Illinois Entertainer October 2020 | Page 4

October 2020 • Volume 46 , Number 11 • www . illinoisentertainer . com
COVER STORY : MASTODON In the cold , clinical new coronavirus age , no gift horse should ever be looked directly in the mouth , reckons Mastodon drummer / lyricist Brann Dailor . So take the Grammy-winning prog-metal outfit ’ s latest odds-and-sods anthology Medium Rareties at face value — as a surprise mid-pandemic present to diehard fans , featuring the jarring new juggernaut " Fallen Torches ," alongside a collection of hard-to-find B-sides , live cuts , instrumentals and soundtrack entries like “ White Walker ,” coinciding with three of its members guest-starring on the HBO fantasy series “ Game of Thrones .”
No matter how sunny the Mastodon sky seems to be of late , the more storm clouds like COVID-19 assemble to obscure it , sighs Dailor , 45 , from lockdown with his two trusty pets in his native Atlanta . Tom Lanham spoke to Dailor .
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G . E . SMITH AND LEROY BELLO
Timing , they say , is everything . There ’ s no possible way that legendary Long Island-based musicologist and guitar slinger G . E . Smith could have predicted meeting Washington state-reared , soul stylist LeRoy Bell roughly a year ago , or that they would hit it off so well that they would enter the studio to launch a new duo only two days after that first smooth summit . But now , the team-up seems not only prescient but written in the stars , as their new Stony Hill debut disc spins off its latest single this week , the starkly political “ Take Cover ,” with its metaphorladen , eagle-vs . -snake video by filmmaker Ehud Lazin . The cut was penned by Smith ’ s wife of 30 years , Taylor Barton , who first heard Bell — a former X-Factor finalist from 2011 who has also written for artists like Elton John , Jennifer Lopez , and Teddy Pendergrass — online . She was so impressed with his singing voice she recruited him for her “ G . E . Smith ’ s Portraits ” series of concerts she was producing at Guild Hall . And her husband — whom she ’ d met when he was anchoring the house band at Saturday Night Live — was more than open to any potential recording possibilities . “ Taylor just cold-called him , and he came out to our house , and we hit it off real well ,” recalls Smith , who — having backed stars such as David Bowie , Mick Jagger , Bob Dylan , Tina Turner , and Hall and Oates over his career — knew how to spot a great vocalist . Tom Lanham spoke to Smith and Bell .
File
Our interview with GE Smith and LeRoy Bell .
Cinemascopes
Scary Movies .
Media
Richard Milne takes over mornings on WXRT .
Spins
Diamond Rexx , Repentance , Deep Purple and more .
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LOU DIBELLO
Champaign-based , six-string shredder Lou DiBello has been rather fortunate during this current worldwide pandemic . The Musician ’ s Institute graduate has been a staple in the Illinois live music scene for decades , honing his craft by playing to enthusiastic audiences throughout the area in over 3,000 performances to date . During this self-quarantine era due to COVID-19 , DiBello has fortunately continued to play live solo gigs at various local small clubs , intimate restaurants and outdoor patio and bar areas throughout the Champaign and surrounding areas .
I ’ ve always had some band gigs going in one form or another , but now I ’ m just doing the solo shows only because it ’ s a lot easier for some places to not have to pay a full band . For me , it ’ s been great . I ’ ve been real fortunate .” Kelley Simms spoke to DiBello .
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Publisher John Vernon
Contributing Editors Curt Baran Mike Meyer Tom Lanham Lori Vernon
illinoisentertainer . com october 2020
Design Team Notion Pool Dragon Design Vision Design Teknigram Graphics
Classified Advertising David Gedge
Founder Kenneth L . Voss
Publisher Emeritis David Roberts
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
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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