Going Underground

Writing on hiatus...

Stepping away from the law firm world as of September 2nd...

Beginning September 6th, career path TBD...

Main Stage

When Liam Gallagher strolls onto the stage at Metro, he will be the only original member of Oasis to have returned to the Chicago club since the band first played there in 1994. 

Oasis certainly carried on as a live act whenever Liam or older brother Noel Gallagher decided to ditch the group, but the Gallaghers would stick it out together on record. A year and a half since Noel's departure and the apparent break-up of Oasis, Liam marches on with the remnants (Andy Bell, Gem Archer) of Oasis as the brand new Beady Eye while still pulling the same plays from the Oasis songbook, appropriately titled Different Gear, Still Speeding. Was anyone really surprised that Beady Eye's lead single "The Roller" completely lifted the rhythm and melody of John Lennon's "Instant Karma"? 

Regardless, the sold-out crowd at Metro will go madferit just to see the lads. Liam will be godlike (while performing no Oasis song). Noel will be at home, crafting his likely solo effort. The Oasis reunion show will storm Chicago and the world in 2016.

Beady Eye @ Metro (6/18/2011)

Photo By Steve Gullick (beadyeyemusic.com)

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The June issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. In this month's issue, I interviewed Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis.

Click the link below for the full article:

Chicago Innerview - Telekinesis

Enjoy!

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The May issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. In this month's issue, I interviewed Nick Harmer, bassist of Death Cab For Cutie. 

On April 20^th, the band’s official website began streaming songs from Codes and Keys, allowing fans the early opportunity to listen and comment on the songs. By the time this article has been published, the full album will likely have been made available. At the time of our interview, this writer informed Harmer that a preview of the new album was never shared by the band’s label (Atlantic) prior to our conversation. Speaking from his home in Seattle, Harmer humbly apologized before breaking into laughter. “I hope it doesn’t let you down,” said Harmer.    

Click the link below for the full article:

Chicago Innerview - Death Cab For Cutie 

Enjoy!

Main Stage

Tribute bands tend to aim towards the recreation of an experience. In the case of Tributosaurus, the attention to musical detail has always been the key focus rather than the theatrics. Whether it’s having a small string section to play on “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones or making sure there are horns for “5.15” by The Who, Tributosaurus makes sure all the little pieces to a song are in place. It’s a celebration of a musical catalog rather than a greatest hits show; it’s a show where the deep cuts get the biggest applause. For members like Matt Spiegel, Chris Neville and the tons of local musicians (Poi Dog Pondering, Local H) that have added to the collective groove, Tributosaurus has become a monthly escape that won’t disappoint and will almost always surprise. Check Tributosaurus.com for news on the band’s upcoming tenth anniversary.

Tributosaurus performs as Kool & The Gang @ Martyrs (5/4/11 - 7pm & 10pm)

Photo Courtesy of Tributosaurus.com

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The April issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. My contribution this month was a feature piece on the band Wire.

One of my questions to guitarist Colin Newman couldn't make it in the final article, but I thought his response was great. It gave me a sense of the guy and his feelings towards the musical scene he grew up in.

Chris Castaneda: Having come from a music scene that produced bands like The Jam, Buzzcocks, The Clash and the Sex Pistols, what remains a driving force behind Wire still making music?

Colin Newman: Probably not being like any of the above (insert smiley face).

*Yes, he actually used a smiley face in his e-mail response.

Click the link below for the full article.

Chicago Innerview - Wire

Enjoy!

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My latest two entries on ChicagoNow.com have been posted.

Click here: On Shuffle - Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3

Click here: On Shuffle - The Besnard Lakes

Enjoy!

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My latest entry on ChicagoNow.com has been posted.

Click here: On Shuffle - Box-O-Car

Enjoy!

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My latest entry on ChicagoNow.com has been posted.

Click here: On Shuffle - Jay Bennett

Enjoy!

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To anyone out there...

I recently joined up with ChicagoNow.com to start blogging. The site is affiliated with the Chicago Tribune. My hope is that Getting In Tune will find a new home with ChicagoNow.com.

I plan to still contribute to Chicago Innerview and Lumino Magazine. Any published work with them will be linked here, as before, as well as through my Twitter feed @ModJam515

I just published my first blog entry with ChicagoNow.com today:

New Entry

Thanks for the support. Enjoy!

