Award-winning blues guitarist Colin James to perform at the City Winery Chicago

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

 

Award-winning Canadian blues rock guitarist Colin James had to cut his last U.S. tour short after a car crashed into his scooter in September 2024 following his performance at the Niagara Falls Blues Festival.

Fortunately, he has recovered from his injuries and has returned to the United States for a tour that also features fellow Canadian musicians Matt Andersen and Terra Lightfoot.

They will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at the City Winery Chicago, 200 W. Randolph St., Chicago. 

Tickets are available at citywinery.com/pages/locations/chicago. 

I had the chance to talk to James about the tour.

Q – Great talking to you. Your last U.S. tour was unfortunately cut short after a car crashed into your scooter in September 2024 following your performace at the Niagara Falls Blues Festival.

You spent five days in a New York hospital  and had a compound fracture to his foot/ankle and a broken left wrist that required a cast. 

It was brutal. I had no memory of getting hit.

I had complete amnesia for a few days. I got a phone call from my daughter saying I got hurt.

And I went, what? What do you mean I got hurt?

Q – But hopefully you are doing well these days.   

My left hand was a little numb for a couple of months. I had to play mandolin for a while instead of just because it had shorter frets to navigate.

It's all good now.

Q – Your 21st full-length album, “Chasing The Sun,” was released just before your accident. The second song on the album is “I’m Still Alive.”

The timing of that seems eerie.

I know. I was out for four months and the very first show we did was at the Lyric Theatre in Florida.

I was still limping a little bit. But that didn't last too long.

By the time it came to do my Canadian tour, I was right back in shape. It's a distant memory now, but breaking stuff is a bummer, man.

Q – Yeah, it is kind of weird that you wrote the song before the accident and now you can sing, "I'm Still Alive."

It added a little more importance to the song. 

Q – Your memoir, "Playing the Changes," will be released in September.  Was this just the right time to be working on your memoir?

It was as good of time as any. I've never done anything like this before.

I really enjoyed the process. And I had a really great co-writer to help me who has worked in the publishing industry.

He let me speak in my own voice. It was a really great experience.

My parents were music lovers, but they didn't play. I started going to folk festivals when I was probably 8 or 9 years old.

I got to see so many great musicians, like Elizabeth Cotten and John Hammond and James Cotton. By the time I was 16, I quit school and started playing on street corners.

And I left home when I 16. Through the book, I wanted to show people that no matter where you're from, if you're dedicated to something, you can make it happen.

 

Q – Hopefully people will be inspired after reading your memoir.

I hope so. I'm going to go on the road with my good friend Colin Linden, who produced my last record.

Colin lives in Nashville, but he's a Canadian guitar player who plays with T Bone Burnett these days. He's an old friend and we're going to do a little tour in the fall when the book comes out.

Q – You opened for John Lee Hooker when you were about 16 years old. What did that experience teach you?

When you're that age, you are so brave. I don't know if I'd be that brave now, to jump on a stage like that.

After that, I moved around from place to place. I then opened for Stevie Ray Vaughan.

He came around the next year and got me to open up a couple more shows. That started a friendship.

It was pretty mind blowing to be in your hometown – the same place where I had quit school a number of years ago – to open for him. Stevie was hotter than a pistol at the time.

Q – Do you hope that the fact your are coming back strong after this accident will inspire other people?

I hope so. It just shows that you just have to keep moving, you've got to keep going.

Things can seem pretty bad at times, but you always come out on the other side. 

Q – Despite all the awards – including 8 Juno awards and 31 Maple Blues awards – you have received over the years along with multi-platinum record sales, I understand you still view your career as a work in progress.

Absolutely. I've always considered this job, this wonderful job I have, as something I never want to quit.

I never want to be a retro act. I think there is so much to be discovered and so much to learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hayley and the Crushers frontwoman Hayley Cain talks about band ahead of show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles

Photo credit: Cory Podielski

 

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

 

Ahead of Hayley and the Crushers upcoming show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, the band has released "Jewel Case," the first single off its new album set for release later this year on Kitten Robot Records.

