Chief Keith
Kudos to local singer/songwriter Keith Semple for not only making
the initial cut to appear on NBC's reality talent-show meat-grinder known
as The Voice (Season 9), but for making the first several rounds on the show
as a member of Team Adam [Levine].
Semple has been through television battle of the bands before in his
native Ireland as a member of One True Voice. And he made his mark
locally as the former lead vocalist for 7th Heaven. Without being too much
of a cheerleader for Semple, it takes guts to get up on stage and compete
with twenty-somethings that align with a Sam Smith, Demi Lovato,
Pharrell Williams demographic that TV networks are looking for. In many
ways, despite all the talent, the contestants have to fit into an ever changing musical niche that's like a moving target at a carny game.
Keith
Semple
Party Like It's 1998
12•2015
Off The Alley
It seemed like it was just a matter time, after "Punkin Donuts" was torn-down for an oversized 24
story commercial tower on the corner of Belmont and Clark. With 19th century Lakeview real-estate
being converted to corporate franchise-ville, the clothing/piercing/tattoo emporium known as The
Alley is moving from it's digs at 3228 Clark at the end of the month. Owner Mark Thomas confirmed
to IE that it was time for a new chapter for the Alley. "Our liquidation sale begins December 3. The store
has never looked so good, we were making real progress with my daughters joining the business earlier this year. But the onslaught of the construction this fall [on Clark Street] gravely impacted our sales
along with pressure from the internet, loss of tourism in Lakeview and issues with crime. The final
straw became the new proposed real estate taxes. Fortunately, Taboo-Tabou will continue to operate in
Lakeview right off the corner of Belmont and Clark, I will sign a final lease will be signed any day."
It's hard to measure how important the Alley was for Boomers and Millennials who grew up in the
Chicago area in the 80s and 90s. With its mix of goth jewelery, Doc Martens, concert and band t-shirts,
and their famous $99 leather jackets - the geeks and the shy kids of the day who didn't fit in with cool
kids found a home where they belonged by wearing Alley gear. How many Misfts, Joy Division,
Metallica and Bauhaus t-shirts were sold in the alley on Clark street? Too many to count. And how pairs
of Doc Marten's did we buy? Ditto.
Thomas plans to open a new Alley concept in Logan Square next year with a music venue and a coffee house. "It will include classic Alley merchandise, a piercing studio, and valet bike parking and
repairs for 100 bikes," Thomas said.
In the meantime, we'll grab as many concert and Alley shirts as we can get our hands on. "This is a
bitter sweet ending to our era at Belmont and Clark and the beginning of a new era for my self, my
daughter and my wife in the next leg of The Alley journey."
Perhaps it's the resurgence of vinyl sales that has British government reinstituting laws that should apply to Clinton-era technology. According to boingboing.net, "in 2014, Britain strode boldly into the late 20th century, finally legalizing
"private copying" – ripping CDs, taping LPs, recording TV shows, backing up
your ebooks and games – but now it's thought better of the move."
"The private copying rule drove the British record industry into a fury, and
they took the government to court over it. A judge ordered the government to
produce more evidence that allowing Britons to make private copies of the media
they buy wouldn't harm the entertainment industry. But rather than doing this,
the British government has opted to withdraw the law, once again making presumptive criminals of virtually every computer user in the country."
Never mind that it's nearly impossible to enforce, that this throwback law
recalls a 1980s advertising campaign by the British record industry called "Home
Taping Is Killing Music."
With the advent of pirated internet music and to a lesser degree streaming
services, the government has bigger issues than folks making legitimate copies of
CDs and vinyl. As the website arstechnica.com.uk pointed out: "The idea that
online users might need – and have a right – to new flexibilities in digital copyright is anathema to the publishing, music, and film-making industries, which
have fought tooth and nail against every attempt to update laws in these areas."
Hello, My Name Is Steve
Steve Hackett
B
Etc, Etc
Local musical institution FitzGerald's is celebrating it's 35th birthday with some fantastic shows in
December. Club schedules are often scaled back for the holidays, but Bill and Kate FitzGerald are bringing in some great roots and blues acts through Berwyn for their anniversary month - including stalwart
guitarist Sonny Landreth on December 4, the Marcia Ball
FitzGerald's
Band on December 12, and special holiday themed show from
Brave Combo on December 18. Alt-country legend Junior
Brown
plays
on
12/19.
For
details
visit
fitzgeraldsnightclub.com.
Like Aussie band Boy & Bear featured in this issue, Chicagobased hip-hop, boy band tribute act Hot Sauce Committee
have discovered that working the club circuit hard can pay
dividends. Their debut EP, consisting of original music and
covers - including a rad version of Andy's Gibb's "Shadow
Dancing," landed at #2 spot on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
6 illinoisentertainer.com december 2015
etween stints in the classic 1970s line-up of Genesis and the shortlived but successful supergroup GTR, Steve Hackett is right towards
the top of progressive rock royalty, though even beyond such significant bands, he also happens to be an incredibly respected, prolific and wideranging solo artist. His newest album Wolflight (InsideOut Music) coincides
with the 40th anniversary of making music on his o ݸ