Interviews
Talking with Dwayne Kennedy about life, comedy and his new album
Dwayne Kennedy is both a local Chicago comedian and a national celebrity. He’s an influential voice when it comes to social and political issues, but he also enjoys silliness. In 2016, he released his first album, although he’s been a successful stand-up for thirty years. He has things to say that might be uncomfortable to […]
Talking with Lola Balatro about its secrets and the Night of Unrelenting Splendor
Every so often you listen to an album and then and there you’re committed for life. It’s happened for me a handful of times. Earliest on, it was The Jackson Five’s Third Album. Then came Carole King’s Tapestry, Earth Wind and Fire’s All ‘N All, Heart’s Dreamboat Annie, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, Nirvana’s Unplugged, Hole’s Live […]
A conversation with Adam Quesnell: Despair is the funniest demon
Thank the comedy gods for the timely Chicago appearance of Adam Quesnell. Never have we so badly needed to laugh at despair, to mock it and declare it vanquishable. If you agree, and these days who doesn’t, you’ll want to see Adam when he headlines Black Box Comedy at the WIP Theater this weekend. The […]
A Q&A with Dobie Maxwell: Bank robberies and car wrecks are no match for comedy
Upside-down in his crumpled Mustang convertible in the dead of a rain-slicked night, Dobie Maxwell had one question. “What’s funny about this?” How do you develop the kishkes to ask that question when you’re possibly about to die? You can find out next week when Eckhartz Press releases Dobie’s long-anticipated memoirs, Monkey in the Middle. […]
I talked with AJ Lubecker about Funked Up Friday and now I want to party!
AJ is not Anthony James or Andrew John. There’s nothing ordinary or predictable about AJ Lubecker. “It stands for Austin Jack,” he explains. “Whenever I tell people that, they’re like oh my god, that’s the coolest. But I go by AJ. My parents called me AJ before I could talk. That’s always been my name […]
Getting personal with Mike Cronin
“I like you guys. I’m going to tell you something a little personal,” Mike Cronin says towards the end of his album, Hot for Too Long. The statement got a huge, extended laugh. Mike’s set was already personal, a lot personal, and in the best way: in a no-fear, we’re friends, I can tell you […]
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