Switch to the mobile version of this page.

- Username
- View Profile
- Edit Profile
- Log Out
- Log in
- Create Account

The Chicago Reader

Articles

Loading...

Music, Music Review Jan 14, 2021
Recommended
Chicago EBM producer Understudy brings a little light into his music’s murky throb on a new compilation
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Review, Understudy, Disgrace, EBM, industrial dance music, industrial music, Civic Center, The Ground Below, Jack Brockman, Chicago Research, American Dreams, Without Sight, Without Sound, Fortitude, Ron Hardy, Recommended

Music, Music Feature Jun 30, 2020
Video
The Chosen Few Picnic & Festival comes to everybody’s backyards

For its 30th anniversary, one of the world’s largest house-music parties has been pushed online by the pandemic—but it might reach even more people that way.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Chosen Few, Chosen Few DJs, Chosen Few Picnic & Festival, Chosen Few In-House Picnic & Festival, Wayne Williams, Jesse Saunders, Tony Hatchett, Andre Hatchett, Alan King, Terry Hunter, Mike Dunn, Byron Stingily, Carla Prather, Deon Cole, Museum of Science and Industry, Jackson Park, Mark Kelly, DCASE, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Le Nocturne Chicago, COVID-19, pandemic, coronavirus, Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles Foundation, livestream, virtual, Video

Music, Gossip Wolf Jun 17, 2019
Video
Local producers Tensei create an electronic canvas of astral soul

Plus: Chicago house producer Derrick “Sleezy D” Harris passes away, and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire plays two shows behind his new solo album.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Tensei, Constellate, A. Billi Free, I Luma, Midas Wells, Chris Kramer, Open Beats, Cafe Mustache, Queen!, Smart Bar, Derrick Harris, acid house, Sleezy D, Marshall Jefferson, Ron Hardy, Trax, house, obituary, funeral, wake, I’ve Lost Control, Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Love Will Find a Way, Dusty Groove, Verve, City Winery, Easy Lover, Video

Music, Music Feature May 21, 2019
Video
Plugging into Chicago’s forgotten house venues

For decades, house music has shaped pop worldwide—but many of the spaces that birthed it here disappeared so quickly they barely left a trace.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, house, house music, Chicago House Music Conference and Festival, Chip E., Time to Jack, Frankie "Hollywood" Rodriguez, Frankie Rodriguez, Hot Mix 5, Mario "Liv It Up" Luna, Mario Luna, Ultimate Party Crew, UPC, Mickey "Mixin" Oliver, Mickey Oliver, Pablo "Punkout" Gonzalez, Pablo Gonzalez, WCYC, Rich Martinez, Trax Records, Fusion Dance Promotions, Rick Lenoir, Rainbo, Rainbo roller rink, LNR, Tony Bitoy, Beyond Heaven, Beyond Heaven: Chicago House Party Flyers From 1983-1989, Almighty & Insane Books, Brandon Johnson, Ron Hardy, Steve “Silk” Hurley, Muzic Box, Robert Williams, the Warehouse, Frankie Knuckles, WBMX, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago Black Social Culture Map, Duane Powell, Ron Trent, DJ Rush, the Reactor, The Anatomy of a Groove: House in Borrowed Spaces, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Silver Room, Eric Williams, Chicago House Music Award, Gant-Man, the Era, juke, footwork, Grand Manor, Importes Etc., Loop Records, Time Bandits, Saints Peter and Paul Church, Luis Aguilera, Jesse Velez, Girls Out on the Floor, Miguel Rodriguez, Pedro Rodriguez, American Legion, American Legion Post #271, Jamie Principle, Kenny "Jammin" Jason, Julian "Jumpin" Perez, Carl Bias, Centrum Hall, Ralphie Rosario, Ralphie “the Razz” Rosario, Marshall Jefferson, The House Music Anthem, J.M. Silk, Kevin Irving, White Knight, Phuture, Armando, Mike Dunn, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Jesse Saunders, Video

Music, Music Feature Feb 28, 2019
Video
Marcus Mixx has lost his home, but he still has house

