[Review] The Smart Studios Story
The Smart Studios Story
Director: Wendy Schneider
Rating: N/A
Release Date: March 16, 2016
The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMM Fest) opened last night with the first Midwest screening of The Smart Studios Story, at The Music Box, and it did not disappoint. The documentary revisits the legendary Madison recording studio that helped birth the indie rock and pop culture scene of the 80's and 90's. Founded by Butch Vig and Steve Marker in 1983, the studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, Garbage, and Nirvana. The story chronicles the humble beginnings of the studio, their rise to fame, and the end of a grand era.
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The Smart Studios Story premiered at South by Southwest this year, but this screening here in the midwest, where it rightfully belongs, was quite special. CIMM Fest even provided an exclusive Q&A after the screening where Butch Vig, Steve Marker, and Director and Co-Producer Wendy Schneider were completely open to sharing their experience in making the film, going through memories, even sharing some that didn't make the film.
Overall, this was one of the best music documentaries I've seen in a long time. The bass thumping soundtrack, along with heartfelt interviews from Butch Vig, Steve Marker, Billy Corgan, Dave Grohl, Shirley Manson, Donita Sparks, Chris Walla and tons of great bands were all completely raw and entertaining. The special impact the Midwest continually has on pop culture is eloquently demonstrated, and the story has all the footage to prove.
For more screening and event info, check out their site here.
[SXSW Interview] The Radkey Brothers Are Bringing Punk Back
Photography by Ra Ra Photography
By the time I had gotten to The Hangar on 4th and Colorado, SXSW had begun to weigh on me. In what is easily evident from the journals throughout the week, this year's South By was filled a bit more to the brim with corporate positioning and exclusive shows than actually enjoying new, fresh music on the cusp. These three brothers from St. Joseph, Missouri, however changed all that pretty quickly. I jogged up the last step to the rooftop of The Hangar with my photographer, Asia Ashley, right on my heels as Radkey tore into the beginning of their set. As a decent crowd stood back, drinks in hand, smug looks in place watching the three young artists it became readily obvious these guys were a little different. With powerful chord progressions and vocals that stack beautifully and play well to the ear melodically, Dee Solomon and Isaiah pulled the crowd toward them one by one. As if in a trance, couples began gyrating towards each other, older men nodded their heads and stomped their feet and some stood open-mouthed. It seems somewhat uncomfortable, if only because it had been awhile since anyone had heard an act like this in today's electronically-saturated music climate. Isaiah rolled on the floor furiously tearing away at his white guitar as Dee handled the vocals and stood, power-stanced at the mic. As calm as could be, the youngest brother Solomon kept pace on the drums. The three brothers stand out in punk rock, a genre that has been largely out of the spotlight for the better part of a decade, both for their smooth playing and their age. As part of a new resurgence in the genre that is led by both them and The Orwells, these three brothers from a little town in Missouri are ready to take the music to the forefront once again, with true punk grit to match. While their live show may be a frenetic, in your face experience, Dee, Isaiah and Solomon may be the nicest bunch I've had the chance to interview. The next few months will find them across the country and in Japan, the mecca of some of their favorite pastimes: Anime and video games. Check out my candid Q+A with the next big thing out of St. Joseph, Missouri.
[Video] Lucki Eck$: "Boomin"
The economy may not be doing well still, but Chicago's own Lucki Eck$, who popped up onto the national radar last year with his sinewy, shadowy rhymes calmly detailing how he served folks on the corner dropped a new video today to debut his fresh track, "Boomin" which details how he has invigorated himself with his own version of a stimulus package. The latest to emerge from Lucki's camp is a continuation of where we saw him last summer, in the dark, carefully detailing his stories of dealing while draped from head to toe in Jugrnaut. Lucki spent last year establishing his name on the back of his excellent breakthrough project, Alternative Trap, it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. Check out the full video for "Boomin" streaming below.
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[Album] Psalm One: "Hug Life"
With all the talk of the violence in Chicago and 'Chiraq' this and that being hawked by out-of-towners on the daily, mucking up the Second City's image for personal gain, it can be easy to forget that there is still plenty of positivity in the city's streets. Chicago's first lady of hip-hop, Psalm One is out to challenge that dubious status quo with her latest project, Hug Life. A play on Tupac's seminal phrase all the way down to the "Hug Life" torso tat on the album artwork, the title is a juxtaposition of nuanced meaning that perfectly accents the message Psalm puts forth on her latest, perhaps most complete project to date.
