Born in Pennsylvania, Ben Zucker lived in Berkeley, New England, and London before moving to Chicago for a graduate composition program at Northwestern University. He was excited to come here to study because he’d been a longtime fan of the city’s rich, varied musical scenes, including the jazz stalwarts in the AACM and the adventurous […]
Tag: Drag City
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Chicago explorers Bitchin Bajas to pay homage to Sun Ra
Last fall Chicago drone explorers Bitchin Bajas released a cassette of synthesizer-only Sun Ra covers called Switched on Ra (Drag City). The trio of Cooper Crain, Rob Frye, and Dan Quinlivan combine feel-good vibes with versatility and flexibility—they’ve shape-shifted into a free-jazz-inspired combo on Frye’s 2021 solo LP, Exoplanet (Astral Spirits), and leaned into their […]
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Drone adepts Pelt return to Chicago for the first time in a decade
As we navigated shutdowns and venue closures throughout 2020, many of us observed that time seemed to slow down. But when it comes to dilating time, COVID-19 is a rank dabbler compared to Pelt. Even in their early incarnation as a Sonic Youth-inspired noise-rock band based in Blacksburg, West Virginia, they were prone to sludgy […]
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Matchess draws music from the resources of memory on Sonescent
For roughly a decade, Chicago multi-instrumentalist Whitney Johnson maintained a fairly steady developmental arc with her solo project, Matchess. Her songs, which comprised layers of viola, organ, tape loops, drum machine, and voice, progressively materialized out of a murky, analog fog; the hooky, propulsive tracks on the 2018 release Sacracorpa glided like a lucid dream […]
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Bitchin Bajas travel the spaceways on their new album
Update on Thu 11/4: Due to a positive COVID-19 test among Fulton Street Collective’s event-planning staff, the Unity Night fundraising event on Sat 11/6 has been tentatively rescheduled for Sat 3/26/2022. Ticket holders for the November date can get refunds or retain their tickets to use in March. They haven’t released a full-length of new […]
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Joshua Abrams and Chad Taylor concentrate their shared history in Mind Maintenance
Mind Maintenance is Joshua Abrams and Chad Taylor, two musicians whose concord transcends time, distance, genre, and instrumentation. They’ve been playing together since the 1990s, when they both lived in Chicago, and their collaborative relationship has endured since Taylor headed east 20 years ago. They’ve jointly backed the likes of singer Sam Prekop and cosmic […]
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After a 16-year wait, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matt Sweeney resurface as Superwolves
When wolves form a pack, they form bonds that last a lifetime. A similar feeling of familiarity and connection suffuses the duo project of Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and Matt Sweeney. Each musician is an indisputable titan in his field: Sweeney made his name as a guitarist for 80s cult favorites Skunk and […]
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Azita has more to say and more ways to say it
For Glen Echo, Azita Youssefi’s first album in more than eight years, she played and recorded every instrument herself.
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David Grubbs, Rob Mazurek, and Mats Gustafsson take a musical road trip as the Underflow
The Underflow take their name from the Greek record store where guitarist David Grubbs, cornetist Rob Mazurek, and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson played their first trio gig in May 2019. But the connections joining the three musicians were forged in the 1990s, when Grubbs and Mazurek were associated with Chicago’s postrock scene and the Sweden-born Gustafsson […]
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Buddhist teacher Lama Lobsang Palden and local multi-instrumentalist Jim Becker partner to make healing sounds
Ten years ago, Jim Becker sought out yoga and meditation teacher Lama Lobsang Palden, hoping to find physical and spiritual healing. But at the end of their first encounter, Palden told the local multi-instrumentalist that they should make an album together. Three years later, they began the protracted process that resulted in the new Drag […]
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Bill Callahan has a couple dad jokes for you
In 2019 Bill Callahan broke a bout of writer’s block that had lasted more than five years with Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, a 20-song concept record about the satisfactions of family life. Gold Record, which arrives just 14 months later, sustains its predecessor’s sparse country-rock sound. And while it wastes no effort on trying […]
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Goons be Gone is the most fleshed-out and lush No Age release yet
No Age have always been great at making very little sound like a whole lot. Since they began blending influences from hardcore punk and noise rock with indie-rock catchiness 15 years ago, the Los Angeles-based duo have been on the cutting edge of cool—they’ve always seemed a step ahead of their peers in the guitar-rock […]
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Bill Nace uses his guitar to make unguitarlike sounds on Both
Until COVID-19 laid waste to his and everyone else’s touring schedule, Bill Nace was looking forward to a splendid spring. Not only would the Philadelphia-based guitarist have opened in Chicago for the Gunn-Truscinski Duo and Mdou Moctar; he’d also have joined Gunn, Truscinski, and Kim Gordon (his bandmate in Body/Head) at a couple festivals in […]
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Heavy sounds to shake Garfield Park Conservatory
Update: To help slow the spread of COVID-19, this show has been postponed to a date to be determined in the future. Ticket holders should check with their point of purchase for refund or exchange information. It’s only March, but this lineup will be hard for any other heavy rock show in 2020 to beat. […]
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Bill MacKay and Katinka Kleijn document their dynamic duo with an album
Bill MacKay and Katinka Kleijn finally document their dynamic duo with an album, friends band together to help Jazz Showcase founder Joe Segal with medical bills, and more.