Dorothy Healing
Hello My Name Is Steve
British Lion
Dorothy
IE's May 2018 cover feature and California rocker Dorothy [Martin] is one of the more passionate
and honest musicians you'll run across. It doesn't hurt that she has a voice on loan from Bonnie Raitt
and Janis Joplin. Her musical trajectory has been a bumpy ride at times. She told IE's Tom Lanham
in 2018, after a battle with alcoholism, "I’m very spiritual, in that I believe in a power greater than
myself. And I’m always asking for guidance and trying to live my life in a better way. I think I had
it backward before. But it’s okay because I wouldn’t have found these topics to speak on had I not
gone through these things." Martin continues to get her body and soul clean, and that includes get-
ting rid of the physical trappings of show business - including her breast implants. Chronicled, via
her twitter account (@itsdorothysucker), Martin wasn't feeling right in 2019, and her checklist of
symptoms pointed to breast implant illness (BII). "I heard about breast implant illness only after
making the connection between my deteriorating mental and physical health and having implants
myself," the singer explained to Loudwire.com. "Then one day I woke up and the first thought that
popped into my head was, 'Take your implants out!'" BII isn’t a recognized illness for many physi-
cians, so the vocalist had to find a doctor who agreed to look into her illness, which includes symp-
toms ranging from chest pain, hair loss, and neurological ailments like depression and sleep issues.
She worked with Dr. Ritu Chopra in Beverly Hills once she decided on extraction surgery.
Liam Gallagher always said that there are only two ways for an English
lad to break free from his grey, oppressive, working-class environment —
become a professional footballer or start a rock and roll band. Growing up in
the London suburb of Leytonstone, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris clearly
remembers doing both. Quite well, in fact, and consequently being torn by
his love of the twin pursuits.
“Football was a big part of my life in the teenage years,” says the musi-
cian, 64, who nearly signed with West Ham United. “But music grabbed me
even before that — I remember listening to stuff as a kid, and I remember the
first single my parents ever bought me when I was five years old. But then I
got into football, and only started to take music seriously when I was 16 — I
started listening to rock and prog-type stuff, and I actually thought, ‘I’d real-
ly like to have a go at this myself and try to play music.’ And that was it, real-
ly.”
Now, the man is so accustomed to staying busy that he’s formed a spin-
off outfit during Maiden's downtime, British Lion, which just issued its
sophomore set The Burning, which features the more straightforward, bluesy
vocals of Richard Taylor, and the classic-metal guitar stylings of Grahame
Leslie, whom he first managed — and composed with — in the early ‘90s. He
reassembled them for his first 2012 solo album, British Lion, then rechristened
a fleshed-out lineup under that moniker, as well.
But he never gave up on sports completely — he still plays for fun with
Truly Fine Citizen
02•2020
The L.A. based singer confirms that she immediately felt more clearheaded after having the implants
removed. "I do feel better, but the full detox process takes time," she told Loudwire. "I want to take this
opportunity to encourage women (and anyone who identifies as a woman or is considering implants)
to love their body the way it was given to them."
Indiana's Punk Pioneer
Neil Young
Skafish Circa 1979
Chicago’s punk roots were planted in Indiana when Skafish released his self-titled debut in 1979.
Launched on famed IRS Records (home to REM, The English Beat, The Go Go's), in a music landscape
dominated by classic rock, Skafish stuck out like a sore thumb, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing for
commercial success. The debut album sounds tame by modern standards, but punk rock classics like
“Work Song” and “Joan Fan Club” blueprinted Iggy Pop and Bowie, but it didn’t catch on with musi-
cally conservative ears. Like all groundbreaking musicians, Skafish became a cult figure with young
bands of the 80s and 90s, though his early albums weren't commercially adored.
Thirty-five years after the album’s debut, Skafish acquired the rights to the masters, and the process
of re-mastering the album and a Kickstarter campaign began. NWI.com’s Tom Lounges interviewed
Skafish on his radio show last month, and he put his debut album into perspective. “The original 1979
pressing of the album on I.R.S. Records has been a sought after collectible for many years by fans of the
early punk/new wave scene. Over the years, I was always being asked about the album, and now it's
finally available again. There has been a real buzz about this reissuing from fans," said Skafish, the leader,
writer, and namesake of what many consider Chicago's first genuine punk band.
6 illinoisentertainer.com february 2020
He’s been a Canadian icon since his Buffalo Springfield days, and his count-
er-culture anthems “Ohio,” “For What It's Worth,” and “Rockin in The Free
World” have shown he’s used his platform to be critical of the American gov-
ernment when it’s warranted, but Neil Young is finally a U.S. citizen. He orig-
inally crossed the border illegally in 1966 in a hearse, but Young recently wrote
on his website, "I’m happy to report I’m in!”
As you’d expect, the process wasn’t easy. The citizenship papers were
delayed because he admitted to smoking marijuana. Reefer madness is appar-
ently still a thing in 2020. Rolling Stone wrote, “Young and his wife, actress
Daryl Hannah, obtained his naturalization documents at the Convention
Center in downtown Los Angeles [last month]. He celebrated in a video on his
Instagram account singing, “I’m proud to be a Canarican” to the tune of “God
Bless the U.S.A.” while waving around miniature American and Canadian
flags.
What motivated Young to finally pull the trigger? “I live down here; I pay
taxes down here; my beautiful family is all down here — they’re all Americans,
so I want to register my opinion about this country,” he told the Los Angeles
Times. He’s also concerned about the future of the planet. “We’ve got a climate
emergency, and governments are not acting,”