How a Musician Left Me Spellbound

My position at the Reader allowed me to dive deep into the legend. [View this e-mail as a web page]( November 20, 2019 The other night my friend Matt told me how his Lithuanian father stumbled across my recent [Reader feature]( about a batch of new cassettes by musicians who shared his heritage. I don't often hear about people coming across my work like this. I'll receive messages from readers, but usually it's people in my Twitter network, or the subjects of a specific story. I think the artists, music, and communities I've written about for the Reader are special, and I always hope I convey that to everyone who picks up the paper. I've long admired the main subject of that story on Lithuanian musicians, Vyto B. I stumbled upon his bizarre, entrancing sci-fi concept album, Tricentennial 2076, earlier this decade—it had to be around 2012, which is when I made a mixtape for some friends that included the Vyto B song ["Electronic Enforcer."]( bare, euphonic acoustic guitar and heart-wrenching singing left me spellbound, and since then I'd been wanting to learn everything I could about him. Fortunately, my position at the Reader gave me the opportunity to not only go digging into the legend of Vyto B, but share it with our readers. I like to think of our audience as a community, even though I don't know everyone personally. But the night Matt told me about his dad finding my story, reading it, and enjoying it, my sense of the people in the loose Reader circle improved, and I felt a little more connected to everyone in it. On another note about community: poet, educator, artist, and [Reader contributor H. Melt]( has an [IndieGoGo campaign]( to help cover the costs of trans-affirming surgery. Pitch in, not only because there are some great perks, but also because H. Melt is a hell of a writer—I recommend picking up a copy of [On My Way to Liberation](. One last note before I go! On Saturday, I'll be at Columbia College Chicago for the [Midwest Regional High School and College Media Conference](. If you're a student and want to learn more about the field, I'll be on a panel about covering sports and entertainment stories, which I hope means I'll get the chance to talk about my favorite pro men's sports team: the [Chicago Dogs](. Anyway, the conference is free, and the panel starts at 10 AM. Sincerely, Leor [DONATE]( [City Scenes: How Milwaukee Rap Finally Came Into Its Own"]( by Evan Rytlewski (NPR) "[Who Gets to Tell the Story of a Lost Music Culture?"]( David Hajdu (The Nation) [Hellfire]( by Nick Tosches (Thank you Chicago Public Library) Arthur Russell, [Iowa Dream]( Ratboys, ["Alien with a Sleep Mask On"]( Musa Reems, [To Whom It May Concern]( [’Tis the season for antisocial noise rock]( Den and Salvation drop new albums this week. Plus: Epworth United Methodist hosts an experimental music festival, and “drunk emo” band Sidekick Kato reunite again. By [J.R. Nelson]( [@JR1Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( [@imLeor]( [The 2020 Frequency Festival announces a lineup of world-class experimental music]( Highlights include a fusion of Carnatic music and jazz, a solo vocal piece for Diamond Reynolds, and programs of work by Eliane Radigue and Annea Lockwood. By [Bill Meyer]( [Issue of Nov 14-20, 2019 Vol. 49, No. 7]( [Fashion for all]( [Vihanga has arrived. The unisex clothing line has Chicago roots and a global message](. By [Kerry Cardoza]( [Download Issue]( (PDF) [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2019 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Ste 102Chicago, IL 60616-3228 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](