This is a very exciting week.
First off, writer or no, Hallowe’en is this Friday. Dress up and candy? It’s every writer’s dream. Hallowe’en events continue all weekend long.
I probably won’t be trick or treating this year because if the fates align, I’m going to be indulging my recent obsession with rocking out by seeing Million Dollar Quartet, which has closed at the Goodman Theatre and opens Friday at the Apollo Theatre. Readers of the Trib are giving the show rave reviews.
Saturday, I’m back on the job. Anne Carson, whose Eros The Bittersweet just confused and disturbed my freshman comp students, is reading at the Harold Washington Library as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. I just learned that tickets are free to students and educators (with a $5 total processing fee), so I stocked up.
Saturday evening, I’m back to being music-obsessed. Blackheart Record’s Girl in a Coma is playing at the Bottom Lounge. They’re my new favorite band since I saw them open for Tegan and Sarah on October 9th.
Of course, there’s one really important event this week that I haven’t mentioned. Perhaps you’ve heard: Tuesday is election day. Spend it glued to your TV, at a rally or party, or ignore all of the hub-bub, but for the love of my 401(k), please vote.
Get all of your spazziness worked out this weekend, because next month is going to be a beast. Stay tuned for Friday’s story starter!
One of the best parts about StoryStudio is our huge community of awesome, talented people. Walk through our doors and next thing you know, you’re standing in a circle talking with a painter, an improviser, a bookmaker, a musician, two teachers, and a dancer. Everyone brings diverse interests and talents to the table, and as we know, nothing strengthens a community like diversity!
Another best part about StoryStudio is that we get to BRAG about our friends! Case in point: Ranjit Souri, SSC teacher extraordinaire, is also a stand-up comedian, musician, and essayist. You can experience his awesomeness firsthand:
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26th, 9:00pm
OPEN MIC NIGHT
UNCOMMON GROUND (Devon location), 1401 W. Devon, Chicago, 60660
ADMISSION: FREE!
Ranjit says:
“This is actually a singer-songwriter open mic, not a stand-up open mic. I’ll be performing two or three of my comedic songs. Uncommon Ground is a great restaurant, so you can eat a great dinner if you’d like, but that’s optional. There’s also a “pass-the-hat” donation-type thing, and at the end of the night one of the musicians gets the money. There’s a vote. Of course, if you come, I seriously want you to vote for the musician you think is best, whether or not it is I.”
Go Ranjit!!
StoryStudio member Mark L. needs your help! He’s finished with his novel and currently in the process of sending out queries, but… he doesn’t have a (good) title. He’s tried and he’s tried; he even tried out a few versions on the Advanced Writers Workshop group where’s he’s workshopping the darn thing.
But now he’s burned out on brainstorming, so he’s turning the wheel over to you. If you come up with a winning title for Mark’s novel, he promises to buy you “many expensive Belgian beers and/or overpriced coffee concoctions.” And we all know how much writers love our caffeine....
About Mark’s novel:
Seven years of bad luck, seven years spent touring in a van held together by duct tape and coat hangers, rehearsing in a loft infested by incontinent rodents, causing shallow pings in the vast music machine, and just before giving up, one last chance to make it.
Finnegan is a blink away from thirty-three, the talented lead singer/songwriter for indie rock band The Babylon Sonic. A last gasp demo snags the interest of a label, luring them from New York to snow-plagued Chicago. The show is three days away and nothing is going right. Sullen lead guitarist James disappears from a hospital after overdosing on absinthe. Cranky English manager Shemp paces the frigid loft threatening to quit. Longtime girlfriend, neurotic fringe theater actress Holly, abandons him without explanation. And dodging the smothering blanket of depression seems impossible with each sleepless night. What’s that one shot in music really worth? Can Finnegan recapture the intensity he had when adolescence was still winning the battle and everything was sharp inside, buzzing and humming with the strange electricity of youth?
YOUR TITLE HERE is a 130,000-word novel for anyone who loves music or songwriting and imagines what it might feel like to climb on that stage, and anyone whose compass has ever spun wildly out of control while chasing that dream they’ve had since childhood.
If that’s not quite enough inspiration for you, check out Mark’s music page, featuring music similar (and in some cases identical!) to that of The Babylon Sonic.
Submit your suggestions in the comments here, or email them to . Have fun!
The Weakerthans, an indie rock outfit from Canada has just come out with their follow up album to Reconstruction Site released in 2003 on Epitaph Records. The new album, which drops on September 25th is humbly titled, Reunion Tour. So far, I’ve managed a few uninterrupted listens as I usually only find time to listen to music while in the car, getting ready for work, making dinner or plugging away on my latest writing venture late into the night.
So far I’d have to say this album starts where the last left off. Which in my measure of experience with music isn’t always such a good thing. The thing to know about the Weakerthans is that they have managed to create and attach a literary impetuous to each and every song. Reconstruction Site had a song titled, Plea From A Cat Named Virtute, well, this cat manages to walk its way into the new album, Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure and by far is the most striking number I could recommend. What separates most music for me isn’t exactly genre or caliber of musicianship, more than often I am drawn lyrically to what ends up on my playlist. In 2000, when the Weakerthans created what became one my favorite albums of all time, Left and Leaving, I had no idea the impact one song could have years later.
Earlier this year, my best friend and I had a falling out. It was tough and pretty numbing, and all I kept going back to was the title track from the album, Left and Leaving and the lines; My city’s still breathing (but barely it’s true) through buildings gone missing like teeth. The sidewalks are watching me think about you, all sparkled with broken glass. What amazes me about this song, about these lines, is that the memories of my failed relationship are encapsulated inside of them, always manifesting itself to the “greater” truth. In turn the song gave me a chance to heal and reflect, and fully realize my loss.
I hope the new album is as successful as their past efforts, though so far the new album feels like an old friend coming by to check in.
Just a quick reminder to everyone that the New Yorker Festival is next month (10/5 - 10/7). So cash in those miles and get away to NYC for a few days if you can. If any SSC folks out there are planning to attend, be sure to take good notes and send us the scoops.
