Mike Doughty has been through the ringer. The former lead vocalist for sample-heavy ’90s alternative-rock mainstays Soul Coughing (“Super Bon Bon,” “Circles”) has put a lot of distance between himself and that band in the post-120 Minutes era, releasing a steady stream of solo recordings, all of which retain his trademark acerbic wit and sometimes-dense […]
Scott Faingold
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast.
Posted inArts & Culture
The ballad of Tom Irwin
To call Tom Irwin a fixture on the Springfield music scene would be something of an understatement. Beginning in the mid-1970s as a bass player and eventual frontman for various local rock bands, straight through to his present status as an accomplished songwriter and bandleader, Irwin has been a popular draw in local clubs since […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Upbeat arts in a down economy
“I’m glad they’re here, kicking the arts in the butt,” smiles Betsy Dollar, executive director of the Springfield Art Association. She is referring to the organizers and participants of Third Thursday, the upstart local collective whose calling card is a floating, monthly exhibition featuring volunteer artists [see “The Third Thursday artists,” by Tom Irwin, July […]
Posted inNews
Housing project cause for optimism and concern
“Believe it or not, it was my sister who made the connection between me and SIU,” recalls Dulcinea Gillman. The former Springfield resident is now CEO of Critchfield Construction, an Elmhurst development firm in charge of building Hope Springs Apartments, currently under construction at 1135 N. 9th St. in the Enos Park neighborhood of Springfield […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Crunch time for the Hoogland
“I had a person recently ask me what I do here,” recalls Fred Jarosz, executive director of the Hoogland Center for the Arts. “And I told them, ‘I’m the beggar. I’m the one who goes out and begs for money. Gladly!’” The role of beggar has never been more important for the Hoogland. The organization […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Pharmacy offers a unique prescription for local art
“We want this to be a nice opening like you’d find in New York or up in Chicago,” enthuses local artist Andrew Woolbright, describing the debut exhibit this Friday (11.11.11) of The Pharmacy, a collective studio and gallery for Springfield artists. “Café Andiamo is going to cater the entire event, and there’s going to be […]
Posted inMusic
Hip-hop in the Heartland
[SOUND EFFECTS: needle drops onto vinyl; surface static; reporter clears throat] I’ll never forget the day I stumbled onto Springfield’s underground hip-hop scene. It all started with Raekwon the Chef. Or perhaps it was Fast Orange. I found myself at Bar None one evening in the spring of this year watching local hybrid punk-metal cover […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hip-hop benediction at 5th & Monroe
Okay, this actually happened, and I was there to bear witness. Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan did indeed play a set as part of Bar None’s weekly “Torch Tuesday” hip-hop showcase. To put this morning’s wee-hours performance into a sort of cross-cultural (read: white people) perspective, imagine Neil Young just magically appearing at a typical acoustic […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Founding Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon at Bar None tomorrow
In an inexplicable piece of happenstance, one of the most famous and respected rap artists in the world will be performing in downtown Springfield tomorrow night — Tuesday, May 17th — in a bar that can’t even legally admit 100 people. Yes, Raekwon the Chef himself will be, um, “cooking up some marvelous shit to […]
Posted inNews
Hope comes full circle
“We expanded from a family,” says Georgia Winson, newly appointed executive director of the Hope Institute for Children and Families. “But it always goes back to a family.” In the late 1950s, when it was known as the Hope School for Blind Children, the future Institute operated out of a series of Springfield residences; today […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A Fan Gushes: New Pornographers Tonight In Urbana
The living rebuke to any Beatles-era baby boomers fond of lamenting the lack of melody and harmony in today’s pop music — namely The New Pornographers — will be playing at the Canopy Club in Urbana tonight, and I for one could not be more thrilled to have tickets. The Canada-based indie rock combo is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Tsunami Relief at Bar None: Right Now!
Midafternoon on a Sunday at Bar None isn’t exactly the time and place you expect to encounter a rock show, but that’s just what Tom Irwin has decided to pull out of his back pocket today. A makeshift “power trio” (Irwin on bass, local percussion legend Timothy M. “Grumpy” Harte on drums, and Tom’s guitar-slinging […]
