Jonah Nink

The singles "Sports" and "Prom Queen" from local rock band Beach Bunny came out in 2018. Suburban music lovers might be surprised to hear that the songs, which both boast more than 100 million plays on Spotify, were recorded at Mount Prospect's Lubeck Studios -- a growing music business in a spot with humble origins. "The building was built by my dad in 1964. It was a car wash," said Lubeck Studios CEO Scott Lubeck. "It was a car wash I worked in when I was 10." It remained a car wash until t

BEST MOVE’S KRIS ANAYA — can’t help but be nervous for the band’s appearance at South by Southwest, but not for the reasons you’d expect. “I’m not looking forward to the drive,” Anaya says. Held in Austin, Texas, the music and film festival is quite a drive for the California-based indie trio. Best Move attended the festival in video form last year. “I’m trying to do research about historical events while on the way there so we can stop,” he explains. To Anaya, a long drive is more palatable wi

OPENING ACTS DESERVE MORE LOVE - They should be the reason you get to a show early, and never the excuse for arriving late. Those who choose to skip them miss out on some truly great acts, like Nashville and New York-based indie rock artist Annie DiRusso. DiRusso, who has steadily built her following through regular live performances and social media via TikTok over the past few years, nearly stole the show outright during her appearance in support of Samia at Chicago’s Thalia Hall this past Su

Welcome to ComedyNerd, Cracked's daily comedy Superstation. For more ComedyNerd content, and ongoing coverage of the Kiwi-caused Iran/Contra Affair, please sign up for the ComedyNerd newsletter below. Get More Comedy: Sign up for ComedyNerd The ComedyNerd newsletter is your weekly look at the world of stand up, sketch, and more. Sign up now! What is it with New Zealand? Two decades ago it seemed like their only export was hobbits and sheep, but now they’ve just about conquered every corner of

Holiday films like “Home Alone” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” have used the Chicago suburbs as a backdrop for years, but few take advantage of the area’s unique vibe better than “8-Bit Christmas.” Written by Batavia native Kevin Jakubowski, the film follows Jake Doyle, played by Neil Patrick Harris, as he recounts a childhood Christmas season spent trying to secure a Nintendo Entertainment System, a journey that takes him across an 80s-flavored Chicagoland. “You write what you kn

LUNA: Tell us about the new release, Music Saved My Life. I know you had a unique process of putting it together. MOODS: It started with just a simple idea; what if I could bring a band together in one space and have the demos that I made replayed live. The whole idea of this record is that we should do a live album, get a band together and see what happens. LUNA: Like a traditional live album, just without the crowd? MOODS: We had eight songs, and we had four takes maximum for each song. We

"Hearing this story contextualizes the track as not about when cycles break, but rather the moment right before they do so; those fleeting final seconds of stability before a seismic shift."

Minor Moon mastermind Sam Cantor understands the importance of keeping up momentum. With three new singles released this month and his third LP Tethers set for release March 26th, the Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist has remained prolific, even during the pandemic.

A wiry, purple-eyed demon tumbles out of a rusty pipe and into a ravine. Lightning strikes, revealing two ominous silhouetted figures looming in the background. Slowly the demon turns around, its lip quivering in abject terror.

Cleveland-based punk outfit Biitchseat are back with a new single, “Anti-Depressed.” The song is one of four from the band’s new EP “I’ll become kind.” which is set for release on all platforms March 5th.

Writing and producing a feature-length video essay on the now infamous 2019 film adaption of the long-running Broadway musical Cats may seem like a cry for help to some, but to Lindsay Ellis, it’s just another day at the office. The Hugo Award-nominated media critic has made a living out of analyzing pop culture, whether it be through the many video essays on her popular YouTube channel, which has covered everything from Mel Brooks’s The Producers to Michael Bay’s Transformers, or as the host of

Director Derrick Borte’s visceral new drama American Dreamer focuses on a day in the life of Cam, a former office worker turned downtrodden rideshare driver. When he’s not being ignored by his passengers or getting stiffed on tips, Cam moonlights as a chauffeur for Mazz, a hotheaded drug dealer with a knack for pointing handguns at people’s faces. Out of options and desperate for cash, Cam decides to kidnap Mazz’s young son in a last ditch effort to pull himself out of his debts. Did I mention

Listening to ROOKIE’s new self-titled debut album, which is now available on all platforms, is like sneaking a look through your dad’s old vinyl collection on a Sunday evening after he’s fallen asleep on the couch watching Back to the Future, and I mean that in the best possible way. The Chicago-based rock group’s songs sound refreshingly new and original while simultaneously feeling like they would be right at home lovingly tucked in between a couple of Bob Seger and Allman Brothers records. M

16. Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez – Gorillaz Damon Albarn’s latest Gorillaz project may very well foreshadow the future of music releases. Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez is a collection of 17 singles released over the course of 2020 that see Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn collaborating with an astonishing variety of artists ranging from JPEGMAFIA to St. Vincent to Joy Division and New Order bass wizard Peter Hook. While Albarn may be taking on an impressive array of musical styles and collaborators, the songs are still uniform in their superb quality. Tracks like “Aries,” “The Pink Phantom,” “Chalk Tablet Towers” and “The Last Chord” will be in my personal Gorillaz rotation for years to come. I was admittedly a little underwhelmed by Humanz and The Now Now, but Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez reaffirms Gorillaz’s venerable place as one of the best projects of the past two decades.

ST. CHARLES – If you find yourself walking the streets of St. Charles this summer, you might happen to cross paths with a wooden display showcasing a poem or two. If this scenario sounds familiar, then you may have encountered The Fox Poetry Box, St. Charles's newest – and likely smallest – outdoor poetry venue. The box can be found right in the front yard of its owner, Tricia Whitworth. The inspiration for it came to Whitworth one night while on a walk, when she spotted a little glowing box on

ST. CHARLES – As the Christmas season comes to a close, you may find yourself worrying about how you’re going to pass the time once the entertainment void that is January rolls around. Well, fear not, because St. Charles’s own Steel Beam Theatre has your back with its new show, “Random Theft and Other Acts.” The show follows three suburbanites who get a little bit more than they bargained for when they dip their feet into the world of crime during the 2008 recession. Helmed by director Marge U

Looking for a great way to begin the holiday season? Like live music? If this sounds like you, then check out the Fox Valley Concert Band’s Home for the Holidays concert at 3 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Norris Center, 1050 Dunham Road, St. Charles. Admission is free. The Fox Valley Concert Band is an all-volunteer, nonprofit concert band that performs year-round. The band has been around since 1983 and has grown to include 75 members from more than 30 communities in the Chicago suburbs, according to it