Carter Dennis of American Vanity

Providing the steady beat of American Vanity is drummer Carter Dennis. Steady is an understatement for his drumming though.

My niece and I have been fans of the band (first as Burn the Jukebox) for a few years. We appreciate the band and the individuals. While at the American Vanity show in Chicago a couple months ago, I made a point to watch Carter in action. Being only a few feet from the stage, we had a close up view. 

The young man has chops. He is a drum machine. He was doing things with his sticks that might have been part of drumming or just for flair. There was so much action, it was hard to tell. Either way, you can tell he is immensely talented.

He was also very nice. In the pre-show meet-and-greet, Carter spent a few minutes with Laura and me. Much like the other band members, he was engaging, friendly, funny and quite poised for such a young entertainer.

This band and Carter have a lot of potential. Obviously, music is a tough career, but they have the talent and personality to make it. I'll be watching and updating their progress right here.

For now, go to thisisamericanvanity.com for more info. Also, go to Spotify and give them a listen.

Carter, Laura and me in Chicago, IL-August 2026.

Burn the Jukebox Comes to Chicago

A while back I wrote about my quest to interview Burn the Jukebox, a teenage band my niece and I have been following. While I haven't achieved that goal yet, I did the next best thing.

My sister, niece and I saw BTJ perform at RocHaus in West Dundee, about an hour west of Chicago. After two opening acts performed for about 45 minutes each, BTJ took the stage for a solid two hour set. 

The band started with an original tune with Virginia singing. The rest of the show was mostly covers and mostly Virginia on lead vocals. They did a few original tunes and Luke Hoffman took the lead on a few.

Their musicianship is tight and they have a definite stage presence. I think Virginia is the leader and potential breakout star. They have been together for a few years, but who knows what might happen. As teenagers, their futures could go anywhere.

I still want to interview the band. For now, my niece and I are happy with our long quest finally being satisfied.

Laura, Nancy, me, Carter, Virginia, Luke and Luke in West Dundee, IL-June 2025.