Main Stage

After a successful sold-out reunion show last May, Verbow returns to Schubas as the duo that gave the band its life: Jason & Alison. Guitarist Jason Narducy and cellist Alison Chesley have not performed as a duo in over ten years. Although Verbow created an outlet for the duo to explore the rock band template, it never really captured the true essence of what made the Jason & Alison collaboration unique. Narducy’s guitar work paired with Chesley’s string arrangements made them almost like the Townshend/Entwistle team of acoustic duos. The Verbow reunion certainly proved to all that Narducy and Chesley can still craft a glorious sound as a bombastic rock band. Hearing the duo at its very core foundation will not only be a fun trip down memory lane but also a fantastic chance to have two special musicians perform the songs that only they can make together.


Jason & Alison @ Schubas (1/22/11)

Photo Courtesy of Verbow Facebook

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Happy New Year!

The January issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. In this month's issue, I contributed a feature article on the group The Besnard Lakes.

For the article, click the link below:

Chicago Innerview - The Besnard Lakes

Enjoy!

Main Stage

Three years since the Autumn Defense’s self-titled album, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone return with the band’s latest Once Around (Yep Roc). The two Wilco members continue to dig deep into the West Coast well of 70s era smooth rock, but Once Around comes off as something Paul McCartney’s Wings might have produced. While there are quiet flourishes of electric guitars (“Back Of My Mind”), the group maintains the acoustic drive throughout its fourth album that has been a staple to its sound for close to ten years. One of the album’s true highlights is the vocal work done by Stirratt and Sansone. The more soulful elements of Wilco’s past two albums, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album), certainly show their influence on Once Around. The Autumn Defense continues to succeed by building on the simple formula of good songwriting mixed with thoughtful arrangements.


The Autumn Defense @ Lincoln Hall (11/20) w/Sarah Lee & Johnny


Photo Courtesy of The Autumn Defense

Main Stage

Continuing the tradition of bands never staying broken up…here comes Guided By Voices. Nearly six years since lead singer Robert Pollard and company said good-bye at Metro on New Year’s Eve, the Ohio group returns in the form of its’93-‘96 lineup.

Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Greg Demos, Kevin Fennell and Pollard will dust off the beer bottles and bring back some GBV gems to the stage. After selling out the Vic Theatre in less than ten minutes, high ticket demand moved the show to the Riviera Theatre. Whether or not the GBV banner will wave again after this reunion tour is uncertain. For now, the indie rock elders are posting sell-out dates on its “Hallway of Shatterproof Glass” tour. For some fans, this might not be the GBV you don’t remember passing out to during a show, but GBV 1996 is better than no GBV at all in 2010.


Guided By Voices @ Riviera Theatre (10/13/10) - SOLD OUT


Photo Courtesy Of (Old) GBV.com

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The October issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. For this month's issue, I contributed a feature on Teenage Fanclub.

For the article, click the link below:

Teenage Fanclub

Enjoy!

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The August issue of Chicago Innerview is now available online. This month's issue showcases the upcoming Lollapalooza festival (August 6-8) in Grant Park and provides a guide through each day's lineup.

For anyone attending the festival, print copies will be available onsite and around the city. For this issue, I contributed write-ups on The New Pornographers, Mavis Staples and Stars.

Click on the links below for the page for:

The New Pornographers

Mavis Staples

Stars

*You may have to scroll down on certain pages to locate the write-up.

Enjoy!

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Lumino Magazine added my Playboy review as a late addition. Included with the article are some additional photos from the event held at The Venue on June 10th:

Lumino Magazine - Playboy Party Review

Enjoy!

The Futureheads @ Lincoln Hall (6/12/10)

The Futureheads concluded its first U.S. tour in four years with a blasting show at Lincoln Hall in support of their fourth album The Chaos. The quartet hammered out a set that delivered song after song at a breakneck pace that left the crowd little time to catch its breath. It was a night of catching up with the band from Sunderland, England rather than becoming reacquainted after so long. The band and its fans were certainly happy to see each other again.

Having gone through the down time caused by singer/guitarist Barry Hyde’s tendonitis, which led to the band pulling its U.S. tour in 2006, and the eventual split from its record label, 679 Recordings, The Futureheads walked on stage with confidence and joy. There was a sense that this band, still relatively young in its career, had a strong grasp of its identity and direction.

Launching into songs like “Walking Backwards” and “Heartbeat Song,” the band left no note unturned. The jittering stop-start motion of the songs immediately captured the crowd as their bodies matched each tempo. The floor of Lincoln Hall resembled ocean waves crashing into one another. The level of fun the band was having on stage wore off on the crowd more and more throughout the night. Ross Millard wrestled and steered his guitar like a wild bull while pounding out chords that sounded like one hundred buzz saws. Drummer Dave Hyde and bassist David “Jaff” Craig kept the band’s high speed attack on course, creating an underlying weight that added to the songs’ punch.

