First, let me thank Dan Usherwood of the Pleasant Plains Historical Society and all who helped make our first Clayville Folk Festival in 25 years a good beginning for many fests to come. Other than the chilly weather making viewing and performing a veritable challenge, the fest was a huge success. In a twist of […]
Music
Posted inMusic
Porkpie & the Northend Allstars
Born of a jam session as good bands often are, Porkpie & the Northend Allstars began when Hipbone Sam introduced Kirk Lonbom and Craig Wood at a last-Friday jam at Abe’s Southside Pub back in Sept. 2011 and suggested they play some songs with “drum junkie” Jeff Bechtel. Wood, a veteran of St. Louis blues […]
Posted inMusic
Girl-a-Thon the third
For the third year in a row I can, with a true sense of joy, announce another Girl-a-Thon.Once again organizer Gwen Harris has put together an incredible lineup of musicians, guests and sponsors to support this fine fundraiser for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Gwen proudly reports GAT made the top […]
Posted inMusic
Henry Rollins brings a ‘talking show’ to the Hoogland
Henry Rollins is no Abe Lincoln. But that doesn’t stop the 51-year-old punk rock icon, TV personality, author and blogger from incorporating sections of the 16th president’s 1838 speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield as part of “Capitalism,” his current spoken word tour of all 50 state capitals, which touches down at the […]
Posted inMusic
Suit & Tie Guy
This mysterious character lives in Chillicothe, Ill. quietly plotting intricate and intense electronic music while blithely being behind the mask of the ubiquitous suit and tie. Along with his personal recorded output (Sacred Earth 2012 is the latest on 1320 Records), Suit & Tie Guy also records other bands (Black Magic Johnson for one) and […]
Posted inMusic
Eva Hunter Band
A Fancy Prairie native and Athens High School graduate, Eva got her start in show business with a family band, singing with her sisters. As the emotive vocalist developed into a rhythm guitar player and composer, her path veered toward that of the performing songwriter. Now several years later with five records independently released (the […]
Posted inMusic
Blues ambassador James Armstrong
In this day and age of ubiquitous blues, finding a genuine and pertinent purveyor of the genre can be trying. Not to say all the variations of the I-IV-V performed in various instrumental configurations don’t have a place in the field, but experiencing a true-blue bluesman, as opposed to someone playing the blues, is like […]
Posted inMusic
Feeling like fall
First I’d like to thank the folks at Penny Lane and all who helped organize the 18th annual Jerry Garcia Tribute at Douglas Park last Sunday. The Raouligans and I were honored to play along with Dennis Maberry’s Rhythm Spirit and Perfunctory This Band. For me, it was a great way to pay back Penny […]
Posted inMusic
Mathien
Began in Carbondale and molded in Chicago, the hard driving, pop-rock, soul-funk band Mathien comes back to town on the opening weekend for Donnie’s Homespun nightclub in the Vinegar Hill Mall. With a grand stage and sound system, the large space begins anew as a venue on Friday with The Pimps and The Timmys, then […]
Posted inMusic
The Hitmen and a Dame
These guys have been playing the popular hits for awhile or, as the promo coyly states, “deez guyz been playing da hits of the 60s, 70s & 80s since 2001,” booking everything from bar gigs to festivals, from political rallies (like for some Barack Obama guy, to mention one) to private functions, all with a […]
Posted inMusic
Seven years of Black Sheep
What started as a way for bands to just get a place to play turned into a seven-year success story as a home for all-ages music in Springfield. Snuggled into one long room on the east side of 11th Street just north of South Grand Avenue, the Black Sheep Café does what no one else […]
Posted inMusic
A Brewhaus adieu
In a heartbreaking time for me, after 18 and a half years of being booked at the Brewhaus every Sunday, my streak has come to an inglorious end. Management at the club wants to “shake things up” and so they did. Bands looking to play Sundays can contact general manager Nate Short. May the ’haus […]
