Modern Chemistry has been going strong since Joe Zorzi and Brendan Hourican created the band while in college, and the last few years have given them the opportunity to create music in a new capacity.

“We’ve gotten to this natural progression of where we wanted to make music separately but we still work so well together that it didn’t really seem right to just stop working together,” Hourican said.

It was during the height of the pandemic that they were creating music that didn’t completely fit the typical Modern Chemistry vibe. Instead of scrapping it, they encouraged one another to release them as their own.

Their solo monikers, thepaintingcompany and Brendan the Navigator, just released singles as a split. “a little bit off!” and “Animal” are their chance to ignore the particulars of Modern Chemistry and abide by a “fuck it I just finished this song and I’m going to put it out next week” approach.

“I think we’ve both gotten a lot better as songwriters and artists,” Zorzi said. “We’ve been doing it for a while; I think we’re way more confident in what we’re putting out, so I think we’re just at a point where we both love so much music and want to do so much that it just makes more sense. It allows us to put out as much as possible.”

Zorzi said that when he recognized how personal the lyrics were for Hourican, it just made sense. However, their support goes beyond encouraging each other to release their own music. With the luxury of Little Hollywood Studios, the recording space that Zorzi opened with fellow musician Matteo DeBenedetti of Charlie & Margot, they were able to support one another from beginning to end of the recording process.

Having the opportunity to learn the production side of music really motivated them to try this on their own. It has also made the recording process a lot more exciting.

“With the speed in which we’re able to release stuff, we had this newfound ability to release a lot more so we had to create new avenues,” Hourican said. “We didn’t have to, but we saw that as the best way to do it. We can now do this all on our own; we can do as much of it as we want to, so we might as well have all these different projects as outlets.”

An important lesson they learned while in the studio is a major contributing factor to how they record today. Zorzi remembers a moment where a producer took what they considered a demo and kept some of it as the final track. It was something they had never done before, and inspired them to stop thinking about making music “the right way’.

“It’s really freeing,” he said. “It allows us to not put up walls for ourselves which I think is a thing that can easily happen. The biggest challenge in this is to believe in your decisions.”

For Modern Chemistry, there are no real limitations for what they plan to release. If Hourican wants to release five songs tomorrow, he can. If Zorzi wants to wait until next year to release anything else, he can. They have learned to stop holding back and let the music take them on the necessary journey.

With an upbringing that involved being immersed in the musical culture of Baton Rouge, La., Aries Marquis was destined to be a performer.

He comes from gospel roots, performing in his mother’s choir at just 5 years old. Singing was always an encouraged activity and even made its way onto his recorded voicemail. It got to the point where wrong numbers would call back, admitting that they were so impressed with what they heard that they needed to hear it again or share it with someone else.

Believe it or not, it was his first real taste of feedback. He had been performing in some capacity for nearly 15 years at that point, and after his father heard the voicemail, he encouraged him to pursue music.

“What he told me was that in order to make it as a professional music artist independently, learn how to write and definitely learn how to perform,” Marquis said. “The first thing that I worked on was my writing, so before I even got on stage with anybody I was writing different songs.”

He turned to legendary songwriters - Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Elton John - to better understand why they are considered among the greatest songwriters of all time. He focused on the delivery of the lyrics and discovered that it is the timelessness that makes them great. They didn’t write songs based on current trends or what would make the most money. They took their passions and life experiences and gave their audience something to relate to.

“I’m taking this approach to say ‘I get it - we should have fun, we should live life, but I want you to listen, I want you to learn, I want you to feel,’” he said. “I want [songs] that stand the test of time; that 20 years from now people still listen to it.”

His first performances were alongside a band he formed called J2, with successful appearances on local television stations and at clubs and malls. During one of these shows, he received an important piece of feedback that still resonates with him today: stage performance is equally important as vocal performance.

Marquis remembers their next showcase involving a lot of sweat, but it was exactly the push they needed. As he transitioned from a band member to a solo act, he knew that he would need to hold onto that piece of advice and work twice as hard.

This year, he set a goal to write about things he loved. He was hearing too many songs doubting love and he wanted to take the time to fight for it instead. A writing session got onto the topic of encouragement, ultimately forming his latest single, “Motivation”.

“I want to let women know that in the midst of this battle of the sexes that’s going on right now, some of us really do love and care about you,” he said. “This song is saying that throughout the years women have motivated me. They’re the ones who definitely helped me with my music career that I’ve poured myself out to and then they come back and pour themselves out to me. I love women and this song is an appreciation of all the women that have helped me out throughout the years.”

He cites his strong relationships with his grandmother, mother and four daughters as another influence for the song. He recognizes the importance of a powerful female presence and wants the women in his life to understand just how much they mean to him.

He might not have always recognized his potential, but Aries Marquis has embraced music as his journey. This year is all about love, and he plans to share his love with anyone willing to receive it.

From the moment he had a conscious thought of where he wanted to be, Kyle Walters dreamed of New York City.

