Chicago band The Soul Avengers bringing their love for soul music to SPACE in Evanston

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

The members of Chicago band The Soul Avengers: A Tribute to Classic Soul know the impact that soul music continues to have on the music scene.

The band, comprised of Steve Dawson, Alton Smith, Bill Brickey and Chris Greene, will perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at SPACE, 1243 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-soul-avengers-tribute-to-space-tickets/14316204.

I had the chance to talk to Bill about the upcoming show.

Q – Great talking to you. The upcoming show at SPACE in Evanston will be The Soul Avengers’ first show at the venue since the band performed an Al Green tribute show there prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Are you looking forward to getting back to SPACE?

SPACE has always been like home to us. We, each of us, have played there under multiple names, myself as Come Sunday (Cross Currents), vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Bear Williams Band (Waters of Love), as well as the Soul Avengers; Alton Smith with Steve Dawson, Come Sunday, Soul Avengers, Trigger Gospel, and more.

John Mead is Soul Avengers' musical director and a renaissance man. He writes, paints, creates posters and comes up with show formats to celebrate genres and artists.

I can’t even count the number of specials he’s done alone, and with others, to celebrate Dylan or Van Morrison, or his own works. Steve Dawson has performed at SPACE as a solo artist, as part of a duo, and with his band, Bonsai Funeral Wedding.

And Chris Green has played with almost all of the above, and as the leader of The Chris Greene Quartet, which has released albums on Pravda Records.

Our drummer, Lenny Marsh, plays with Alton and I in the Come Sunday Gospel Jazz Band and hosts a MLK Day celebration at the Chicago Historical Society. 

Our trumpeter, John Moore, has played and recorded with Steve Dawson. 

But for me, especially since my heart transplant, it’s like touching home base, so that I can start again. The pandemic days were the days when venues in the Chicago area were on fire making space for the next great unknown. 

And we are the products of that synergy. And if you trace any of our musical roots, they go back decades.

When I asked John Abbey, the bassist for this upcoming Soul Avengers gig but also a guitarist and the recording engineer and producer at Kingsize Sound Labs, for his pic and bio he said, “I’m not the front man for this gig, I don’t need a pic," but he has played with more people than I can name and recorded even more than that.

You are never going to see a group of men that know each other so well and have such immense respect for one another (and the musical genre we’ll be representing) than the Soul Avengers.

We are verbally engaging with one another and with the audience. Each of us has reverence for the soul genre.

I believe that we give this genre its due by imbuing our performance with a sense of joy and humor. Humor elevates virtuosity by making it accessible – playful. We’re not just covering soul music, we're living it.

The Soul Avengers are very playful and funny – not in lieu of virtuosity but because of it.

Q – Why do you think soul music is such a timeless musical genre?

 

R&B/soul is the definition of emotional integrity in music. It is what lives in the heart of the bluegrass, country, jazz, and classical genres.

I see it as the great predecessor of all other genres in it’s kinship with Fado, the melodies that inspired classical composers from the very beginning. Even today, country music adorns itself in the trappings of R&B (blues), hip hop, and soul. 

Soul music is the most raw example of a musical form equaling it’s content. Just listen to Albert King’s “I’ll Play the Blues for You” or “Yesterday” by Paul McCartney, which sounds strangely similar to Segovia playing Bach’s “Sarabande,” or George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” or my personal old timey favorite traditional song, “Storms Are On the Ocean” recorded at King Size Studios by John Abbey and featuring Lindsay Weinberg, Dan Fulkerson and myself on guitar and vocals.

The western world experienced soul music in the birth of the blues as it was ripped from from the arms of gospel music by Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, and it became R&B. 

And after over a century of being haunted by the folk melodies of Africa, Ireland, the Middle East, we are finally able to say that the blues is significant because of melismatic singing, Iambic pentameter, AAB structure of verses, the ability to make an instrument, usually a guitar, sound like a voice and emotional integrity. 

"Melisma" essentially means "to sing more than one note on a single syllable." The fact that the technique was heavily employed to speak to the suffering of a person or persons, and the fact that we hear it so clearly expressed in the blues became what we call soul music.

When we say soul, I believe we refer to big sounds, emotions expressed out loud, and, quite often, joyfully in homage to the fact that the blues softened it’s truth through humor and added some haughty and playful rhythm and now you’ve got soul music.

Q – The four of you have played together over the years in several bands. Why do you think you gel so well together?

 

It’s how we were raised together. We meet each other at various points in the late '90s as teachers at the Old Town School of Folk Music. 

