Illinois Entertainer April 2020 | Page 4

April 2020 • Volume 46, Number 05 • www.illinoisentertainer.com COVER STORY: BEST COAST Best Coast anchor Bethany Cosentino admits that her duo’s chiming new Always Tomorrow set, it's fourth, just might be the Feel-Good Album of the Year. But in retrospect, she only wishes that she at first didn’t have to feel so incredibly bad just to compose it. And she isn’t waxing poetic when she describes the dire circumstances leading up to its recent triumphant completion. “I was really strug- gling with being creative, and I didn’t feel like I could write,” she recalls, sighing. “I really, truth- fully, thought that I might be done — I was strug- gling really hard with depression until I hit a pri- maryreally intense bottom where I was just like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll EVER get out of this, so maybe this is just where my life is now and how I feel.’” How could darkness overtake such a bright, bub- bly pop persona as Cosentino, who had been mak- ing Beach-Boys-sunny sounds with her guitarist chum Bobb Bruno since 2009? It was easier than she had ever imagined, she says. And — hindsight being a perfect 20/20 —it overtook her in subtle life-altering increments that now would raise instantaneous red flags. Tom Lanham spoke to Bethany. 6 Page 22 - Best Coast Sweet Home Blues virus playlist. 6 12 14 Media 16 Spins 20 File HELLO MY NAME IS TIM "RIPPER" OWENS Spport your local venue. Although the Three Tremors concept was initially conceived in the early 2000s by Iron Maiden wailer Bruce Dickinson, Judas Priest scream- er Rob Halford, and Queensrÿche belter Geoff Tate, it never came to fruition. However, in 2018, Cage vocalist Sean “The Hell Destroyer” Peck began tossing the idea around with journeyman vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-Judas Priest, ex-Iced Earth, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) and they finally decided to make the idea a reality. Soon after the duo’s initial talks, Jag Panzer vocalist Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin joined the heavy metal vocal supergroup, completing the tri- umvirate of respected throat shredders. On the band's 2019 self-titled debut album, the mighty trio delivered glass-shattering vocal histrionics, backed by equally impressive band members from Cage. During a recent phone interview, Tim Owens spoke with Kelley Simms about the band’s formation, the debut album, and Owen's upcoming musical plans. Cinemascopes COVID Mystery Theater. Golden age of radio celebration. Pearl Jam, Stephen Malkmus, and Greg Dulli. Calendar Returns in May. Caught In A Mosh Returns in May. Studiophile Ministry is back in the studio. Publisher Advertising Sales Contributors: John Vernon Scott Assmann Mike Engel Andy Argyrakis, Guy Arnston, Penelope Biver, Patrick Conlan, Deena Dasein, Jaime de'Medici, Andy Derer, Jeff Elbel Terrence Flamm, Steve Forstneger Michael Gallucci, Michael C. Harris, Max Herman, Tom Lanham, Carter Moss, Michael Obrecki, Greg Olma Arsenio Orteza, Rodney Pawlak, Bruce Pilato, Matthew Pollock, Jason Scales, Kelley Simms, Ed Spinelli, James Turano, Aubrey Vernon Contributing Editors Lori Vernon Tom Lanham Curt Baran Advertising Director Design Team Website Direction Notion Pool Dragon Design Vision Design Teknigram Graphics Notion Pool Classified Advertising Rosalind Cummings-Yeates - Sweet Home Rick Kaempfer - Media David Gedge Founder John Vernon Senior Columnists Kenneth L. Voss Kelley Simms - Caught In A Mosh Publisher Emeritis David C. Eldredge - East Coast David Roberts 4 illinoisentertainer.com april 2020 SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 per year (first class). Material for insertion must reach our office by the First Of The Month preceding publication. We cannot assume responsibility for unsolicit- ed manuscripts or photographs. Follow us online at: facebook.com/ieentertainer instagram: illinoisentertainermagazine twitter.com/ie_entertainer 28 34 39 Address All Correspondence to: Illinois Entertainer 4223 W. Lake St., Suite 201 Chicago, IL 60624 [phone] - Chicago/North Sub [phone] - West/South Suburbs [phone] - Fax email us at: Editorial: [email protected] Advertising: [email protected] The ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER is published monthly by Roberts Publishing, Inc, All materials copyright 2020 by Roberts Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from Roberts Publishing, Inc. Current and back issues of the IE are $10.00 postpaid.