“My Path Was Just Sort of Chosen for Me”–A Chat with Brian Westfall of Rare Birds Musical Oddities
Today I’m delighted to be in conversation with Brian Westfall. Brian is the proprietor of the shop Rare Birds Musical Oddities. (You can stream our chat via the embed here, on Anchor, or pretty much anywhere else you… Read More
The Joke About Josh Groban
When I was 23 and working my first big-girl job in Chicago, I split my time in the office between two departments. I worked in the department I had applied to be in (the department I wanted to… Read More
Tim Hecker’s Harmony in Ultraviolet
January is secretly my favorite time for listening to music. I mean, I’m exaggerating a bit. I’m always listening to music, and there’s no bad time to listen to music, ever. But over the past thirteen years that… Read More
Peach Buzz: Guide to Rogers Park
Back in 2015, when my boyfriend and I were planning on moving out of our apartment in Lakeview and we were going to be looking at a new place we hoped to sign a lease on in Rogers… Read More
Peach Buzz: The Best Hair Stylist in Chicago
For almost as long as I can remember, I’ve Done Stuff to my hair. I got my first perm in something like first or second grade (which seems insane to me now—all those chemicals!); I got my last… Read More
Good Luck: Street Life in the City of Chicago
I. Leaving my office for a quick walk to get some fresh air and clear my head after lunch, I eschew my usual path, heading east on busy Chicago Avenue rather than north up relatively quiet Franklin. I… Read More
My Road Trip Religion
I am an extremely impatient person. Oh sure, I pay lip service to the importance of process, to letting life and art and healing unfold in their own magical timing. But like so many things I believe in… Read More
What Bono Taught Me About Mesmerizing an Audience
I’ve never considered myself the biggest fan of the band U2. I mean, I’ve always liked them well enough—the big hits never fail to get my blood pumping when I hear them on the radio—but I think I’ve… Read More
Peach Buzz: Best Places to Pee in the City of Chicago
One of the things I’ve always found most romantic about truly knowing a city is one’s ease with the mundane. Where you go grocery shopping. Where you get your hair cut. What deli has the shortest lines and… Read More
The End of an Era: Goodbye to Lincoln Square
I often like to boast about how infrequently I’ve moved during my life. There was the house in Indiana I grew up in. The same dorm room for all four years of college. And just three apartments during… Read More
Pet Theories Recording Diary–Day 2
Well, it’s definitely not an important large-scale creative endeavor if there’s not one major oh shit moment! After tracking vocals all morning and into the early afternoon on Sunday, my band Pet Theories and our audio engineer Kevin… Read More
Pet Theories Recording Diary–Day 1
With one full day of recording behind us, we’re elated, and exhausted. As I said close to the end of today’s session, I don’t know how bands who hate each other get through this process in one piece…. Read More