While his early records fetch hundreds of dollars apiece from a cult of collectors, he just wants a space of his own to make his new tracks.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Marcus Mixx, Marcus Shannon, Liam Gallegos, Head Studios, Gitano Camero, L.I.A.M., house, house music, Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, Hot Mix 5, WBMX, I Wanna House!, Chicago Cultural Center, Harold Washington Library, Marcus Mixx on TV, Rockerd, Cheap, but Not Cheap Video, Wake Up! Music, Pepper Gomez, DJ International, Trax Records, Franciscan Outreach, Walls Memorial CME Church, homeless, homeless shelter, GoFundMe, “I Wanna House Now (or at Least a Room)”—No Furniture Needed Mixx, Under Dog, Missing Dog Records, Missing Records, Get Wet & Sweat Records, Volume 2, Ron Morelli, Long Island Electrical Systems, L.I.E.S., Missing Records Special Edition Volume 1, Kevin “Krazy K” Dobbins, Corey “Send” Shannon, Corey Shannon, Psychousic, Jamie Principle, Dixie Record Pressing, Importes Etc., Ray Barney, Dance Mania, Barney’s Records, Let’s Pet Puppies, Thomos Oakes, Morgan Park High School, Jay B. Ross, “Screamin’ Rachael” Cain, Larry Sherman, Pam Zekman, Farley Keith, Frankie Knuckles, Armando Gallop, AKA’s, Coconuts, Ron Hardy, Streetfire, Liquid Love (Chicago Mix), The Best of Ron Hardy, Liquid Love, CAN TV, The Chicago Underground Explosion, Boom TV, Lesley Johnson, Saber, Tits, Ass & Pussy, Victor Blood, Marcuss Mixxed Up Records, John J. Madden Mental Health Center, Pacific Garden Mission, Soundation, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Home Is Where the House Is, Joseph Bendavid, Skylax, Cable25, Trax TV, Video

Music, Music Feature Oct 24, 2018
Video
The Reader’s guaranteed unboring homegrown Halloween mix

Nothing against “Monster Mash,” but Chicago has spawned lots of scary songs that sound good all year—these 13 tracks cover house, psych rock, techno, boogie, hip-hop, extreme metal, pop punk, and more.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Halloween, mix, mixtape, The Exorcist, The Rite of Exorcism, Patrick J. Berkery, All Hallow’s Eve, Ministry, Everday (Is Halloween), Alkaline Trio, Gramps the Vamp, Goblins, Phantom Creeper, Fredo Santana, Fredo Kruger 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Effigies, DJ Rush, Satan’s Hallow, Coven, Wicked Woman, Jinx Dawson, Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Lupe Fiasco, Zombie Land, Now or Neva, Count, Moonie, Beau Wanzer, Basement Dwellers, Hot on the Heels, Juzer, Mutant Beat Dance, Curtis Mayfield, Sweet Exorcist, T. Valentine, Daddy Long Legs, The Vampire, Thurmon Valentine, Macabre, Gloom, Dr. Holmes (He Stripped Their Bones), Nefarious, Corporate Death, The Troll, Werewolf & Witchbreath, Animated Music, Rich Jones, Mothman, Touched by Ghoul, Murder Circus, Nice Corpse, Angela Mullenhour, Andrea Bauer, Gene Hunt, Freddy’s Dead, L.A. Club Resource, Gene Hunt Classics, Ron Hardy, Screeching Weasel, Bates Motel, Ben Weasel, Psycho, Norman Bates, High Spirits, Haunted by Love, Chris Black, Motivator, Harry Manfredini, Hot Ice, Friday the 13th, Jason Voorhees, Theme From Friday the 13th Part 3, Lake of Dracula, Dracula Killed Frankenstein, Video

Music, Music Feature Apr 19, 2018
Video
Entertainment lawyer Jay B. Ross fought for the people who made the music he loved