Barry Hyde’s charisma behind the microphone showed how far he had become as a frontman while still maintaining some fun on stage. His constant engagement with the crowd broke down the stereotypical wall that sets the band apart from the audience, reducing the fans to mere spectators and not participates in the music. The Futureheads concentrated heavily on the latest album while spreading out much of its backlog like “Back To The Sea” from News & Tributes and “Carnival Kids” from the self-titled debut.

From the first second the band produced a note to the final fading sounds of feedback, The Futureheads’ energy on stage never let up. What was equally impressive was the musical progression the band showed in its latest songs. Although speed still plays a part in their music, The Futureheads have learned how to build the substance behind the mad rush. In the songs “Sun Goes Down” and “Jupiter,” mood and structure showed new dimensions in the band’s sound that perhaps some never thought the band could achieve. The performance at Lincoln Hall was by no means a pivotal moment in the band’s career, nor was it a turning point in gaining a larger audience in the U.S. The performance was simply a band doing what it continues to do best…play music.

As The Futureheads bashed out an extended encore that included “Le Garage” and “The Connector,” the crowd had found its stamina to keep up with the varied marathon speeds of the songs. The final show on the band’s return to the U.S. ended with smiles and hugs. If there was only one statement to take after the show, it would be that The Futureheads are back in gear.

Photo Courtesy of The Futureheads/MySpace Page

50 Years of The Bunny & The Party

Hugh Hefner celebrated the 50th anniversary of his beloved Playboy Club the only way he could possibly do it…with a party. But having one party is like committing to one woman to Hefner. On June 10, fifty parties were held in fifty cities across the world to honor the half century mark of the club. So, why was I in Hammond, IN?

Ever since the first published issue of Playboy hit the newsstands in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on the cover, Chicago has been the magazine’s home. “I think it’s an amazing thing that a guy took his dreams and made them into an amazing business, a global business,” said James Heeren (Madison, WI) of James Todd Productions, who still owns his copy of the very first issue.

As the founder, Hefner could have easily packed up Playboy and based it solely in the two media pillars of this country: Los Angeles and New York. Instead, the Midwest guy didn’t ignore his Midwest roots and allowed his business to stay centralized in the city where he was born. By 1960, the first Playboy Club opened in Chicago and lasted another twenty-six years before the last Bunny hopped along.

That said…the designated Chicago party was held at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN (or Whiting, IN). Now, being from the very edge of the southeast side of Chicago (literally a 5 minute drive to the casino), it was somewhat surreal to have an event such as the Playboy party just minutes from such area highlights like the vast industrial grave yard that was once Wisconsin Steel Mill, gangs, semi-cheap gas on the Illinois/Indiana border, and the fantastically named Big, Cheap, Bombs storefront (which actually blew up some time ago and is now open again adjoined to a Shell gas station).

Based inside Horseshoe’s new Venue, the often concert tailored facility was transformed into a club setting. The main floor was sandwiched between the main stage and the VIP lounge. The chosen few to be a Playboy Bunny for the night walked the grounds, posing for photos or occasionally showing off a dance move to the ultra bassed-up beats provided by DJ OB-One.

Attendees ranged from the club hopper to the khaki short wearing guy just interested in trying to cop a feel or two, often making the females working as Bunnies a tad uncomfortable. The main video screen would flash images of past Playboy Bunnies along with video from the Playboy Club days. I wondered how many of the men present would have even been allowed to look at the front door of the old Playboy Club. Certainly, fifty years hadn’t really changed the urges of the male species.

The evening’s main event was the final result of who would be named the winner of Playboy’s Chicagoland Bunny search. The final ten contestants, all chosen from various night clubs in the area, worked the crowd for cheers and votes (tallied by text messages). The emcee was Q101 DJ Steve Tingle, and he was joined by a panel of judges, which included Bridget Marquardt and Bears linebacker Lance Briggs (good to see he was enjoying his off season). In addition to Marquardt, the other Playmates in attendance were Crystal McCahill of River Forest, IL (Miss May 2009), Ida Ljungvist (Miss March 2008, Playmate of the Year 2009), and Candace Collins Jordan (Miss December 1979, Playboy Bunny of the Year 1976).

It wasn’t until well past midnight that the winner, Stephanie Miceli of V Live in Chicago, was announced to the crowd. Miceli earned the chance to be featured among other winners on PlayboyClub50.com. Her photos will also go through a review process with Hefner for possible entry into a future issue of the magazine. As another Bunny earns her cottontail, another face is added to the Playboy Club history…fifty years and still going.

Photos By: James Heeren

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The June issue of Chicago Innerview has been published online. In this month's issue, I contributed a feature article on The Futureheads. A direct link is below:

Chicago Innerview - The Futureheads Feature

Enjoy!