What I am telling you about soul and blues is basically my opinion of the great think tank of music that the Old Town School was in during the early years: one bubbling thesis of human musical experience bumping into another and becoming a synthesis of understanding.

We are brothers and sisters. We drink, eat, sleep, and play together.

We have raised our kids more or less together and we mourn the loss of our loved ones together. When one of us gets sick, we circle the wagons the best we can. 

When one of us is offended, we all take offense to varying degrees. These guys are part of my tribe – my tribe is huge and ridiculously diverse. The Soul Avengers are one facet of who we are. And the respect and regard we have for one another is immense.

Q – You have been a teacher at the Old Town School of Folk Music for 36 years and you work with a wide range of students, from toddlers to adults. Is there an age group that you like working with the best?

 

My Wiggle Worms are my favorite.

Q – What are the main things that you try teaching those students? 

Joy and love. I want them to know that they are the coolest humans I have ever met.

I make sure that my students learn something specific in each class meeting that they can use that day. I don’t do cliff hangers.

My people are working people. They don’t have time for me to play games with their time.

When any of my students leave my classroom, I want them to leave believing that the world is amazing and they can do anything because what they have to offer is important.

Q – I understand that you are inspired by the feedback of your students.

 

Yes, in so many ways. But the thing that is easiest to share is that there is a point when I am teaching something that people struggle with. 

Usually music theory or strumming and I see the light of understanding suddenly get brighter in their eyes because something I said worked for them.

Those are my most cherished feedback experiences.

Once I had a Wiggle Worm parent come into my class and ask if it was OK if her dad came and sat with us that day while we played and sang. I said, “No problem! I'd love to have him.”

As he walked in she said, “This is my dad. He was your guitar student in the '90s and brought me to you as a Wiggle Worm and now we are bringing my daughter to be with you as well.”

I still cry in thanks for that moment; three generations! And it has happened to me more than once. 

I know I am blessed.

 

Q – I know you have worked on various projects while you have been at Old Town. Are there any projects that you are particularly proud of?

I am most proud of founding the school's Juneteenth programming that later became World Music Wednesdays. Juneteenth is something that is not just about emancipation.

It’s about the people who made it happen. And that is each and every one of us!

I love reminding people that we are a people. Not because we are the same, but because we are hungry for one another's stories and lifestyles – because we want to protect the richness of each of our cultures.

We hear so much that's negative that it’s hard to remember how much fun we have together when we can. Like the Soul Avengers 

 

Q – The late Steve Albini was the primary inspiration and consultant on your studio, ShooBooty. In starting ShoeBooty Studios, what were your goals and do you think you have met or exceeded those goals?

ShooBooty Studios is my Ark.

 

Even before I became the co-president of the nation’s first teaching artists union, I understood that the duty of any arts organization is not just to cater to its donors and board members, but to cultivate the development of artists and see to the well-being of artists. 

I wish I could say it is an original idea but it’s not. It comes from my experience busking on the streets of Oxford, England.

In the City Center roundabout, my classmate and I sat and played duo guitar and vocals. We played songs by Peter Gabriel, Simply Red, Led Zeppelin, Sam Cooke, Bill Withers, James Taylor, Peter Frampton, and anyone else that one of us could remember the words and chords for. 

We made 80 quid that day in 1985. We were ecstatic!

 

Then, across the road, in the center of the roundabout, there came…a French horn player! I chuckled to myself because I felt sorry for him.

I was sure that no was going to gather around him the way they did us. I was wrong. 

He played no pop tunes and yet they seemed to know and appreciate his work – and tip for it. I thought surely we had been duped; that we were just a side show.

Then he took a break and the crowd came back to listen to us – and tipped. Then vice versa for most of the day; four or six hours, I can’t really remember. 

I told people about my experience and they began to tell me about how black artists that wanted to be successful quite often went to Europe first because their audiences had a broader musical pallet; not entirely true, but not to be dismissed either.

I learned a lot in England and that dovetailed into things I would learn in Chicago about music audiences and communities.

Chicago’s music scene, then and now, is rich and vibrant. The soil in Chicago had been rich and full of nutrients where young musicians were concerned.

Places like SPACE, Fitzgerald’s, the Old Town School and the Checkerboard Lounge and New Apartment Lounge kept music alive by being accessible to young musicians.

They were places where you could ply your trade even if you couldn’t draw 1,500 people. In other words, the small businesses are why we have folks like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, John Prine, Ani DiFranco, Tom Paxton, Marcia Ball, Jim Post, Robbie Fulks, Jeff Tweedy, Cat Power and more than I can name.

