Jay Gentile on Muck Rack

Jay Gentile

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  • Journalist, Travel and Entertainment Writer, Freelance
Chicago
As seen in: CNN Travel, MSN, MSN New Zealand, HuffPost, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Aol, Chicago Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Oak Leaves and
Covers:  Music, arts and entertainment, travel, politics, government, features, food and drink, events, festivals, nightlife.
Travel Writer. Senior Partnerships Exec. Bylines: Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CNN, The Guardian, VICE, SPIN, Lonely Planet, Thrillist, Outside + more.
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A local's guide to Chicago: 10 top tips

A local's guide to Chicago: 10 top tips

The Guardian — The city's bars and music scene are among the most vibrant in the US. And with Lake Michigan beaches to relax on and two new budget flights from the UK, now is the time to go
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The pros' snow: Lake Tahoe a big draw for skiers of all stripes

The pros' snow: Lake Tahoe a big draw for skiers of all stripes

Chicago Tribune — Lake Tahoe isn't just a ski destination. It's a way of life - one that attracts both powder-hungry tourists and professional athletes to this scenic area, anchored by an alpine lake straddling the California-Nevada state line.
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I Spent David Bowie Day Doing David Bowie Shit | NOISEY

I Spent David Bowie Day Doing David Bowie Shit | NOISEY

Vice — Last week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared September 23 "David Bowie Day" in Chicago to mark the opening of the new exhibit "David Bowie Is" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibit's only US stop. It's not every day that one has the opportunity to celebrate David Bowie Day- at least officially -so I had to check out the festivities and find out what exactly goes down on such an important occasion. Knowing Bowie's propensity for the outlandish, the absurd, and the outright freakish, I expected things to get weird early. Would I witness the weird?
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Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes: Naked and Unafraid

Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes: Naked and Unafraid

Chicago Tribune — He’s performed wearing nothing but face paint and a pair of fishnet stockings. He’s strutted out to greet the crowd while seated atop a live white horse, in what could be the only indie rock set ever per- formed on horseback. He’s crucified himself onstage, not to mention the time he brought out Susan Sa- randon to spank a man in a pig suit with a ruler. But after more than a decade of masterminding one of the most consis- tently outlandish and un- predictable live shows in a generation (which might or might not have included pantomimed orgies and slow-motion sword fights), Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes has just shocked everyone by doing the unthinkable: making a normal album.
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The Faint and That Sound of Dark Dance Tunes

The Faint and That Sound of Dark Dance Tunes

Chicago Tribune — Nothing starts a party like songs about death and paranoia. Just ask The Faint, the synth rock post-punks who have been ex- porting their signature brand of dark wave, nightmarish party music for the better part of 15 years, long before a new genera- tion of kids draped themselves in neon in order to first-bump to techno beats at dance music festivals across the country. While the Omaha, Neb., band has al- ways been more of a rock band than the current crop of candy-coated elec- tronic dance music contemporaries who dominate the airwaves, there is no denying The Faint’s instrumental role in helping to remind bored-looking, cross-armed hipsters how to ditch their inhibitions and have fun again at shows. By dancing.
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Ladies of Ladytron, CSS Compete to Be No. 1 Frontwoman | SPIN

Ladies of Ladytron, CSS Compete to Be No. 1 Frontwoman | SPIN

SPIN — It was a battle of the energetic frontwomen last night at the Ladytron/Cansei De Ser Sexy (CSS) show at Denver's Bluebird Theatre. Brazilian dance-rockers CSS' head-shaking frontwoman, Lovefoxxx, led the charge as her band delivered an opening set that was both playful and full of manic energy. Ladytron's leader, the habit-clad Helen Marnie, delivered mechanical dance moves as she fronted the anti-sampling electronica headliners. STORY BY JAY GENTILE. PHOTOS BY SOREN MCCARTY
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The Great Montana Hot Springs Crawl

The Great Montana Hot Springs Crawl

Outside — With most visitors flocking to Montana to fly-fish, ski, backpack, or ride horses, Big Sky Country's hot springs largely fall under the radar. Which is a shame, because with 61 known springs, from high-end resorts to natural pools deep in the wilderness, the state is home to one of the highest concentrations of these geothermic wonders in the United States.
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4 bars with a twist in New Orleans, a city that embraces eccentricity

4 bars with a twist in New Orleans, a city that embraces eccentricity

Chicago Tribune — In a city whose taverns include a dungeon purportedly haunted by vampires and a toilet-themed watering hole, the standard is pretty high in New Orleans when it comes to quirk. The city's proud allegiance to the unconventional is a big part of the Big Easy's charm.
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Best Excuse to Get Painted Up Like a Neon Freak Show

