Along with the privilege of writing this week’s IT cover story on Sean and Jamie Burns’ legacy with the Sangamon Valley Roots Revival came many personal recollections unable to fit into the professional, journalistic tack I took (or at least attempted to) with the story. I presented the lighter and brighter side of the saga, […]
Music
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Tret Fure
In an amazing career that spans four decades, Tret Fure began singing professionally at 16, worked with Spencer Davis at 19, soon after signed with MCA/UNI Records and released her major label debut in 1973, produced by none other than legendary Little Feat founder, the late Lowell George. After several years in the industry as […]
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“Hair” the music calling
The Alejandro Escovedo concert at Bar None scheduled for Sept. 16 sold out about a week ago. I’ve heard from several disappointed fans unable to get tickets and I’m sure plenty of other thwarted concertgoers exist. According to his website calendar Springfield is the only Midwest stop on this particular tour, but never fear, he […]
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Alabaster Brown
St. Louis-based band Alabaster Brown spent a good deal of 2010 traveling the country, especially in the Midwest and up and down the East Coast with festival stops at Springjam at Camp Zoe in Salem, Mo., Summercamp in Chillicothe, Ill., Mountain Jam in Woodstock, N.Y., and North Coast Festival in Chicago. The rockin’ roots quartet […]
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This, that and one more thing
First up I’d like to offer a standing invitation for all musically inclined bands, groups, combos, duos and individual artists from near and far interested in participating in the weekly Band Spotlight in Illinois Times Pub Crawl. We feature one artist each week with a large photo and a short paragraph and from two to […]
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Alejandro Escovedo
Considered one of the most prolific and profound artists in the Americana genre, Alejandro Escovedo quite simply is legendary. From his early days with punk/country/rockers Rank & File in the 1980s through a brilliant solo career nearly cut short by a serious bout with Hepatitis C in 2003, the Austin-based artist plays blistering electric guitar […]
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The Graduate goes to work
In these days of rampant ungainful employment, what a pleasant surprise to see someone get work, especially if they’ve strived long and hard for it and are well suited to the task. The recently rehired workers in our story happen to hail mostly from the Springfield area and belong to the band The Graduate. When […]
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Tom Irwin and the Notorious Hired Hands
The Hired Hands moniker originated from an offhand comment by local music guy Sean Burns about the shifting musicians in Tom Irwin’s groups of the early 2000s. With the added descriptive adjective “Notorious” distinguishing them from other accompanists, the name stuck on this combination of Tom “Dooley” Woolsey (guitar), Raoul (guitar), Keith Voegele (bass) and […]
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KFD
About five months ago, Mike Williams, former guitarist in the Lost Boys and Misspent Youth, devised a strategy to form a band. He invited fellow central Illinois music “vets” Kortney Leatherwood (Sleepwalker, 808, Stone Giants) on guitar, Perry Zubeck (Cats on Holiday) on keyboards, Steve Gragert (Dirty Ernies) on bass and Shaun Tobin (Lost Boys) […]
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Cicero Slim again
If you were around town in 1978 and liked live music in a bar, chances are Cicero Slim and the World War III Blues Band made it onto your favorite band radar. This Friday night Mr. Slim and a good bunch of the several musicians who rotated in and out of the band reunite at […]
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Greg Ginn & Gary Piazza
Look who’s coming to Norb Andy’s. It’s none other than Greg Ginn, founder of Black Flag, one of the most influential and important American punk bands. Ginn, chief songwriter and organizer of the group, worked along with Henry Rollins, the more visible frontman, from 1976 to 1986. After disbanding the band, Ginn continued playing guitar […]
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To the fair and beyond
One might think all the goings-on at the Illinois State Fair would be enough excitement for one town, but quite a few entertainment extravaganzas occur beyond the barbed-wire fencing that surrounds the people’s fairgrounds in this week’s roundup of Springfield’s finer distractions bent on avoiding a terminal case of ennui. An interesting triumvirate of festivals […]
