eighth blackbird’s classical passion has taken wing
Lisa Kaplan, pianist for classical sextet eighth blackbird, is keenly aware of the stereotypes the group is up against. "A lot of times people hear 'classical' and they immediately think...
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Cool Kids hot item, thanks to big beats
One of Chicago's most buzzed about hip-hop acts has already had a song on an episode of "Entourage," performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival, recorded with white-hot New Orleans rapper...
McDermott makes joyful ‘Noise’ out of stripped sound, personal pain
Singer-songwriter Michael McDermott's latest album, "Noise From Words" (One Little Indian) -- his most personal and stripped-down effort to date -- almost took a completely different direction. During the initial...
McDermott makes a joyful ‘Noise’ out of personal pain
Singer-songwriter Michael McDermott's latest album, "Noise From Words" (One Little Indian) -- his most personal and stripped-down effort to date -- almost took a completely different direction. During the initial...
Corey Wilkes’ high-level improv cosmic–and comic
During the first night of his month-long residency at Velvet Lounge with his band Abstrakt Pulse, jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes pulled out a gun and shot his saxophonist. Nobody in...
Animate Objects, illustrious hip-hop
Just moments into Animate Objects' debut, "Riding In Fast Cars With Your Mama" (Nutta), rapper CZAR Absolute spells out the group's ethos: "If I could tell you a story of...
Mt. St. Helens’ sound scales new peaks
Starting a band is difficult, but it's almost harder to hold a band together after eight years hovering below the radar. When Mt. St. Helens first got together in 1999,...
Vyle’s getting a good rep for good rap
Rapper/producer Vyle grew up hating hip-hop. A self-proclaimed nerd, the MC was more interested in comic books, anime and John Carpenter films than music. It wasn't until his freshmen year...
On ‘Stranger,’ Altergott gets personal
On his Web site, jeffreyaltergott.com, singer-songwriter Jeffrey Altergott includes a section called "There's a Light That Never Goes Out." There visitors are encouraged to post stories about past relationships, Altergott...
Great things to hear at the Dollar Store
If good things come to those who wait, then Dollar Store should be poised for a breakout. The quartet's second album, "Money Music"(Bloodshot) recently surfaced almost two full years after...