New CVU Podcasts: William Beckett (The Academy Is) and Danny Stevens (The Audition)!

Up now — two new ChicagoVerseUniteD podcasts for the weekend, featuring talent performing tonight at Reggie’s Rock Club!

The Academy Is... frontman William Beckett and The Audition frontman Danny Stevens both hit Reggie’s Rock Club tonight, with both singers turning in special solo performances. In an A Side and B Side set of podcasts, Beckett and Stevens discuss what to expect from tonight’s performance, how 2009 has treated both acts, and what’s coming up for both The Academy Is… and The Audition in 2010.

ALSO: don’t miss William Beckett with Mat Devine for the Kill Hannah frontman’s Fuse TV live Q&A feature, The Raccoon Society, happening today from noon-1:30 at Angels & Kings!

CVU18A: William Beckett (The Academy Is…)

CVU18B: Danny Stevens (The Audition)

(Note: As MySpace has devoured Imeem, podcasts are back to YouSendIt links just for the time being. I should have my own MP3 files hosted at this site by next week)

New CVU Podcast with Hey Champ!

The ChicagoVerseUniteD podcast returns this week, with two new episodes, featuring interviews with Chicago’s indie synth sensation Hey Champ (here) and local rock’n'roll graphic designer Dan Polyak (see post below)!

Hey Champ hang out.

On this week’s show, the members of Hey Champ talk about their new remix and production mixtape, Winner’s Circle, playing in Brazil, and the status of the band’s anticipated debut record, Star. And check out Hey Champ live, this Thursday (Dec. 17th) headlining Lincoln Square, and Saturday, with Kill Hannah at Metro for New Heart For X-Mas VII!

CVU17: Hey Champ (Note: As MySpace has devoured Imeem, podcasts are back to YouSendIt links just for the time being. I should have my own MP3 files hosted at this site by next week)

Go here to download Winner’s Circle, or stream from the playlist below!

New CVU Podcast with Dan Polyak of Dan Polyak Designs!

The ChicagoVerseUniteD podcast returns this week, with two new episodes, featuring interviews with Chicago’s indie synth sensation Hey Champ (above) and local rock’n'roll graphic designer Dan Polyak (below)!

Dan Polyak is quickly becoming known throughout the local music scene for his design work for artists ranging from The Sounds to Cobra Starship, as well as local talent like A Kidnap In Color. In this week’s CVU podcast, Dan talks about designing for local and established artists, his beginnings with graphic design, and his new website, Dan Polyak Designs dot com.

CVU16: Dan Polyak (Note: As MySpace has devoured Imeem, podcasts are back to YouSendIt links just for the time being. I should have my own MP3 files hosted at this site by next week.)

Podcasting This Wednesday @ Clayton Hauck’s Just Desserts!

This Wednesday, Dec. 16th, I’ll be conducting interviews for ChicagoVerseUniteD at Clayton Hauck’s brand new nightlife monthly, Just Desserts!

The 18+ event happens at Lincoln Hall and kicks off at 9pm! Admission is free before 10, $3 w/ RSVP, and only $5 without! Check out the flyer below for more details, scope out the Facebook event page, and check back here soon for podcast interviews from Just Desserts #2!

This Sunday on Local 101: Rise Against, Kill Hannah, and AM Taxi!

This Sunday, December 13th, on Q101’s Local 101: Rise Against, Kill Hannah, and AM Taxi!

This Sunday night, on Q101’s Local 101: Tim McIlrath, vocalist for one of Chicago’s most successful bands of the last decade, phones in to talk about Rise Against’s upcoming performance December 18th at The Metro, where the group will play from its independent efforts The Unraveling and Revolutions Per Minute. The frontman also looks towards Rise Against’s forthcoming headlining stint for Q101’s Twisted festival, happening Thursday, December 17th at House Of Blues. Both the band’s Twisted performance and its Fat Wreck Chords throwback show are now sold out. Look for a review of Rise Against’s Metro show, as well as a print interview with the band, later this month at IllinoisEntertainer.com, by Local 101 producer Jaime “Black” de’Medici.

Also this Sunday on Local 101: Chicago’s most tenacious group, Kill Hannah, return to the program in advance of the band’s annual New Heart For X-Mas event, now in its seventh year! The event happens over two nights, December 18th at Reggie’s, where the group will perform from its acclaimed indie effort American Jet Set, and December 19th at Kill Hannah’s adopted home, the Metro. Look for a print interview and feature with the band in next month’s Illinois Entertainer print edition, also by Jaime Black.

