Carbondale

From Sun Studios to Greg Ginn to Parliament: Meet Jay Brook Lipe

On a particularly frigid January afternoon this year, I stumbled upon an interesting scene in the Delmar Loop (where RFT Music HQ is located, for those unaware). Moving up and down the streets was an enthusiastic man with an acoustic guitar strapped on his back, flanked by another fella, pointing a ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: March 8 to 10

Working for an alt-newsweekly can be pretty damn entertaining. Outside of reporting on the latest in local music, food and news, we get to investigate messed up Craigslist ads gone viral, exchange yo momma style comebacks to St. Louis city haters and even play the occasional pranks on each other (se ... More >>

The Best St. Louis Punk / Hardcore Shows in March

Are you sick of being responsible? Does it annoy you to have to follow rules or be pro-social? Do you like basements? Well, if you are a goofy, degenerate weirdo that doesn't quite fit in anywhere else, you might consider our city's DIY hardcore/punk shows.Your underlying anger problems can be broug ... More >>

How To Suck The Brains Out Of A Skull: Advice from the Weekend's Real Pig Roast

"You know how a slug feels in your hand?" asks John Kraatz. "It's slimier than that." Kraatz is, of course, referring to the brain and brainstem of "Norm," the first of two pigs that will be consumed at the Off Broadway Pig Roast on Sunday night. As for how to reach those slimy, succulent morsels, ... More >>

The Carbondale Connection to Seattle's Signature Hot Dog

Hanna Raskin, the restaurant critic for our sister paper Seattle Weekly, has just published an oral history of Seattle's signature street food, the "Seattle Dog," a hot dog topped with onions and cream cheese. As it happens, the hot dog's history has a local-ish connection.

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: August 24 to 26

LouFest is this weekend! We're sure you are aware of the huge outdoor event, with headliners Flaming Lips and Girl Talk, not to mention Dinosaur Jr. and Sun Volt. We've already worn out plenty of computer keyboards writing it up this year, so the contents of this post are decidedly LouFest-free. Th ... More >>

Foiled Again! Gas Thieves Try Wrapping Their Way to Success

Fairview Heights police received an unusual phone call this past Saturday. A man was behaving suspiciously on the roof of the BP gas station at 6400 North Illinois Street. It was 11 a.m., so the caller had a good look at the man, and was able to describe him and the two men waiting in a parked car w ... More >>

Farewell to Red Bones Den, North St. Louis' Home of the $6 Beer

12 to 6 Movement on How they Got Raekwon and Others on Thier New Record and Why They Called it Titties Out

It took a while, but local hip-hop trio 12 to 6 Movement finally unleashed their new collaboration-heavy album, Titties Out. Since our last interview with the group, they added songs with Joe Budden, Opio and A-Plus from Souls of Mischief/Hieroglyphics and Psycho Les from The Beatnuts to a tracklist ... More >>

Spankalicious Moves to Cincinnati, but His Roots Remain in St. Louis

Courtesy of the artistSpankalicious at the Copper Dragon last week in Carbondale, Illinois. ​Local bounce beatsmith Spankalicious recently made the move to Cincinnati, and tomorrow night he plays one of his last 2011 dates in St. Louis at 2720 Cherokee (2720 Cherokee Street, 314-664-9900) with ... More >>

The Coolest Photos of Chuck Berry and Tina Turner, Plus Bob Gruen on St. Louis

Chuck Berry in 1971. Photo by Bob Gruen​In this week's feature, Jamie Lees talks to legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen about what motivates him, how he finds his shots and what matters about music. He's in town this week as part of the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival, and he had some thought ... More >>

More SIU-Carbondale Professors Threaten Strike

Illinois' budget woes have placed heavy constrictions on the state's higher education system, putting professors' contracts in jeopardy and portending layoffs. The situation is nearing the boiling point at Southern Illinois University's Carbondale campus, where yesterday a fourth faculty union vot ... More >>

Those Darlins at Off Broadway, 9/16/11

Those Darlins at the Pageant in February. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.​Those Darlins | Wagons | Bunnygrunt Off Broadway September 16, 2011 Those Darlins loves St. Louis, and St. Louis loves the band right back. The beloved mid-Tennessee quartet was preceded by Bunnygrunt, which played a set full of ... More >>

Man Who Threatened to Blow Up Bar with "Chemical Tubes" Gets Five Month Sentence

​An Illinois man was sentenced to five months in jail and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine last week for sending threats though the mail. Samirkumar Hasmukhlal Mody, 45, of Lake Egypt (near Carbondale), pleaded guilty earlier this year to mailing a letter in January to the Ramesses Lounge in Marion, I ... More >>

Classic Vinyl & Media Sale in Carbondale September 10 & 11

image viaYou can get both vinyl records and collectibles at the Classic Vinyl Sale.​On the weekend of September 10, the University Mall in Carbondale, Illinois, will play host to the 4th Annual SIRIS Classic Vinyl & Media Sale. The Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS) and the WS ... More >>

LouFest Interviews: Lost In The Trees' Ari Picker On Classical Music And More

​ Ari Picker is as genuine and unfailingly heartfelt as his music would have you believe. His folk orchestra project Lost in the Trees is winsome and soft, but imbued with wrenching emotion and cathartic release. Picker composes symphonic ballads out of pure necessity, to deal with the tragedi ... More >>

