By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. Harvey Mandel and Canned Heat at SPACE on Thursday night.

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Posted on August 31, 2012

By The Chicago Music Exchange

A great drummer is a great listener.

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Posted on August 30, 2012

By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. Thee Satisfaction at Schubas on Saturday night.

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Posted on August 27, 2012

By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. The Dyes at the Cobra Lounge on Tuesday night.

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Posted on August 24, 2012

Chicago Drum Goddess

“Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Hannah had the privilege of studying with some of the world’s greatest drummers and teachers, including Diane Downs, Louie Bellson, Ruben Alvarez, Jerry Steinholtz and Ndugu Chancler,” Drummerworld reports.
“After moving to Chicago when she was 12, Hannah took advantage of new opportunities to study and perform with mentors such as Peter Erskine, Stanton Moore, Danny Seraphine and Johnny Rabb . . .
“Following high school, Hannah accepted a scholarship to attend the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where she continued her studies with multiple Grammy winner, Paul Wertico.
“Hannah credits college with helping to expand her knowledge of music and allowing her to become a better, more versatile musician. At the same time she was playing in the school orchestral, percussion and jazz ensembles, Hannah was also fortunate to work with major touring musicians like Ignacio Berroa, Wynton Marsalis, Butch Miles, Jeff Berlin and others.
“Now, with college behind her, Hannah maintains a calendar full of live and studio sessions for top pros as well as her own projects, Pandorum, The Hannah Ford Band – and her new rock band Bellevue Suite – yet still manages to find time to do a bit of writing and teaching.”
Ford stopped by Vic’s Drum Shop in Chicago recently. Here’s a look-see.

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Posted on August 23, 2012

By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

A loose collection of whatnot.
1. The Boy Illinois.

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Posted on August 21, 2012

By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. The Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Metro on Saturday night.

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Posted on August 20, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

You shoulda been there.
1. System of a Down at the arena in Rosemont on Wednesday night.

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Posted on August 17, 2012

A Tribute To Iconoclastic Sax Man Von Freeman

“They said I played out of tune, played a lot of wrong notes, a lot of weird ideas. But it didn’t matter, because I didn’t have to worry about the money – I wasn’t making (hardly) any. I didn’t have to worry about fame – I didn’t have any. I was free.”
Chicago jazz legend Von Freeman died Saturday of heart failure. Here’s a roundup of some beautiful remembrances and some essential video.
*
“Revered around the world but never a major star, worshipped by critics and connoisseurs but perpetually strapped for cash, the towering Chicago tenor saxophonist Von Freeman practically went out of his way to avoid commercial success,” Howard Reich writes for the Tribune.
“When trumpeter Miles Davis phoned Freeman, in the 1950s, looking for a replacement for John Coltrane, Freeman never returned the call.
“When various bandleaders – from Davis to Billy Eckstine to King Kolax – tried to take him on the road, where his talents could be heard coast to coast, Freeman regularly turned them down. His refusal to leave Chicago during most of his career, except for the briefest out-of-town engagements, cost him incalculable fame and fortune but also enabled him to create some of the most distinctive, innovative work ever played or recorded on a tenor saxophone . . .
“Von Freeman always considered his relative obscurity – which lasted nearly until the final years of his career, when the world started to recognize his genius – a blessing. It enabled him to forge an extremely unusual but instantly recognizable sound, to pursue off-center musical ideas that were not likely to be welcomed in the commercial marketplace.”

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Posted on August 14, 2012

By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. Guided by Voices at the Metro on Saturday night.

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Posted on August 13, 2012