So Long , Cool Gent
Hello , My Name is Robby
Robby Takac
He was known as “ King of the Dusties ” and the “ Cool Gent ” but these throwback nicknames sometimes obscured the relevancy and on-the-pulse musical significance of Herbert Rogers Kent . The iconic DJ ruled black radio for an unprecedented 70 years . He ’ s listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running DJ in radio history and his influence on Chicago culture is just as phenomenal . His velvety voice narrated the lives of generations of Chicagoans , from his ‘ 50s and ‘ 60s shows on WGES , WBEE and WJOB where he helped launch the careers of Smokey Robinson , The Temptations , Curtis Mayfield and Minnie Riperton , to his groundbreaking time at WVON , where he was part of a legendary group of DJs called “ The Good Guys ” and where he emceed Martin Luther King ’ s Freedom Summer Rally in Soldier Field in 1966 .
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In the ‘ 70s and early ‘ 80s , he hosted the cutting edge disco , new wave and punk show “ Stay Up and Punk Out ” on WXFM . Later , the legendary House DJ Frankie Knuckles would credit Herb Kent as an early influence . By the ‘ 80s , his flirty banter as “ Herbie Baby , and his “ Battle of The Bands ” shows on WVAZ were as iconic as his signature cowboy hat . He schooled the city on the Chicago style twostep with frequent Steppers Sets and he regularly offered on-air musical history lessons with his behind the scenes tales of R & B and pop stars . Herb was so much a part of Chicago history that when he published his 2009 memoir , The Cool Gent : The Nine Lives of Radio Legend Herb Kent , it wasn ’ t a music or broadcasting industry big wig who wrote the forward , but former Chicago mayor Richard M . Daley . From the ‘ 1940s , until last week , there was rarely a time when the voice of Herb Kent wasn ’ t floating over the airwaves and into the lives of Chicagoans . His legacy of keeping dusties music alive and relevant for new generations will live on , but the man who so charmingly chronicled the music will be sorely missed .
– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Fire Guts Willowbrook Ballroom
You ’ ll have to forgive Robby Takac if he sounds a bit distracted . The Goo Goo Dolls bassist is staying busy this fall with his band , which is back out on the road for a 29-date run backing its inventive new 11th album , Boxes , and a current video-filming contest – in partnership with Talenthouse -- for its latest single , “ Over and Over ,” with the winning director getting an autographed guitar , $ 5,000 cash , and having their clip featured on the group ’ s website . But the musician is also an entrepreneur , with his own bustling Japanese-favoring imprint Good Charamel Records , his own studio , GCR Audio , where the artists sometimes record , and annual event in his native Buffalo , NY called the Music is Art Festival . He just helped mix a rollicking new record from one of his signings , Pinky Doodle Poodle , and his roster also includes legendary all-girl combo Shonen Knife . So there is a lot going on , man , plus all the Goo Goo Dolls stuff ,” he sighs . While his bandmate John Rzeznik anchored most of the Boxes material , Takac also wrote and sang two cuts , “ Free of Me ” and “ Prayer in my Pocket .” And the two ( minus longtime drummer Mike Malinin , who departed in 2013 ), sound more rejuvenated than ever , thirty years into their Grammy-nominated , multi-platinum career . Continued on page 8
Jerrica Paglia
Local Break-Out
Fire gutted the legendary Willowbrook Ballroom on October 28 , ending nearly a century of historic concerts ranging from big bands to it ' s current incarnation as a wedding and banquet facility .
According to Suntimes . com , the fire at the Willowbrook was deemed a total loss and the cause remained under investigation , officials said . The original ballroom burned down in 1930 , according to the ballroom ’ s website . It was rebuilt at a then-staggering cost of $ 100,000 , complete with a soda fountain , restaurant and flower shop . It also hosted some of the biggest bands of the day ."
From the 1940s to the 1980s , the Willowbrook hosted a range of bands from the Artie Shaw Orchestra to Uriah Heep to the Brian Setzer Orchestra . As reported in the Chicago Sun-Times , the Ballroom " was also famous for an enduring ghost story reveloving around Ressurection Mary . According to legend , that is where a teen girl spent her last evening in 1927 before she was killed in a car crash on her way home . Going forward , there have been numerous accounts of “ Resurrection Mary ” sightings in and around the ballroom : a girl dressed in a white gown and slippers . Those sightings were particularly common around Halloween ." The ballroom celebrated its 90th anniversary last month .
Northwest Indiana-based country singer Jerrica Paliga had a breakout year in 2016 , winning several local talent competitions including a Coors Light Big Break contest hosted by 95.5 FM and iHeart Radio . Jessica told local music scribe Tom Lounges at NWI . com she recorded in Nashville at age 19 to secure demos using studio session musicians . " I still live in Chesterton ( Indiana )," she told Lounges . " This is where all my music contacts are and I think you have a better shot of trying to make it outside of Nashville . Where in Nashville it ' s hundreds of musicians , here you stand out a little more ." Winning the prestigious contest , Paliga earned the opportunity to perform in July at The Country Thunder Music Festival in Twin Lakes , Wisconsin . Jerrica performs a rare acoustic show November 12 at the Hammond Civic Center , 5825 S Sohl Ave . in Hammond , IN .
Local heavy rockers Teeze recently celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band . The most recent incarnation of the band just released their single " Revenge " online . Yolking anthemic metal and alt-rock vocals , they perform November 12 at the Hard Rock Cafe and opening for Jackyl November 23rd at the Fuel Room . The current line up consists of Teeze includes Alex Tyler on vocals and bass , Dan Szkola on guitar , P . J . Alvarez on drums and & Martin Contreras on guitar .
6 illinoisentertainer . com november 2016