Illinois Entertainer September 2020 | Page 4

September 2020 • Volume 46, Number 10 • www.illinoisentertainer.com COVER STORY: THE BOBBY LEES Sam Quartin, who fronts a fiery little New York garage-punk quartet called The Bobby Lees, while also moonlighting as an in-demand film actress — is The Next Big Thing for 2020. No Nostradamus prognostication involved, really. It’s already happened — we’re just delivering the necessary memo to hit ‘Play’ on her band’s new sophomore album Skin Suit, produced in high lofi style by none other than Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion renown, is to time-warp back to 1977 at exhilarating speed. Backed by three young retrominded rockers (bassist Kendall Wind, guitarist Nick Casa, and drummer Macky Bowman), Quartin, 25, lets her voice twist, shape-shift, and often violently shudder across their sinewy, scratchy riffs. Tom Lanham spoke to Quartin. Page 22 - The Bobby Lees 8 HELLO MY NAME IS IAN GILLAN Ian Gillan admits that it’s a strange, surreal time to be releasing a new album. But the Deep Purple vocalist was justifiably proud of his band’s latest Whoosh! comeback, overseen by legendary, sound-effectsfavoring producer Bob Ezrin, of Alice Cooper and Kiss Destroyer renown. “And Bob is the same age as us,” notes Gillan, who will turn 75 on August 19. “And he’s based in Toronto and in Nashville — he has a house in both places.” His name was suggested by the band’s Hamburgbased A&R rep, who introduced them, and then watched the sparks fly. “Bob said, ‘I’d love to do this project, but I don’t just ant to record songs by you — my focus is to capture what you do onstage, as you did in the 1970’s and as you still do now, because when you start improvising and jamming, that’s when it becomes electric in the concert hall. And if you want to do that? I’m your man.’ So we accepted him, and he was like a conductor — since he’s also a classically trained pianist — and we responded very well to that.” Eerily enough, much of the material they conjured up together falls in dark thematic line with the current pandemic that’s shaken the Earth to its core. Tom Lanham spoke to the Deep Purple legend. File Our interview with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan. Cinemascopes Theatres are reopening with social distancing. Media London Calling. Spins Ditchwater, Depeche Mode and more. 6 14 16 24 20 DAUGHTRY Former American Idol contestant and rocker Chris Daughtry is embarking on a 19-date “virtual tour” through September. On his Live From Home tour, Daughtry will host 19 acoustic performances, streamed live from a venue in Nashville, and broadcasted to fans across the United States. Each show will feature a unique setlist, a Q&A session, song requests, and special surprises. Apercentage of the ticket proceeds from each respective city venue host website goes directly to the venue, which included Park West in Chicago for Daughtry’s August show. “We really wanted to figure out a way to engage with these venues that are really suffering right now, along with a lot of small businesses and a lot of independent businesses,” Daughtry said. “We know how important they are to the community. We know how important they were to us and to all musicians, and we want to see them continue to thrive and stay in business during these difficult times.” Kelley Simms spoke to Daughtry. Page 20 - Daughtry 4 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 illinoisentertainer.com september 2020 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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