Heavy Years: 2000-2010 (Ernest Jenning) is the latest release from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. The 14-track retrospective compiles songs from his last four albums, along with two new tracks recorded with DJ Oktopus (Dalek). Mills is currently on the road supporting Heavy Years, and he will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Mills: For some reason I feel like live, onstage talk shows are all the rage these days. The only evidence I have for this are a few Facebook invites I’ve received and the few I’ve been a guest on, but I think that might be enough for me to call it a trend. And why not? Who’s going to stop me? Trend it is. Anyway, they’re not such a bad idea. They can be fun. Comedians, celebrities, music, chat. Not unlike a television talk show, but at a bar.
For my money, the best one going is the first Friday of every month at The Hideout in Chicago. It’s called The Interview Show With Mark Bazer. Mark is nebbish-ly endearing in the Woody Allen mold. He is self-deprecating-ly funny and always quick with an in-depth question, knowing aside or hilarious video. His guests are consistently engaging and often as funny, if not funnier, than Mark, but only because he has a true talk-show host’s ability to put people at ease and give them room to stretch out as they unwind.
I think the best thing I can say about The Interview Show is that every time I’ve seen it, I’ve had such a good time that I’ve actively sought out the things the guests were there to promote (Gabrielle Hamilton’s book Blood, Bones & Butter, music by John Grant and Das Racist). So, if you get the chance, stop by the Hideout and check it out.
Video after the jump.
