Illinois Entertainer May 2019 | Page 4

May 2019 • Volume 45, Number 07 • www.illinoisentertainer.com COVER STORY: STEVE EARLE For the past decade, or so — especially while touring the American West with his backing group The Dukes — 64-year-old Steve Earle has found himself rising earlier and earlier in his secluded mountain hotels, where he began bumping into the same cadre of burly jump-suited gents in the lobby. They recognized him right away (perhaps by his increasingly pendulous salt and pepper beard —and praised his work. But the more he learned about these men and their death-defying deeds, the more he was in awe of their accom- plishments. They were professional firefighters or ‘hot shots’ that would soon be celebrated in "Firebreak Line." Earle found himself staying in the same lodgings and up at dawn for completely different reasons – the pursuit of his one remaining addiction — fly fishing, which demanded monas- tic patience he never used to possess. Tom Lanham talked fishing, politics and music with Earle. 6 Page 22 - Steve Earle HELLO MY NAME IS... TIMOTHY SHOWALTER FROM STRAND OF OAKS Don’t ever get too comfortable — Timothy Showalter now recog- nizes this adage as the cold, hard bottom line in every creative under- taking he attempts under the shape-shifting moniker of Strand of Oaks. For instance, in December of 2013, the Hoosier-bred, Philadelphia- anchored musician completed HEAL, a hushed, sensitive document of how he’d been feeling up to that point. The 2017 follow-up, Hard Love failed to catch fire, and the label’s attempt to repackage a bonus-track edition a year later, Harder Love, barely registered on his radar. By then, things had turned dark and Showalter was actually threatening to leave show business entirely. But through a serendipitous set of circumstances — and unexpectedly ardent supporters — he opted to carry on with Eraserland. Tom Lanham talked to a grateful Showwalter. Sweet Home 6 12 14 Jim O'Donnel is back on the beatl. Media 16 Spins 24 File Moonrunners Festival at Reggies, CHIRP Record Fair and more. Cinemascopes Spring Fling. Remembering Barabara and Cash. The Dandy Warhols, Bedlem, Aftermath and more. Calendar Over 1400 shows to see, the best bands, at the best venues. Caught In A Mosh Michael Schenker is back. Classifieds 28 34 42 You dumped your boyfriend's drummer, now you're looking for another. Studiophile Nevison remebers classic album sessions. Gear 45 46 Taylor Guitars breaks the mold. Page 20 - Nevison's classic sessions Publisher Advertising Sales Contributors: John Vernon Scott Assmann Mike Engel 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, Carter Moss, Michael Obrecki, Greg Olma Arsenio Orteza, Rodney Pawlak, Bruce Pilato, Matthew Pollock, Jason Scales, Kelley Simms, Ed Spinelli, Tim Shockley, James Turano Contributing Editors Curt Baran Mike Meyer Tom Lanham Lori Vernon Advertising Director Design Team Notion Pool Notion Pool Dragon Design Vision Design Teknigram Graphics Senior Columnists John Vernon Website Direction David Gedge Rosalind Cummings-Yeates - Sweet Home Rick Kaempfer - Media Founder Kelley Simms - Caught In A Mosh Kenneth L. Voss David C. Eldredge - East Coast Classified Advertising Publisher Emeritis David Roberts 4 illinoisentertainer.com may 2019 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 unsolicit- ed manuscripts or photographs. Follow us online at: facebook.com/ieentertainer instagram: illinoisentertainermagazine twitter.com/ie_entertainer Address All Correspondence to: Illinois Entertainer 4223 W. Lake St., Suite 201 Chicago, IL 60624 [phone] - Chicago/North Sub [phone] - West/South Suburbs [phone] - Fax email us at: Editorial: [email protected] Advertising: [email protected] The ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER is published monthly by Roberts Publishing, Inc, All materials copyright 2019 by Roberts Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from Roberts Publishing, Inc. Current and back issues of the IE are $10.00 postpaid.