For a while, Eric Bachmann decided he was done with music. No matter that he’d made a name for himself as frontman of ’90s indie icons Archers of Loaf. No matter that he’d gotten acclaim for Crooked Fingers, his moody, Americana-influenced second act. No matter that he still had yet…
First: A Scene from a Movie Setting: a bowling alley. WALTER SOBCHAK, a volatile Vietnam vet finally reaches his breaking point. (Well, one of many, many breaking points.) He pulls a gun on a competitor who’s quibbling over sporting minutiae. Technically, Walter’s correct in his claims, but he’s overreacted. Later,…
When Chicago soul band JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound went into a recording studio to lay down tracks for their recent new album Want More, they weren’t interested in re-creating the high-energy feel of their live shows. “For me, they’re two different ways of experiencing the band,” he says…
When operating in a genre that’s decidedly retro, a little bit of self-awareness is necessary. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like you’re living, writing songs, and performing in a hermetic time-warp bubble. Someone like the fiery Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are a terrific band — but their…
Do our rappers need a long-term view? Are they shooting themselves in the foot by devoting their albums to the nitty gritty of the day-to-day? Take Keith Richards, for instance. It took him half a damn century to air his dirty laundry: the ladies on the tour bus, the squabbles…
As far as American cities go, Kansas City isn’t at the top of the list when it comes to violence, tunes, and scandal. But that wasn’t always the case, with the city’s music and organized crime worlds inextricably intertwined. Kansas City was a hotbed of jazz in the ’40s, acting…
Man quits day job. Spends hours a day playing video games. Speaks in rhyme. Travels country for weeks, never settling in one place. This could be a cautionary tale. This could be a diagram of a man’s descent into unemployment, antisocial behavior and, ultimately, madness. This could be game over…
Ever tried online dating? I have, and though it can be a remarkably rewarding endeavor, there’s a lot of chaff to sift through. Ultimately, any online peruser ends up developing an eye for profile red flags: girls who do that gross duck face, dudes who take pictures of themselves with…
Bands whose names are also geographical locations: a tricky situation. More often than not, get ready to chart out a set list of lousiness. Chicago? Meh. Europe? No way. Asia, Boston, Kansas? No good. America? Okay, “A Horse with No Name” is good. Younger bands like Beirut and Defiance, Ohio,…