Best Excuse to Get Painted Up Like a Neon Freak Show

Chicago Reader — When you're looking to get weird late at night, Exit is usually a pretty safe bet. But all bets are off when Blacklight Blackout splatters the club's second floor-basically a chain-linked dancing cage-with free UV-reactive body paint. Resident DJs and rotating guests culled from the underground soundtrack a nightmarish postapocalyptic party scene featuring radioactive freaks clutching neon glow sticks and ubiquitous PBR tallboys, and plenty of exposed painted skin to keep your eyes entertained. Watch out for oddball animal costumes, and don't block the shots of the party photographers documenting drunken make-out sessions.
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The 10 best music venues in Chicago

The 10 best music venues in Chicago

Lonely Planet — When it comes to music in the Great Lakes, no city rocks harder than Chicago. In a town famous for mobsters and deep-dish pizza, one of Chicago's most vibrant yet often overlooked cultural exports is its thriving live music scene. So skip the Art Institute and experience the city like a local at one of these top 10 music venues.
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The 10 Best Vacation Spots Within Driving Distance of Chicago

The 10 Best Vacation Spots Within Driving Distance of Chicago

Thrillist — With summer finally arriving, it's the ideal time of year to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip vacation. No need for security checkpoints or a black belt in airport ninjutsu, just hit the open road to any of these top 10 getaways within driving distance of Chicago.
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Innerview Goes To Denver - Chicago Innerview

Innerview Goes To Denver - Chicago Innerview

Chicago INNERVIEW — Wolf Blitzer is seated five feet to my right, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell stands five feet to my left, and everywhere around me people are losing their minds. The 1972 O'Jays tune "Love Train" ("people all over the world / join hands / start a love train / love train...") is piping in over the loudspeakers, and the woman behind me is weeping. I'm standing on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver's Pepsi Center (home of the Nuggets), where Hillary Clinton has just ceremoniously ended the convention's roll call vote and officially thrown the party's nomination to Barack Obama. Everyone knows it’s all carefully scripted political theater, but at the moment no one seems particularly inclined to derail a perfectly good love train.
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The 25 Best State Parks in America You Absolutely Must Visit

The 25 Best State Parks in America You Absolutely Must Visit

Thrillist — While America's 59 national parks may get all the glory and the Ken Burns documentaries, nearly three times as many people visit the country's 10,234 state park areas each year. Spanning a total of more than 18 million acres across the US, America's state parks take up the equivalent land area of 13.6 million football fields -- or roughly the size of South Carolina.
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Awesomely bizarre pit stops on the road to Coachella

Awesomely bizarre pit stops on the road to Coachella

Lonely Planet — While the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is known around the world for its picture-perfect image and inspiring festival-fashion, the area surrounding the festival is a different story altogether. Beyond the finely manicured polo grounds of Coachella and the gleaming resorts of Palm Springs lies a vast desert underworld packed with strange attractions, like a mountain painted with Bible quotes and a Hollywood movie set come to life.
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The great Colorado 'fourteener' road trip

The great Colorado 'fourteener' road trip

Lonely Planet — With 53 mountains rising at elevations above 14,000 feet, Colorado is home to far more 'fourteeners' than any other state (second-place Alaska has 29.) While the rugged peaks have inspired countless mountain adventurers who race each other to see who can climb them all in the shortest amount of time, you don't have to be a crazy pro climber to enjoy the majestic beauty.
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Weed Town, USA: How Marijuana Rescued the Town of Trinidad, Colorado

Weed Town, USA: How Marijuana Rescued the Town of Trinidad, Colorado

High Times — In the late 1800s, it was a coal mining boomtown once frequented by infamous Old West characters like Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. In the late 1900s, it was known as the "Sex Change Capital of the World" due to the large number of gender reassignment procedures being performed in town at the time.
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The 10 Best Travel Shows Now Available on Netflix

The 10 Best Travel Shows Now Available on Netflix

Vancouver Sun — If you'd rather put your feet up in your living room than put your arms up during an airport security pat-down, Netflix makes an attractive option for the armchair traveler in all of us.
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The 5 Coolest Outdoor Concert Venues in America

The 5 Coolest Outdoor Concert Venues in America

Paste Magazine — Summer is about three things: road trips, blowing off work to head to the beach and outdoor concerts. There's just nothing like the live music experience with the sun in your face, a drink in your hand and a cool breeze whistling through the trees.
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