Band

Chicago rockers Nonagon answered our Chi-Tunes questionnaire . Do the same and your band could appear in RedEye! What makes your live show great? We never phone it in. Our set is filled with inventive, loud, short, tight songs that hold your attention. We play them with conviction and considerable energy. Describe your sound in five words or less. Loud, choppy hooks with dissonance. Tell us something random about the band, and why that's significant.

It's appropriate that Videotape's debut full-length "This Is Disconnect" opens with a song called "Static"--the local quintet specializes in dreamy guitar-rock tunes bathed in layers of churning feedback. Singer and Noble Square resident Sophie Leigh, 23, and multi-instrumentalist AJ Cesena of Logan Square first launched the group as a duo more than two and a half years ago, trading tracks through the mail while Leigh completed a semester abroad at Australia's Monash University. But the project really took off once Ian McDuffie, Sarah Sterling and Jenna Caravello completed the band's current lineup.

When you get an email with a subject line "A Letter from Dave Grohl," odds are it's not good news. Unless you hate Foo Fighters, I guess, and who hates Foo Fighters? Contained in the letter--released to all press, not just me--is the Foo singer/guitarist (and, obviously, drummer for Them Crooked Vultures and, once upon a time, Nirvana) indicating that, "I'm not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. " To me that translates to "I think we're probably finished, but I don't want to say that definitively, and I don't like the phrase 'indefinite hiatus.'" Grohl notes that "I can't give up this band.

When the Black Keys released "El Camino" in December, the band made a video for its lead single, "Lonely Boy. " Unfortunately, the band hated it but liked some of the footage: a single shot of an extra, Derrick T. Tuggle, performing a dance he had created for the song. It was so good the band decided to release it as the actual video. Tuggle's dance is amazing, and made the video a viral hit. Through careful analysis, the video reveals everything you need to know about the Black Keys before they play the United Center Monday.

While "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" has certainly made an effective tourism campaign, Imagine Dragons refrained from adopting the slogan as a band mantra. Since forming in 2008, the Las Vegas quartet has logged countless hours on the road, and the hard work is beginning to pay off. The rockers' full-length debut, "Night Visions," landed at number two on the Billboard 200, while the band's now-ubiquitous single "It's Time" has appeared everywhere from ESPN's Wimbledon coverage to an episode of "Glee.

The first time Tennessee pop-rockers Paramore headlined a tour, they started it at Beat Kitchen in 2006. Seven years later, the band will play the much larger Chicago Theatre on Thursday as part of its first U.S. tour since 2010. Paramore then and Paramore now, singer Hayley Williams says, are like night and day. “I don't want it to sound like I'm ever bashing the band that we were before, but I definitely feel like we are a new band now,” says Williams, 24. Paramore's two founding members, brothers Josh and Zac Farro, departed about a year and a half after the band's last album, “Brand New Eyes,” debuted at No. 2 in 2009.

Via email, the Fall Out Boy bassist/lyricist, guitarist and drummer chimed in on their evolving sound, what makes them feel old and more. Bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz As you wrote lyrics for “Save Rock and Roll,” what topics did you find didn't interest you as much as they once did, and what took their place? What subject matter will always appeal to you?  It always changes I guess. I guess you will just write or think differently at every period of your life. So it is not topics that I stick to or what not. At the same time you just write differently from age 23 to 33. What's something you learned during Fall Out Boy's hiatus, and what impact did that have?

The question prompted by this year's remarkably underwhelming array of (repeat) Lolla headliners (including The Killers, Vampire Weekend and Mumford and Sons) was, “Where are all the headliner-caliber rock bands that have never played Lolla and, you know, are actually good?” At Thursday's sold-out Chicago Theatre show, Paramore had the answer. Tiny Hayley Williams is leading a giant revolution, shooting sweet darts into the hearts and lungs of fans that belt out every cathartic word.

You may still be picking red, white, and blue confetti out of your hair, but there's no rest during fest season. Think of this weekend as a continuation of your Fourth of July holiday and keep the celebration going, whether you're grabbing some grub at Rock Around the Block, checking out the booths at Lincoln Park Arts Fest or singing along at West Fest.   West Fest Where: Chicago Avenue between Damen Avenue and Wood Street When: Noon-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Cost: $5 suggested donation On the bill: Join about 50,000 of your closest friends for two days of music.

Band name: Brighton, MA Sound: On its just-released "Billboard Sun" EP, the indie-rock quintet channels the ragged glory of the Walkmen, veering between loosely anthemic rockers ("New Underground") and more introspective turns like the bruised "V-Day. " Need to know: The band has opened for Spoon, the Arcade Fire and the Walkmen, and its music has been featured on a diverse array of television programs, including "Community" and "Gossip Girl. " In Dec. 2011, Brighton's song "Good Kind of Crazy" appeared in a holiday advertisement for Jack Daniels.