Illinois Entertainer April 2021 | Page 4

April 2021 • Volume 47 , Number 06 • www . illinoisentertainer . com

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COVER STORY : CHEAP TRICK
Rick Nielsen , the Cheap Trick axeman and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has bagged and brought home over 2,000 guitars in his lifetime . His trophy room currently houses roughly 500 , several of which were put to good use on the band ’ s rollicking , Apocalyptic-themed new album In Another World , its 20th . And when he ’ s on the hunt , he knows the big-game instruments he ’ s stalking , down to every last sonic detail .
But the meticulous Nielsen — ever since he sparked Cheap Trick to life with two stunning records in 1978 , Cheap Trick and In Color , and a rapid-fire 1979 follow-up , Heaven Tonight — had a very clear picture in his head of what he wanted for his bubblegum-chewy rock and roll outfit , starting with its obvious visual disparity . geeks . Tom Lanham spoke to Rockford ' s favorite son about collecting gear , stamps , coins , pins , and their anticipated new album . Plus growing up in a musical household , and the former Pennsylvania Avenue guy .
HELLO MY NAME IS CANDICE
Fingers crossed , President Biden is hoping for some semblance of post-vaccination national normalcy around July 4 weekend . Candice Night wished for a reprieve just a little sooner , around May 1 , when the vocalist and her guitarist husband Ritchie Blackmore usually hold their traditional and well-attended May Day festival balls . The couple which also records and tours together as the medieval folk outfit Blackmore ' s Night customarily goes all-out on the Long Island home get-togethers , once held as an ancient spring fertility rite . We used to have a maypole erected , and we ' d have a big bonfire , and at the end of the night , everyone would grab a ribbon and dance the maypole , and somebody would always wind up tied to it at the end , she says with a resigned sigh . But we ' ve had to scale it way back due to the pandemic . If we ' re going to do it , we ' re going to do it right . Tom Lanham talked to one the co-founder of Blackmore ' s Night about festivals and new music .
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File : Candice Night
Our interview with Blackmore ' s Night co-founder .
Cinemascopes
Are Theatre ' s finally opening up ?
Media
Jon-of-all-trades .
Spins
Rob Zombie , Smith / Kotzen and more .
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THE LOCKDOWN INTERVIEWS : ELLE KING
There two distinct ways of looking at our current coronavirus crisis , reckons usually rollicking R & B-rocker Elle King , who ’ s reframed and restrained herself in a hushed acoustic setting on her new In Isolation EP . And they both are perfectly exemplified in the timeless film fable Groundhog Day . Are you a glass-is-half-empty person , like Bill Murray is initially as he grudgingly finds himself reliving the same day , over and over again ? Or are you the glass-is-half full optimist that he eventually becomes , seeing each 24-hour period as a chance to learn more about yourself , your capabilities , and the world around you , in general ? The first option ? Been there , done that , sighs the former hard partying scion of comic Rob Schneider and model London King . “ I ’ ve spent most of my life as an asshole , and I was just repeating bad behaviors and wasn ’ t learning my lesson ,” she says . “ So you have to be active in change , and you have to be ready . A million people can tell you to quit smoking , for instance , but you ’ re never going to quit until you say , ‘ You know what ? I don ’ t want to do this anymore .’ And when you start trying something new and embracing change , a beautiful world unfolds for you .” Having just turned 31 , she was happy to run down a checklist of all the new wisdom she ’ s acquired over the past four claustrophobic months . Tom Lanham spoke to Elle .
Page 06 - Candice Night
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illinoisentertainer . com april 2021
Publisher John Vernon
Contributing Editors Curt Baran Mike Meyer Tom Lanham Lori Vernon
Design Team Notion Pool Dragon Design Vision Design Teknigram Graphics
Classified Advertising David Gedge
Founder Kenneth L . Voss
Publisher Emeritis David Roberts
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Advertising Director John Vernon
Website Direction Notion Pool
Senior Columnists
Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
- Sweet Home Rick Kaempfer - Media
Kelley Simms - Caught In A Mosh
David C . Eldredge - East Coast
Contributors : Andy Argyrakis , Guy Arnston , Penelope Biver , Patrick Conlan , Deena Dasein , Jaime de ' Medici , Jeff Elbel Terrence Flamm , Steve Forstneger Michael Gallucci , Michael C . Harris , Max Herman , Tom Lanham , Aubrey Vernon Carter Moss , Michael Obrecki , Greg Olma Arsenio Orteza , Rodney Pawlak , Bruce Pilato , Matthew Pollock , Jason Scales , Kelley Simms , Ed Spinelli , Riley Vernon , Tim Shockley , James Turano
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