 

“I was inspired by a girl I took to a show once," frontwoman Hayley Cain said in talking about the song. "I turned around for two seconds, and she had consumed enough liquor to get herself sent to the ER by ambulance. I spent the night in that hospital bed next to her while she slept it off, and what struck me was how completely unapologetic she was. She couldn't wait to do it all over again. Everyone has that moment where they say, ‘Yeah, that's the line. I'm not crossing that one again.’ That's what this song is about. That moment.”

Hayley and the Crushers will open for Screeching Weasel along with The Queers at 8 p.m. April 17 at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are available at oshows.com.

I had the chance to talk to Hayley about the upcoming show:

Q – Great to talk to you. Of course, you are touring with Screeching Weasel along with The Queers. You also toured with Screeching Weasel last year. How was that experience?

 

Great. All the guys in Screeching Weasel are incredibly friendly and cool.

 

Jumping up to these bigger shows, opening for iconic pop punk bands, has taught us a lot about owning the stage and making the most of the spectacle. 

 

Sure, we have been humbled a time or two, but the way we see it is this: we've been given this opportunity to do the Crushers on steroids, and so we really do our best to rise to the occasion with even more energy and even some new ridiculous stage moves like our lead guitarist jumping over our bass player.

 

It was funny, because once our bass player (Dr. Cain) was just kneeling down to get a dropped pick, our guitarist (Ryan Deliso), thought that was the cue to jump over him. Surprised that one didn't lead to a pile up! 

 

I mean, when we're all feeding off of each other on stage, firing on all cylinders, anything can happen! There's a point in the set where I throw this big iridescent fan into the audience, and it's been cool to see later at the merch table whoever caught it.

 

It's just one more piece they can take away from the show. Being able to give that to these audiences, while opening for one of my all-time favorite bands, has been an education, a revelation and, well, very surreal at times!

 

Q – I understand that you started playing Screeching Weasel songs when you first started playing the guitar. What attracted you to their music? I know the band is originally from the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights.

 

I loved oldies radio and 50s-60s music growing up, so I think my early slide into Bay Area Lookout-era pop punk and the Ramones was a natural evolution. When I first got into Screeching Weasel through the Lookout catalog, I had no idea they were not from California, which is funny. 

 

I always connected to artists that weren't afraid to be larger than life, and I kind of saw myself as the class clown. Screeching Weasel covered all the bases: danceable, clever, melodic, with a singular point of view, yet didn't take itself too seriously.

 

Q – I am sure you have heard your band's music described in many ways. How would you describe the music of Hayley and the Crushers? 

 

Poolside glitter trash. Just think of all the stuff you'd find at the bottom of the pool after a raging pool party. 

 

Lipstick, lighters, a piece of pizza, confetti, someone's lost shoe. We're a grab bag of everything from every era, a little punk, surf, garage, pop – it's all in the mix.

 

Q – As far as calling yourself the Crushers, is there a meaning behind the name?

 

To crush means to destroy your enemies. It also means to be charmed by someone (to have a crush or infatuation). You do the math!

 

Q – Your husband, Reid Cain, is the band's bass player. I understand after you first met, you joined his country band, Red Eye Junction. Has playing alongside each other brought the both of you even closer together?

 

Yes absolutely. We have always had an incredibly special musical relationship. 

 

I am more poetic and he is more literal. I am obsessed with song structure while he loves to break structure apart and integrate chaos into the mix.

 

We balance each other super well. You have to have both sides of the coin to create something interesting and true.

 

We've found a way to really let each other do what we do well. Plus, we really do get shit done together, averaging about one release a year for every year we've been together!

 

Q – Your husband also had owned a comic store in California as well, correct?

 

Yes, it was called Dr. Cain's Comics in San Luis Obispo, CA. It still exists, just owned by our friend Pat (hi Pat!). He sold it so we could tour more, and then the pandemic happened. 

 

But now live music seems to be coming back and the risk paid off. He's obsessed with comic books and our house is filled with long boxes.

