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October 2024 • Volume 50 , Number 12 • www . illinoisentertainer . com
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COVER STORY : MyLES KENNEDY Since stepping up on stage from the audience to join the fictitious metal band Steel Dragon from the 2001 motion picture Rockstar , starring Mark Wahlberg , Myles “ Thor ” Kennedy has shuffled from one extraordinary musical opportunity to the next . Proving to be one of the most prolific musicians in the biz today , Kennedy has recorded 19 studio albums with six different bands in his 36-year music career . Before the talented musician experienced the aforementioned musical escapades , Kennedy ’ s nascent beginnings started with bands such as Bittersweet , Cosmic Dust , Citizen Swing ( the first band he fronted ), and The Mayfield Four .
Kennedy is set to release his third dynamic solo album this month . “ The Art of Letting Go is basically just where I ’ m at right now in my growth as a person ,” Kennedy admits . “ My evolution is just trying to stay more present , roll with the punches , and just not be reactive . The artist did a great job of incorporating things we were hoping to see , such as a manifestation of the transitory nature of life and images of previous records I was a part of making — which just helps tell the story . It was just an appropriate image to convey the overall meaning of the record .” Kelley Simms caught up with Myles .
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HELLO MY NAME IS EXENE CERVENKA FROM X
Los Angeles punk juggernaut X , whose four founding members – vocalist Exene Cervenka , bassist / vocalist John Doe , drummer D . J . Bonebrake , and perpetually-pompadoured guitarist extraordinaire Billy Zoom ( who never appeared to sweat onstage , no matter how frenetically he ’ d be playing ) – have just issued the power-chord-pummeling Smoke & Fiction , what they ’ re ominously billing as ‘ X ’ s final album ,’ to be accompanied a The End Is Near Farewell tour . Punk ’ s genesis ? I was magic , Cervenka adds wistfully . “ And we ’ ll never recapture it , never recapture that magic again . But the thing was , this was before cellphones or the Internet and all that stuff . So there was just this … this MAGIC . .” But there are a few advantages to our current hitech , connected culture , she admits , which is most evident at packed X concerts . “ Because sometimes we will have three generations of fans there – we ’ ll have the grandparents , the parents , AND the kids , and it ’ s awesome . But hey – I ’ m happy anytime anyone ’ s standing in front of me , you know ? As long as there are people there to see us , I ’ m happy .” Tom Lanham who has interviewed the band multiple times since their early days , spoke to the godmother of LA punk , Exene .
Publisher John Vernon
Contributing Editors Curt Baran Tom Lanham Lori Vernon
Design Team Notion Pool Dragon Design Teknigram Graphics
Calendar Editor Aubrey Vernon
Classified Advertising David Gedge
Founder Kenneth L . Voss
Publisher Emeritis
David Roberts Publisher John Vernon
4 illinoisentertainer . com april 2019 Contributing Editors Curt Baran T L h illinoisentertainer . com october 2024
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
Advertising Sales Scott Assmann Mike Engel
Ad ti i Di t
PAGE 20 : MYLES KENNEDY
File
Exene Cervenka of X .
CinemaScopes
The Joker is back .
Spins
LL Cool , Frank Zappa and Johnny Marr .
Media
WGN ’ s Dean Richards .
Calendar
1450 shows and 3800 bands , it ’ s IE ’ s live music calendar .
File
Heavy Chicago preview .
Classifieds
Music services , musicians and more .
Contributors : Andy Argyrakis , Guy Arnston , Penelope Biver , Patrick Conlan , Deena Dasein , Jaime de ' Medici , Andy Derer , 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 , Steven Kikoen Bruce Pilato , Matthew Pollock , Jason Scales , Kelley Simms , Ed Spinelli , Riley Vernon , Tim Shockley , James Turano
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Follow us online at : facebook . com / ieentertainer instagram : illinoisentertainermagazine Contributors twitter :. com / ie _ entertainer Andy Argyrakis , Guy Arnston , Penelope Biver , Patrick Conlan , Deena Dasein , Jaime de ' Medici , Andy Derer , Jeff Elbel Terrence Flamm Steve Forstneger
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