; Pittsburg, PA; Detroit, MI; and London, Ontario.
Jeff Lynne’s ambitious ELO Over And Out Tour will visit several North American cities, starting on August 24 in Palm Desert, CA. Other stops include San Francisco, Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago (September 27), Atlanta and Philadelphia.
The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ‘80s recently opened at the Black Ensemble Theatre and will run through April 14. BET is well known for its musical salutes, and this latest one has a sci-fi twist involving a high school senior who travels back to the era when Prince, Sheila E., Al B. Sure, Keith Sweat, and LL Cool J. ruled the charts. The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ’80s is written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks. Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark Street on Chicago’s north side.
The upcoming tour for Our House - The Music Of CSNY will include a stop at the Des Plaines Theatre in Illinois on July 21. The tribute act features musicians who are related to or have worked with David Crosby, Neil Young, and Graham Nash.
Laurie Kaye’s recently released memoir Confessions Of A Rock ’N’ Roll Name Dropper - My Life Leading Up To John Lennon’s Last Interview focuses on the earliest portion of her decades-long career in the entertainment industry. Back when her role as a writer/radio personality/producer for the RKO Network included meeting Paul McCartney, The Ramones, George Harrison, George Martin, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Grace Slick. Confessions includes her interviews with these and other popular music icons. Sadly, her favorite interview—with John Lennon at the Dakota apartment building in New York—came just hours before he was murdered. Kaye would move on to a career in television as a producer and writer, but understandably, she was most affected by that day with John Lennon.
The Irish American Heritage Center on Chicago’s north side will honor the music of folk rock singer John Prine with its first Chicago Prine Fest next Saturday, April 6. Television writer, comedian, and musician Rick Woods will serve as host, and there will be performances by Arlo McKinley and The Lawrence Peters Outfit. The Irish American Heritage Center is located at 4626 N. Knox Avenue.
007 Science: Inventing The World Of James Bond, a new exhibit that views the popular spy movies from an intellectual but still fun perspective, opened recently at Chicago’s Museum Of Science And Industry, and will run through October 27.
Dave Davies from The Kinks has a new compilation album titled Living On A Thin Line that’s available in vinyl, CD and digital formats, as well as a previously unreleased seven-inch/digital single “21st Century.” Davies gave a thumbs up to the recently released Tall Poppy Syndrome cover of The Kinks song “This Time Tomorrow.”
There will a double dose of groundbreaking rock from the 1980s when R.E.M. tribute band Dead Letter Office shares an evening with The B-52’s tribute act Planet Claire at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue next Friday, April 5. The fun starts at 8:00 pm.
A Reader Best Of Chicago celebration will take place at 6:30 pm at the Lincoln Park Zoo on April 25. There will be live entertainment and performances by some of the award winners, as well as food and beverage vendors and other activities. The printed edition the Chicago Reader announcing the winners in numerous categories came out on February 22.
The Smithereens, with Marshall Crenshaw as their guest vocalist, will be rocking in their home state of New Jersey at a May 25 Memorial Day Weekend gig at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. Just about a month later, The Smithereens, again with Marshall Crenshaw on vocals, will perform at Prairie Fest in Wood Dale, IL on June 28. Admission to Prairie Fest is free.
The Sound And Vision exhibit, which features artwork by well-know artist-musicians, is now open and will run through April 21 at Mad.Kat Gallery in Rancho Mirage, CA. Participants include Joan Baez, Jon Langford, Penelope Houston, Juliana Hatfield, and Steve Wynn.
Matthew Sweet is back on tour with Debbi Peterson from The Bangles, starting in Madison,WI next Thursday. They’ll be in Chicago the next day for a concert at Metro on the north side, with Abe Partridge also on the bill. Other stops include Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New York , and Washington, D.C.
Sting has an upcoming tour that will bring him to Chicago for shows at the Auditorium Theatre on October 28 and 29. He’ll also visit Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn, and other locations.
EXPO CHGO - The International Exposition Of Contemporary and Modern Art will be held on Navy Pier from April 11 through April 14.
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