Andy Downing

Chicago's music scene will be well represented when Lollapalooza sets up in Grant Park this weekend, with appearances by the likes of OK Go, the Ponys, Liz Phair and the...

In 2001, less than a year after releasing "Second Nature," Dave Kelly (Cap D) and Tony Fields (Tone B. Nimble) stopped making music together as All Natural--a group whose roots...

Many musicians fall into one of two distinct camps--those passionate about playing live and those who'd rather hole up in the creative confines of the studio. Then there's Geoff Sabin,...

Del Rey's most recent album, the 2003 release "Darkness and Distance" (My Pal God), opens with "Asimov." It's an instrumental opus that allows the tension to grow to a stifling...

Despite attending the same New Mexico school, the co-founders of Bang! Bang! did not meet until they each moved 1,300 miles to Chicago. But just how future bandmates Jack Flash...

Antena's tunes remain novel French singer Isabelle Antena was effervescent throughout her set at HotHouse on Friday. Between songs, she talked about why this appearance made her so giddy. Her...

When spiraling into depression, an artist can ride it out or rail against it with all they've got. Jason Molina, the messianic frontman for Magnolia Electric Co., consistently chooses the...

Dr. Dre's influence on modern hip-hop is bordering on ridiculous. Besides fronting the breakthrough gangster rap outfit N.W.A., Dre was behind the monstrous debut efforts of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50...

Los Angeles MC Regan Farquhar, a.k.a. Busdriver, has a knack for writing wordy rhymes that spew forth like plumes of volcanic ash that is matched only by his self-deprecation. "I'm...

This self-titled compilation, culled from Willie Hightower's lone album and a handful of singles, proves that the music of the Alabama-born singer is long overdue for discovery. His soulful rasp,...