Hello My Name is John
Record & CD
Collectors Show
The Midwest ' s Largest Record Show
John Doe of X
SUNDAY . SEPTEMBER • NOV 20 19 8:45AM - 4PM
VINYL & CD ’ s
LP ' S • 45 ' S • 12 " SINGLES
Rock • Alternative • Jazz • Soul Plus , an expanded Metal selection .
BEST WESTERN CHICAGO - HILLSIDE
4400 FRONTAGE ROAD
Admission $ 3.00
HILLSIDE , IL I-290 Eisenhower Expy -Wolf / Mannheim Exit I-290 at Wolf Road Exit
Dealers Tables $ 45.00
Early Bird Customers : $ 10.00 Early Bird Time : 6:30am 5:30am
For Information Call 630-898-1533 - Evenings or : Visit www . chicagorecordcollectors . com We ’ re on Facebook under Chicagoland Record & CD Collectors Show
To calm , cool , and collected X anchor John Doe , it ’ s all about how you see the world these days . Some artists may have dreaded all that enforced 2020 lockdown time as a curse , but , homebound apart from his bandmates in Austin , he viewed it as a blessing , a creative windfall , even though X had just issued a punk-powered new masterpiece called Alphabetland , its first new studio album in 27 years . “ I was
08 • 2021 a little sad that we couldn ’ t go out and celebrate the hell out of that record ,” says the bassist , vocalist , and part-time film and TV actor . “ But I think that the pandemic gave people the time to reset , gave people the time to work on things as if they were in prison because they sort of were . As in , ‘ If only I had the time to …’ fill in the blank . Well , now you DO , motherfucker ! So I used my time wisely — I worked on songs and recorded an entire solo album .”
Maybe it ’ s intrinsic to anyone launching their career in the post-punk artistic hotbed that was Los Angeles in the early ‘ 80s . But Doe , a remarkably spry and youthful-looking 68 , is never lacking in the energy department . His shows with X — which rev up with a handful of American dates this summer and start chugging with an annual and sorelymissed X-Mas Holiday tour of the West Coast — are still Tasmanian-devil frenetic and always inspiring to behold for audiences of both dumbfounded young newcomers and veteran old-schoolers who ’ ve followed the incendiary outfit for four decades now . Currently , he has a plethora of projects on the way , including the upcoming animated film Unplugged ( for which he just recorded voiceovers ), plus live-action appearances in The Boardinghouse Reach and D . O . A . The Movie , a fun , low-budget remake of the Edmund O ’ Brien classic . “ It ’ s set in 1949 , and I play the guy !” he enthuses over his iconic role of its lethally-poisoned protagonist who only has a few desperate hours to solve his own pending murder .
The coronavirus only fueled his inner fire instead of dampening it , the singer declares . “ And you know what ?” he adds . “ Anybody who goes through this and doesn ’ t have an increased sense of gratitude for what they have — unless they lost someone who is near and dear to them — should really stop and think about how heartless they are because they ’ re actually the fucking Grinch . So I did fine , X has been good to us , and I didn ’ t spend all my money on foolish things . And I see people who are homeless , who I was always wishing that I could do more for .” He pauses to let the story ’ s humble moral
become crystal clear . “ So now I ’ m realizing that I might be the most fortunate of all .” Continued on page 8
6 illinoisentertainer . com august 2021