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Joe McPhee will play at the release party for The Bottle Tapes on Saturday, November 1. Credit: Žiga Koritnik In February 1996, veteran improvising musician Joe McPhee made his Chicago debut at the ...

The indicator Bruce Finkelman took as the sign he should change his life came in literal form — in the guise of a “For Rent” notice he spotted in the window of a modest building on the northeast ...

A half century ago, you might’ve expected a Bay Area band called World Peace to be an acid-fried hippie collective singing about their optimistic vision for the future and radiating goodwill toward ...

Joe McPhee has played his fair share of odd venues. Before becoming internationally renowned as a saxophonist and trumpeter — his music recently appeared in the hit TV show “Severance” — he would play ...

As a bassist, Matt Ciarleglio had played in bars all his life — which was good for his growth as a musician. But as someone struggling with addiction, playing in bars created challenges that could ...

When Empty Bottle opened in 1992, the venue quickly earned a reputation as a “cat-ridden hole-in-the-wall bar.” While some things have stayed the same (there’s still cheap drinks and a house cat, Peg, ...