Steve Krakow

The Purple Cucumber, with Vince Ippolito at center Since 2005 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.

Since 2005 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place. I’ve been writing the Secret History of Chicago Music for more than two decades, and some artists have taken me years to track down.

High on Fire “If you can remember it, you weren’t there” is usually something people say about the groovy 60s. For me, it’s applicable to the dawn of stoner rock in the early 1990s. I vaguely recall seeing Sleep in 1994, when the game-changing Bay Area trio opened for Nik Turner’s Space Ritual (though my most vivid memory is of Turner, better known as a singer, flutist, and saxophonist in Hawkwind, wearing a giant white helmet).