Formed in March of 2005 when former Leftover Salmon fellow Vince Herman (vocals, guitar, mandolin) joined with Chad Staehly (vocals, keyboards) to make an offhand, all-star group for a Rainforest Action Group benefit performance in Boulder, Colo., the show went so well Great American Taxi drove on. Over the years band personnel solidified into Jim […]
Music
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Happy birthday, Blues Club
Congratulations and commendations are in order for the Illinois Central Blues Club as the local organization celebrates 25 years of delivering blues to the Springfield area. No other local group involved in promoting music to the masses even comes close to the amount of work and play delivered by the many and varied dedicated members […]
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A few friendly folks
This past weekend I spent a whirlwind couple of days in Memphis, Tenn., at the Folk Alliance International music conference. This is my fourth consecutive year of attending and my sixth conference overall and number 23 for the organization once known as the International Folk and Dance Alliance. Several years ago the group dropped the […]
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Frank Trompeter Quintet
Long a staple on the Springfield music scene, Frank Trompeter continues his marvelous musical march accompanied by a mass of musicians and a bevy of bands. The configuration of the current combo features Trompeter (saxophones, vocals, percussion, sax synthesizer), Chris Miller (piano, organ), Chris Warren (bass), Dion Doss (drums) and A.J. Good (trumpet, flugelhorn). The […]
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Zydeco welcomes Mardi Gras
Back in August of 2010 Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers dropped into town for a concert and fundraiser hosted by Tim Kodyra of Meatsmack to benefit Jimmy “the Meatman” Weinheoft. The fun in the sun show out at the lake was such a rousing success Tim signed them up for a return visit, this […]
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The Legendary Clampetts
They hail from the Springfield area, they’ve been around for ages and stake the claim of being “just the best damn unknown rock-n-roll band in the land.” These last-name-lacking bandmates Mike, (bass, vocals), Mark (guitars, keys, vocals), Wes (lead and slide guitars, vocals) and Jeff (percussion, vocals) are a fun-loving, music-making, take-no-prisoners bunch. According to […]
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Lincoln and love
I’m not really sure why, but let’s say the nearness of the dates drew me to attempt to vaguely tie the holidays of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and St. Valentine’s Day together. Our first connection concerns what’s commonly known as the Lincoln Love Couch in historic Edwards Place, home of the Springfield Art Association. There sits […]
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Royal Pain
Stocked with a bevy of classy, veteran Springfield musicians, Royal Pain stakes a claim as the classic rock band “THAT ROCKS!” With Sam Draper (guitar, vocals) from Freak of Nature, Elephants Gerald and Spy vs. Spy, Gary Davis (guitar, vocals) from Hurricane Ruth, Out on Bail, Little Big Band and Muni Opera Orchestra, Steve Marvel […]
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Free to play at WQNA
The phone chirps incessantly. Loud and fast heavy metal music blares from the speakers. Amid the cacophony a red light flashes on, and up to the DJ microphone steps Chris Hupp, transforming into Metal Chris as he takes a slug of Mountain Dew. “Good evening and welcome to another edition of Monday Night Metal on […]
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Iron Orchard
Hailing from somewhere between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers not far from Macomb, singer-songwriter-guitarist Bill Harroun leads his group of heartland rockers through a terrain of proudly alt-country, no-nonsense tunes as honest and true as the day is long and the night is too. Featuring lead guitar and pedal steel wiz John Gorlewski, bassist Larry […]
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The Challenge of the Blues
Here comes February and all groundhog sightings aside, those involved in live music know this month as the occasion of the world famous International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., hosted by the Blues Foundation. For those unaware of this monumental gathering of blues bands and musicians from the world over (at least the world familiar […]
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The Timmys
Around since 1997, the Timmys still play fast and furious fun songs in punkster fashion. Led by that fine figure of a man, Robbie Kording, on vocals, the rest of the band (as of this moment) is Brandon Carnes (bass), Tyler Orton (guitar), Wes Selinger (drums) and Ian Kelley (guitar). After a relatively quiet spell […]
