When you think of Valentine’s Day, you think of horror stories, Stephen King and Zombie Barbies, right? Right??? Well, the fine folks at the Davenport Public Library and the local King podcast Derry Public Radio sure do. They invite you to add a little blood to your heart holiday, as they’re hosting a free Zoom event Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m., to make Zombie Barbies and talk about their favorite horror tales. Amber Carlson, DPL youth services and programming librarian, first asked podcast co-host (and Stephen King fanatic) Joshua Kahn to recommend specific horror books for teens around Halloween... Read More

Angi Chapman of Waking Robots, who will play at RIBCO in the District of Rock Island Friday night, says she wrote “Frost” while suffering an incredible fever, days later discovering the recording and hearing it as if for the first time. She remembers thinking that it sounded “hokey,” with its almost western saloon rhythm, but when she reluctantly presented the sparse demo to a trusted friend, their reaction was so positive that she had no choice but to finish the track. It has since become a fan favorite. This story is typical for of one of the Quad Cities’ most unique bands, Waking... Read More

May 2015 “Hey, that’s me!”  I say it aloud while staring at my phone in the coffee shop.  The people at the next table look at me as if I spilled soup down my shirt.  After cleaning myself up (I have, in fact, spilled soup down my shirt), I read the Facebook status again.  Josh Kahn (The Ghost of Vaudeville, Bottoms-Up Burlesque, Blacklist) is asking his Facebook friends if anyone knows of anyone with screenwriting experience. “Hey, that’s me!” is a slight exaggeration.  I had one co-written play produced and have various unproduced ventures – four episodes of a co-written 1930s... Read More

Everyone is up in arms about the outcome of last Friday’s 97X-Posure Battle of the Bands, held at Rascal’s in Moline, IL, but the majority of the loudest opinions falling on opposite sides of one another are debating the wrong point. Which is better: dogs or cats? Mustang or Corvette? Have your answer in mind? Great. Now ask yourself why you’re even thinking about this right now because you should have stopped two sentences ago. These questions are fundamentally flawed. Yet, it seems to be the way most people are talking in the wake of the 97X-Posure Battle of the Bands, the final round of... Read More

Angi Chapman says she wrote “Frost” while suffering an incredible fever, days later discovering the recording and hearing it as if for the first time. She remembers thinking that it sounded “hokey,” with its almost western saloon rhythm, but when she reluctantly presented the sparse demo to a trusted friend, their reaction was so positive that she had no choice but to finish the track. It has since become a fan favorite. This story is typical for of one of the Quad Cities’ most unique bands, Waking Robots. Its lead singer and songwriters staunch refusal to give in to self doubt or ever... Read More