February 2021 • Volume 47 , Number 04 • www . illinoisentertainer . com
COVER STORY : PALE WAVES
Pale Waves front-vixen Heather Baron-Gracie pulls no punches , suffers no fools gladly , and always shoots straight from the hip . She ’ s justifiably proud of her newfound industry acumen , and she ’ s even developed an alter ego to do the dirty work , a no-nonsense persona she ’ s dubbed with the deceptively charming moniker of Victoria . “ So I ’ m just sitting in my bedroom right now , chillin ’, and Victoria isn ’ t around ,” reports the singer , phoning to discuss her band ’ s panoramic new sophomore outing , Who Am I ? Given that leading album title , how does one know exactly which entity they ’ re addressing ? She laughs coquettishly . “ Oh , she only comes out when she needs to come out when I need to feel like a bad bitch ; Victoria will definitely come out !” Pale Waves new albumWho AmI ? promises to bring the band to another level of success to their goth loving fans . Tom Lanham spoke to one the lead vocalist and founder of one of our favorite new bands .
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HELLO MY NAME IS STEVE
Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate and wife Linda Pitmon launched their month-long " Impossible Tour ," last month presenting 13 hourlong virtual shows in 13 separate cities both overseas and Stateside , in simulated versions of some favorite local clubs that The Dream Syndicate has played before . On paper , it looks preposterous : It kicks off in Milan , Italy ’ s hip Germi venue this week , then ricochets through other exotic waystations like the Tiki Bar in Athens , Greece , Pop Torgal in Ourense , Spain , Loppen in Copenhagen , Denmark , and finally grinds to a halt February 28 at the famous Mercury Lounge in their native New York . But through a site called StageIt , it was relatively easy to piece together at The Chimp Factory , the couple ’ s new rehearsal space in Queens , just a few blocks from their old broadcasting HQ , their apartment . The only thing missing will be the sweaty , cramped tour van . Tom Lanham spoke the legendary songwriter / vocalist .
THE LOCKDOWN INTERVIEWS
As anyone familiar with his anecdote-spiked DJ sets on his retrorocking Underground Garage Sirius XM station can attest , Little Steve — AKA E Street Band and Asbury Jukes guitarist Miami Steve Van Zandt — has got stories . So naturally , all the accordant free time that the pandemic lockdown afforded him — plus several months preceding it — has made him even more reflective , to the point where he ’ s put his entire solo back catalog under the box-set microscope , via Rock N Roll Rebel : The Early Work , an exhaustively researched compilation including six vintage albums starting with the classic “ Men Without Women ” 1982 debut with the Disciples-of-Soul and including four discs of bonus tracks — 51 in all — and three extra live DVDs . It ’ s a remarkable collection .
Initially , he started his Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul ( with mohawk-haired Plasmatics bassist Jean Beauvoir ) while his Boss Bruce Springsteen was otherwise occupied with his home-recorded Nebraska , but his work began to take on a decidedly political life of its own , as this compilation — which ends with his less-hear “ Born Again Savage ” effort from 1999 — makes clear . Otherwise during theses strange times , the singer says , “ I ’ ve been binge-watching ‘ Designated Survivor ,’ which is a terrific show — I don ’ t know how I missed it !” Tom Lanham spoke to SVZ .
File : Steve Wynn
Our interview with Setve Wynn .
Cinemascopes
Dinner & Movie .
Media
Danny Bonaduce ; Loop legend .
Spins
The Kinks , Billy Joe Armstrong , Taylor Swift and more .
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Publisher John Vernon
Contributing Editors Curt Baran Mike Meyer Tom Lanham Lori Vernon
illinoisentertainer . com february 2021
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