Artist Vortis

Chicago’s Vortis is probably more notable for its lineup rather than its music: Drummer Jim DeRogatis was a respected Sun-Times music critic (and a former Rolling Stone writer, before getting canned over a negative Hootie And The Blowfish review), and until a few years ago, Michael Weinstein, a 60-something Purdue University professor, was at the helm. (Weinstein left “to devote all of his creative/anarchist energies to his political writings.”) Vortis is far from academic, however—in fact, it’s decidedly and proudly old-school. The punk band’s 2011 album Things Won’t Get Better contains such throwback titles as “Disease Me,” “Hate Our Condition,” and “Whore To Feed.”

Updated 04/24/2012