Friday, May 6, is the 22nd Bandcamp Friday—a 24-hour period where the retailer passes its usual cut of sales revenue along to the independent labels and artists who sell their music and merchandise through the site. Bandcamp typically announces forthcoming Bandcamp Fridays in three-month chunks, and this Friday is the last one that’s been made […]
Tag: Cheer-Accident
Posted inMusic
Venerable jazz guitarist George Freeman celebrates 95 years with a new compilation
Legendary Chicago jazz guitarist George Freeman has been honing his dynamic, explosive style since the 1940s, working with dozens of the genre’s hall of famers, including Charlie Parker, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Gene Ammons, Jimmy McGriff, Buddy Rich, Shirley Scott, and his brothers Von and Bruz Freeman. On Sunday, April 10, Freeman turns 95, and to mark […]
Posted inMusic
The second-biggest news about Bandcamp this week
Friday, March 4, is the 20th installment of what’s become known as Bandcamp Friday, when Bandcamp passes along its usual share of revenue to the independent artists and labels selling music through the site. But that occasion was overshadowed somewhat this morning, when Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond announced that the company is “joining” Epic Games. […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago underground heroes Cheer-Accident stay joyously weird on their 24th album, Here Comes the Sunset
When I moved to the Windy City in 1995, “psychedelic” and “progressive rock” were dirty words associated with patchouli-scented hippies. A few local bands were boldly mining this expansive territory, though, including Sabalon Glitz, Frontier, and Cheer-Accident. Led by drummer, singer, keyboardist, and trumpeter Thymme Jones, Cheer-Accident always put on a thrilling, even hilarious live […]
Posted inMusic
On their first album in seven years, Anatomy of Habit continue turning over new stones
It’s been ten years since Chicago collective Anatomy of Habit released their first record, and a lot has changed since then. Anchored by front man Mark Solotroff, the band came out of the gate with long, complex, layered songs that blend doomy metal, Swans-style noise rock, bleak postpunk, heavy drones, and hypnotic guitar-looping acrobatics. It’s […]
Posted inMusic
Robert Marovich publishes a new book on King of Gospel James Cleveland
In a 2015 Reader story, critic Peter Margasak called scholar and radio DJ Robert Marovich “one of the foremost authorities on Chicago gospel” and wrote that his then-new book, A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music, “convincingly establishes the city’s crucial role in the origin of the music.” Marovich has since […]
Posted inMusic
Ian’s Party starts the year off right with three days of local bands
Since debuting in 2008, Ian’s Party has evolved from its humble suburban punk origins into an annual Wicker Park-based mini fest showcasing underground Chicago artists (though there are always a few acts from the greater midwest thrown in for good measure). Over the years it’s grown in ambition and in its commitment to inclusivity and […]
Posted inMusic
Metro hosts a memorial for musician and mensch Rob Warmowski
Metro hosts a memorial for musician and mensch Rob Warmowski, Jeremiah Meece of The-Drum teases an imminent album of spooky electro, and more.
Posted inMusic
Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust
Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust, Sacha Mullin celebrates an earnest, silly new video for an old song, and more.
Posted inMusic
Cheer-Accident celebrate 20 albums as a beacon of prog-rock absurdity
With the new Chicago XX, their third full-length in three years, the indefatigable weirdos in Cheer-Accident have hit a hot streak late in the fourth decade of their career.
Posted inMusic
Katinka Kleijn and Lia Kohl play with 30 cellos in a swimming pool
Katinka Kleijn and Lia Kohl play with 30 cellos in a swimming pool, the rejuvenated Skin Graft Records drops a Chicago vs. New York compilation, and more.
Posted inBlogs
Music critic Peter Margasak says farewell and thanks to the Reader and to Chicago
A sign-off and an appreciation—plus some favorite stories from the past 25 years
Posted inBlogs
The documentary Uncle Fun: You’re the One and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend
Cheer-Accident and more goings-on 6/8-6/10.
Posted inMusic
Chicago prog-rock icons Cheer-Accident achieve a new apex nearly four decades into their career with Fades
Cheer-Accident has been Chicago’s most ambitious and versatile prog-rock band for decades, but within the sprawl of its intricate arrangements and bizarre humor the beauty and tunefulness of much of its material can get lost. If anything characterizes the band’s new album, Fades (Skin Graft), it’s those melodic gifts: on opening track “Done,” one of […]
Posted inMusic
Prog paragons Cheer-Accident drop an album that contains multitudes
Prog paragons Cheer-Accident drop an album that contains multitudes, Owen Ashworth’s Orindal Records hosts a showcase at the Landland print shop, and more.