The New Jersey-born artist grew up on a constant rotation of radio stations, from top 40 to alternative rock. Music resonated with him, and he found himself wanting to learn more. He has a vivid memory of watching Green Day perform at Woodstock ‘94, televised on MTV, and witnessing the infamous mud fight started by lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong.

“That was the one visual that put a whole ribbon on the package, so to speak,” he said.

When an opportunity arose to play in a band - and move to New York City - he jumped at it. He calls his time in bands as “rock ‘n’ roll boot camp” and recognizes how much it shaped him as a musician.

“[Being in a] band helped me get out of my shell and become a performer,” he said. “I think writing wise it gave me confidence. But it also taught me that I would rather deal with figuring it out and having complete faith in the unknown of what my brain is able to do on its own than put my eggs in a basket and fingers crossed hope a band works out.”

Walters knew it was time to try creating music on his own. He went from self-taught to taking guitar and voice lessons. He taught himself piano and bass. With help from his brother and some programming, drum parts were covered. It was a leap of faith, and took a few years to find his footing, but it soon became the birth of Future Someone.

He doesn’t remember exactly what he was reading when the name Future Someone came to mind, but the more he sat with it the more he liked it.

“The more I think about it, it just makes sense as far as the evolution of finding out who you are,” he said. “Just digging deeper and discovering who you are and where you want to be. The older I get, I still like it. It was a good call.”

The beginning of his solo journey left him wondering why he hadn’t tried it sooner. Were there opportunities missed? With hindsight, he’s able to realize that the beginning of his music career involved little to no life experience.

“I definitely wouldn’t have been able to summon the strength or the words back then like I can now,” he said. “There’s just more life to pull from, good and bad. If you have a solid foundation that you built for yourself, then it’s harder for anyone to take it away or destroy it.”

Setting the groundwork of releasing a few singles led to his debut EP, Phases. Although he didn’t write these songs back to back, the three songs made too much sense to not package together.

“Regret Someone” was the first song that was written, starting out as a simple idea and was reworked what felt like hundreds of times. The theme of the song - thinking of all of the ‘what if’s’ in a relationship - sparked an idea of the opposite feeling and inspired “Never Find Another You”. Instead of wondering what might have been, “Never Find Another You” is about what if that dream person in a dream world stayed, even just for a day. The last song on the EP, “I Hope You Find Whatever You Are Looking For”, is based on a text he received and inspired lyrics alluding to a relationship that isn’t what either person is in search of.

“I would have regretted not putting these three songs out together because there’s just its own natural arch that I did not intend,” he said. “The harder I work, the more satisfied and relieved I’ve become. I was able to do it; I put my mind to it and then I did it rather than say ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ or ‘I don’t know if I have the confidence level to accomplish this task’. If there is a gap in skill set or self esteem or confidence, I would like to think that passion and perseverance and showing up every day can bridge that gap in a major way because I’m living through it. Not every song comes once a month or once a week, but it’s just a muscle that you’re reflexively working on and strengthening so that it gets easier.”

Photo courtesy of Mark Maryanovich

I don't remember an exact defining moment when I realized I needed and wanted to make music. The feeling just seemed to always be there. It felt natural, quite like breathing.

I'd have to say, some of my earliest memories of music being a part of my existence include the sound of old ABBA records playing to help me fall asleep. Just as music, insomnia always followed me and music was the one thing that could calm me enough and make me feel safe enough to fall asleep.

My mother understood that from a very early age. Although my parents were not at all musical, they were huge music fans and music was always playing in the house. I think because they weren't musicians themselves, they had an exceptional amount of respect and admiration for musicians, especially the ones on MTV.

As children, we tend to follow the trend or influence of our parents. In my case, seeing my parents treat the annual broadcast of the American Music Awards and the Grammys as special as a national holiday made me assume the same view of music and the seemingly superhuman characters that delivered that music into our lives.

While other kids dreamt of becoming an astronaut, a teacher or a doctor, I was listening to music of all different genres. Soul, indie, pop, rock, alongside classical music which I was learning as a young child in my piano lessons at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. All I could envision and fantasize about was the day I would walk on stage and perform a song which I had written myself.

It took years, but that day finally did arrive. It was especially sweet when I was able to share the stage alongside my brother, Fernando, who is the other half of The Manic Boys And Girls Club. Having been raised in the same tight knit household, it was only natural that Fernando too would share the same passion and love for music and performing. The moment we both understood our purpose, we knew that life as we had known it would never be the same.

Music has always been a soundtrack for our lives, accompanying us through almost every major life experience, and helping us cope with even the toughest ones. It has served as not only inspiration but also as therapy.

For my brother and me, to now be in the position of producing, writing, and performing our own music in The Manic Boys And Girls Club, I hope that we can inspire and be the soundtrack to the lives of those who are going through their own experiences, whether it be heartbreak, regret, love, fear or just wanting to escape reality for a while.

