Single Paragraph Potpourri

Here’s a new feature that will serve as sort of step-sibling to That Was A Long Time Ago, Dearie, with randomly chosen paragraphs from reviews I’ve done in the near or distant past. All of this copy originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

The Pretenders - Last Of The Independents

When the infectious energy of “Night In My Veins” first hit the airwaves, it marked the return of one most unique voices in modern rock. As lead singer of The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde has always possessed the ability to alternate between punk aggression and motherly concern. She juggles both expertly again on Last Of The Independents, the band’s first release in four years.

The Godfathers - More Songs About Love & Hate

The band’s third U.S. album continues to pump out the venom, though like Birth, School, Work, Death, there are plenty of melodies to go around as well. The Godfathers have realized they can’t build a career on slogans alone, and have developed into accomplished songwriters. “Those Days Are Over,” “This Is Your Life,” and “I’m Lost And Then I’m Found” are prime examples of The Godfathers’ ability to provide muscular music for their messages.

The Posies - Frosting On The Beater

The second full-length album from The Posies finds the Seattle band forsaking its amazing ability to mimic The Beatles and The Hollies in order to establish a stronger identity of its own. Credit singers and guitarists Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow with having the courage to move on. “Dream All Day,” the first track on Frosting On The Beater, establishes the new direction by adding a harder edge to the band’s usual melodic approach.

The Chills - Submarine Bells

It’s not every band that records songs with titles like, “Effloresce And Deliquesce” or “Part Past Part Fiction,” but lead vocalist Martin Phillipps keeps things from getting too eggheaded by supporting his intellectual lyrics with hummable melodies. Like Squeeze and XTC, The Chills are masters of clever wordplay.

Slumgullion #32

Black Forest Theatre has been busy lining up talent for the October 9th John Lennon Birthday Bash at its space in Evanston. WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, the alt rock band formed by BFT founders James Moeller and Carla Hayden, are slated to perform “I Found Out,” “Working Class Hero,” “Come Together,” and “God.” Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, an actor/director at Mary-Arrchie Theatre, will play “Jealous Guy,” and Heather Svoboda from The Fling improv group, will read poems written by and about Lennon. Garage rock band The Telepaths will cover “She Said, She Said,” “Nobody Told Me,” and “Not A Second Time.” Frank Carr and Desiree Burcum from the Famous In The Future comedy group will do a duet on “Day Tripper,” and their fellow FIF cast member Tina Teske will perform “Imagine.” The John Lennon Birthday Bash will run from 8:00PM to 10:30PM. Black Forest Theatre is located at 512 Kedzie in Evanston. Contact James Moeller at jamesblackforest@yahoo.com for more information.

Beyond the Coyote kicks off its weekend festival tonight with an opening reception at 6:00PM at the Flat Iron Building on North Milwaukee Avenue in the Wicker Park ‘hood. The event features paintings, photography, musicians, and a variety of other performers.

The Next Wave Art Salon, which aims to encourage artists to exchange ideas and encourage each other’s creativity, will hold its latest event tomorrow night at 166 Symphony Way in Elgin. Organizer Carl Brahms states in the online invitation, “With the salon, we’re building a community of creative-minded folk to share ideas on a local level.” In addition to food, drink, and hopefully lots of inspiring conversation, there will be three $1,000 cash prizes given out at the end of the evening.

Go Time will be performing at Phyllis’s Musical Inn in Chicago on September 25th, along with Paul Coady and the Edsel Brothers, Creekmur, Kearney, Kierans, and Martellotta. Doors open at 9:00PM.

The Wells Street Fall Festival has over 20 bands lined up for its bash this weekend, including Cowboy Mouth, 7th Heaven, American English, Dan & The Humidors, Lounge Puppets, Modern Day Romeos, and Kashmir. On Saturday, American Idol finalist Gina Glocksen precedes synth rockers Dot Dot Dot. Once upon a time, Glocksen and Dot Dot Dot members Little Lisa and Rose were part of the four-woman cover band Catfight. Also on Saturday, the Modfathers, a covers band that includes Ellis Clark from The Handcuffs and Phil Angotti, will be playing classic songs from the 1960s, starting at 2:00PM. Now in its eighth year, the Wells Street Fall Festival will also feature food vendors, a midway with games, plus the work of 60 artists.

Local comedy group 4 Days Late will perform their satiric production Americans In Peril at the multi-faceted performance space Studio BE on Sheffield Avenue in Chicago every Friday from September 24th through November 12th. Showtime is 10:00PM and admission is $12.

Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn will offer an impressive power pop double bill tomorrow night when The Romeros open for Cliff Johnson & The Happy Jacks. The Romeros, who recently released the Cooler Than Your Boyfriend EP, were very impressive at International Pop Overthrow in Chicago earlier this year, and Cliff Johnson of Off Broadway fame is sure to come up with some exciting new material with his new band, The Happy Jacks. The Romeros have announced that all profits made from the sale of their merchandise tomorrow night will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Admission is $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

The Beatlemark Concert Series will honor musician Mark Eskin with Markapalooza tomorrow night at the Morton Grove Civic Center in Morton Grove. Eskin was a familiar face to those of us who attended Fest For Beatles Fans, and he worked with various bands in the area. The New Colony Six will headline the event, and other acts involved include BYTE, The StingRays, The Chauffers, and Instant Karma. In addition to this Saturday’s tribute, donations can be made at the online Mark Eskin Memorial Fund.

The sonic screwdriver has been a part of Doctor Who lore from at least the Tom Baker days, and coming this October, fans will be able to use a sonic screwdriver remote co-designed by the BBC and a company called Blue Ocean on Wii and DS. The Doctor Who: Return To Earth game will be released on Wii next winter, around the same time Doctor Who: Evavuation will come out on DS.

Singer-guitarist Rick Hromadka from the L.A.-based power pop band Maple Mars will be on the Alan K. Lohr Show this Saturday from 8-9 Pacific Standard Time. Hromadka will be interviewed by radio veteran Lohr (AKA BuddhaMan) and perform songs from the Maple Mars CD Galaxyland. Fans can catch the program at www.errorfm.com Channel 1 Error FM Live.

It was nice to see the article by Hedy Weiss in Wednesday’s Chicago Sun-Times about the Black Ensemble Theater breaking ground for its move to a larger venue on north Clark Street. I had the privilege of interviewing BET founder Jackie Taylor back in the days when the Illinois Entertainer did its annual theater issue. She’s a dynamic director whose dedication has resulted in several commercially successful and critically acclaimed productions that honor famous black musicians. The theater’s latest hit is Those Sensational Soulful 60’s, which can be seen at the theater’s current venue at 4520 N. Beacon in Chicago.

DVD Review: The Hollies - The Dutch Collection

Released by EMI in 2007, The Hollies - The Dutch Collection is a CD/DVD import from Holland. The audio half of this set is the usual collection of hits, from “Here I Go Again” to “The Air That I Breathe,” plus (for some unfathomable reason) the band’s shameful attempt at disco, “Wiggle That Wotsit.” It’s the other disc that serves up something Hollies fans have been praying for years: An official visual documentation of the band’s career, including live performances, TV appearances, interviews, and what amount to rock videos years before the dawn of MTV.

When I talked to Hollies guitarist-vocalist Terry Sylvester at the Fest For Beatles Fans in Chicago a few years back, I mentioned The Dutch Collection and he agreed it was great that this material was finally being made available. Unfortunately, the DVD is in the PAL format, so it’s not compatible with many players in the U.S. I have a portable model by Insignia that does accept PAL, but I’d love to see The Dutch Collection on a big screen.

Surprisingly, The Hollies were making promotional films for their songs as early as 1965, as evidenced by the clip for “I Can’t Let Go,” which shows the musicians lip-synching on a dock that presumably overlooks The Thames. “Stop Stop Stop” gives the lads a chance to engage in some Beatlesque silliness as they hang out in a local pub, tossing darts and downing pints. The best part is guitarist Tony Hicks winding up the key on top of a limo shortly before the band is driven away. The antics are reminiscent of The Monkees, but it’s quite possible this clip pre-dates that TV show.

I remember seeing a clip for “Carrie Anne” on a local UHF TV show hosted by WLS DJ Art Roberts back in 1967, and I had been trying to find a copy of it for years. It’s on The Dutch Collection, and it’s just as wacky as I remembered. Graham Nash frolics in an open field wearing a kaftan, bassist Bernie Calvert wakes up by a pool surrounded by beautiful women, and lead vocalist Allan Clarke dresses up as cowboy and shoots his doppelganger in a duel. The clip for “Dear Eloise,” which was filmed outdoors around a gazebo, is more straight forward. When I interviewed Nash for the Illinois Entertainer (see Archives, December 2009) he acknowledged that it was unusual for bands back then to create rock videos. He explained that The Hollies had no real say in the creative aspect of these clips; they pretty much did as they were told.

Two of the clips, “On A Carousel,” and the much later “Magic Woman Touch,” featuring Clarke’s short-term replacement Mikael Rikfors, offer an interesting peek at The Hollies at work in the recording studio. By far, the worst clip is the one for “Blowin’ In The Wind,” which mixes footage of the band lip-synching the Dylan tune with footage of a what looks like a guy and his girlfriend making an amateur porn film. Nothing explicit, but very cheesy in way that would have been funny as a Monty Python’s Flying Circus bit. In fact, Monty Python did do something quite similar.

