Roundhouse Bands: Alexander Webb and Small Shiny Things
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Alexander Webb and Small Shiny Things, 9 pm, No Cover
Not too long ago, Alexander Webb was the rookie quarterback on the football team at Northwestern. His career cut short by a liver injury in his first collegiate game, Webb reorganized his priorities around music and has been writing and playing ever since. Boasting a sweet voice and skills on the guitar unusual for a confessional-style singer-songwriter, Webb was the perfect opener for Jessica Sonner last Thursday night at the final Acoustic Coffeehouse of the year.
The idea of being a professional musician did not even occur to Webb until his injury. “Probably the most exciting component of everything was the pre-game bus ride with the headphones,” Webb noted. “I thought it was the sport, but it turns out it was probably music that was giving me the adrenaline rush.”
Webb insisted that, despite the seeming gap between the two, he found similarities between them. “Both are reactional—I’ve always loved using my body to do a performance.” As for the inherent social pitfalls of being both an athlete and an artist, Webb said, “I ran into different dining tables.”
The majority of Webb’s songs occupies a first-person voice and emerges directly out of issues in his everyday life—religious belief, relationships and family. Aiming for an honesty through his songwriting, Webb thinks that in order to write a song about something, he must experience it first.
Small Shiny Things is a five piece rock band from Aurora, Il. Jay Olaszek, Chris Bauler, Ron Donavon, Matt McCain and Kevin Trudo have their roots in Americana and Bluegrass and pay homage to those great country songwriters: but with just a little more dirt. It’s the Great American Song set down in such a way that you can still dance to it. Not terribly sacred. Maybe a little profane. Hopefully a little profound.