Magic Bus Returns
Synth Pioneer
Alan R Pearlman, circa 1970
The Who return to Chicago this year, playing shows at both Hollywood Casino Amphitheater on
May 21 and Alpine Valley on September 8. No band has retained their credibility and simultaneously
been able to sell themselves quite like the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers going back to their 1967 album
the Who Sell Out. They’ve teamed up with the folks at Live Nation to resurrect a modern version of their
Magic Bus – inspired by the iconic song ‘Magic Bus’ and the compilation album, Magic Bus – The Who
On Tour from 1968. In celebration of their recently announced 2019 North American Moving On! Tour,
The Who have launched a series of pop up Magic Buses straight from the ‘60s in Chicago, Los Angeles
and New York City. Fans in Chicago can see the double-decker buses through February 10th as they hit
the streets across The Loop, River North and Magnificent Mile. Fans who spot the bus in downtown
Chicago can also enter sweepstakes for a chance to win two premium tickets to The Who’s tour stop
nearest to them. To enter fans can post a picture of the bus on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag
#MagicBusEntry and follow and tag @LiveNation in the image. See rules for alternative methods of
entry. The sweepstakes end February 10, 2019, at Midnight. See at: http://bit.ly/MagicBusRules.
02•2019
Fast Pass
Lincoln Yards
A modified 53-acre Lincoln Yards master plan, on the North Branch of the Chicago River near
Lincoln Park, was unanimously approved by the City of Chicago Plan Commission despite over 100
dissenting voices at a January 23rd hearing. The 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins had developer
Sterling Bay revise their original layout of Lincoln Yards to add more green space, removing a 22,000
seat soccer stadium and massive entertainment complex originally included in the development.
After the revisions, Hopkins told the commission, “I’m offering my strong support of this project.
It’s the right thing for the city and the right thing for the community.”
A group of independent music venue owners has argued that the entertainment venue(s) includ-
ed in Lincoln Yards would threaten the viability of their established clubs. Friends Of The Parks
claim the lack of green space featured too much development and not enough open park space for
the public, not to mention traffic concerns for an already congested part of the city.
Still to be determined is the controversial TIF funding for the site – a “proposed $900 million tax
increment financing (TIF) district designed to reimburse the developer for fronting the costs of new
roadways, sidewalks, and bridges. That issue will be addressed next month by the city’s
Community Development Commission,” according to CurbedChicago.com.
An estimated 22,000 permanent jobs are expected to be generated by Lincoln Yards, which could
take ten years to complete. Stay tuned.
6 illinoisentertainer.com february 2019
He worked for NASA and pioneered what was arguably the most ground-
breaking synthesizer, used by the most famous artists of the 1970s and early
‘80s, including Kraftwerk, David Bowie, New Order, Brian Eno, Stevie
Wonder, and Depeche Mode. Alan R. Pearlman, the founder of ARP
Instruments, passed away last month at 93.
“Along with Bob Moog and Don Buchla, Pearlman was at the forefront of
US synthesizer design in the 1960s and ’70s. The company’s first instrument,
ARP's 1970’s 2500 modular synth, set out to solve the oscillator tuning issues
that plagued other analog synths of the era.“ according to FactMag.com.
By the mid-70s (and later in the ‘80s) ARP was outselling Moog in the synth
market, powering songs from “Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein, Herbie Hancock’s
Chameleon, Kraftwerk’s The Robots, Underworld’s Rez, Nine Inch Nails' The
Hand That Feeds and the early-1980s version of the theme to the television
series Doctor Who, according to the New York Times.
ARP would have remained successful in the uber-competitive synth mar-
ket in the '80s, but the company sunk much of its resources (against Mr.
Pearlman’s wishes), “away from keyboards to develop the Avatar guitar syn-
thesizer, a commercial failure. ARP went bankrupt in 1981, costing stockhold-
ers and creditors $4 million; Mr. Pearlman and his family lost $500,000.”
In his later years, Pearlman worked on Kurzweil Instruments and for a
Korg-owned ARP reboot. It’s not an exaggeration to say his name should be
included alongside the likes of Martin, Fender, and other musical instrument
pioneers.
Doin' It For Jerry
Beloved JBTV host Jerry Bryant underwent colon cancer surgery back in August
at Northwestern Hospital. Like Chicago Blackhawk's color analyst Eddie Olczyk,
Bryant is now ready to get the word out about early screenings. Bryant comment-
ed on his Twitter page, "Recovering from tumor surgery at Northwestern Hospital
and Dr. McGee saved my life. I encourage everyone to get a colonoscopy starting
at 40. I never did and now paying the consequences. I’m a cancer survivor now.
Stay healthy."
Now friends of WKQX, Metro, and JBTV are joining forces to help Jerry with
medical expenses by sponsoring a “Strange 90s” benefit concert on March 8 at
Metro. The benefit includes performances by Andrew WK, a reformed Kill
Hannah, Local H, Naked Raygun, and the Plain White Tees. Tickets start at only
$25 (for early bird tickets) and go up to $500 for VIP Tables for 2. All proceeds go
directly to Jerry’s cancer treatment fund. If you’ve watched JBTV, you know how
Jerry has supported the Chicago music community. Now is the time to give back to
him.