The Dutch Collection also offers a few short, vintage interviews conducted in Holland with band members at various point in the 1960s, as well as an appearance by Hicks and Sylvester on a 1970s English TV show. The disc is more interesting early on, with The Hollies appearing on Top Of The Pops and at a New Musical Express sponsored event. Later TV performances of songs like “Hey Willy,” “The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee,” and “Daddy Don’t Mind” only illustrate how lackluster the band’s material could be in the late 1970s.

The reunion of Nash, Clarke, Hicks, drummer Bobby Elliott, and original bassist Eric Haydock singing the hits medley “Holliedaze” on Top Of The Pops in the early 1980s, ends The Dutch Collection on a happy note.

Vintage Publication Spotlight #14

The latest entry in an ongoing series devoted to magazines of the past.

I attended a fun and interesting meeting yesterday morning that involved a group of dynamic people discussing how to promote and support local performing arts using the Internet. Hopefully, I’ll have more to report on that in the near future. In the meantime, here’s a look at how things were done back in September, 1977.

I’m pretty sure I picked up this copy of TRIAD magazine at a store called Triangle Records, which was located on south Pulaski Avenue. Listed on the masthead as Volume Six, Number One, it featured G. Alonzo Oeuf’s feature story on Yes, with photos by Dean Simmon and Dan Kompass. Judging from the “We’re Back!” banner on the front cover, the magazine, which was the in-print companion to TRIAD radio on WXFM 106, must have been away for a while.

Newly appointed Editor Bill Paige (you’ve seen that name on previous Vintage Publication Spotlight posts) was overseeing the new format, and Cary Baker (likewise a VPS regular) was a contributor, along with Robin Cook, Mindy Goldenberg, Mark Guncheon, and Beth Segal. In addition to Simmon and Kompass, Jorie Gracen served as a photographer. TRIAD also used pics from Photo Reserve. Paige had a regular column, and also contributed an article on The Stranglers, in which drummer Jet Black noted, “We have to get the audience with us, jumping about, having a good time, or we can’t play. There’d be no reason for it.”

Bruce Meyer had an interview with Jackson Browne, while Baker devoted his entire Chicago Sha Boom column to Shadows Of Knight frontman Jim Sohns. There was a two-page spread of intriguing art by John Kurtz, plus movie reviews of The Spy Who Loved Me and Fire Sale. Christine Harmon reviewed the “lighthearted farce” Bleacher Bums, which was playing at the Organic Theatre, but didn’t mention any of the actors involved. Guncheon reviewed a Mink DeVille and Blind John Davis double bill at Ivanhoe Theatre, Robin Cook reviewed Gil Scott-Heron, also at The Ivanhoe, and Simon Impleiz covered a concert by Alice Cooper at the Chicago Stadium. The record reviews included Linda Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams; Robert Gordon’s self-titled effort with Link Wray; Utopia’s Oops! Wrong Planet; and Alan Parsons Project’s I Robot.

Goldenberg found quite a few cranky people in her piece on Beatlefest, which was held at the Palmer House in Chicago that year. Attendees griped about the prices at the flea market, the authors who had come to hawk their books, and even the joyous reactions of other fans to The Beatles’ flicks and music. “I enjoyed the films a lot,” some guy named Dave related. “But I’d rather see them without the incessant clapping and singing along by people who can’t sing as well as The Beatles.” Here’s a box of tissues, Dave. Now go wipe all that snot out of your nose. Others despaired of the current music scene. “The 70s has produced no music of note yet and I don’t have much hope that it will,” complained a 21-year old named Beth. Beatlefest, which was created by Mark Lapidos with a little help from his friend John Lennon, would later morph into Fest For Beatles Fans and find a new home in the Chicago area at the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont. Lapidos is still at the helm, and WXRT’s Terri Hemmert has been the MC for quite some time. Fortunately, the vibe these days is much more upbeat.

Advertising in this issue of TRIAD included a full page from S&J Records in Hammond, Indiana, saluting the magazine’s return; Swollen Head Records & Tapes in La Grange; a half page ad for The Grand Illusion LP from Styx; and the AmazingGrace venue in Evanston.

In his Radio Notes column, TRIAD radio Program Director Don Bridges proclaimed, “It’s been a long time coming, but we’re back, looking straight up Michigan Avenue and digging on the renewed thrill of spinning records over Chicago.”

CD Review: Agent Sparks - Red Rover

I first encountered Agent Sparks when they opened for The Bangles at The House Of Blues in Chicago a few years back. Some of The Bangles’ less hip fans (the ones who came primarily to hear “Eternal Flame”) were put off, but for those of us familiar with the more hard-edged side of Susanna, Vicki, and Debbie, the wildly energetic Agent Sparks were well-suited to the task. Plus, they were a lot of fun. Here’s a review I wrote of the Agent Sparks CD, Red Rover, which originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer. It looks like there are some new songs available on the band’s MySpace page.