An expert negotiator, he went to bat for stars as big as James Brown and Muddy Waters, but he also clawed back royalties for countless forgotten artists who’d never gotten their due.
- By Yana Kunichoff
- Tags: Music Feature, Jay B. Ross, Bernard Rosenblatt, Jeff Mandell, entertainment lawyer, obituary, memorial, Promontory, blues, house music, contract negotiation, the Rappin' Lawyer, James Brown, Muddy Waters, Jerry "Iceman" Butler, Ray Charles, Albertina Walker, Koko Taylor, Syl Johnson, Chi-Lites, Dinah Washington, Rufus, Screamin' Rachael, Dana Devine, Dancin' Man, Perry Kanlan, Nate the Baby, Spike Dapper, Rachael Cain, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Ron Hardy, Willie Dixon, Tomiko Dixon, Columbia College, Jay B. Ross Foundation, Gene Chandler, Mud Morganfield, Oliver Torres, DJ Fade, John Wright, South Side Soul, Lavon Pettis, Tony Wilson, Young James Brown, Platinum Band, Sol Kat, Curtis McClain, Robert Royale, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, Video

Music, Music Feature Apr 12, 2017
Video
A people’s history of Kevin Coval

For decades the cofounder of Louder Than a Bomb has nurtured young voices and built vital communities in Chicago’s poetry, spoken-word, and hip-hop scenes. Now people whose lives he’s touched help tell his story.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Kevin Coval, Young Chicago Authors, Louder Than a Bomb, A People’s History of Chicago, Haymarket Books, Tia Chucha Press, Bob Boone, Danny Coval, Luis Rodriguez, Guild Literary Complex, Will Caref, Alternative Schools Network, Tina M. Howell, Lit X, Mad Bar, Avery R. Young, Dennis Kim, Denizen Kane, I Was Born With Two Tongues, Typical Cats, Rhythm, POETREE Chicago, YouMedia, Brother Mike, Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Core, Malcolm London, Mark Eleveld, EM Press, Anthony Arnove, Howard Zinn, Anna West, rap, soul, poetry, spoken word, open mike, Third World Press, Haki Madhubuti, Angela Jackson, Bill Ayers, Nate Marshall, Alex Kotlowitz, Jamila Woods, Mick Jenkins, The Breakbeat Poets, Black Girl Magic, Gwendolyn Brooks, Noname, Chance the Rapper, Nico Segal, A People’s History of the United States, Henry Gerber, Saba, Society for Human Rights, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Ron Hardy, Thomas Dorsey, Sun Ra, Molemen, The Black Poets, Dudley Randall, Broadside Press, KRS-One, Nikki Giovanni, Jayne Cortez, Amiri Baraka, Don L. Lee, L-vis Lives!, Def Poetry Jam, El Cuarto Año, Marc Smith, Uptown Poetry Slam, Black Writers Conference, Slingshots, Kamilah Forbes, Teaching Artist Corps, Wordplay, Jon Siskel, Greg Jacobs, Patricia Smith, David Hernandez, Brother Wayne Teasdale, Anacron, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jul 15, 2015
Video
Get moving to Phuture's 'Acid Tracks' before the house group plays Grant Park

Phuture plays a free show Friday evening at the Spirit of Music Garden, and tonight two of the group's members will talk about the rise of acid house at the Apple store on Michigan Avenue.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: 12 O'Clock Track, Do This, Music, Phuture, Acid Tracks, Spirit of Music Garden, Grant Park, SummerDance, DJ Pierre, Ron Hardy, Music Box, Michaelangelo Matos, Video

Blogs, Bleader May 5, 2015
Video
How Merle's 2000 EP became a cult house hit

Chicago dance label Stripped & Chewed reissue the underground record from house veteran Merwyn Sanders this month.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music, History, Stripped & Chewed, Merwyn Sanders, 2000 (And We're Still Here), Fannie Likes 2 Dance, Trax Records, M.E., Virgo Four, Ace & the Sandman, Saber Records, Ron Hardy, Kickstarter, Christabel Records, Mimi Likes 2 Dance, Joy Orbison, Video

