Bending Brains

#28 - Olya Prohorova

Hailing from Moldova, Olya Prohorova is a multi-talented violinist, arranger, band leader and music director. A Grammy-winning musician performing in every genre from classical, to rock, R&B, country and jazz,  Ms. Prohorova performs around the world, namely in Italy, United States, Germany, Japan, Canada and her native Eastern Europe.  Since 2014, Olya has been a member of Matt Jones Orchestra, through which she recorded and performed with musicians like Kirk Franklin, Pj Morton, John Legend, Chronixx among others. During her Bachelor’s at Chicago College of Performing Arts, Olya joined romanian rock band “Pet Peeve,” and created a unique culture-blending project focusing on Japanese and Eastern European music - “Hanauta Duo.” In 2019, she joined the band of “Teatro ZinZanni,” a unique whirlwind of cirque, cabaret, theater and live music. She currently performs in “Taraf de Chicago,” an eclectic ensemble playing music from her motherland of Moldova.

 

 

#27 - Max Duffy

Max Duffy Rodriguez melts glass, makes art, and creates to find joy in existence. He lives in Oak Lawn, IL with his partner Kendall and his beloved cats Atlas and Anton.

#26 - Doug Malone

Doug Malone is an audio engineer and owner of Jamdek Recording Company in Chicago, IL. Doug has also done live sound engineering in Chicago for years at The Empty Bottle. He is a musician and has been performing/touring in bands for years. Doug studied Music Composition at Columbia College Chicago and continues to grow his knowledge of music, audio production, and sound.

#24 - Mark Hainey

Mark Hainey is local Chicagoan who has 11 years of emergency medicine experience and three years crime scene and hoarding clean up experience. Outside of that, he is the official DZ Records and DZ Fest doorman.

#24 - Aaron Paolucci

Aaron Paolucci is an Associate Professor in the Creative Technologies Program at Illinois State University. He has been teaching at ISU since 1999, having taught over 120 full-length courses across a wide range of music and audio-related topics including sound design, speaker design and application, music mixing and mastering, surround sound engineering, microphone theory and application, sound reinforcement, sound for gaming and animation, and so on. He is passionate about designing and prototyping high-end professional and audiophile loudspeakers for live stage, studio, and home applications; always in pursuit of the purest possible reproduction of music and sound. Additionally, Aaron brings a wealth of experience as a theatre sound designer, a live audio engineer, and a mixing/mastering engineer, having worked on over 100 stage productions and recording projects over the last 30 years.

#23 - Matthew McNeal and Andre Black

Matthew McNeal and Andre Black are co-owners of Matte Black Sound Company - an independent label, audio production team, and resource hub for all things music. From touring across the country performing with their own projects to running their own studio, capturing audio for film crews to empowering artists in the independent scene however they can, the two have spent the better part of the last ten years working hard to turn a lifelong passion into a fulfilled dream, becoming pillars within the independent music community along the way.

 

 

#22 - Julia Steiner

Julia Steiner is a singer/songwriter and performs in the band “Ratboys”. She is from Louisville, Kentucky and has been making music in the Chicago ‘DIY’ scene for 10 years. Ratboys: a 10-year songwriting partnership, an evolving live show, a D.I.Y. project, a web of friendships, and everything in between. Almost as soon as Julia Steiner and Dave Sagan met during their college orientation, they started playing music together. What came out of their dorm rooms was the 5-song RATBOY EP, uploaded to Bandcamp on April 1, 2011 to share with friends and family. Ratboys have put out: three full-length albums, multiple EP's, and multiple live recordings and continue to work on new music.

#21 - Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan is a filmmaker and performance artist. Working in long form alternative narrative, his features include 'Consuming Spirits' and 'The Orbit of Minor Satellites'. He advises with an open mind to students' direction and desires, his goal being to help them make strong work that has unique vision. He works well with writing, visuals, sound design, animation, comics, sculpture, painting, and drawing. He focuses on the reception of the work to the viewer, audience, or reader and how to make what is important to you visible in complicated ways.

Chris is a Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Film, Video, New Media, and Animation (1989). BFA, 1983, Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Screenings: Film Forum, NY; Cinefamily, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Whitney Biennial, NY; Boston Art Museum; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; Houston Fine Arts Museum; Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago. Film Festivals: Tribeca, NY; Annecy International Animated Film Festival, France; Zagreb Film Festival, Croatia; Festiwal Animator, Puznam Poland (1st Prize); Cork Film Festival, Ireland; Istanbul, Luxembourg City Film Festival; Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, Switzerland; Animatou, Geneva; Holland Animation Film Festival, Utrecht; Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia. Awards: John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship; Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship; Bush Foundation Fellowship; Illinois Arts Council; NEA Regional fellowships; Creative Capital Film Grant. I am presently in the final stages of my new feature film, The Orbit of Minor Satellites.

#20 - John Till

John Till cultivates folk, blues & country from the farthest reaches of the Great Plains to the Appalachian foothills, down to the delta & back up to Chicago for a sound that’s equal parts pastoral & main street charm.

#19 - Shi la Rosa

Singer-songwriter lyricism, hypnotic soundscapes, and a loud heart are what ring through Shi la Rosa's music. She experiments with both upbeat grooves to dance to and dreamy croons, beckoning you to look inward. Originally hailing from Cleveland, the 'Space Queen' singer found her artistic footing in Chicago. Within one year of releasing her debut EP, Sometimes I Think of You, she found herself playing at iconic Chicago venues, such as the Green Mill, Schuba’s Tavern, Subterranean, and Space in Evanston. La Rosa’s vocal tone has subtle nods to legends such as Lana Del Rey and Banks, but with an umph more comparable to Gwen Stefani. Each song taps into a different flavor of emotional saturation that only surfaces from prolonged introspection. Best defined as indie pop, the artist's soaring vocals will cut you and kiss you in one foul sweep.