Rugby Burn: Gravely injured in a fluke house fire, Iraq War vet Stephen Ellis is dead set on returning to the sport he loves

Rugby Rams Head to D-1 National Championship

​The St. Louis Rugby Rams, a quadriplegic wheelchair rugby team we've been following since former staff writer Kristen Hinman profiled super-wheeler Kerri Morgan in 2007, are headed to the sport's national tournament this week for the second time in a row. This year's difference? They've now b ... More >>

Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know Coming to SIU Carbondale

Michael Feldman is bringing his shtick to southern Illinois.​One of NPR's funniest shows is coming to Southern Illinois University Carbondale for a live broadcast next Saturday, March 26, at 10 a.m.Whad'Ya Know, hosted by the very dry and very funny Michael Feldman, last broadcast from Carbondale ... More >>

Wheel Deal: Rugby Rams Aim to Return to National Tournament

St. Louis Rugby Rams​Fresh off their first run in the national tournament last year, the St. Louis Rugby Rams -- the toughest quadriplegic men and women in the city -- will open the 2011 sectional tourney this Friday to see if they can make it back-to-back appearances. The Rams, who participa ... More >>

The Ten Best Things To Do This Weekend in St. Louis: March 11 to 13

Janis Ian is at Old Rock House tonight.​Plenty to do this weekend in the Lou, what with the Legends of Hip-Hop Tour featuring Salt-n-Pepa and the return of the Fleshtones (albeit sans Bunnygrunt). Right here at the RFT's main music page you can find some other recommended shows which appeared ... More >>

St. Louis Suburbs Shockingly Happy, Gallup Says

Is Todd Akin your congressman? If so, you're probably pretty happy. ​The city of St. Louis may be a crime-ridden abyss. But our west-county suburbs ... whooboy, are they another story!That's latest from pollster Gallup, which (unlike those Daily Beast polls proclaiming random cities the "fattest" ... More >>

Crankfest 2011 Takes Place This Weekend at Cranky Yellow

Screenprint artist Curtis Tinsley will share the secrets of screenprinting on a budget on Sunday at Crankfest.​Kismet and ego have been at the root of great many happy accidents -- from the discovery of the New World to the discovery of Justin Bieber. This weekend, Joseph Hess is sharing anoth ... More >>

Ivas John Band

Midnight, Saturday, November 27. BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, 700 South Broadway.

This Weekend: NoiseFest Will Blow Out Your Tympanic Membrane

NoiseFest is a test of wills. Can you handle three days of punishing noise? Without alcohol? And only smoking between sets, outside? Stabilized only by coffee and aural pain, the hygiene-optional crowd of Midwest noiseheads descend on the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center tonight for three days of de ... More >>

On November 2, Cast Your Vote for Rich Whitey

image viaHe may be melanin-impaired, but he still prefers to be known as Whitney, not Whitey.​Uh, sorry, that's Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for governor of Illinois. Unfortunately, his last name is showing up as "Whitey" on electronic voting machines in 23 Chicago wards, about ha ... More >>

Deaths Stun St. Louis Medical Marijuana Community

Two men actively involved in campaigning for medical cannabis in Missouri died in recent weeks, saddening St. Louis' tight-knit community of marijuana activists.Gary Davey, former president of the Greater St. Louis chapter of NORML, died Sunday, May 9, of a heart attack. He was 48.Rik Ebner, manager ... More >>

How St. Louis Area Congressmen Voted on Last Week's Hate Crime Bill

Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student murdered in 1998 and an inspiration for the revised hate-crimes law.​You've probably heard by now how the House of Representatives passed a measure last week that broadens the definition of a "hate crime" to include incidents committed because of the ... More >>

From Downtown!

The MVC Men's Championship

Friday Night Lights: F5 Records Hip-Hop anchors Hi-Fidel and Serengeti collaborate on an electroshocked ode to excess

Second Spin: Head East, Flat As A Pancake

Artist: Head East Album: Flat As A Pancake From: Vintage Vinyl Year: 1975 Label: A&M Records What it sounds like: People from Southern Illinois trying to play southern rock—like Lynyrd Skynyrd meets AC/DC. The kind of thing that’s been reincarnated by the likes of the Drive-By Truc ... More >>

Diamonds in the Mud: A preview of the Big Muddy Blues Festival and a look at some niches in need of some Neil

St. Louis Art Capsules

Malcolm Gay encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

Square Deal

St. Louis Art Capsules

Malcolm Gay encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

How Orange Is Our Valley?

Ziyad Brand Pickled Lemon

$2.49
International Grocery
1811 West Main Street
Carbondale, Illinois 62901

Core Meltdown

A local rap troupe breaks up, while Captured! By Robots is Star Trekkin' into town

Jackhead

Saturday, July 23; Frederick's Music Lounge (4454 Chippewa Street)

Francis the Blogger

Mayor Slay blasts into cyberspace

Stag Party

Radar Station discovers obscure link between rock music and alcohol

Bowling for Porcupine

It's not easy being furry

Homegrown

Local labels keep their eyes on the prize

Chicken Scratch

Mobile Chicken Party Unit puts on a show worth crowing over

Artists' Collective

SIU-Edwardsville photography prof Fern Logan emphasizes the black in "black-and-white"

Raising Eire

The Southern Illinois Festival of Irish Music and Dance beckons to lovers of the Emerald Isle

Letters

Week of February 14, 2001

Best Local Girl Made Bad

Darva Conger

Listening Post