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The multi-instrumentalist gives the people what they want -- unless they want him to slow down.

Friday Feb 12, 2010.     By Centerstage Chicago Staff

Music Feed

Follow Friday is a weekly interview series in which each Chicago artist we talk to recommends a fellow local act.

This week's guest: Packy Lundholm
Recommended by: The Dirty Rooks

If you go to shows regularly, there's a good chance you've heard or seen Packy Lundholm even if you didn't know it. The multi-instrumentalist has plied his trade with so many different local acts, we've lost count. Most recently, Lundholm joined forces with I Fight Dragons, the Nintendo-Rock band (yes, you read that right) that just signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Consider this your official introduction.

Describe your sound in 140 characters or less.
Hippie-Nintendo-Funk-Drunk-Klezmer-Blues-Country-Core. My motto: Give the people what they want.

Where and when was your first show – and what was it like?
I was 9 years old, playing drums with my older brother's band at a party with really cool "older" kids (Junior High-age, the coolest). We played some Lenny Kravitz, Hendrix, and Pearl Jam, and probably a few songs off Dookie. I was so excited and intimidated that I was playing every song pretty much in double-time, despite everyone in the band yelling "SLOW DOWN!". The jam at the end of "Alive" was especially amped up. I still have this problem.

Name three of your favorite Chicago spots (bars, restaurants, venues, parks – whatever).
-Sultan's Market on North. I could eat the spicy falafel sandwich thrice a day for a fortnight.
-Charter One Pavilion. The only way to make an outdoor summer concert any better is to make the Chicago skyline the backdrop. Great sound, too.
-Any mechanic or body shop in the city. Every one of them is chock-full of Chicago attitude (i.e., people who say Montrose is at Forty-Four Hunnert nort).

What Chicago artist/band should we interview next and why?
Darren Garvey. He's a frightening, worldly, musical power-genius, and I'm sure he's got some stories for you.