Slumgullion

Looks like Allan got the card I mailed him.

Happy Birthday wishes to Allan Clarke, a founding member of The Hollies; Chicago-based singer-songwriter Steve Dawson; ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog; and my Top Chef Season 15 winning nephew Joe Flamm.

Allan Clarke’s distinctive vocals graced several Top 40 Hits, including “Look Through Any Window,” “I Can’t Let Go,” “Long Cool Woman,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” and “The Air The I Breathe.” The gorgeous harmonies he created with Graham Nash and Tony Hicks and the music he co-wrote with them resulted in The Hollies being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Clarke retired from The Hollies in 2000, but has since come back with the impressive solo efforts Resurgence in 2019 and I’ll Never Forget in 2023.

Joe Flamm opened his Rose Mary restaurant in Chicago’s trendy Fulton Market area on April 20, 2021, after working as a chef in some of the city’s most critically acclaimed restaurants for a number of years. Specializing in Italian and Croatian food, pastries and fine wines, it quickly developed a strong following of its own.

In addition to sharing the same birthday, Agnetha Fältskog and Allan Clarke were both inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010. ABBA’s major hits include “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” “S.O.S.,” and “Dancing Queen.” Their songs inspired the Mamma Mia musical.

Steve Dawson has drawn critical acclaim for his solo career, as well as for the alt rock/Americana band Dolly Varden he fronts with his wife Diane Christiansen, and his other band Funeral Bonsai Wedding. Dawson will gift his fans with his next solo effort Ghosts at some point this summer and the first single—“Time to Let Some Light In”—will be available on April 19.

Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago has announced the line-up for its 50th Anniversary convention coming to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on the weekend of August 9 – 11. The Special Guests will include Micky Dolenz from The Monkees; Randy Bachman from The Guess Who and his son Tal; British Invasion singer Billy J. Kramer; lead guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley from Paul McCartney’s Wings; and former Official Beatles Fan Club president Freda Kelly. There will be live performances by Liverpool; The Weeklings; Jeff Lake And Cellophane Flowers; Phil Angotti And Friends; and The Taxmen. WXRT DJ and Breakfast With The Beatles program host Terri Hemmert will return as The Fest’s Master Of Ceremonies, with Tom Francine as Assistant Master Of Ceremonies.

As noted in a recent Facebook post from the England-based Genesis Publications, The Beatles were in the midst of filming A Hard Day’s Night during the month of April 60 years ago. Genesis, which specializes in limited-edition, high quality books about iconic musicians, is using this occasion “to take a moment to revisit Astrid Kirchherr and Max Scheler's signed limited edition, Golden Dreams.” The book features behind-the-scenes photos Kirchherr and Scheler snapped while A Hard Day’s Night was being made. The 122-page book is currently available for £265, but Genesis states that the price will increase soon.

 

Depending on when you see this, you can catch at least some of 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 tonight (Friday) at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue. The fun starts at 8:00 pm.

The Zombies plan to issue a collection of five one-take demos titled less is more that were recorded a few years back. The idea is to present them as lead vocalist Colin Blunstone first conceived them when writing about events that took place in his life. The release date on Spotify and Apple Music is April 12.

 

The new Sonic45 single “You And I Are Stereo” was released exclusively on Bandcamp today as promised, but I was surprised to find it’s an optimistic love song. Fans are used to these guys recording darker material, although “You And I Are Stereo” does feature the Chicago indie rock band’s trademark atmospheric vocals and instrumentation. Think of it as a song to play at really hip wedding receptions. Sonic45 is led by sports broadcaster/musician Len Kasper and features Chicago music scene veterans Matt Spiegel (also a sportscaster); Liam Davis; Gerald Dowd; and Dag Juhlin. We can expect its second full-length album to be released sometime this summer.

The 40th Annual Latino Film Festival opens next Thursday, April 11 and will run through April 22 at the Landmark Century Center, Davis Theater, and Instituto Cervantes in Chicago. Admission for a regular screening is $15, and a 10-general-admission film passport costs $125.

Here’s a genuine Broken Hearted Toy welcome to Matthew Sweet, Debbi Peterson and Abe Partridge, who are in Chicago for a concert tonight at Metro on the north side.

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. Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark Street on Chicago’s north side.

The Deadline website recently reported that a new film about the creating and recording of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 Nebraska album 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.

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 tomorrow (Saturday) night. 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.

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.

Congratulations to Chicago filmmaker Michael Smith on his latest effort Handle With Care being accepted for six film festivals so far this year. Handle With Care will be screened at the Beloit International Film Festival, which runs from today through next Sunday (April 14) in Beloit WI, and it will have its Illinois premiere at the Afterimage Film Festival, which is being held on the on the weekend of April 11– 14 at Charlestowne 18 Cinema in St. Charles.

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.

The very first Off North Shore Skokie Music Festival will be held at the Skokie Sports Park on June 21 and 22. Scheduled performers include Mike Campbell and Dirty Knobs; Larkin Poe; The Bones Of J.R. Jones; and The Empty Pockets on day one; and Grace Potter; Donavon Frankenreiter; Jaime Wyatt; and JC Brooks Band on the second night.

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, recently released a memoir titled Pieces Of A Girl. It’s already been selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Although today’s weather in Chicago felt more like winter than spring, there’s some cheer to be found in the announcement that this year’s Wells Street Art Fair will take place on June 8 and 9. If Chicago art fair tradition holds true, that means The Old Town Art Fair will be held that same weekend. The two events are within blocks of each other in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

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.

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.

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.

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.

EXPO CHGO - The International Exposition Of Contemporary and Modern Art, will open next Thursday April 11 at Navy Pier and run through April 14.

The UPS for DownS Theatre Company will stage the musical Grease next Thursday through Sunday (April 11 - April 14) at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. Megan Gray is the director. UPS for DownS  (United Parents Support for Down Syndrome) states the performance “features actors with and without Downs Syndrome, their friends and peers.”

Pizza Bella, a new restaurant in my hometown of Palatine, is having a Grand Opening bash tomorrow, starting at 11:00 am. Pizza Bella is located at 16 N. Brockway.