 

Between his comic book addiction and my love of vintage clothes, we are running out of space! 

 

Q  – You also have a podcast, Crusher Talk. What made you want to start the podcast? 

 

 

Crusher Talk is a podcast I put out each Tuesday through my substack channel, Crusher Talk with Hayley. I think it's interesting for most people to witness the "behind the scenes stuff" of being in a band, and I like connecting to my listeners on a deeper level.

 

I also love verbal communication, just chatting with friends really crystalizes my ideas and feelings. I am a writer by trade, so doing a podcast feels like a big reprieve from sitting at a desk diligently writing something "perfect."

 

I can be more freewheeling and spontaneous on a podcast. It all started with my first one, Sparkle and Destroy Podcast, where I interviewed some big names like Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's and Alice Bag (also Ben Weasel!).

 

That one is still up somewhere (updated off and on), and you can find it if you snoop around.

 

Q – I understand the band is working on a new album. What goals do you have for the new album?

 

The goal for the new album was to write with precision and be ruthless about "keeping it simple, stupid." This album has all the heart, just a lot less fat. 

 

I challenged myself to write with a sense of urgency and to lean into clean power pop hooks. Our last album, "Modern Adult Kicks," was crafted meticulously over the pandemic. 

 

I absolutely love that record and am so proud of what we were able to do over that period of time, but I think the band is ready to put out something that feels of the moment and punchy.  

 

"Unsubscribe from the Underground" had that edge, but it was an EP. This new album is a continuation of our evolving "grit and glitz" ethos, recorded between Detroit and Los Angeles.

 

Q – Hayley and the Crushers is signed to Kitten Robot Records, which was co-founded by iconic musician Josie Cotton. Have you been influenced by her music?

 

I didn't discover her until my teens, and it was through Screeching Weasel's cover of "Johnny Are You Queer." So yes, she has in a roundabout way.

 

I think a lot of people have been influenced by Josie, yet might not know it or give her proper credit. When it comes to the household names of the 80s New Wave scene, Josie was a cut above.

 

And yet, she didn't really fit the mold of New Wave, punk or pop. I've heard her described as "80s Bubblegum," which feels close.

 

The intertwining of pop, '60s music, rockabilly and electronic tones in her music are just as fresh today as they were then. Her voice is absolutely singular – you know when you're listening to Josie – and I think that's a testament to why she continues to stand out.

 

While "Convertible Music" is the instant 80s-does-60s classic that everyone needs in their record collection, my favorite album of hers is "From the Hip." Being able to work with Josie's team and to feel supported by her means the world. 

 

Hayley and the Crushers are also blending together different eras in a tongue-in-cheek way. We don't fit in any one crowd.

 

So that way, we are both sort of oddballs. That's what makes the Kitten Robot family so great. A bunch of weirdos!

 

Chicago Soul Jazz Collective to celebrate release of new album with two shows at Winter's Jazz Club

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

On its new album, "No Wind & No Rain," Chicago Soul Jazz Collective continues to break new musical ground.

To celebrate the release of the album, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 18 and 5:30 p.m. April 19 at Winter's Jazz Club, 465 N. McClurg Court, Chicago. For tickets, go to wintersjazzclub.com.

I had the chance to talk to Chicago Soul Jazz Collective band leader and saxophone player John Fournier about the new album.

 

Q – Great talking to you again. The last time we spoke, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective had just released its debut album, “Soulaphone.” I understand you originally had limited quantities of that record made to primarily sell at shows but that jazz stations across the country discovered the album and it ended up becoming one of the top jazz releases that year. Did that surprise you?

Yes, it shocked me. I had never experienced a situation where a record organically found an audience like that. With so many records being released constantly, it is almost impossible to get people’s attention and I think it shows how much love there is out there for this style of music that we had so much surprise success with that record.

 

 

Q – And now Chicago Soul Jazz Collective has released its fourth album, “No Wind & No Rain.” How do you think the band has grown since the release of your debut album?