Without the small venues, we wouldn’t even know who they are.

The small, classy venue is an essential part of the ecosystem of a healthy music community that makes a place for French horns and guitar playing vocalists alike. 

There has to be rooms for the Jim Belushi’s and Dave Chappelle's to get their chops, and to learn some manners or not.

Without casting aspersions, sometimes the need to make big profits for big music projects and big music venues requires administrations, concert teams and more that leave the beginning wandering the streets.

There needs to be stepping stones.

ShooBooty is the Ark; my home studio that I have stocked with the necessary audio and video recording equipment necessary to capture the moments that you would not otherwise have seen.

So ShooBooty is dedicated to the development of artists into business partners: musicians of all walks of life who would like to know how to conduct themselves better professionally or build a following or seek out the right collaborations.

I am not the first to think these things at all. It’s just my opportunity to say thank you. 

Thank you to the Old Town School, to SPACE, to Gallery Cabaret, to Fitzgerald's, to Friendly Tavern and more who made so many people possible.

When Steve Albini stood in my basement, he didn’t try to drown me in technical jargon. He looked at my space and said, “Yeah, you can do this.”

He was one of those people, you know? The ones with immense talent and a list of accolades one hundred miles long. And somehow, you never feel like less than with them.

Steve was like that when he was in ShooBooty before the studio had a name.

I have survived teaching, being a working musician, two years as a union co-president, CHF, a heart transplant and more and I still want to play music. I still love working with children.

 

ShooBooty is a living work in process. I am working with artists in whatever shape and or size they come in.

When they get here, there will be a place for them to come and ply their trade in a place that they can afford to do business with; a place they can be proud to work in and share with their friends, families and fans.

 

Pioneering Chicago punk band The Effigies releases new album, "Fire. Aim. Ready" on Chicago independent label Pravda Records

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

The Effigies are recognized as one of Chicago’s pioneering punk bands. Esteemed musician and audio engineer Steve Albini said that The Effigies were "absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago."

The band continues to be on the cutting edge, as demonstrated on their new album, "Fire. Aim. Ready." The album was released on Oct. 23 on Chicago independent label Pravda Records.

This is the band's first release featuring new lead vocalist Geoff Sabin, who took over following the tragic death of founding lead singer John Kezdy in 2023. 

I had the chance to talk to founding drummer Steve Economou about the new album.

Q – You were back in Chicago on Oct. 3 for a show at the Park West with the Buzzcocks. I’m sure that was a great show. 

It was a fun time. We opened for X back in the '80s at the Park West. And that was the last time we had been in that club.

I had forgotten how nice it is. There was a really great vibe in the room.

Do you consider the Buzzcocks an influence?

We loved them as a band. Magazine was another band we really liked and of course The Clash and the Sex Pistols.

Q – Of course, “Fire. Aim. Ready." is the band’s first album featuring new lead singer Geoff Sabin, who took over after John tragically died in a bicycle accident in 2023. 

I understand you had been best friends with John since childhood and decided to form a band after high school.

That's correct. Him and I used to listen to music a lot.

He was really serious about rock 'n roll. It was really important to him. 

We formed the band in 1979 and our first show was in 1980. We met the other two guys, bassist Paul Zamost and guitarist Earl Letiecq, in the club scene in Chicago.

Just as we got the "Burned" record done, John died in a biking accident. And that was devastating for everyone.

It was such a surreal shock. He had gotten the vocal parts done, but we still had to mix the record.

Just being in the room, mixing everything down and constantly hearing his voice and not having him there was so bizarre. It was kind of crushing, like a gut punch.

We dedicated the "Burned" record in his memory. 

Q – I know that Geoff has a history with the band, including assisting on the recording of band’s 2007 LP “Reside” and also coming up with the cover art for the "Burned" album. What do you think he has brought to the band as the new lead singer?

Just a whole different voice. That's the incredible thing.

Lyrically, he is very good. He's a very intelligent guy.

He just kind of brings a new vitality to the band. And we really gel well together.

Q – The title of the album is “Fire. Aim. Ready” rather than “Ready. Aim. Fire.” Is there a meaning behind the title?

This is kind of like a political record. It's about where we are in this country and where we are in this world, all the evil things that are happening and all the corruption.

People are being pulled out of their cars and out of work and out of their houses without due process, with no habeas corpus. It's surreal and it's scary.

Q – What goals did you have for the album and do you think you accomplished them?

We don't really plan out a record. It really starts with the rhythm section for us, Paul and I, and then we build on top of that.

