I’ve spent a lot of my life with a guitar in my hands: writing riffs, working through arrangements, recording ideas, and getting songs ready to play in a room with people. Music isn’t an occasional hobby I picked up last year. It’s a parallel track that has been running for decades.
Chicago was the backdrop
Before Black Lantern, I played in 5 Step Drop, a Chicago hard-rock band with original music and plenty of miles behind it. We played local stages and shared bills with national acts including Dope and Soil. The old songs, recordings, and photos are part of the history, and I still like being able to point people back to them.
Black Lantern is the current chapter
Black Lantern is my current Chicago metal band. The sound moves through groove metal, metalcore, and hard rock: heavy guitars, big grooves, and songs built to hit with a band playing together. The influences are wide, but the goal is to make original music that feels like us.
This chapter is still being written—new material, rehearsals, photos, and the next chance to play for people. The Black Lantern section of the music page is where I’ll keep the current band story. The Chicago live music finder is there for anyone looking for other concerts nearby.
Keep the archive alive
Part of telling a current band story is keeping the earlier chapters easy to find. The 5 Step Drop archive, solo recordings, and Under the Grapevine live series belong to the same musical life, even when they sound different from Black Lantern.
If you’re into Chicago live music, heavy guitars, or local bands with original material, come explore the music page. That’s where I’m collecting the current project and the archive in one place.