Bending Brains

#68 - Friday James

Introducing Friday James, a gifted songwriter originating from Nashville, Tennessee. Relocating to Chicago in November of 2021, Friday swiftly immersed herself in the local music scene, enthralling audiences with her mesmerizing performances. Her artistic essence is centered around a profound appreciation for lyricism and poetic depth, artfully weaving true events from her own life into poignant and relatable musical narratives.

#67 - Alec Koukol

Alec Koukol is an Omaha-born, now Nashville-native. The multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is involved in many projects within Music City, but his primary operation is Safari Room, Koukol’s indie rock outfit that began in 2018. Five years into the band, Safari Room has released two eps and two full-length albums, ‘Look Me Up When You Get There’ (2020) and ‘Complex House Plants’ (2022). Koukol and co-producer, Cole Yepsen, are currently working on the band’s third record that will be released in February 2024. Safari Room has toured extensively during the lifetime of the band and has reached great notoriety locally and regionally. The band is completely independent, Koukol wearing many hats in management, PR, tour booking and is chief songwriter/producer for Safari Room

 

Koukol’s other projects include producing, playing bass, keys and guitar for artists on the road. As of recent Koukol has toured with Nashville locals, Wild Love and Alicia Blue.

 

Catch Safari Room on the road this Fall and listen for new music as the band releases singles through the rest of 2023.  

#66 - Julia Danielle

Julia Danielle is an up-and-coming vocalist, arranger, educator, and composer based in the heart of the vibrant jazz scene of Chicago. As the 2022 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition Winner, part of Julia's prize was performing alongside The Tierney Sutton Band at the renowned Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington D.C. and since then, has lead her own band and music at the incomparable venue. Julia has also won DownBeat’s 46th annual Student Music Award for “Undergraduate College Outstanding Vocal Soloist” and will be mentioned in their 2023 June edition. 

#65 - Clare Bollnow

Clare Bollnow is a 26 year old artist living and working in Chicago. She started painting in 2019, never having gone to art school, she began with watercolor and eventually branched out; she works with oil paint, spray paint, watercolor and pigment dye among other mediums together on large-scale material. Clare finds inspiration in the human form and its expressions, using vivid color and a unique drawing style to evoke emotional experiences for those who sit with her work. These emotions are channeled from Clare’s own reactions to life and the state of the world- communicated through familiar content which allows for a commonly understood visual language between artist and viewer. She is drawn to minutiae, moments often missed, familiar sensations that go unexpressed (and often suppressed), the way things look when they are not being looked at, and where we disconnect from ourselves (in an effort to save ourselves.) Clare points the finger at the viewer and asks, where are you in this?

#64 - Iyana Brown-Bey

Iyana Brown-Bey is an alternative, neo-soulful musician, who uses her voice to shed light and to uplift. She aims to create music for those who often feel that they are only apart of the background. Iyana believes that “being human is to reflect and to feel, to express and to create with self and others.” And her goal is to build a unified community surrounding these values through music. Iyana currently implements this vision through her partnered music collectives, SolDial (An up and coming Chicago based , RnB, Soul-Pop band) and MDWST CNCT (A music-oriented collective that coordinates events for creative networking and collaboration). Under her name, “Iyana Brown-Bey”, she released her single, titled, “As I Am” on all streaming platforms and plans to release more music throughout her career. Her reminder is to stay tuned and to remember that YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

…And the music continues.

-Iyana Brown-Bey 

#63 - Claudio Parrone Jr.

Claudio is an LA based singer-songwriter/poet whose artistry blends the acoustic storytelling style of James Taylor or Jim Croce with the soulful vocal stylings of John Legend or Eddie Kendrick. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Claudio relocated to Los Angeles in Spring 2018. Since then, he has kept busy touring the country 4 times while steadily releasing new music. Less than a year after arriving in Los Angeles, Claudio released his deeply conceptual debut album, “A Boy From Somewhere.” He also partnered with frequent collaborator Curtis Crump Jr. on a Christmas album titled, “Merry Little Christmas.” Claudio also released an EP, “Stuck In Somnia,” and nearly a dozen singles. He has headlined venues across the country including The Hotel Café, The Moroccan Lounge, The Hi-Hat, and The Duplex. Claudio is currently working on his second full length album, “Still Here,” which is set to be released in January 2023.

#62 - Dr. Marc Colomer

Dr. Marc Colomer, Ph.D. is a cognitive neuroscientist and musician. In his postdoc at the University of Chicago, he investigates children’s social understanding and conceptual development in the early stages of their life. He asks questions such as how racial and other social biases emerge, with the goal of informing which solutions can reduce early signs of discrimination. As a hobby, he plays the guitar and sings with TealTrap, a Chicago-based indie band. In his time in Barcelona, he also played with The Penguins and Cybee, a Catalan band with millions of streams in Spotify.

#61 - Charles Henry

Charles is an educator, artist, designer, musician, and podcaster. He runs his creative business: Custom Crafted Design - where he does all things creative. In 2022, he received his BA in Art Education and BFA in Studio Art & Design from Saint Xavier University. He has a podcast: Inside the Artists Studio - where he interviews artists from all backgrounds. Charles has also designed and printed the DZ Fest shirts for 10 years. Link to his website: https://charleshenry.space

#60 - Trash

Trash plays in the world’s greatest and only country band of all time, Totally Cashed. When he’s not saving country music, he spends all his time tending to his horses and making delicious bagels for his friends, fans, and family. He’s also never told a lie. Catch Totally Cashed live at Schubas June 2nd for their release show

#59 - Mark Adkison

Mark Adkison is an Immigration Attorney and singer-songwriter in Chicago. 

A graduate of UIC Law School (formerly known as John Marshall), he has been working with his family at the Adkison Law Offices since 2006. He specializes in immigration law, and works on cases that include extraordinary ability visas, citizenship applications, marriage applications, consular applications, asylum applications, and more.   

Mark is also co-founder of the gypsy punk band, FUGU DUGU, where he plays guitar and sings with his violinist wife, Olya.  Fugu Dugu is finishing up their first album: “Lunatic Parade,” which is expected to be released in 2023.  Prior to Fugu Dugu, Mark played violin and guitar, and sang for Chicago-based groups such as comedy band Coco Cabana Club, the Carpathian Rock group, Pet Peeve, and country cover band, Senn Alan Band.