The final Bandcamp Friday of the year arrives December 2. I’ve made a habit of rounding up music recommendations from recent Reader stories for each Bandcamp Friday, and since this is the 26th one, I hope it’s redundant to explain that for a 24-hour period, Bandcamp passes along its usual share of sales revenue to the independent artists and labels selling their wares on the platform. 

Because the Reader covers a lot of independent artists who use Bandcamp, these Fridays have presented me with the opportunity to remind our readers of the great writing we’ve recently published. Bandcamp has yet to announce any Bandcamp Friday dates beyond this one, but if it does, I might get off the bus—that is, I don’t know if these roundups are still necessary after more than two and a half years. I can tell you about the Reader’s music coverage in plenty of other ways, and Bandcamp certainly doesn’t need my help reminding people it exists. 

Without further ado, then, here’s my last Bandcamp Friday roundup of 2022, if not my last ever. My roundup for November includes a link to the previous month’s list, and you can follow that to get to all my other roundups. Happy listening!

Marisa Anderson, Still, Here

Black Cross Hotel, Hex

Brakence, “Fifthenigma” and “Fuckboy”

Brutus, Unison Life

Edith Judith, Bones and Structure

Elder, Innate Passage

Field Medic, Grow Your Hair Long If You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change

Ben LaMar Gay, Certain Reveries

Gilgamanians, Escape From Dark Matter

Late Nite Laundry, Late Nite Laundry

Maku Sica, Formless

Meat Wave, Malign Hex

Nour Mobarak, Father Fugue

Matt Muse featuring theMIND, “Rapport”

The O’My’s, Building Blocks andNo Swimming

The Opus, Earthwalkers

Orisun, Viscera!

Danielle Ponder, Some of Us Are Brave

Rubberoom, Architechnology and Gothic Architecture 

Smut, How the Light Felt

Special Interest, Endure

Sweet Cobra, Threes

Temp., Taking Notes

Tenci, A Swollen River, a Well Overflowing

They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Lucky Styles

Da Wei Wang and Tatsu Aoki, Yes Strings Attached

Read More

Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

Read More

The final Bandcamp Friday of the year arrives December 2. I’ve made a habit of rounding up music recommendations from recent Reader stories for each Bandcamp Friday, and since this is the 26th one, I hope it’s redundant to explain that for a 24-hour period, Bandcamp passes along its usual share of sales revenue to the independent artists and labels selling their wares on the platform. 

Because the Reader covers a lot of independent artists who use Bandcamp, these Fridays have presented me with the opportunity to remind our readers of the great writing we’ve recently published. Bandcamp has yet to announce any Bandcamp Friday dates beyond this one, but if it does, I might get off the bus—that is, I don’t know if these roundups are still necessary after more than two and a half years. I can tell you about the Reader’s music coverage in plenty of other ways, and Bandcamp certainly doesn’t need my help reminding people it exists. 

Without further ado, then, here’s my last Bandcamp Friday roundup of 2022, if not my last ever. My roundup for November includes a link to the previous month’s list, and you can follow that to get to all my other roundups. Happy listening!

Marisa Anderson, Still, Here

Black Cross Hotel, Hex

Brakence, “Fifthenigma” and “Fuckboy”

Brutus, Unison Life

Edith Judith, Bones and Structure

Elder, Innate Passage

Field Medic, Grow Your Hair Long If You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change

Ben LaMar Gay, Certain Reveries

Gilgamanians, Escape From Dark Matter

Late Nite Laundry, Late Nite Laundry

Maku Sica, Formless

Meat Wave, Malign Hex

Nour Mobarak, Father Fugue

Matt Muse featuring theMIND, “Rapport”

The O’My’s, Building Blocks andNo Swimming

The Opus, Earthwalkers

Orisun, Viscera!

