Reunited ?
It ' s no original Styx reunion , but to some folks it ' s pretty close . After the original band line-up collapsed in a heap of bad blood and acrimony in 2000 , the original Smashing Pumpkins may be reuniting according to a report in Pitchfork . Considering that Billy Corgan once called D ’ arcy Wretzky a “ piece of shit ,” and James Iha was one of the worst people on planet earth ( we ' re paraphrasing ), a reunion of the original line-up seemed almost as possible as a reunion of the Smiths . Consequence of Sound reports that “ an industry source ,” is indicating that a reunion tour is being shopped that would potentially include all original members . Hinting at something special , Billy released a video on his Facebook page that said “ I can ’ t give that away , but it ’ s going to be interesting .”
Corgan ' s new band will feature members of Smashing Pumpkins version 2016 and guitarist Jeff Schroeder , with whom Corgan reformed the band in 2005 along with original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin , ' according to jambands . com . Corgan also has a solo album currently sitting " in the vaults ."
Food , Beer , Vinyl !
Smashing Pumpkins , 1991
Festival in Dub
August means the end of the summer festival season for many , but there ' s still a few worthy Fests going on in the city and suburbs to catch some local music and some prime Reggae vibes . The allnew Reggae Fest Chicago features two stages of music , food vendors and more . Reggae legends Toots & The Maytals headlines . Vocalist Toots Hibbert and and his band were one of the key figures in shaping reggae as it transitioned from rock steady and ska into its modern form . Dub giant Lee “ Scratch ” Perry also headlines along with Iration , Hepcat , Budos Band and reggae crooner Derrick Morgan
A portion of the proceeds from admission will benefit local nonprofits , including A Safe Haven and ABLA Local Advisory
Toots & The Maytals
Committee . Chicago Reggae Fest will be held at Addams Medill
Billion Dollar Babies
Bloomberg News is reporting that music streaming site Soundcloud is looking for a buyer with an extra billion dollars laying around . According to the news site , " the owners have had trouble finding a buyer willing to value the company at $ 1 billion so far . SoundCloud raised $ 70 million from Twitter Inc . in June , part of a $ 100 million funding round " ( that appeared to be a lifeline at the time ). It appeared loan underwriters " priced the company at $ 700 million . SoundCloud is working to generate reliable revenue from its approximately 175 million users , who spend time on the site to record , listen to and share songs ," many for free . SoundCloud introduced a monthly $ 10 pay service in March , giving users " ad-free streaming and increased access to songs ." For a company that had found its home hosting DJs and musicians for free , it seems odd that they ' re now valuing their platform in the billion dollar bracket .
I
f you ' re one of the cool kids , you ' ll join a group of audiophiles , music lovers and people that want to have fun on Chicago ’ s Record Store Crawl on Saturday , Aug 6th . The crawl will be escorted on a bus through some of the city ’ s greatest independent record stores where Chicago indie rockers , Sleep On It , will be performing and riding along . Here ’ s what the Record Store Crawl ticket gets you : Seat on the crawl bus with Sleep On It serenading along the way , open bar and food specials at Cheesie ’ s Pub & Grub , giveaways including test pressings , signed vinyl and more , gift bag including a mystery vinyl LP , limited edition Cyndi Lauper 7 ” single , and other limited items , the Official Record Store Day 2016 tote bag , KIND snacks throughout the day , 10 % off at Reckless Records and Laurie ’ s Planet of Sound , a Dusty Groove Records slipmat and bag , 15 % off U-Turn Audio turntables online code , and Revolution beer at each record store . Low ticket alert on this one : sign-up at www . recordstorecrawl . com . Get 20 % OFF your ticket when you enter CRAWL20 at checkout . Limited seating on the bus !
Hello , My Name is Ted
Ted Nugent
IE and the Nugent family go way back . Many of our younger readers don ’ t know that Ted Nugent ’ s mother , Marion , was almost as popular in the Chicago area as the Nuge was in the ’ 80s due to her advice column , Ma Nugent ’ s Mail . She ran in an eight-year run starting in 1980 and endeding when she succumbed to cancer in 1988 .
Born in Detroit , Nugent and his family moved to Hoffman Estates in 1965 when Ted was a teenager . They also took up residence in Palatine for a bit . While attending St . Viator High School in Arlington Heights , Nugent formed the psychedelic rock pioneers , The Amboy Dukes . The young rockers slugged it out on stage at The Cellar ( a teen dance club ) in Arlington Heights for a time during the mid- ' 60s .
“ In the summer of 1965 while standing in line at the Cellar , I met the boys that would become the Amboy Dukes that very first week upon my arrival ,” Nugent said . “ After our first audition , we literally took over the local scene at the iconoclastic Cellar with Paul Sampson and crew , and played every possible gig within a few hundred miles of Chicago nonstop those two phenomenal dues-paying years .” Continued on page 8
6 illinoisentertainer . com august 2016