Interview XLR8R December 2006 Link House music has eccentric artists aplenty, but few can consistently turn out tracks with the twisted humor of Greenskeepers and keep a straight face. A live house outfit from Chicago, started by former golf caddies Nick Maurer and James Curd, the group delivers serious, floor-burning funk amped up with silly […]
Feature Chicago Tribune October 16, 2006 The building at 1825 W. Wabansia Ave. looks commonplace by current Bucktown standards. A hollow two-story structure ringed by Dumpsters and construction barricades, it’s another example of the rehab frenzy that has brought million-dollar homes to this gentrifying bohemian ‘hood. But that will all change once the wind turbines […]
Interview XLR8R October 2006 Link What’s in a name? Quite a bit if you’re 41-year-old Maximilian Lenz, better known as Westbam. The moniker–a combination of his home province Westphalia with that of his musical idol Afrika Bambaataa–dates him as a teenager of the ’80s, and suggests what he would eventually become famous for: being one […]
Interview XLR8R September 2006 Link “You’ll never be more than that girl who raps good for a girl/But really those titties is giving wood to the world.” As this line from “Rapper Girls” demonstrates, Chicago MC Psalm One (born Cristalle Bowen) is familiar with the disses thrown at female rappers. She’s heard the looks-but-no-talent teases, […]
Story XLR8R August 2006 Link Every year, American music fans are hoodwinked into listening to the newest crop of over-hyped UK bands, slavishly championed by NME and rarely worth the time. Looking for some more deserving audio imports? Follow Diplo’s lead to Brazil, where a rich heritage of tropicália, samba, and funk has mutated into […]
Feature Chicago Tribune June 9, 2006 Like many filmmakers, David Zeiger was inspired by the Iraq War. Between the questionable battlefield buildup and the current drawn-out conflict, Zeiger was driven to show how American soldiers cope when they’re sent to fight in a war that much of the public–and some of the soldiers themselves–consider unjust. […]
Feature Playboy.com January 2006 Link In the thick of the playoffs, the first World Series of Beer Pong was a cross between March Madness and a frat party, with the stink of cheap beer and testosterone flooding the nondescript convention center. “It’s a pleasure to be around all these great athletes with swollen livers and […]
Feature Playboy.com April 2006 Link You’ve been sitting in those same lame nosebleed seats at the ballpark since you were a T-baller. Maybe it’s time to improve your game and lounge for nine innings in style. If you’re looking for an amazingly posh place to watch a Major League game, many franchises have upscale options. […]
Feature Chicago Tribune July 16, 2006 It seems as though there has never been more attention, airplay or talent agents focused on Chicago hip-hop music than there is now. Once maligned for being the biggest urban center in the country with the fewest marquee rappers — none for much of the ’80s and ’90s — […]
Interview XLR8R July 2006 Link Emil Nikolaisen–the guitarist, lead singer, and songwriter of Norwegian rock band Serena Maneesh–talks about writing songs like the late Hunter S. Thompson talked about lost weekends in Vegas. This isn’t a pharmacological comparison by any means. It’s just that Nikolaisen channels pure passion when music is the subject at hand; […]