Don’t It Always Seem To Go - - -

With all the talk around town about cutting back on the big name acts at Taste Of Chicago, and then tossing Celtic Fest and other formerly stand-alone events into the watered-down mix, it might be a good time to remember ChicagoFest. This 10-day outdoor celebration sprang to life on the lakefront every August, from the late 1970s through 1983. From what I can remember, ChicagoFest was always viewed in some quarters as an extravagance the city could ill afford, but for music fans, it was pure heaven. If one of the current mayoral candidates could figure out a way to bring it back, and make a profit, that would be something worth voting for.

ChicagoFest already had one foot in the grave by the time number VI came around. It had been abandoned by the mayor’s office and shagged from its normal home at Navy Pier (before its transformation into a major tourist attraction) and relocated to Soldier Field (before its transformation into whatever it’s supposed to be now). Still, this Chicago Park District managed version drew an amazing assortment of acts that could be enjoyed for a paltry $8 per day admission.

Rock and roll headliners on the Main Stage that year included Sammy Hagar; Charlie Daniels Band; The Beach Boys; Chicago; The Hollies with Graham Nash; and a Joe Walsh/Cheap Trick double bill that also included The Elvis Brothers. The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Mary Wells performed on opening night, and other Main Stage attractions included Alabama, George Strait and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; and The Impressions featuring Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield.

The Pepsi-Cola Rock Stage offered a mix of local acts like Heavy Manners, Scraps, Bohemia, B.B. Spin, Sirenz, The Kind, Phil ‘N’ The Blanks, and Spooner (actually from Wisconsin), with national acts like Red Rockers and Marshall Crenshaw. The Budweiser Blues ‘N’ Bud WXRT Stage served up the likes of Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Luther Allison, King Sunny Ade, Corky Siegel Band, Willy Dixon, and Big Twist & The Mellow Fellows. Steve Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Heartsfield, Doug Kershaw, and Jethro Burns kept things rocking at the Old Style Beer Country Stage, and Stanley Turrentine, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Judy Roberts, The Original Ramsey Lewis Trio, Angela Bofill, and Wynton Marsalis were among the better known acts who performed at the Miller Highlife Jazz Scene. There was also a Vintage Rock Stage that brought in The Turtles, The Buckinghams, The Association, and David Clayton-Thomas.

As an avid Hollies fan, I was thrilled with their performance. A mist rolling in off Lake Michigan gave that night’s performance an added tough of magic as the band played a number of its biggest hits. The Allan Clarke-Graham Nash-Tony Hicks harmonies were perfect, and the concert ended with an extended version of “Long Cool Woman” that included a bit of the old standard “Shakin’ All Over.” Afterward, the crowd was chanting, “Hol-lies, Hol-lies, Hol-lies!”

Each year of ChicagoFest brought another banquet of astounding talent. I can still remember picking up the schedules in record stores, and planning how many nights I would be going. By comparison, Taste Of Chicago, even before its recent downsizing, has always seemed like barely a mouthful.

"Hydrogenic" - I Can See You Glowing In The Dark

Last year, I featured a different spooky song each day in October for a feature I called 31 Songs For Halloween. I don’t think I’ll be able to pull off anything that ambitious this season, but I would like to bring back some of the profiles for those who might not have seen them the first time around.

The 2007 film, You Weren’t There: A History Of Chicago Punk, which is now available on DVD, showcases a thriving alternative music scene that was tragically overlooked by the rest of the country. Bohemia certainly qualifies as an act that deserved national exposure. Back in the early 1980s, the band’s high energy assault, led by charismatic lead vocalist/keyboards player Carla Evonne, prompted a Chicago daily newspaper critic to proclaim that Bohemia was every bit as good as X from Los Angeles. On a personal level, Carla and her mates were the inspiration for a novel I’m in the process of writing.

Following the 1980 release of a self-titled, three-song 10 inch EP in 1980, Bohemia struck again a year later with their impressive debut LP, Deviations. The album’s title served to foreshadow an obsession with offbeat and disturbing subject matter on songs like “Plastic Doll,” “Standard Deviations,” “Empty Room,” and “Dr. Werner.” “Hydrogenic” was dark in its own fun, highly melodic way. A punk rock masterpiece that offers a girl meets mutant love story with an underlying jab at nuclear energy, “Hydrogenic” kicks off with Zirbel’s revved up bass playing and an extended instrumental intro.

Evonne sets the romantic tale in motion, singing, “Since I met you baby/I haven’t been the same/You hit me like an H-bomb and now I hardly know my name.” Her lover’s appearance has been drastically changed by exposure to massive doses of radiation. “Momma says you’re different/With your long green hair/You got webs between your fingers/But I don’t even care.” As the music zips along, Evonne continues to sing the praises of her unique beau: “I can see you glowing in the dark/In my life you really caused a spark.” The satirical lyrics are punctuated by an overjoyed chorus of, “Ooh, our love is new/Our love is new . . . nuclear.”

Sadly, none of Bohemia’s work is available on CD, but you can check out a few of its live performances on YouTube.

Vintage Publication Spotlight #13

The latest entry in an ongoing series devoted to magazines of the past. Here’s a publication I won’t be putting up for sale at my Rock & Roll Garage Sale this weekend.