What we do is we get the feel of the song first. So the song is created and then the lyrics. Geoff is writing the lyrics and the lyrics go back and fit the song.

These songs kind of come about naturally for us. We're very happy with this record.

Q – The last song on the album is a cover of the song “Skin Deep” by The Stranglers. In recording the song, did you want to pay homage to the band?

We liked them because they had a little dark humor. They're different from other punk bands.

And they've experimented a lot too. They've created some great records.

They're one of our favorite bands. So we wanted to pay homage to them, for sure.

Q – Has The Effigies ever played with The Stranglers? I know they still are touring, so would that be a dream come true if that happened?

We've never played with them, but I've seen them several times. Paul has seen them many times.

We'd love to. That would be great.

Q – Well-known recording engineer Steve Albini said that The Effigies "were absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago.” What kind of impact do you think The Effigies has had on the scene and continue to have on the Chicago music scene?

Punk in Chicago started kind of late. Compared to the two coasts, it was maybe three years behind.

And then the scene started growing. By the mid-'80s to early '90s, the Chicago scene exploded pretty much.

We were a core of maybe four or five other bands that kept everything going. I think the important thing really for us is just to show that even though we're older or whatever, that we still go out and make our statement.

We're proud of our city and we're proud of our community. We just want to be a part of that whole thing.

Chicago's got a lot of original music at this point, which is great. We're just happy to be part of it and part of its history.

Q – You were talking about bands that are punk but yet there are a lot of melodies in their songs. The band's new song "Hallucinations" is very melodic.

Yes, it is. We try to write songs with some hooks in them and some melodies.

We're all very surprised now when we go on tour and see all these people dancing. We love the fact that people want to dance. So if we can make people dance, I think we're successful.

We've hit it on the head.

Q – The band originally formed in 1980. I know there has been a few breakups over the years, but you have been with the band since the beginning.

What makes you want to still be part of the band?

It's just something that I have to do. Without music, I don't think I'd be sane. 

I think music is a greater comforter for me, personally. Music I think is one of the highest forms of art because emotionally, it affects people the most.

Music in general is very powerful. It's kind of saved me, in a way.

Chicago singer-songwriter Paige Kizer to celebrate release of debut album with Sept. 27 show at Epiphany Center For The Arts

 

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

 

Paige Kizer's soulful and powerful vocals take center stage on her debut album, "Unconditional," set for release on Sept. 25.

The Chicago singer-songwriter and her band will celebrate the album's release with an all-ages show at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Epiphany Center For The Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago. For more information, go to epiphanychi.com.

I had the chance to talk to Kizer about her new album. 

Q – Great talking to you. I know that your debut album, “Unconditional,” is set for release on Sept. 25. In sitting down to make the album, what were your goals and do you think that you accomplished them?

My goal with this album was to create something that crossed into both spiritual and secular music. I’ve felt called to do this for a while now and when my college vocal professor, Typhanie Coller, ran into our church gig telling me she had an epiphany about me crossing into spiritual music, I knew it was something I needed to do. 

 

 

I wanted to write songs that tackled the many different emotions and feelings that come with life, but also come with having a relationship with God or Spirit or whatever you believe in. 

 

I wanted to show the ups and downs but also have songs that can cross into other areas of life and connect with people in different ways. I am beyond proud of this project and I truly hope it brings love, hope, and connection with others.

 

Q – I know you have been recording and releasing songs over the years. Are any of those songs included on your debut album?

This album is entirely new songs, and none of my previous songs are on the album.

Q – Is there a meaning behind the album’s title? 

 

Yes! The album’s title is the title of our new single “Unconditional.”  

 

I wanted to use this song as the title track as it encompasses the feelings of joy and certainty! When I wrote the song with Sophie Hafer, we took my super slow and sad song I started and created an upbeat anthem of positivity. 

 

Because the song is about the certainty of knowing God’s unconditional love, I felt as though it was the perfect title to this project. And within that certainty, we are still allowed to feel all the other feelings, such as doubt and some of the lower feelings of sadness that come with being human.

Q – I understand that you got your musical start playing the saxophone in elementary school (and later got into musical theater) but didn’t discover your love of songwriting until you were in high school. What made you want to start writing songs? What is your process in sitting down to write a song?

I started to write songs when I learned it was a way to process my emotions. The first “real” song I ever wrote was “I Don’t Know What to Tell Myself”, and it was because a high school classmate said something unkind to me and I didn’t know what else to do. 

 

So, I went to one of the practice rooms, cried for a bit, and then started to play around with a chord progression. I then started to add some lyrics and singing what I was writing was therapeutic. 