Danielle Ponder, Some of Us Are Brave

Rubberoom, Architechnology and Gothic Architecture 

Smut, How the Light Felt

Special Interest, Endure

Sweet Cobra, Threes

Temp., Taking Notes

Tenci, A Swollen River, a Well Overflowing

They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Lucky Styles

Da Wei Wang and Tatsu Aoki, Yes Strings Attached

Read More

Sixteen years ago, Michael Columbia were one of Chicago’s most compelling bands, combining smooth jazz, twitchy progressive rock, the occasional wacky time signature, and sometimes even a pop-adjacent melody. Dave McDonnell (saxophone, keyboards, bass, vocals) and Dylan Ryan (drums) were cozy with several groups linked to local label Obey Your Brain and South Loop recording studio Shape Shoppe, including Icy Demons and Bablicon—and all of them enriched the world’s weirdo-rock quotient. Chris Kalis (guitar, synthesizers), who’d cofounded Chandeliers in 2005, joined the duo of McDonnell and Ryan the following year—after the recording of Stay Hard, to date the final Michael Columbia release. The band played the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2009 and broke up that summer, when McDonnell left town for Cincinnati (he now lives in Philadelphia) and Ryan split for Los Angeles. For a while they continued working together remotely, but that tailed off in 2010. After a 12-year hiatus, though, Michael Columbia are back. “The band will be recording at Jamdek studios and finishing a record of material that has been on the shelves for over a decade,” Kalis says. They’ll also reunite for a show at Co-Prosperity on Saturday, December 3, which will be livestreamed on Lumpen.TV; Oui Ennui headlines, and Courtesy and Chelsea Bridge open. Welcome back, fellas! 

Michael Columbia are rerecording this track for their upcoming album.

This Michael Columbia track, which appeared posthumously on a 2011 compilation, will also get redone.

In August, Gossip Wolf caught a set by local indie-rock quartet Shoulderbird at Golden Dagger, where the mellow, jazz-tinged phrasing of guitarist and vocalist Meredith Nesbitt made an immediate impression—as did her crackerjack band, which consists of guitarist Kyle Paul, bassist Miles Allen, and drummer Lily Finnegan. In November, Shoulderbird released the mini album Parade via Bandcamp, and its five songs are even better than this wolf remembered. They glisten with warm, spacious reverb and more than a touch of soulful Americana.

Guitarist and vocalist Meredith Nesbitt wrote all the material on Parade.

Local culture outlet These Days has been on this wolf’s reading list for years. Its twice-yearly feature “Chicago Artists to Watch” is always a must-read, and the fall/winter 2022 iteration came out in November. To celebrate, These Days will host two consecutive Schubas concerts featuring acts covered in this year’s two “Artists to Watch” roundups. Fingy, Godly the Ruler, and Cece Maravilla perform on Thursday, December 1; Pretty Liyah, CP, and Semiratruth hit the stage on Thursday, December 2. Tickets are $15 per night or $25 for both. The shows are 18 and up and begin at 8 PM.

These Days’ promo video for “Chicago Artists to Watch,” shot and edited by Audiotree Media

Read More

Read More

The Chicago White Sox began with their offseason plans on Monday as the team finalized a one-year deal with free-agent starting pitcher Mike Clevinger worth $12 million.

The deal has yet to be officially announced by the team as Clevinger still needs to complete a physical but the move is questionable at best for a team that is looking for significant improvement to their starting rotation this offseason.

Entering the offseason with Johnny Cueto being a free agent and uncertainty surrounding the health of Michael Kopech and the future of Lucas Giolito, the White Sox had several question marks in their rotation that needed to be addressed.

For the Sox, they believe that Clevinger will be their answer. Here is the thing about that thought, it is wrong. After missing the entire 2021 season while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Clevinger returned to the mound for the San Diego Padres in 2022.

He was not the same top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher that the team thought they were acquiring from the Cleveland Guardians in 2020.

Mike Clevinger is not the answer to the Chicago White Sox’s current needs.

