In Episode 25 Erik chats with Adele Nicholas, a Chicago-based civil-rights attorney and activist. Adele’s practice focuses on fighting systemic abuses in the criminal justice system and accountability in the workplace in regards to worker’s rights.
Adele is also the front person for the indie rock trio Axons, who just released the full-length album “I Object to Everything”.
The album provides a lens into Adele’s advocacy work through her songwriting while giving light to a more empathetic perspective on what prisoners deal with in the criminal justice system.
The song cycle for the album documents one of the city’s most notorious jailbreaks in recent memory. Back in December 2012, Joseph Banks and Kenneth Conley, two prisoners awaiting sentencing for bank robbery, escaped out of a five-inch wide window at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in down town Chicago using a rope fashioned from bedsheets and dental floss.
Adele talks about the story behind the album, her songwriting process and all how Axons has evolved over the years.
Photo by Jazmyne Fountain
Featured Tracks:
Past, Present, and Future.
Suspended
Close Enough To Dream
Shove It
Check out Axons on Bandcamp
SoundCloud
The Rock in Chicago Show is available on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple, Google, and podcasting platforms everywhere.
GUEST LIST

Adele curated a fantastic playlist of some her favorite bands from Chicago.
Guest List playlists are available from the Rock in Chicago Spotify and YouTube Channels.
Track | Artist |
I Won’t | Fury |
Alien | Impulsive Hearts |
Deja Vu | Sick Day |
Nurse and Nun | Djunah |
Say When | Old Joy |
The Veil of Irony is Thin, Bob | Bloodhype |
Well Actually | Shannon Candy |
Ten Swooning Enemies | Moritat |
Please Don’t Be That Way | SUPERFUND |
Fell in Love Wiith a Ghost | Boys vs Girls |
Dirtball | Modern Nun |
Flavor 2 | Gal Gun |
Wringing out My Brain | Sonny Falls |