Billed as “Chicago’s Finest New Wave Magazine,” Image certainly had some impressive credentials. Ric Menck, who was a founding member of The Reverbs and would later go on to Velvet Crush and several solo projects, served as the Editor/Publisher, and the contributors included Cary Baker, Rachael Cain, and Moira McCormick. Linda Matlow, who took the cover photo of The ODd for this particular issue, headed the photographers staff. Oddly enough, or ODdly enough if you prefer, there’s no date on this issue, but if Menck was reviewing Bohemia’s Automatic Mind/Unconventional Boy/American Life EP as a current release, that would make the year 1980.

Menck’s extensive feature on The ODd revealed that lead singer-guitarist Hugh Hart was tired of being compared to Elvis Costello, and Clox lead vocalist-guitarist Terry Fox requested that McCormick describe his group as “a modern-dance-rock band” rather than as “new wave.” Baker used his I Dig The Nightlife column to provide a rundown on what was happening at clubs like Oz, Gaspar’s, Rut’s, Neo, Lucky Number, O’Banion’s, Huey’s, and Biddy Mulligan’s. Dave Luhrssen reported on the Milwaukee music scene, and Cain, who fronted the band Screamin’ Rachael and Remote, filled readers in on what was going on at Space Place.

Claire Pieterek reviewed a Wazmo Nariz concert at Tut’s, and Menck covered a Clox performance at The Lake County Jam. Record reviews included the Hung Up On Pop EP from Loose Lips, Epicycle’s “Colleen,” The Meaty Buys’ “New Freedumb” (which was a parody of a feminine hygiene product commercial, if I remember correctly), “I Know Ah Girl” by Special Affects, and three simultaneously released singles by B.B. Spin. There was also a profile on the coed Gary Jones, as well as a review of its single “Science Fiction.”

Gary Jones was one of my favorite local bands at the time, and I was (and still am) particularly fond of “Underground,” the B-Side of the catchy “Friction.” Years later, I would see Gary Jones singer Toby Masters participating in a multi-media stage show that also included two former members of my Famous In The Future comedy group. Small world.

The only ad in the decidedly do-it-yourself Image was on the back cover, and it was for the Wax Trax record store on Lincoln Avenue.

Vintage Publication Spotlight

Long before thousands of aspiring writers around the globe took to the Internet to create blogs about everything from Britney Spears to politicians, many hardworking types expressed their creativity in magazines and newspapers. As dire predictions about the demise of the publishing industry in general continue to circulate, I’d like to honor some of the lesser-known periodicals that have fallen by the wayside. So today, I’m kicking off a new, semi-regular feature here at Broken Hearted Toy.

I’ve had this issue of the punk rock ‘zine earotica in my collection for several years, but I have no idea about its history. Published in the summer of 1982, this might have been the first edition, judging from an introduction by editor Ed Weaver, and a column by his co-editor, G. S. Johnson.

The bulk of the magazine is devoted to a piece by Johnson (with photos by Sherry Scalise) about one of Chicago’s best punk bands, Bohemia. After a few paragraphs about the group’s records and live performances, Johnson settles in for a Q&A with lead vocalist Carla Evonne, bassist Zirbel, saxophone player/guitarist Fast Frank, guitarist/vocalist Lee D’Buddah, and drummer Mark Wallner. They praise a new generation of Chicago acts like The Effigies, Strike Under, and Naked Raygun, but lament the city’s overly sedate club scene, the lack of support from radio stations, and the need for a local music publication that could wield international influence ala the Village Voice or L.A. Free Press.

The 20-page earotica has a bare-bones, black and white layout, with a handful of ads on the inside of the front and back covers. Its presentation may not be awe-inspiring, but it evokes an exciting period in Chicago’s history when cutting-edge bands were emerging and low-budget, hip publications were springing up to cover them.

31 Songs For Halloween - October 27th: “Hydrogenic”

Each day this month, I’ll be spotlighting a song that seems particularly appropriate for the season.

The 2007 film, You Weren’t There: A History Of Chicago Punk, which was recently released on DVD, showcases a thriving alternative music scene that was tragically overlooked by the rest of the country. Bohemia certainly qualifies as an act that deserved national exposure. Back in the early 1980s, the band’s high energy assault, led by charismatic lead vocalist/keyboards player Carla Evonne, prompted a Chicago daily newspaper critic to proclaim that Bohemia was every bit as good as X from Los Angeles. On a personal level, Carla Evonne and her mates were the inspiration for a novel I’m in the process of writing. Following the 1980 release of a self-titled, three-song 10 inch EP in 1980, Bohemia struck again a year later with their impressive debut LP, Deviations. The album’s title served to foreshadow an obsession with offbeat and disturbing subject matter on songs like “Plastic Doll,” “Standard Deviations,” “Empty Room,” and “Dr. Werner.” “Hydrogenic” was dark in its own fun, highly melodic way. A punk rock masterpiece that offers a girl meets mutant love story with an underlying jab at nuclear energy, “Hydrogenic” kicks off with Zirbel’s revved up bass playing and an extended instrumental intro. Carla Evonne sets the romantic tale in motion, singing, “Since I met you baby/I haven’t been the same/You hit me like an H-bomb and now I hardly know my name.” Her lover’s appearance has been drastically changed by exposure to massive doses of radiation. “Momma says you’re different/With your long green hair/You got webs between your fingers/But I don’t even care.” As the music zips along, Carla Evonne continues to sing the praises of her unique beau: “I can see you glowing in the dark/In my life you really caused a spark.” The satirical lyrics are punctuated by an overjoyed chorus of, “Ooh, our love is new/Our love is new . . . nuclear.” Sadly, none of Bohemia’s work is available on CD, but you can check out a few of its live performances on YouTube.