Finally, rising stars AM Taxi call in to this Sunday’s program, before the band’s appearance opening for Rise Against this month at Q101’s Twisted!

Local 101 is hosted by Chris Payne and produced/booked by Jaime Black, and airs every Sunday night at 9pm on Chicago’s Alternative, Q101. Local 101 streams live at Q101.com, and can be found online at MySpace and Twitter.

Brilliant.

So, in the interim until going up in iTunes, I was hosting my ChicagoVerseUniteD podcast over at imeem. Unfortunately, MySpace has shut imeem down, after the long-dead social networking wasteland acquired the streaming audio site. So – for now, my podcast is without a home. If anything, this is more motivation to move ahead and get in iTunes.

This Week On Local 101: World Premiere Music From Empires, and Inept Before The Band’s Last Show!

This Sunday night, December 6th, at 9pm on Q101’s Local 101: World premiere music from Chicago’s own Empires, plus Inept come up before the band’s break-up concert!

This Sunday on Local 101: Empires come up to world-premiere the band’s new single, “Bang.” The song is the first in a series of releases the band has scheduled between now and March, with “Bang” set to become available this Tuesday, Dec. 8th, as a free download at weareempires.com.

Check out the preview of “Bang” below!

Also this Sunday: Chris Payne interviews Inept before the band’s final show Dec. 12th at Beat Kitchen, as well as Helicopters, in advance of that band’s headlining show Tues, Dec. 8th at Double Door!

Local 101 is hosted by Chris Payne and produced/booked by Jaime Black, and airs every Sunday night at 9pm on Chicago’s Alternative, Q101. Local 101 streams live at Q101.com, and can be found at MySpace and Twitter, with an interview archive at imeem.

Kid Sister: Feature Interview, Live Review, Free Music!

Now up at Illinois Entertainer: My feature interview with Kid Sister, wherein the Chicago MC explains the reasoning for her debut album Ultraviolet‘s long delay, the results of taking her time in the studio, and the uninspired state of modern pop radio. Read the feature article here and in the December issue of the Entertainer.

And, find my Kid Sis live review, of the artist’s recent House Of Blues show, up now at Illinois Entertainer dot com. Plus: links to free downloadable remixes of material off Ultraviolet in my recent Deep-Bargain Bin column at The A.V. Club Chicago, as well as music from The Hood Internet and more.

New CVU Podcast: FakeShoreDrive!

This week on the ChicagoVerseUniteD audio podcast: Andrew Barber, best known for his highly respected site, FakeShoreDrive!

(CVU Episode 15 in imeem playlist above – Press play to start)

Barber talks about his site FakeShoreDrive.com, and its involvement in programming MTV Jams‘ upcoming Chi Day, featuring videos and content all tied into Chicago’s mainstream and underground hip-hop scenes! Barber also delves into the past, present, and future of Chicago’s hip-hop scene, including what artists to watch out for in the coming weeks, months, and years.

The Jesus Lizard & Company Of Thieves Hit Local 101 This Sunday!

Chicago’s own Company Of Thieves and the reunited Jesus Lizard hit Q101’s Local 101 this Sunday, November 22nd, at 9pm!

Company Of Thieves frontwoman Genevieve Schatz and guitarist Marc Walloch, on the tail end of wrapping up the fourth tour behind the band’s Wind Up Records debut Ordinary Riches, talk with Local 101’s Chris Payne about time on the road, writing and premiering new music, and the band’s life on a major label. The group is approaching the one year anniversary of its time with Wind Up, and plays Logan Square Auditorium Saturday, Nov. 28th.

Also this Sunday, the reunited Jesus Lizard! An underground Chicago noise-rock/post-punk institution in the  late ’80s and throughout the ’90s, the seminary outfit broke up in 1999, but began playing shows again throughout the past year, including an appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Bandleader David Yow talks to Chris Payne this Sunday in advance of the band’s upcoming Metro appearances Friday Nov. 27th and Saturday Nov. 28th. The group was also just announced as headlining Metro on New Years Eve 2009.

Local 101 with Chris Payne airs every Sunday night at 9pm on Chicago’s Q101, and is the station’s longest-running on-air feature. The show can be found on the web at MySpace.com/Local101, Twitter.com/Local101, and Imeem.com/Local101.

Source: http://chicagoverseunited.com

Company Of Thieves perform Outkast’s “Hey Ya” at Chicago’s 44th Ward Dinner Party