I was born into a musical family, so for me, music was normal. Performing and practicing were things I was exposed to since I was a young child. I suppose I really didn’t even think it was “special” until I got a bit older. 

Photo courtesy of Dana Gorab

I’ve been a massive fan of Mastodon for a very long time. Actually, I can pinpoint the exact date to when I grabbed their album, Leviathan, from Best Buy back in 2004. I’m actually a huge nautical nut also, and their album cover with the stylized art of Moby Dick caught my eye. So, I sat there in the parking lot waiting for my tattoo session and listened through this amazing and new sound of this band that has been in my top three for nearly two decades now.

Fast forward to the COVID era, recounting the highlights in the intervening years: marriage, moves across the country, a second degree in music, career changes, more moving, the loss of our first child, the birth of our twins and more career changes.

I’ve noticed that since I’ve become a parent, sometimes even benign things can heighten my emotions, so it made a lot of sense to me that when I went to see one of the first post-COVID shows with Opeth and Mastodon, I was very receptive to the experience, especially owing to the fact that despite the fact of how much I loved this band, this was going to be the first time I’d seen them live.

So, I jockeyed my way close to the stage and was four bodies back directly in front of Brent Hinds, and Mastodon proceeded to play an amazing show. They played pretty much all the songs that I would want to see (though, to be fair, if they played every song I wanted to see, their hands would probably fall off).

Anyways, they played some amazing stuff, and quite a few songs from their newest album, Hushed and Grim. I wasn’t as familiar with this release as their previous stuff, so it was fun to almost go in with no expectations. I also know how personal their music is to them, and how it speaks to many of their personal experiences, so when they played their song “More Than I Could Chew” I was floored. The melodies, and vocals, and the song’s structure spoke to me and because I have also experienced loss in a very specific way, it brought the emotions hard.

Mastodon continues to be a huge inspiration to me and the music I create with Cthulhu Dreamt, and a band I can listen to regardless of the mood I’m in.

Six years after announcing their indefinite hiatus, The Summer Set is back on the road promoting their 5th studio album, Blossom. The last leg of the tour focuses on the Midwest, including a night at House of Blues Chicago.

As the band entered from the side of the stage, the sound of a door closing made its way through the crowd. It immediately felt like they were playing a more intimate space, as if they were starting a basement show instead of playing to a large crowd as the headliner at the House of Blues.

Jess Bowen at House of Blues Chicago, April 28.

John Gomez at House of Blues Chicago, April 28.

Brian Dales at House of Blues Chicago, April 28.

Photo courtesy of Kara Nikol

For over a decade, Abby Nissenbaum’s entire life and personality revolved around being an academic. She found herself having a bit of an identity crisis after leaving her Social Psychology PhD program, and reminiscing about her years spent as a performer.

Her youth and teenage years involved performing in regional musical theater and classically training as a soprano. Songwriting felt like the right path in this crucial moment of her life, so she picked up her cheap, amp-less electric guitar and taught herself a few chords.

From there, a few songs were written and ultimately became the starting point of her EP, Unreliable Narrator.

“I… started reflecting on the ways that external negative situations and others’ hurtful messages had been impacting my own internal messaging and mental health,” she said. “I had read a research paper where depression and anxiety were characterized as ‘unreliable narration’ of one’s own life, and thought it perfectly expressed how I was feeling. It's easy to take negative input at face value and start internalizing it, but if we start to think of all those mean words as ‘unreliable narrators’, it takes away their power.”

The EP was recorded half in Los Angeles with producer Riley Geare and half in Nashville with Matt Qualls. Within four days, Nissenbaum’s time with Geare was jam-packed.

“He's a one-man show,” she said. “A true virtuoso on any instrument you put in his hands, awesome producer and engineer, and resident vibe guy.”

In Nashville, recording sessions felt like get-togethers. Friends from Memphis came up to serve as session instrumentalists, auxiliary engineers and production assistants. Despite both experiences being vastly different, they were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that truly benefited her.

“As an indie artist, there's not much time to sit and vibe in a space or really hang out with collaborators, so the sessions were all very intense and work-focused to make use of precious time,” she said. “With that said, the sessions were a ton of fun! I leaned into each experience and came out of my shell a bit more every recording session, which was helpful both professionally and personally.”

Her greatest challenge during the creation process was honing in on her guitar skills. Working alongside Geare and Qualls was exceptionally helpful, and Nissenbaum was able to not only convey her sound to others but track her own guitar parts.

She learned so much during the creation of Unreliable Narrator that really helped her work through the topics discussed in her songs, such as depression, isolation, heartbreak and addiction.

“Songwriting can be a cathartic process, but it can also help you meta-analyze situations or look at different components from a bird's eye view,” she said. “I've learned that sometimes it's helpful to write about your own experiences almost as if you're an independent third party. Through songwriting, I've actually found it easier to give grace to others and view things through a more rational lens.”