 

The band has grown in every conceivable way. The compositions are now all original and the arrangements are much more complicated. 

 

We have taken the spirit and initial influence of the "Soulaphone" record and transformed it into a grooving soul, blues, jazz, and gospel juggernaut. We also have embraced the greats and traditions of our home city Chicago and absorbed all those influences into a truly Chicago Sound.

 

Q – Chicago jazz vocalist Dee Alexander is featured on this album as she was on the band’s last album, “On the Way to Be Free.” What do you think her addition brought to the band?

 

Dee Alexander is one of the top living interpreters of jazz and she recently was named as one of the 2026 Jazz Legacy Fellows by the Mellon Foundation. So she brings a level of vocal artistry and interpretation to our compositions that take them to a world class level. 

 

When Dee joined the ensemble for "On the Way To Be Free," our third album, everything we did took a giant leap forward and we suddenly found ourselves with an international audience and headlining major jazz festivals. Thank you Dee!!

 

Q – That record was critically acclaimed and the band started playing at both Chicago Jazz Fest and Hyde Park Jazz Fest along with becoming regulars at establishments like the Jazz Showcase. Were those goals of yours?

 

Our goals were and are to make the best records and play the best live shows we possibly can. And to be the best individual musicians and people we possibly can be. 

 

Where we play and whatever opportunities come our way are great and we truly appreciate the success, but we concentrate solely on the music and the joy of playing and do not worry about anything past that.

 

 

Q – Your new record features a tribute to the late Chicago jazz musician Ramsey Lewis, “A Groove for Ramsey." How did he influence you?

 

Ramsey was a bonafide Chicago genius and institution; nobody ever like him before and we will never see one like him again. His commitment to the city of Chicago and his fusion of many styles of music in his incredible career make him the Godfather of what we are doing and we thought we should honor his name and legacy on the new record.

 

Q – I know the theme of your new album is about the importance of perseverance, something that is expressed in the album’s title. In addition, it seems like you also want young people to understand that they can take control of their future. In the song “Message to a Child,” you talk about how “tomorrow belongs to you.” Please elaborate.

 

I’m a father and also a teacher, so I work with children and spend a lot of time teaching the new generation. I personally feel that being a child is more difficult than it has been for past generations and a lot of these kids are really struggling. 

 

There are a lot of reasons for this, but that is a much longer conversation. Suffice to say, I wanted to create a song with a message to them that if you hold onto the beauty and kindness in this world that things will get better.

 

This song truly is my message to kids and Dee sings it incredibly well.

 

Q – You also are in a funk band, The Meadowlark Lemons, which recently released its first album. Do you like being able to show off all your musical sides?

 

Everyone in the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective are very active with many ensembles in the city. The Meadowlark Lemons are a great and gritty little combo and I recommend you check them out.

 

Everybody in the CSJC being able to play in so many other bands keeps what we do fresh and moving forward.

 

 

Chicago musicians Dave Specter, Brother John Kattke provide plenty of musical highlights at The Venue in Aurora

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

 

One of the things that sets Chicago blues musician Dave Specter apart from other blues musicians is his versatility.

That was something that was on full display during his Feb. 20 show at The Venue in Aurora.

Taking the evening's energy level up another notch was special guest Brother John Kattke, who is also featured on Specter's latest album on Delmark Records, "Live at SPACE."

Here are a few highlights from the show. More videos from the show are at youtube.com/@ericschel12. 

 

The Dave Specter Band featuring Brother John Kattke performs Specter's song "Ridin' High" Feb. 20 at The Venue in Aurora.

 

 

The Dave Specter Band featuring Brother John Kattke performs Specter's song "Ponchatoula Way" Feb. 20 at The Venue in Aurora.

 

The Dave Specter Band featuring Brother John Kattke performs Specter's song "March Through The Darkness" Feb. 20 at The Venue in Aurora.

 

The Dave Specter Band featuring Brother John Kattke performs Specter's song "Rumba & Tonic" Feb. 20 at The Venue in Aurora.