 

 

It was when I completed this song that I felt a sense of purpose to continue down this path. While I can now write songs when I’m not bursting with emotions, I still feel like my best writing happens when I need it the most. 

 

My songwriting process starts with a chord progression. I almost always play around with a progression before writing any lyrics to help me determine the emotion or mood of the song. 

 

Then I start to draft lyrics as they come and often the melody doesn’t come to solidification until all my lyrics are done. The voice memo app of my phone has been a saving grace as I am sure it is to many people.

 

Once I complete a song and if it feels ready, I will then take it to my band and we will work on the arrangement all together.

 

Q – You come from a musical family; your dad plays the drums and your mom plays piano. Do you think you were meant to become a songwriter? How have your parents influenced your musical journey?

 

I think songwriting was something I was meant to do; to serve a purpose bigger than myself. I’ve always loved making connections with people and I truly believe in the power of music. 

 

Human connection is something we all crave and I hope that through the music I write, people will be able to feel connected to themselves, their higher power or their community. 

 

I definitely think having musical parents influenced my musical journey. By allowing me to be so involved in the creative arts growing up and supporting me to take private lessons from fourth grade until I graduated high school, I had an incredible musical journey with instruments, singing and theater.

 

And by having such a broad atmosphere, I was then able to find my niche as being a songwriter.

 

Q – The first single from the album is called “Your Voice.” Given the song's spiritual lyrics, is it also about you finding your voice as a musician?

 

 

I love telling the story of how this song came to be. In October of 2023, my aunt Donna was having a women’s conference about Finding Your Voice in Jefferson, Iowa. 

 

I came and spoke about what finding my voice as a songwriter was to me. And then we asked everyone to take a piece of paper and write down what it meant to them to find their voice. 

 

I took these pieces of paper, went to the church sanctuary and started to write a song. In about two hours I finished the song and presented it at the end of the day.

 

Then, about a year and a half later I did a workshop with my keyboardist Isaac Meier and we added the epic key change!

 

After workshopping it with the band and getting it ready for the studio, we had Gracie Lubisky write and arrange the choir parts. And now, the song is out and available to listen to! 

 

I am constantly grateful that I was a part of that women’s conference because I don’t know if this song would exist without the inspiration I got from all those women.

Q – How did your band, Paige and the Kizers, come together?

 

In the spring of 2019, I was finishing my freshman year at Columbia College Chicago, and I worked up the courage to ask Aduarius Stutts (drums), Tria Kraft (keys), and Jonathan Lewis (bass) to start playing my original music when we came back in the fall semester of 2019. 

 

Then, when we were a couple of weeks out from starting the semester, I reached out to Chris Rohner (guitar) and asked if he would join us. The five of us met in one of our campus music ensemble practice rooms and it was magic.

 

While none of the original members are still playing with me, I am forever grateful that they said yes and helped me bring my original music to life. 

 

My current band that will be playing these songs live: Isaac Meier (keys), Daniel Gayden (drums), Tiago Ribeiro (guitar), Bryan Filippelli (bass), Sara Stocking (background vocals), and Megan Jacobs (background vocals), makes me just as grateful that I get to continue to bring my original music to life, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to thank them enough. (I also want to mention that Char Vander Molen was a vocalist on the recordings of this album, and they will be singing in our live choir!)

 

Q – I understand that you are also an instructor at Chicago School of Musical Arts specializing in voice and piano. What are the main things that you try to teach your students?

 

My biggest goal as a teacher is to instill the joy of music into my students. Yes, we learn piano and vocal technique, but we also expand into “Why is music important?"

 

My students are all very young (K-6 mainly) and I want them to know the beauty of music and how it is a universal language. I also want them to know that music is all around us and is a huge point of human connection and emotions.

 

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound performs riveting, joyful set at The Venue in Aurora

By Eric Schelkopf

One of the things that keeps bringing me back to The Venue in Aurora is that it likes to book acts that perform fresh, original music.

That certainly was the case when Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound took the stage on Sept. 12. The band's sound incorporates an innovative blend of genres, including funk, soul and global rhythms.

And when you combine that with Cebar's honest and thoughtful lyrics, the show was one that brought joy to everyone who attended.

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

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound performs the song "Didn't Leave Me No Ladder" Sept. 12 at The Venue in Aurora.

  

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound performs the song "When We Sing" Sept. 12 at The Venue in Aurora.

 

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound performs the song "You Make Me Feel So" Sept. 12 at The Venue in Aurora.

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound performs its song "Baby Shake" Sept. 12 at The Venue in Aurora.