Untitled Document Call it the end of an era, the beginning of the end, the start of something new, or whatever other cliché you want, but the native Springfield band Park is no more. The group, together for more than 10 years with relatively few personnel changes, made its mark in the national indie-rock, emo/pop/punk […]
Music
Posted inMusic
Colorado calling card
Untitled Document Over the last several years a mighty wind has blown from Colorado to the Midwest, carrying with it a bluegrass/folk sound that echoes across the prairies. Fans of Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, founding members of Leftover Salmon, sprouted up all around here, drawn to this organic acoustic music flavored with a twist […]
Posted inMusic
John Fahey’s worthy successor
Untitled Document Of all the acoustic guitarists to glom on to the great John Fahey, Glenn Jones might have the most cred. He had the honor of actually collaborating with the late master, on 1996’s The Epiphany of Glenn Jones, and could claim him as a longtime friend. Jones, the leader of Cul de Sac, an […]
Posted inMusic
Support your local musician
Untitled Document Our society enjoys the arts but often fails to support its artists. I don’t mean to dismiss lovers and backers of the arts — bless you, each and every one — it’s just that we forget that most artists and entertainers do what they do for very little monetary reward. They don’t enjoy […]
Posted inMusic
The brain of Bird
Untitled Document Was there ever a man more aptly named than Andrew Bird? Fine-boned and gracile, with a long, elegant nose and alert dark eyes, he has a distinctly avian beauty. Despite his fragile appearance, he’s a tireless performer, migrating from tour stop to tour stop with the freakish vigor of his feathered brethren. He’s […]
Posted inMusic
Seven days to live
Untitled Document Here are my suggestions for a weeklong binge of live music. Start at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, with a visit to the lovely Inn at 835, on South Second Street, and listen to the delightful sounds of the Angel Brown Band. At 9 p.m., head to the Underground City Tavern for a show […]
Posted inMusic
Shake your badonkadonk
Untitled Document Afrobeat, the percolating, polyrhythmic, politically minded big-band dance music most closely associated with the late Nigerian maestro Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has always been a fusion form. Rooted in traditional Yoruba music, it incorporated a host of styles from the African diaspora, including American jazz, soul, and funk. Think of it as the silver […]
Posted inMusic
Angry young man becomes grumpy geezer
Untitled Document The problem with the phrases “angry young man” and “pub rock,” both of which seem to be mandatory in any discussion of Graham Parker, is not that they’re obsolete but instead that they’re meaningless. “Pub rock” was stupid from the outset, a tautological catch-all for the sort of music you might hear in […]
Posted inMusic
The Graduate goes to work
Untitled Document Indie-rock group The Graduate was formed about a year-and-a-half ago from the remains of two central-Illinois bands, Best of Winter and Jack. After a few gigs here in town at such all-ages hotspots as Bread Stretchers and Club 10, The Graduate hit the road hard, playing dates across the States. Within four months […]
Posted inMusic
Do the time warp again
Untitled Document Although it comes as a blow to our national pride, we should probably just admit it: The best soul album of 2007 may very well be a product of Britain. Meet Amy Winehouse, a 23-year-old white Londoner whose alarmingly skinny frame seems incapable of supporting her huge bouffant hairdo, much less the mountains […]
Posted inMusic
Climbing Thornhill
Untitled Document The road to musical success has been long and winding for singer/songwriter Tina Thornhill and her band Thornhill. The group just released its first CD, Center of Town, and Tina is euphoric. “It’s amazing. We’re flying high,” she says. “I hold the disks in my hand and can’t believe what I’m […]
Posted inMusic
No Drew leftover
Untitled Document In 1990, when Drew Emmitt merged his group the Left Hand String Band with Vince Herman’s Salmon Heads to create Leftover Salmon, no one imagined the impact the group would have on the world of popular music. During the next 15 years the genre-breaking jam band from Boulder, Colo., released several CDs, both […]
