Still big enough to stuff a stadium
While U2’s album “Pop” hasn’t been the sure thing that the music industry had hoped for, it has done well enough to kick-start the Irish supergroup’s 14-month, 100-city “PopMart” tour.
Author: Jae-Ha Kim
Susan Silver steers careers toward rock stardom
In a business that is dominated by men onstage and off, Susan Silver is an anomaly. For most of her adult life, the 38-year-old has guided the careers of superstar groups such as Soundgarden, which recently disbanded after 12 years together, and Alice in Chains. Silver got into band management for the love of music. Money wasn’t an issue. Until six years ago, Silver maintained secondary jobs to make sure the bills got paid.
Jonny Lang parks himself in the blues
Jonny Lang doesn’t have his drivers license yet, but the 16-year-old blues musician has already put in thousands of miles on the road. Of course, someone else is at the wheel. “That gives me a good excuse to sleep in the van,” Lang said, suppressing a yawn. “The other guys can’t get mad at me for not pulling my weight.”
No Bush leaguers: British band finds dreams in America despite critics’ objections
“I think that the whole Bush-copying-Nirvana (thing) is totally full of – – – -,” said Chicago-based producer Steve Albini, who recorded Bush’s latest double-platinum album, “Razorblade Suitcase.”
Local rocker spearheads second Asian arts fest
What does an indie rock star do when he’s not busy touring with his critically acclaimed band? If he’s Sooyoung Park, frontman for the Chicago-based Seam, he gets a couple of pals together and spearheads an arts festival in his hometown.
Band blurs line between British and U.S. rock
Blur – which also includes guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree – is not as abrasive as Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, whose wish that Albarn and James contract AIDS and die was blown up to front-page news in England. Gallagher downplayed the statement, saying the quote was taken out of context and that Blur was OK. Damon Albarn’s not buying it.
Singer’s bindis are just for show
Gwen Stefani first started wearing bindis on her forehead as a teenager when she and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal began dating. Since the band’s success, the blond singer has been repeatedly asked whether she’s Hindu.
Blur
Blur has always been a band that mainstream America just didnt get. Maybe it was vocalist Damon Albarn’s exaggerated accent or the quintessential British characters he likes to write about, but it seemed that Blur’s fate was to play to a small group of Anglophiles who adored them. That should change with their self-titled record, which was released last week. At their sold-out show at the Riviera Theatre Saturday night, the four-man group (supplemented by a keyboardist and a two-man horn section) went top heavy on cuts from Blur, which is the most accessible of their five albums. They gave their fans a deliriously fun 1-hour 40-minute set that had music, style and showmanship.
The Baby Myth
When you’re a 20-year-old coed, you can barely hear your biological clock ticking. At that age, most young adults worry about summer jobs, graduating and trying not to get pregnant. But Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s book Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children (Talk Miramax, $22) warns women of all ages that having babies must be timed at least as carefully as career choices.
House of Blues drops underage act
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times March 11, 1997 Kenny Wayne Shepherd has become the second performer in a month to be pulled from the House of Blues lineup for being too young. The 19-year-old guitarist, […]
“Rhyme & Reason”
Peter Spirer’s documentary “Rhyme & Reason” widens the focus on hip-hop, presenting it as a lifestyle that happens to include music. And by allowing the artists to narrate the piece, director Spirer manages to captivate viewers without glorifying or vilifying the controversial art form.
Our choices for Grammys – Awards often have little to do with merit
If there’s any justice at all, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins and Tracy Chapman will lug a few Grammy Awards home on Wednesday. And Alanis Morissette, whose “Jagged Little Pill” was released in June, 1995, will be shut out of this year’s ceremonies.
Male metal fans make obnoxious demands
There’s safety in numbers. That’s the only explanation I can come up with as to why a stadium full of 95 percent men would work itself up into a collective dither, trying to get the few women in the venue to expose their breasts. Hey – ever hear of Playboy? If any one of these lumbering morons was at a beach, or even a bar, there’s no way he would walk up to a girl and scream, “Show your – – – -!” at her.
A sober ‘Party of Five’: Fox series examines alcoholism
There is a moment in tonight’s episode of “Party of Five” when Bailey Salinger (Scott Wolf) stares vacantly at his brother and sisters as they confront him about a drinking problem he doesn’t believe he has. Sallow and dazed, he looks like a hollow shell of the ruddy teen who took it upon himself to keep the orphaned family together three seasons ago.
Rock Salt – Nina Gordon and Louise Post get fierce on Veruca Salt’s sophomore album
Veruca Salt rocks. So how come some folks still are describing the Chicago-based rock group as wispy? “I’m not sure,” said guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Nina Gordon. “I don’t think we even look particularly wispy.”
Young stars shining for talents alone
Back in the mid-1980s, 17-year-old Charlie Sexton was in a unique situation. The guitar sensation headlined at clubs across the country but was legally too young to order a beer at any of them. He was encouraged to trade his rootsy blues style for synth-driven rock and had a minor hit with “Beat’s So Lonely.”
Techno whaler Moby gets into metal swim
Talk about bad timing. Just as the recording industry is giving electronic music the big public relations push, Moby – techno’s premier poster boy – has shifted gears and turned to heavy metal.
`Hype!’ the last word on Seattle grunge scene
It’s not often that having no money or a reputation are considered fortuitous in filmmaking. But when director Doug Pray and producer Steve Helvey decided to make a movie about the Seattle music community, their do-it-yourself attitude endeared themselves to the film’s subjects. Even reclusive Eddie Vedder spoke candidly on-camera about feeling guilty that his band, Pearl Jam, was enjoying so much success while older Seattle bands went unappreciated. “Hype!” opens today.
Beans jump into limelight on TV movie
Rock’s prettiest couple has split up. No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Bush’s Gavin Rossdale – the Gwyneth and Brad of the music world – have ended their 10-month relationship. But they’re still good enough friends to exchange little presents. During a recent visit to Chicago, Stefani wore a black sweater with black and white striped sleeves – exactly the kind that Rossdale favors. “Oh, it’s funny that you mention that,” Stefani said. “It was a gift from Gavin.”
No Doubt calls out the flock to pitch in with Toys for Tots
“I’m not a male,” Gwen Stefani said. You wouldn’t think that the willowy blonde would have to state the obvious. But as the frontwoman for No Doubt, which has the No. 1 album in America, she has grown used to speculation and innuendo. But even Stefani was surprised at the latest rumor being spread about her on the Internet: that she has too little body fat to be a woman and therefore must be a transsexual. “I have to work out all the time ’cause if I don’t I’d get really chubby,” said Stefani, 26. She tried to punctuate this point by scrunching up her black sweater – a present from Gavin Rossdale of Bush – and pinching her stomach “fat.” Her fingers had little to grasp.