I knew 2023 was going to be the greatest year of my life so far when I began to hear whispers of a Black Eyes reunion last fall. The band decided to put together an archival zine for the occasion and asked me to contribute a reflective essay about the era and why Black Eyes… Continue reading Reflective Essay in Black Eyes 20th Anniversary Archival Zine
The catalog for Norman W. Long's Calumet in Dub solo exhibition at the Glass Curtain Gallery of Columbia College Chicago has been released! It features a catalog essay I wrote. I'm really grateful to everyone who made this exhibit happen and I'm honored to have been asked to participate. I opened up 2022 with a… Continue reading Norman W. Long’s Calumet in Dub Catalog Essay
"Spring Into Winter" was a perfect title for an incredibly productive Mercury Retrograde Sanity Mixtape Series which yielded 17 one-off tapes for pals and TWO seasonal mixtapes: winter 2023//forces at work and spring 2023//this is the chariot!!!!! Now all this shit is going into a box until I return from the Black Eyes reunion Easter… Continue reading Spring Into Winter: A Mercury Retrograde Sanity Mixtape Series
I documented my first research trip to Northeast Ohio for the book I am writing in my latest Substack newsletter. If you subscribe for free, you'll get an email or two a month updating you on my life and work! I also sent in my book proposal and just finished my first review for Cleveland… Continue reading Forces at Work: On the Road to the Land
I did an EOY newsletter, but only to explore the list form as interruption! It's available through my Substack, which you should subscribe to for free, if you'd like to receive these updates directly to your email. It's a nice way to guarantee things I make with extraordinary care and then launch into the void… Continue reading 2022: AGAINST THE PRESS CYCLE, AGAINST THE RELEASE CYCLE, WE STAND UNCOMPROMISING IN THE SERVICE OF AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT WITH MEDIA
I got to interview kranky co-founder, Bruce Adams, about his new book and some of his favorite music from the label and otherwise. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to Bruce about his new book, how capitalism and social media are ruining everything, and the strange and depressing end of an era we seem to be at… Continue reading Bruce Adams Big Ups
Concluding the second year of my Seasonal Mixtape Series, it's finally here: fall 2022//no autumn leaves. You may notice this sounds a lot better than every other tape in the series so far; that is because I switched to a double cassette set format in order to still bring you a thrilling two hour narrative… Continue reading Fall 2022//no autumn leaves
Honestly, I think I should conduct more interviews on a hike through black oak savannas at dusk in late September. This was the most pleasure I've ever had listening back to an interview. Mike Weis is possibly the most inspiring person I know, in addition to being my favorite living percussionist. Writing this article changed… Continue reading Mike Weis Takes the Long Road to Pure Sound
I put the Land on the Bandcamp front page again, talking about the self-titled debut album by Cleveland garage rock institution, New Salem Witch Hunters. Crank that shit. Sorry, not sorry, WMMS!!!! It’s also about how it’s really challenging for bands to try to exist in Cleveland, which seems to be a central force in… Continue reading New Salem Witch Hunters Kept Garage Rock Regional and Obscure
Always a good day when I get to invoke Carl Sandburg, honestly! Nick Macri personifies everything that makes me love the artistic culture of this city and feel proud to be a part of it and this week I gave him the 🏆 Bandcamp Grammy Treatment 🏆. Check in with what he has been doing largely… Continue reading Nick Macri Embodies the Spirit of Chicago’s Creative Community
COME AWAY WITH EMD 