OWNER, RED RYDER AGENCY
PRESIDENT, DRAG CITY RECORDS
MUSIC CRITIC, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
POP & ROCK BUYER FOR TOWER
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.
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| Who rocks the music world in Chicago 1999 | BACK | |
| Nos. 28-36 | MUSIC 45 HOME | |
| 28 TORTOISE | ||
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Sure, maybe your average Dave Matthews fan doesn't have a clue who the quartet of McEntire, McCombs, Herndon and Bitney are. That's not important, because Tortoise's influence on the world of music remains resounding, even if it's not rock. Since "TNT," the band's fourth full length record, the buzz just hasn't stopped. After spending nearly half a year touring Europe and Japan, Tortoise still found time to record an album with the Netherlands' The Ex, and there are side projects galore. But the bottom line? Read the music press, and you'll find Tortoise conspicuously mentioned among the likes of Eno, Einsturzende and Can. Capable company indeed.
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29
ERIC SELZ
OWNER, RED RYDER AGENCY |
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The smallest of the booking agencies in town, but the one with perhaps the single largest band: the Squirrel Nut Zippers. And as if the Zippers, plus the Loud Family, North Mississippi Allstars and new client Bio Ritmo, aren't enough to keep Selz' 7-year-old Red Ryder afloat, he just undertook yet another task: Selz now not only books, but also manages the Squirrel Nut Zippers.
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30
DAN KORETZKY
PRESIDENT, DRAG CITY RECORDS |
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It was a satisfying year for all the purists who spent the nineties crying "sell out": After two dismal major-label releases, Royal Trux returned to their indie rock roots with "Accelerator," their fifth record for Drag City. It was a pretty satisfying year for the decade-old label in general. Although cornerstone band Gastr del Sol broke up, disbanding their Dexter's Cigar label at the same time, members Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs released high-profile solo projects and brought Koretzky two new labels (Moikai and Blue Chopsticks, respectively) to manufacture and distribute. Then there was the debut of Plush, the signing of US Maple, records by Edith Frost and Smog, five records within the Red Krayola fold and the release of the label's bestselling disc of the year: Stereolab's "Aluminum Tunes."
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31
GREG KOT
MUSIC CRITIC, CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
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Trib music scribe Greg Kot gets more respect than any other local critic by sheer name exposure alone. Hardly an issue of Rolling Stone goes by without a Kot-penned contribution. Kot, along with a gaggle of other Trib critics, recently snagged a shiny Lisagor journalism award for "Through the Eyes of a Critic," first-person looks at the arts-review process. With the Trib muscle behind him, Kot has clout.
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| 32 KOKO TAYLOR | ||
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Sure it's been thirty years since Taylor released "Wang Dang Doodle," and her nightclub never made it past infancy. But this second generation blues diva and Chess star of the sixties remains on the Music 45 for one reason: Hardware. Her fourteen W. C. Handy Awards (a blues-only award) and five Grammys make her the most decorated female blues singer ever.
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| 33 RAMSEY LEWIS | ||
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Even though his last Gold record was in 1975 ("Sun Goddess"), jazz pianist Lewis could make this list by virtue of the hardware alone: three Grammys and eight Gold Records, mostly collected during the sixties and early seventies. But Lewis doesn't rest on his laurels, hosting a radio show on WNUA that's picked up by ten cities (including Chicago) and even having his own television show on B.E.T., "Ramsey Lewis' Sound and Style." While the hits that made him ("The In Crowd," "Hang on Sloopy") are more than thirty years old, Lewis continues to contribute.
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| 34 JON LANGFORD | ||
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If Chicago could vote for a city renaissance man, Langford would most certainly be on the ballot. Musician, painter, comic artist - if the man could hit a baseball, we'd knight him. With seventeen years of the Mekons under his belt, as well as some moderately successful other bands (Jon Langford's Skull Orchard, Waco Brothers), Langford's plate is always full.
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| 35 BRIAN WILSON | ||
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No, this Beach Boy doesn't live in California anymore. He lives in St. Charles, and he did when he released 1998's "Imagination," a solo record boasting help from Jimmy Buffett and Joe Thomas. He even played his first solo concert ever last year, pulling in 1,300 fans at the Norris Cultural Center. And though perhaps Wilson's glory days are long gone, as the genius behind the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and the man about whom Spin magazine once said "If you're not a Brian Wilson fan, you're not a music fan," he deserves the recognition.
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36
MARK ANTHONY
POP & ROCK BUYER FOR TOWER |
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It's hard to argue with continued success. The Tower Books and Records on Clark Street in Lincoln Park, a cavernous circus of all things melodic, sells more music than any store in Chicago, and ranks as the fifth largest seller in the country. Hands down, one of the coolest jobs in Chicago.
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copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc. |