Agent Sparks singers Benjamin Einziger and Stephanie Eitel bring to mind vintage new wave with their animated duets throughout much of their debut CD, Red Rover. Together with bassist Paul Fried and drummer George Purviance, they employ other modern rock styles in their depictions of oddball characters. An offbeat sense of humor is at work here, like when Einziger sings, “I like being a socialized animal/How about you?” on “Face The Day.”

Eitel’s keyboards playing adds to the fun of “Polly Anne,” an energetic tune about a girl who never fits in, as well as the clever and catchy “Made Up Friend.” Einziger’s frenetic riffs compete with Purviance’s tribal drumming during the religious/political satire “Razorhand,” and the band brews up a tropical storm for “Camouflage.” Red Rover even serves up a lighter, touching love song with “Funny Foolish.”

Slumgullion #31

Slumgullion is a dish that is best served on Fridays, but I'll be busy getting ready for a family get-together this weekend, so I'm posting this regular feature a day early. I hope everyone has a great holiday.

Words & Pictures. Alice Peacock, the singer-songwriter who charmed guests at WXRT DJ Lin Brehmer’s Birthday Bash at Arlington Park last year, will be headlining a Rock For Reading Benefit on September 11th at Lincoln Hall on Chicago’s north side. Rock For Reading is devoted to lowering the illiteracy rates in America. Peacock will be performing songs from her four albums, and veteran rock & roll photographer Paul Natkin will be displaying 21 of what he considers his best shots. The pics will be for sale. Tickets for this all ages show, which starts at 7:00PM, are $20. A portion of profits will be going to support Rock For Reading.

Not Those Village People. English rockers The Villagers have released a low key but artistically compelling video for the melodic “That Day,” the latest single from their debut, Becoming A Jackal. The CD is doing quite well in the U.K., and The Villagers are currently touring the States, hoping to duplicate that success over here. They’ll be playing Schubas Tavern in Chicago on September 24th.

Rocking In Canada. TEE PEE Records (cool new graphics on the press release, by the way) will have a few acts from its roster on stage when the 2010 Pop Montreal International Music Festival runs from September 29th through October 3rd. Priestess, Naam, Mirror Queen, and The Main Street Gospel will be joining a lineup that also features The xx, Shonen Knife, and Deerhoof.

Be Sure To Bring Band-Aids. New Millennium Theatre Company always draws inspiration for its offbeat productions from highly unusual sources, and they’ll be at it again this weekend when they bring Texas Chainsaw Musical to the Chicago Fringe Festival. The show runs September 1st through September 5th at the EP Theater, 1820 South Halsted Street. Unlike a lot of NMTC’s efforts, Texas Chainsaw Musical is not taking place in the late hours of the night. Scheduled show times are: Friday at 4:00PM; Saturday at 5:30PM; and Sunday at 7:00PM.

Work For Love. Las Divas Productions is sponsoring an evening of Industrial and NuWave music with Eddie Riot, Resistol Cincomil, and Norma Lua at Exit on North Avenue this Saturday, starting at 9:00PM.

September Gurls Again. The U.K. based label Cherry Red Records will be re-releasing a pair of early efforts from The Bangles this month. All Over The Place will have a single bonus track, which will be the band’s cover of The Grass Roots’ “Where Were You When I Needed You.” It originally appeared as the B-Side of the “Hero Takes A Fall” single. Different Light will have an entire disc of bonus material, including different mixes of “Hero Takes A Fall,” “Manic Monday,” and “Walk Like An Egyptian,” as well as a live medley of “Walking Down Your Street” and “James.” Meanwhile, The Bangles will be performing at the Sausalito Art Festival on September 4th, and will be touring Europe and Australia in October.

CD Review: Johnny L - Friend

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Singer-guitarist Johnny L is a veteran of the Chicago music scene, having played with one of the city’s original punk bands, The Slugs. On his second solo effort, Friend, which is dedicated to the late producer Phil Bonnet, he breezes through a collection of short and catchy pop tunes. He’s backed by drummer Holly Pintozzi and guitarist-vocalist James Pintozzi throughout most of the CD, and several other musicians drop by to help out.

“Spring Forward,” which features Mike Halston, Dag Juhlin and Gregg Juhlin of The Slugs, deals with not being able to keep up with the modern world, and mixes ringing guitars with lines like, “If you’re unhappy and you know it, raise your hand.” Johnny L creates enticing Latin rhythms for “I Have Not Told Her” and “Work Of Art,” while “Better Day” has a lush, orchestral feel. Throughout Friend, Johhny L reels off one pop gem after another, with Green vocalist Jeff Lescher helping out on “Something New,” and The Webstirs members Preston Pisellini and Mork Winkler harmonizing on “At A Loss.”