Music, Music Feature Apr 29, 2015
How the USA fell for EDM, chapter one

In these excerpts from his lively and meticulous new book, The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America, longtime Reader contributor Michaelangelo Matos chronicles the three-decade ascent of EDM.
- By Michaelangelo Matos
- Tags: Music Feature, The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America, EDM, The Underground Is Massive, Michaelangelo Matos, The Power Plant, The Warehouse, Frankie Knuckles, Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, house music, techno, Cybotron, Kraftwerk, Detroit, Roland TR-909, Importes Etc., Ron Hardy, Farley Keith, the Muzic Box, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Craig Loftis, Eddie Fowlkes, Jamie Principle, Robert Owens, Adonis, 7 Ways to Jack, Acid Tracks, Phuture, Chicago Trax, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Keith Nunnally, J.M. Silk, Music Is the Key, DJ Pierre, Jesse Saunders, Roland TB-303, Marshall Jefferson, Chicago Connection, Dance Mania, Mark Imperial, House Nation, Rocky Jones, D.J. International, the Rapping Lawyer, Larry Sherman, Screamin' Rachael, Lewis Pitzele, Trax Records, Michael Schiniou, DJ Jazzy M. Jefferson, Alfredo Fiorito, DJ Alfredo

Blogs, Bleader Mar 31, 2015
Video
Decades later, Steve Poindexter's raw house 12-inch Street Fighter is finally released

Recorded in the 90s with Johnny Key and Track Master Scott, Street Fighter showcases the raw underground Chicago sound in fine form.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Whoa, Music, History, Steve Poindexter, Johnny Key, Track Master Scott, Street Fighter, LA Club Resource, Work That Mutha Fucker, Delroy Edwards, Trax Records, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Computer Madness, Video

Music, Gossip Wolf Oct 15, 2014
Gossip Wolf: An off-the-grid show by Swedish industrial legends Brighter Death Now

Plus: The debut album from hardcore miscreants Rat Hammer and a compilation of rare Chicago house from Kstarke
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Brighter Death Now, Bongripper, Final Grin, Rectal Hygenics, Permanent Records, Joliet, Rat Hammer, Flowershop, Dead Kennedys, Baby Carrots, Empty Bottle, Swimsuit Addition, Absolutely Not, Still Music, Jerome Derradji, Kevin Starke, Kstarke Records, Kstarke Records: The House That Jackmaster Hater Built, Ron Hardy, Dance Mania, Traxmen

Blogs, Bleader Apr 1, 2014
Video
Remembering Frankie Knuckles

The house-music legend is dead at 59.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: RIP, Music, Frankie Knuckles, Chicago, house music, RIP, obituary, Matt Warren, the Warehouse, Larry Levan, Ron Hardy, Video

Blogs, Bleader May 17, 2013
Video
A soulful country cut from the woman who sang "Harper Valley P.T.A."

A sneak preview of Soul Jazz's upcoming compilation Country Soul Sisters Vol. 2
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Do This, Music, Jeannie C. Riley, Wanda Jackson, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Soul Jazz, Chicago, Ron Hardy, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jan 18, 2013
Deep into disco with a Tom Moulton mix

A legendary relic from dance-music history turns up for free.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Do This, Music, Tom Moulton, R_co, SoundCloud, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Larry Levan, disco, dance music, house music

Blogs, Bleader Nov 9, 2012
Tommie Sunshine shows his roots on Growth

Vintage sounds and inescapable hooks on the former Chicagoan's new EP
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Do This, Music, Tommie Sunshine, Fast Eddie, Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, Chicago, dance music

Blogs, Bleader Jun 8, 2010
Video
Acid History

The Roland TB-303 and the accidental birth of acid house
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, dance music, TB-303, Chicago, Phuture, Ron Hardy, house music, acid house, No Dough, Video

Blogs, Bleader Dec 16, 2009
Thank God for Cheap Hard Drives

Highly recommended set-length MP3s of Ron Hardy and Lungfish for free download
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Free Shit, Swag, house music, dance music, Chicago, Ron Hardy, Tommie Sunshine, Henry Owings, Chunklet, Lungfish, punk rock, free downloads, MP3s

Music, Music Review Nov 26, 2009
Held Back by the Old School

Chicago house producer Traxx could make better music if he put less stock in 25-year-old production techniques.
- By Steve Mizek
- Tags: Music Review, Traxx, Faith, house music, Melvin Oliphant III, Jamal Moss, Daryl Cura, Hieroglyphic Being, Deecoy, Dirty Criminals, Tadd Mullinix, D'Marc Cantu, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, the Warehouse, the Music Box, Nancy Fortune, Theo Parrish, Omar-S, Fred Peterkin, Black Jazz Consortium, Todd Osborn, Steve "Silk" Hurley

Issue Cover

Browse by Issue

Other Searches