Update at 1:15 PM on Fri 8/23: The celebrity basketball game has been moved from Urban Prep Charter Academy to 1530 S. Hamlin.
Gossip Wolf concurs with the Reader critics who’ve heaped praise on local trio Dead Rider: they’ve been hailed for transforming “classic rock and radio-friendly dance rock into sounds that could induce nausea” and described as “one of today’s finest outposts of Weird America.” The band’s awesome new Drag City single, “The Sale,” is a thumping ode to a used 1969 Buick Riviera—imagine a chopped-and-screwed take on ZZ Top’s “Woke Up With Wood” that’s uncannily similar to the 1980s late-night TV commercials of long-deceased Elk Grove Village “Singing Ford Dealer” Harry Schmerler (maybe you remember his tagline: “Rock-a-bye your baby!”). On Saturday, August 24, Dead Rider return from a handful of east-coast dates to hit the Hideout.
Gossip Wolf got hooked on local trombonist, composer, and beat maker Christopher Arthur Misch-Bloxdorf, aka Artie Do Good, after he opened for beloved underground rapper Rory Ferreira (then performing as Milo) at the Hideout in 2017. Artie has put out music through Ferreira’s Ruby Yacht label, and last week he self-released the EP A Message From the Lighthouse, whose dreamy instrumentals thread together delicate indie pop and oddball boom-bap hip-hop. Artie sings a little on the EP, but his guests cover most of the vocals: R&B singer Ehiorobo and rappers Pink Navel and SB the Moor.
Ever wanted to see your favorite local rapper hooping? On Saturday, August 24, producer and DJ Sunny Woodz hosts a celebrity back-to-school basketball game at 1530 S. Hamlin. Woodz will play on the “black team,” alongside the likes of Chimeka, YP, Supa Bwe, and Gzus Piece; the “white team” includes Vic Spencer, Illi (formerly the Boy Illinois), Stunt Taylor, and Clark Airlines. Woodz and friends will also give away more than 200 backpacks to those in need. It’s all free; doors open at noon and the game starts at 12:45 PM. v
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