As a founder and longtime member of the popular “trop rock” band Boat Drunks, Mike Miller spends his time making music. He retired from the BDs in 2008 after several successful years, then rejoined in 2013 and continues to contribute as singer, guitarist and songwriter. Known as being a popular Jimmy Buffet tribute band, they […]
Champaign
Posted inMusic
Johnnie Owens can sing
Johnnie Owens, joined by his favorite musician friends, hosts a release party for his CD, Butter!, Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Brewhaus from 5 to 9 p.m. PHOTO BY JOE COPLEY Now a renowned and beloved Springfield-based singer, Johnnie Owens’ voice and talent took him around the world in his younger days. Earlier this week […]
Posted inMusic
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
PHOTO BY ROSIE WAGNER A performing songwriter since 2006, Ezra Furman hangs out in the indie-rock, folk-rock, original music land and calls Chicago home. With the Harpoons, the group delivers ferociously friendly sounding on-the-beat and in-your-face songs with sweet and sour lyrics balanced between personal experiences and existential dialogues with the universe as a conversational […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The poetry of food, farm and friends
Had the pleasure of heading out this weekend on an adventure and attending a Slow Food Springfield luncheon at Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign. The wind (well, really wheels) carried us east from Springfield to Urbana and kept us cool under the June sun. It was a gorgeous day to see to the goats, pigs, […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Surprise!
We Glatzs have a long history of throwing surprise parties, largely due to my husband, Peter. For my first birthday after our wedding, for days ahead he’d get up after I’d fallen asleep, roll a towel against our bedroom door to keep any smells out, and begin cooking through the night, storing his efforts in […]
Posted inNews
Does UIS stiff laborers?
A group of union workers at the University of Illinois Springfield claims many of their non-union counterparts got raises above the university’s own limits. The workers also claim UIS pays support staff nearly a third less than the same jobs at the university’s flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign. The claims come amid a round of wage […]
Posted inMusic
Hospital Job
A self-described “melodic indie/punk band,” Hospital Job also says to, “think Superdrag meets The Ramones trying to play Jesus and Mary Chain covers” as a good way to understand where they’re coming from musically. The quirky quartet consists of Luke McNeill (singer, songwriter, guitarist), Tim Reynolds (guitar, vocals), Cory VanMeter (bass) and Fred Malcom (drums). […]
Posted inNews
Olympian and world record holder visits Springfield
Though she wore long sleeves, Jean Driscoll’s muscular arms were evident as she confidently gripped the handrims of her wheelchair. She hasn’t competed professionally in years, but Driscoll clearly maintains her athletic physique, as well as her drive for success. The seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon in the women’s wheelchair division visited the Illinois […]
Posted inNews
UI tuition hike follows raises for selected faculty
Certain University of Illinois employees together received $9.7 million in raises this fiscal year, according to an Illinois Times analysis of UI salary data. Meanwhile, the state’s largest public university system instituted a 6.9 percent tuition hike for the next academic year due to $477 million in late state funds. Constituting about one percent of […]
Posted inNews
Parking war
Parking in Springfield is cheap. Visitors from Chicago sometimes joke that it’s cheaper to get a parking ticket here than to simply pay the meter in their city. But that could change with a proposed ordinance under consideration by the city council. On Jan. 25, the council considered a measure to double Springfield’s fine for […]
