Bending Brains

#102 - Martin Atkins

Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as a consultant, has written multiple books on the music industry, and is the music industry studies coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Atkins is the owner and operator of the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago, is an honorary board member of the Chicago-based nonprofit organization Rock For Kids, and is a fellow of In Place of War.

https://martinatkins.com/

#101 - Tanner Dane

Chicago-based, Tanner Dane (of Hollyy), places his voice front and center, to explore the depths of identity and intimacy through his debut EP, Cut Me Loose (Easy Does It Records). Blending the rawest of human emotion with reflective storytelling, Cut Me Loose creates a journey that feels both deeply personal and universal in just 5 tracks. Lauded as “the future of retro rock” (CLASH Mag), Dane masterfully imparts a sound both grounded in youth and transcendent.

#100 - Leah Morris

Leah Morris is a forester drone pilot, artist, reiki healer, permaculture gardener, and dear friend. A lifelong traveler, Leah weaves together her passions for adventure, art, health, innovation, and environmental restoration into a life of purpose and beauty. Her mission to plant one million trees is well underway, with over 1,000 trees and 100,000 native plants already planted. None of it would be possible without collaboration, determination, and the loving support of her husband, family, and friends. 

Find her art on instagram @leahpersona.art or reach out to ReachingSeedlings@gmail.com

#99 - Mike Altergott

Mike Altergott is a multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer, mechanical engineer, and math/science educator. You can catch him playing shows around town with Chicago bands Space Gators, Middle Sister, Doc, Obliger, and Pub League. His new solo musical project called Winter Mako just did a DZ Session with Ben, word on the street is that some videos are coming soon! If you need a live sound engineer, planning an event with music, help with touring needs, or want to make a studio record together, reach out and say to him on Instagram as Malt Audio or send an email to maltergott@gmail.com Otherwise, he is likely to be found curled up on the couch enjoying the company of his dog Strawberry and partner Maddie, or out and about playing soccer.

#98 - Shlomo Franklin

Shlomo Franklin is an American singer/songwriter born on a small cow farm in upstate New York. Raised off the cultural grid, without music, television, or radio, his songs are strongly influenced by his cult-like religious upbringing. Shlomo released his debut album in 2019 which was produced by Grammy Award winner C Lanzbom and was followed by a double album from his now Nashville, TN home. Franklin has opened up for Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers and shared festivals with The Nude Party and The Bones of JR Jones. His songs seem just as comfortable in front of a crowd of two thousand as they are in a living room house concert. Shlomo sees himself as a bare bones troubadour and is stubbornly trendless.

#97 - Dr. Shannon Switzer, Au.D.

Dr. Shannon Switzer is the Director of the Sensaphonics Musicians’ Hearing Clinic in Chicago and is a featured audiologist in the MusiCares x Tuned partnership. A native Vermonter, she completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Vermont and then moved to Chicagoland to earn her Doctorate of Audiology from Northwestern University. She provides hearing healthcare for the music industry through a variety of channels; the Sensaphonics clinic, concierge visits at music venues, hearing clinic residencies with orchestras around the country, and telehealth visits with musicians around the world. Dr. Switzer is passionate about promoting hearing health through public education and advocating for a collective effort to prevent sound-induced hearing injuries. She is a committee member of the WHO’s Make Listening Safe Initiative. As a lifelong clarinetist and avid concert-goer, she continues to be fascinated by the intersection of hearing and music for both work and play. 

 

NIOSH Sound Level Meter app: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/app.html

MindEar app: https://www.mindear.com/

hearWHO app: https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/sensory-functions-disability-and-rehabilitation/hearwho

Can loud music damage your hearing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R307w05iJc

 

 

#96 - Matt Muffin

Matt Muffin is the lead singer and guitarist for Chicago Thrashers Lollygagger as well as being a professional amp tech with 10 years experience.

#95 - Otruta

Otruta is a Ukrainian musician from Kyiv, Ukraine. He is a student at Columbia College Chicago studying audio production and music. Otruta produces music and performs as a DJ all over the world. He has put on a music festival in Kyiv, Ukraine and hopes to do more with music and education in Ukraine.

#94 - Beverly Rage

Beverly Rage (she/her in drag, he/him out of drag) is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter in Chicago’s all-original drag fronted punk rock band Bev Rage & the Drinks. Bev has been a musician for over two decades, nearly half of that fronting BR&TD, and a drag artist for 15 years. As a lifelong queer activist, Bev uses music as a way to empower folks to work outside of the expected to get their message out. When not playing music, she enjoys gardening, DIY projects at home, and going to the gay beach.

#93 - Mary Rose Gonzales

Mary Rose Gonzales, known as "Beef," is a Filipino American drummer from Chicago, making waves in the punk and garage rock scenes for over a decade. She currently plays with Bev Rage & The Drinks and will be reuniting with Mystery Actions for a special show at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas in May 2025. When she’s not behind the drums, she works a 9 to 5 at a merchandising photo studio. Outside of music, she enjoys pickleball, playing pool, and fingerboarding.