June 2021 • Volume 47 , Number 08 • www . illinoisentertainer . com |
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COVER STORY : ROYAL BLOOD
When you ’ re young , the adages you get handed as advice from your elders might sound cheap and corny — ‘ Be careful what you wish for ,’ ‘ Adversity often leads to great art ,’ ‘ What doesn ’ t kill you will only make you stronger .’ “ Uh-huh ,” most kids always nod begrudgingly , with a ‘ Whatever ’ eye roll , “ I ’ ll be sure to watch out for that .” But the older you get , reckons Mike Kerr , who will turn 31 this month , the more you realize that these sagacious sayings have endured throughout the years for one very good reason — they all ring remarkably true . And this bassist / vocalist for Royal Blood — a British duo he formed a decade ago with drummer Ben Thatcher — has just felt the telltale cut of roughly a dozen old saws . He ’ s settled on one in particular as his future artistic credo : “ This above all : To thine own self be true ," a line originally spoken by father Polonius to his son Laertes in Shakespeare ’ s Hamlet . The end result of all these metaphorical ravens coming home to roost is rather Shakespearean itself — Typhoons , Royal Blood ’ s rollicking , altogether revitalized new third album that was conversely based on the tragedy overtaking Kerr ’ s young life . Tom Lanham spoke to Kerr .
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620 HELLO MY NAME IS JULIANA
And you might think this Juliana Hatfield has done it all by now — launched a successful solo career with 1992 ’ s Hey Babe ; formed offshoot duos like Minor Alps ( with Matthew Caws ) and I Don ’ t Care ( with Paul Westerberg ) as well as her on-again , off-again band The Juliana Hatfield Three ; cut two tribute albums to The Police and Olivia Newton-John ; and maintained a cottage industry selling personal artwork on Etsy . But she bravely conquered new frontiers during lockdown , just to record musically-jangling , lyrically-dark Blood anthems like the bouncy “ Splinter ,” a punk-poppy “ Suck It Up ,” and the dinosaur stomper “ Dead Weight ” — with a Connecticut engineering friend ’ s help , she taught herself the intricacies of home recording via laptop . “ And I have to admit , there were times when I almost threw my computer through the wall ,” she chuckles . “ But I actually figured out how to make an entire album on my computer . And if I can do it ? Hey — anyone can !” Tom Lanham spoke to Juliana in " Hello My Name is ..."
ROCK OF PAGES : SWEET DREAMS
Middle-aged ‘ 80s kids and anyone pining for the Breakfast Club era will love digging into this hefty , episodic tome . Across 680 pages , British GQ editor-in-chief and David Bowie biographer Dylan Jones chronicles the New Romantic and New Wave era of British popular music and the surrounding style , telling the tale from its origin circa 1975 club culture to its mainstream apex in 1985 and the globally-unifying Live Aid concerts . The spirit of the age is captured via Jones ’ commentary and accompanied by a copious oral history . The amassed interview sources include many of the key scenesters you ’ d hope to see . The list of artists includes members of Duran Duran , Culture Club , New Order , the Pretenders , Boomtown Rats , Roxy Music , Ultravox , Pet Shop Boys , Wham , and Depeche Mode . Jeff Elbel reviewed along with Miles Copeland ' s autobiography , Two Steps Forward , One Step Back .
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Page 22 - ROYAL BLOOD |
File : Juliana Hatfield
Our interview with alt-rock legend JH .
Cinemascopes
Summer Movie Preview .
Media
Steve King ' s Cult 45 .
Spins
Petty , Olivia Rodrigo , Perry Serpa and more .
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illinoisentertainer . com june 2021
Publisher John Vernon
Contributing Editors Curt Baran Mike Meyer Tom Lanham Lori Vernon
Design Team Notion Pool Dragon Design Vision Design Teknigram Graphics
Classified Advertising David Gedge
Founder Kenneth L . Voss
Publisher Emeritis David Roberts
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Advertising Sales Scott Assmann Mike Engel
Advertising Director John Vernon
Website Direction Notion Pool
Senior Columnists
Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
- Sweet Home Rick Kaempfer - Media
Kelley Simms - Caught In A Mosh
David C . Eldredge - East Coast
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Contributors : Andy Argyrakis , Guy Arnston , Penelope Biver , Patrick Conlan , Deena Dasein , Jaime de ' Medici , Jeff Elbel Terrence Flamm , Steve Forstneger Michael Gallucci , Michael C . Harris , Max Herman , Tom Lanham , Aubrey Vernon Carter Moss , Michael Obrecki , Greg Olma Arsenio Orteza , Rodney Pawlak , Bruce Pilato , Matthew Pollock , Jason Scales , Kelley Simms , Ed Spinelli , Riley Vernon , Tim Shockley , James Turano
SUBSCRIPTIONS : $ 35 per year ( first class ). Material for insertion must reach our office by the First Of The Month preceding publication . We cannot assume responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs .
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