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"Nothing about the popular “Show ‘N Tell Show” is obvious or remotely probable." -Chicago Tribune

Tribune: we agree. Against all probability, we've done the obvious. It's time for graphic design! Yep, Chicago’s first and only live design talk show is back for more. We still call it: The Show ‘n Tell Show. That’s cause it’s all about showing off Chicago’s finest creatives. Graphic Designers, fashionistas, photographers, comic book nerds, poster boys and improv comics: they’ve all been our guests for a lively evening of talk-show style banter, eye-popping slide shows and awkward hosting. The Tribune went on to call it: "A rollicking evening of boozy storytelling, one that happens to be centered on designers showcasing their failures, triumphs and triumphant failures."

We’ve put together a smashing line-up:

Letterform, the cutest couple by design
Paul Koob, the Hamster Man
The window-dressing INDO Girls
Photographer phenom Paul Octavius
and a very special surprise guest.

And of course, your bumbling hosts Michael Renaud, Zach Dodson, and the spokesmodel that is also your mom, SpokesMom. Our house band, Jay Jay and the JJ’s, a organ/drum combo forged from design boredom, will be back to rock some socks. If you remember last show's yoga-ballin', forty-chuggin', Big Bird-drawin' debacle, then you know what you're in for.

"The energy, however, was tremendous...The lyrics, which are worth paying attention to, brim with self-pity and heartache...But the backbeat is tight and the guitar heroics have just enough of a wink...Only 40 minutes into the festival, and the best part of the night is already over."
- Sterling Clover, Village Voice

"Few dudes could successfully accomplish a pop-forward album complete with such devastating hooks, auto-tune in all the strangest places, and even a rap verse, but Jack weaves this unique anthemic sensibility into an album that deserves to be sincerely appreciated… because how many of us could personally adapt our styles to a mainstream accessibility only to so sweetly flip that script and be a stronger person on the other side of it?"
- Noah Kline, thefmly.com

After disbanding in the late 1980s, the various members of the Del Fuegos went on to lead remarkable second lives. In the New Year, however, all four original members of the acclaimed Boston quartet will come together for a 12-city tour of the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest.

The Del Fuegos are among a handful of legendary rock and roll exports from Boston, Mass. Recording alongside X, the Blasters, Los Lobos, and others for L.A. ‘s Slash Records, the Del Fuegos burned brightly through the 1980s. They played more than 200 dates a year internationally and released albums that were consistently favorites of audiences and critics alike. Even before they released their first record, Rolling Stone named them a band to watch.

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Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore met while studying philosophy in college. The two agreed that upon graduating they would sell their collective possessions and leave behind their lives in Denver. They wanted a life of experience unmediated by people or things, a life of intimate participation with their environment. Cell phones, television, household appliances, the conveniences of modern life were traded for simplicity and contentment. A return to evenings spent indulging in the profound silence of the remotest regions, far from the yellowy glow of civilization.

The long way is the beautiful one. The hard way is the most rewarding. Two years after completing their 2500 nautical mile voyage, Riley and Moore’s experience has led them to seek out a new endeavor. Their music bears the mark of months spent alone with the sea and each other. It is tinged with the sweet affection of new lovers. It bears the uncluttered aesthetic of time spent in remote and uninhabited regions. Their music is a modest attempt to translate an old truth rediscovered. Their album will be released by Fat Possum in January 2011.

The Korean-American collective started when the three came together after having forged separate careers. Despite only working as a group for the past year, their movements have been monumental.

Eddie Shin became a phenomenon in Korea back in 2005 when his self-produced album Just My Way hit the ground running. The R&B-meets-KPop singer/songwriter has been writing songs since he was 16. Born in Boston, but raised in Korea, Eddie developed a multi-cultural understanding of music early on, one that has echoed throughout his entire career. Having studied music at NYU, Eddie Shin has even written and composed for other artists, while crafting the theme song “Let’s Go” for Korea’s G20 Summit. Flowsik earned his stripes on the New York City battlegrounds as an MC with the gruff voice yet stellar delivery.

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POLIÇA began as a collaboration between fellow Gayngs' members Channy Casselle and Ryan Olson in June of 2011. By July they had completed 11 songs, made the key additions of drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson, bass player Chris Bierdan, and headed into the studio. After Mike Noyce (Bon Iver) lent his voice on Lay Your Cards Out and Wandering Star, the record was brought to Austin, TX to be mixed with Jim Eno (Spoon). In a few days, the LP was completed and the band Poliça was formed. On stage, the original beats composed by Olson play amongst Channy’s passionate vocals & an intense rhythm section, that lead to a description somewhere in the area of electro-r&b goth-pop.