So this post starts (really, as all good blog posts should) with a confession: I have a crush on Lee DeWyze, the 24-year-old blues rocker wowing judges and audiences on "American Idol."

I'm not usually a fan of goatees, but Lee makes it work, and he's got that whole acoustic, "aw, shucks" thing going on. Plus, he's phenomenally talented. And he's local! This is easily the most practical celebrity crush I've ever had. Excellent.

Anyway, I went searching for a way to parlay my position of power as Chicago Parent's web editor into a face-to-face meeting, or at least a phone interview. Two weeks later, the verdict is in: Epic fail. It turns out that FOX keeps a pretty tight leash on its "Idol" contestants. And Chicago Parent was less than enthusiastic at the idea of paying my way to Hollywood for a recon...I mean, research...trip.

But my powers of sleuthing (read: a well-timed press release that ended up in my inbox) found a connection that's a bit goofy, local and right up Chicago Parent's alley: Lee DeWyze is the voice behind a River Forest organic baby food company. True story: read the full story and listen here!

 

Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\article-detail.xslt