For years, on the DeKalb Scene editor's desk, there has been a gigantic collection of CDs. Most people that send these CDs in are PR people looking for local coverage, and for the most part, these CDs are ignored and thrown in "the pile" -- they have...

Today's submission is ABiCA's album Numb. So, these guys are sort of from my hometown, and I recognized their pictures on their website after I was assigned the story. I was also told about ABiCA from a guy at a hip hop show I was running a week ago or...

DeKALB | Like Rats is a hardcore punk-inspired black metal band from Chicago. Citing heavy, aggressive influences such as Celtic Frost and Discharge, the group may look somewhat out of place when they play with the pop punk band The Wonder Years on Tuesday...

Coming from Lake in the Hills, Ill., I feel lucky to have the Smoking Popes. The only good rock group to come out of my tiny town, The Smoking Popes are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, regional or not. Their riffs are melodic, and singer/guitarist...

Inspired people are everywhere in this town, and Lorelei Bell is one of them. I first met Bell on a Huskie Bus, and she recognized me from the paper and asked me to review her book, Vampire Ascending. However, Lorelei isn't a student here. She drives...

Dan Monaghan is a student here at NIU in the English education department. His album, Submarine Paratrooper came out recently, and it rules. Instead of just a lesson in DIY recording and ethics, or a low-fi EP of guitar-based indie rock, Submarine Paratrooper...

I love comic books. The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is coming to Chicago from March 18-20, and I wish I could go. I almost want to quit my band so I don't have to be on tour the weekend of C2E2. Having been to a couple of comic conventions in...

I've got March madness. While I don't follow college basketball, this month still has so much to offer someone like me. The next 24 days are jam-packed with enough awesome concerts and events to keep me plenty excited to stick around DeKalb and take it...

Today’s submission comes from Chicago-based metal/hardcore band Mairebel, who asked me to review their 2010 record “The Sky In Between Us.” I promise to work hard to not be biased in this review, not because of some conflict of interest or ethical...

I've spent years of my life watching music everywhere, from clubs to living rooms. In the last few months, however, I've watched the small do-it-yourself (DIY) show space in my town turn into a battleground for "gangs." Not gangs in the traditional sense,...