Released via iTunes under Psalm's alter-ego Hologram Kizzie, the project is an examination of love, lust and the things that come from both. In a story for the Chicago Sun Times, Psalm characterized her different monikers and the roles they occupy as such: "Kizzie is a little — a lot — less inhibited than Psalm One,” the rapper detailed, pointing out that while her biblically derived handle is well suited to her all-ages content and humanitarian endeavors, being Hologram Kizzie “gives me a lot more freedom.” The project includes a who's who of Midwest up and comers and bedrocks alike, including the likes of ProbCause, Tanya Morgan, The Hood Internet, Young Josh of Flosstradamus and Lazerbeak and PO$ from DoomTree, among others. Hanging out at a West Town loft last weekend listening to the project, we listened through several times without noticing it had started from the top again, a true testament to a full-fleshed out project that hits the proper chords from start to finish. Check out Hug Life streaming below and pick up the full project over at iTunes!
[Documentary] Chicago Hip Hop Profiled in "The Field"
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WorldStarHipHop, the website best known for knock out videos and general ratchet-ness, decided to bring their cameras to Chicago for a special video special titled The Field, detailing the in and outs of not only the Chicago hip-hop scene, but the social and socioeconomic ramifications that surround it as well. Shot by Sher Toor and Jonathan Hall, the doc is an interesting take on the issues facing the Second City, from those who have become rhyming reporters to explain what is happening around them.
The documentary delves deep into the "drill" movement, focusing on the record 2012 murder rate as the major catalyst for the rise of the haunting beats riddled with gunshots and stories of surviving with little and trying to find a way out. Upon first hearing about the documentary and it's publisher, I was immediately skeptical. Although named better than Vice's "Chiraq" documentary done earlier in 2013, The Field digs beyond the surface issues by going to the sources for the answers.
I found it interesting to hear artists like Lil Bibby, Lil Durk and Lil Reese talk about the stress from the success they've realized lately, what it potentially leads to. Hip-hop today has become such a game of numbers, it's interesting to hear some of the artists at the top of the game here talking about how far they've come with almost a semblance of regret, not unlike a star athlete that doesn't especially like sports. Music may be a passion to many, but to these young artists from the rough neighborhoods, it's more than that; it's a way out. Toor and Hall do a tremendous job organically demonstrating this through first person accounts and careful storytelling.
What the documentary really does is hone in wholeheartedly on a specific location in the country and demonstrates how hip-hop music is largely seen not as a way to get famous, but a vehicle to escape their current environment. By highlighting the likes of Bibby, Reese, Durk, King Louie and Katie Got Bandz, the filmmakers did an excellent job in drawing the very thin line between the artists and those around them. Given more time with the subject, the video could have possibly been the hip-hop Hoop Dreams.
The project is both inspirational and upsetting, casting a light on not just the murders that plague the landscape, but also the catalysts that lead to the current situation. It's a surprising production for WSHH, an interesting take on the rise of drill through the violence and crime of the south and west sides of the city. Riding through the streets, talking to the people that live there, it perfectly captures a very certain period in the history of Chicago by highlighting the good and the bad, and the unexpected.
Chance The Rapper Covers The Source Magazine
It's 2014 now, but not much has changed for young Chance The Rapper, as the accolades continue to roll in. The Chicago native was recently named The Source Magazine's fourth "Rookie of the Year" in the publication's latest edition. Posing as his own Ventriloquist dummy, Chance joins the likes of past winners, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa. Currently, Chance is preparing to settle into some new digs out west in Los Angeles before diving head first into an already-packed 2014 that may just see him switch from the "Rookie of the Year" cover to the "Man of the Year". Only time will tell on that one, but for now check out the excerpt from the story and pick up a print edition on January 7.
[Video] Bmac: "Till I OD"
Bmac is a rapper from Chicago's Uptown neighborhood on the city's North side. Currently working on his upcoming debut project, Hate On This hosted by DJ Sean Mac, Bmac dropped the first single, complete with video accompaniment in promotion for his project, which drops on New Year's Eve. For it's part, "Till I OD" has a fairly straightforward aesthetic: doing as many drugs as possible without overdosing, or maybe just until it happens. Either way, Bmac takes us into his day to day with a video detailing him and friends smoking, drinking and ruminating over what it all might mean if they take too much down.
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Maya Symone: "Perfect"
Earlier this year, during the summer, we posted 18-year-old R&B artist Maya Symone's track, "Summertime Chi" which caught our eye because of the young Chicago native's haltingly beautiful voice. Much like fellow young songstress Lorde, Symone touches on the things that young girls touch on: relationships, finding the right one, realizing they're not. But she does it with a sense of understanding and ingenuity that call to mind someone much past her years.
Currently, Symone is hard at work in the studio in her hometown preparing her full-length debut project titled #MelodicEvolution, due out early next year. Take a minute out of your day to give Maya Symone a listen, you won't be disappointed.
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