In a tick over 114 innings pitched last season, Clevinger posted a 4.33 ERA but his FIP of 4.98 truly indicates the struggles he had with the Padres.

Furthermore, Clevinger’s average fastball velocity was down by nearly two mph last season in comparison to 2020.

Coupling the regression in velocity along with Clevinger’s strikeouts per 9 innings dropping from 8.6 in 2020 to 7.16 in 2022 and the White Sox have some work to do if they want Clevinger to return to finding success at the Major League level.

Especially when you consider the lack of competent fielding that will be backing up Clevinger when he is on the mound.

The White Sox are not getting the Clevinger that dominated the American League Central division when he was with the Guardians for the first five seasons of his career. The White Sox are getting a Clevinger that is broken and will only add to the question marks of their rotation.

For a team that is claiming to be strapped for cash this offseason, spending $12 million on a reclamation project in Clevinger is not smart business.

Unfortunately, Clevinger can not be depended on to be a competent starting pitcher at this point in his career. A much cheaper alternative for the White Sox, and likely more effective, would have been to re-sign Cueto.

Read More

A skilled worker in the manufacturing industry can anticipate a lifetime of financial stability in a vibrant, in-demand field. But for many, getting the necessary training and education to launch a career in the trades can be daunting, and even cost prohibitive. The folks at Jane Addams Resource Center know there’s no time like the present to take your career—and your life—by the reins. 

Founded in 1985, as an economic development agency focused on preserving manufacturing jobs in and around the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor, Jane Addams Resource Center (JARC) has blossomed into one of Chicago’s most vital resources for unemployed and low-income workers seeking careers in the trades. 

JARC operates under the guiding principles that people who work should not live in poverty, and that focusing on careers can lead to lasting, substantive change. At their three locations in Austin, Ravenswood, and Chatham, they’ve provided free job training programs for thousands of Chicagoans, empowering them to transform their lives and support their families through well-paying jobs while helping to fill a void of highly skilled workers in the U.S. manufacturing space.

As a 501c3 nonprofit, JARC is mission driven, focused on alleviating poverty in Chicago and promoting gainful paths to employment that lead to family sustaining wages. During this season of giving you can support JARC by making a contribution on 11/29 for Giving Tuesday.

Getting started on a brand-new career path with JARC’s job training program is as easy as registering for one of the weekly application sessions, which are held in person on the first Wednesday of each month, and virtually every Wednesday in between. Applicants can choose between several different programs focusing on in-demand skills, which currently include: Manufacturing Bridge Program, Fundamentals of Manufacturing, Mechanical Assembly, CNC Operating, and Welding. (Courses run anywhere from ten to 20 weeks.) Rather than a traditional classroom setting with long lectures and copious amounts of homework, JARC’s training programs simulate a manufacturing workplace environment, adhering to strict attendance and safety protocols, while prioritizing peer learning, teamwork, and leadership development through hands-on, project-based lessons. 

JARC applies a holistic lens when working with students; this approach better addresses their needs beyond career training and education alone. Trainees can tap into an array of support services, such as financial education and coaching, legal aid, and help with applying for Medicaid, and other public benefits. These services are also available at no cost, and students may be eligible for further assistance, such as prepaid public transit cards to offset the cost of commuting to class or funds to help pay for costly but necessary safety gear.

As JARC students prepare to complete their programs and transition into their new professions, they can utilize the center’s resume-writing services, mock interviews, and job-placement opportunities.In fact, some students are able to find employment through JARC before they even finish their studies. 

So whether you’re launching your career for the first time, seeking a change, returning to the workforce, or interested in improving your English language and math skills while learning a lucrative, exciting trade, JARC could be the place for you. 

Support JARC for Giving Tuesday today. Visit JARC online at www.jane-addams.org today to learn more about its programs and sign up for a Wednesday application session. 

This content is sponsored by Jane Addams Resource Corporation.

Read More