Illinois Entertainer January 2021 | Page 4

January 2021 • Volume 47 , Number 03 • www . illinoisentertainer . com

COVER STORY : GEORGE THOROGOOD

By all accounts , it was a triumphant prodigal-son homecoming : The night of November 23 , 1982 . when the newly-crowned Tazmanian Devil of roadhouse-scruffy blues George Thorogood and his backing band The Destroyers tornadoed back into their adopted hometown of Boston sprawling , 27-song set at a club then known as the Bradford Ballroom . After making his mark with two classic discs for Rounder — 1977 ’ s George Thorogood and The Destroyers and Move It On Over in 1978 — he ’ d staked his rock-history claim with 1982 ’ s signature Bad to the Bone single and album , featuring Rolling Stones accompanist Ian Stewart on keyboards , following a 1981 U . S . tour opening for Mick and Keith , as well . Last month , Rounder finally issued the concert in all its maniacal glory on the two-disc Live in Boston 1982 : The Complete Concert , immortalized in the cover shot of a frenzied Thorogood leaping almost Looney-Tunes high above the venue stage that evening . Tom Lanham spoke toone of the hardest working men in show business .

HELLO MY NAME IS EXENE

It ’ s not like Exene Cervenka , and her bandmates in the Los Angeles proto-punk quartet X are just sitting around their respective houses , idly twiddling their thumbs this enforced-lockdown . But they are coming to surreal grips with the fact that for this year , at least , they will not be the hardest-working band on the road . Since , of course , no bands are on the road at all and may not be for quite some time . So their annual “ X-mas Tour ” has been summarily canceled , the singer says , just when they — and fans — needed it most . In April , X released its first new studio album in 27 years , the guns-blazing , Rob Schnapf-produced Alphabetland , one of its strongest yet . And its eerily-prescient material , like the current raucous single “ Goodbye Year , Goodbye ” ( complemented by a spartan animated stick-figure video conceived by Tiny Concert ’ s Keith Ross ) was all written and recorded pre-COVID-19 — five songs in 2018 and another seven in a session that wrapped on March 10 , just before the quarantine .

Otherwise , this would have been a banner year for the group , which also signed a special merchandising deal with designer John Varvatos . " But I do love playing those Christmas shows , and I ’ m really going to miss it this year . So it ’ s , er , a little odd .” Tom Lanham spoke the legendary songwriter / vocalist .

BEKI HEMINGWAY

Much has happened since the release of 2017 ’ s Beki Hemingway ' s Whins and Weather , a collection that also marked seismic shifts in Hemingway ’ s personal foundation . The singer and her musical partner Randy Kerkman had boldly pulled up roots in Denver , Colorado and emigrated to Ireland during the fall of 2016 in order to undertake musical adventures , travel , and public service . The pair are now settled in Dundalk . “ It ' s halfway between Dublin and Belfast ,” says Hemingway .

With ample time steeped in everyday Irish life , longtime listeners might expect Earth and Asphalt to reveal traces of regional folk music . “ We thought we might be influenced by the Celtic music , but it turns out that being here has only made us sound more American ,” Hemingway told Jeff Elbel .

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File : The Avalanches

Our interview with The Avalanches .

Cinemascopes

Best of 2020 .

Media

Melissa is back in the morning .

Spins

The Kinks , Billy Joe Armstrong , Taylor Swift and more .

Page 20 - Beki Hemingway

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